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Methods of encryption... Cyphers...

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  • 04-11-2007 12:41am
    #1
    Dave!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,857 ✭✭✭✭


    Is cypher not the coolest word ever? Okay it's not...

    Anywho,

    I was watching 'the Prestige' tonight, and they make a big deal of the fact that Christian Bale uses a keyword cypher in his diary. I had a quick look on wikipedia and it so happens to have an entry for this!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyword_cipher

    The basic idea is that you think of a keyword, say 'CYPHER', and you take each of its letters out of the alphabet and put them at the start... .hard to explain, but this is an example:

    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
    becomes...
    C Y P H E R A B D F G I J K L M N O Q S T U V W X Z

    And then when you're writing a message, you substitute the new letters in for the old ones...

    I AM DAVE
    becomes...
    D CJ HCUE

    And to decipher it you need the keyword! Of course there are ways around it, and more sophisticated methods, but it's still pretty cool :)

    Anywho, if you scroll to the bottom of the wikipedia page it gives a whole bunch of methods of encryption:

    Ciphers: ADFGVX | Affine | Alberti | Atbash | Autokey | Bifid | Book | Caesar | Four-square | Hill | Keyword | Nihilist | Permutation | Pigpen | Playfair | Polyalphabetic | Polybius | Rail Fence | Reihenschieber | Reservehandverfahren | ROT13 | Running key | Scytale | Smithy code | Solitaire | Straddling checkerboard | Substitution | Tap Code | Transposition | Trifid | Two-square | VIC cipher | Vigenère

    I don't plan on becoming an expert at them all, cos they hurt my head, but they're still pretty interesting :)... right?... RIGHT?


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Comments

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    #2
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,156 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    or u cd jst uz txt spk


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    #3
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    ooookaay...
    looksee wrote:
    or u cd jst uz txt spk
    Don't be daft. It has to be possible to decode it.



    Moved to blog.
    If it only it were possible


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    #4
    Archeron
    Registered Users Posts: 6,195 ✭✭✭Archeron


    Hahahahaha! What a weird topic. I wuold encrypt this post, but then noone would understand it.



    Or did I anyway?


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    #5
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,156 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Sheesh, are those the two fastest comments ever, or has the clock stopped


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    #6
    Orange69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Orange69


    I think a cookie is in order!


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    #7
    ircoha
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,290 ✭✭✭ircoha


    DI cypher this then: WALOB


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    #8
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,855 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    one time pads ftw

    anyway after they ban encryption we will all be qh$Y0Z\g%W[sA


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    #9
    Dave!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,857 ✭✭✭✭Dave!


    What's your favourite cypher? :)

    I may start a poll!


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    #10
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    Capt'n Midnight wrote: »
    one time pads ftw

    anyway after they ban encryption we will all be qh$Y0Z\g%W[sA

    Then, we switch to steganographic techniques and blow up the House of Parliament of something. That's my understanding of how one should deal with these things. I'm willing to travel.


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    #11
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    DaveMcG wrote: »
    What's your favourite cypher? :)

    aha! So that's how you pull all the wimminz!!1


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    #12
    Orange69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Orange69


    Karoma wrote: »
    aha! So that's how you pull all the wimminz!!1

    I have actually done some compression and encryption work.. should i mention it down the disco?


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    #13
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    Orange69 wrote: »
    I have actually done some compression and encryption work.. should i mention it down the disco?

    Definitely. It'll warm them up for the political discussion - i.e. You repeatedly stating that everything is the fault of Fianna Fáil...


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    #14
    Jay D
    Registered Users Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭Jay D


    God this is too much at this hour :)


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    #15
    Dave!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,857 ✭✭✭✭Dave!


    STOP SPAMMING MY THREAD, KAROMA!!! P*ss off!


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    #16
    Giblet
    Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Giblet


    The thing about such a simple cypher is that will large volumes of text, they can be decoded easily by statistical analysis of the frequency and positioning of the letters.


