I just saw something on here that hit me in the head like a brick. I just saw a user post a PGP public key generated with broken software. The default keys generated by this piece of shit software (e.g. PortablePGP) are _so_ weak, they are literally laughable. pub 1024D/8B8E2001 2013-09-13uid         Zyntaks <>sub  512g/D303B36C 2013-09-13A dozen years ago, 512-bit encryption keys were being broken in a few weeks on old, spare computers that people had laying about the office. You can just imagine how long they would last against the resources than an organization like the FBI could bring to bear against them. Warnings against using this type of software have been repeatedly posted, but they appear to have fallen on deaf ears. The basic reason why I say "Virtually all of you are doomed" is because almost NO ONE wants to invest the time and effort required to learn how to keep themselves safe. During the crypto wars of the 1990s, I, like the Cypherpunks, believed that people would leap at the chance to embrace the tools that would enable them to escape the Orwellian gaze of the surveillance state. At that time, the various police agencies were near apoplectic at the prospect of readily available strong encryption making its way into the hands of criminals (and others). They railed at every opportunity -- to anyone who would listen -- that the availability of strong non-backdoored encryption would stop police investigations dead in their tracks. They were right -- the problem was that neither the general public nor the criminals adopted these tools. Rather than being widely adopted, the efforts of the Cypherpunks were greeted, at best, with a collective yawn. Even here, amongst a community that should have had a strong motivation to adopt these tools, it has not taken place. As proof, I would submit the fact that various vendors have stated that upwards of 80% of even shipping address information was transmitted in the clear (i.e. unencrypted). Winters86, in his post here about a year ago, said that the biggest fear among police was that people would start learning to use tools like PGP. Despite that, there was (and is) still resistance -- there are still vendors (like RxKing) who say that PGP is a waste of time. Sadly, what has become apparent to me, is that people are not going to change their habits. They don't want to learn; they want an instant fix -- they want to be spoon-fed, they want security handed to them on a silver platter. I have read endless complaints about how the software is "so complicated". People have said, "Explain it to me like I'm a 5 year old". You can't learn everything overnight. You have to develop a security-oriented mindset, and that takes time, effort, and patience to develop. People value ease of use so highly, that they're willing to sacrifice their security to get it. People here are more worried about getting their drugs than they are about getting caught. That's not the way it works and, in a nutshell, that's why the authorities are going to win in the end. Laziness, ignorance, and stupidity are, and will always be, the authorities greatest weapons. As Friedrich Schiller wrote: Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!Against stupidity the very gods Themselves contend in vain.Nightcrawler4096R/BBF7433B 2012-09-22 Nightcrawler <Nightcrawler@SR>PGP Key: http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=174.msg633090#msg633090PGP Key Fingerprint = 83F8 CAF8 7B73 C3C7 8D07 B66B AFC8 CE71 D9AF D2F0