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    #17
    Naos
    Registered Users Posts: 4,728 ✭✭✭Naos


    Touchy DaveMcG, touchy....

    Without Wax,

    Mear


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    #18
    Orange69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Orange69


    Karoma wrote: »
    Definitely. It'll warm them up for the political discussion - i.e. You repeatedly stating that everything is the fault of Fianna Fáil...

    Oh i bet you are one of the sheep who voted for Bertie! lol!


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    #19
    Dave!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,857 ✭✭✭✭Dave!


    Giblet wrote: »
    The thing about such a simple cypher is that will large volumes of text, they can be decoded easily by statistical analysis of the frequency and positioning of the letters.
    Yeah I know. Still cool though.


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    #20
    leninbenjamin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,983 ✭✭✭leninbenjamin


    I read a book about the history of codes and cyphers... man it's heavy ****. i could vaguely understand the principles behind the developments up until around just after WWII. then i had a nervous breakdown and refused to go out of my room for 6 weeks...


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    #21
    Orange69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Orange69


    leninbenjamin wrote: »
    I read a book about the history of codes and cyphers... man it's heavy ****. i could vaguely understand the principles behind the developments up until around just after WWII. then i had a nervous breakdown and refused to go out of my room for 6 weeks...

    Ya i did a paper about the enigma machine... Had a similar experience.


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    #22
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    Giblet wrote: »
    The thing about such a simple cypher is that will large volumes of text, they can be decoded easily by statistical analysis of the frequency and positioning of the letters.

    Naq fbzr bs gur bguref yvfgrq qb abg rira erdhver gung zhpu rssbeg.


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    #23
    Archeron
    Registered Users Posts: 6,195 ✭✭✭Archeron


    DaveMcG wrote: »
    Yeah I know. Still cool though.

    But there are so many ways to create cyphers that if we wished, we could live in a word of total utter confusion. Lets try only to confuse each other during converations debating the value of drugs and hookers.
    That way we all are at least relatively happy.


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    #24
    leninbenjamin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,983 ✭✭✭leninbenjamin


    Karoma wrote: »
    Naq fbzr bs gur bguref yvfgrq qb abg rira erdhver gung zhpu rssbeg.

    i was waiting for someone to do that.
    Karoma wrote:
    AND SOME OF THE OTHERS LISTED DO NOT EVEN REQUIRE THAT MUCH EFFORT


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    #25
    Blowfish
    Registered Users Posts: 5,112 ✭✭✭Blowfish


    DaveMcG wrote: »
    What's your favourite cypher? :)
    <


    It's a block cipher rather than a keyword one, but I was setting up my OpenBSD box at the time I signed up here, so on a whim decided to use it as my username.


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    #26
    ZorbaTehZ
    Registered Users Posts: 2,149 ✭✭✭ZorbaTehZ


    How about trying to decipher YORE MA.


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    #27
    Terry
    Registered Users Posts: 26,061 ✭✭✭✭Terry


    A=1
    b=2
    c=3


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    #28
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,855 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Orange69 wrote: »
    Ya i did a paper about the enigma machine... Had a similar experience.
    Always amazed at how little you hear about the Poles who cracked it. Instead you hear all about is the derivative work done later.


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    #29
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,229 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    Giblet wrote: »
    The thing about such a simple cypher is that will large volumes of text, they can be decoded easily by statistical analysis of the frequency and positioning of the letters.
    Especially with "E" being the most frequently occurring letter in English, with others having a probability that is known by code crackers (and their specialised software).

    One time pads are the way to go!


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    #30
    Karoma
    Registered Users Posts: 19,396 ✭✭✭✭Karoma


    http://xkcd.com/177/


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    #31
    Giblet
    Registered Users Posts: 11,977 ✭✭✭✭Giblet


    Karoma wrote: »
    Naq fbzr bs gur bguref yvfgrq qb abg rira erdhver gung zhpu rssbeg.

    Good ol' ROT13


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