Random Numbers
Casting around for a method of selecting random numbers I happened upon a site which uses atmospheric noise to generate truly random numbers.
Could be pretty useful when looking for that truly random WEP key - but for other uses - as the author notes:
I should probably note that while fetching the numbers via secure HTTP would protect them from being observed while in transit, anyone genuinely concerned with security should not trust me to generate their cryptographic keys.
However, the coolest way to generate random numbers MUST be to build your own device to use radioactive decay to generate the numbers using a geiger counter and a commercially available radioactive source .
I was almost shocked - hackers playing with geiger counters and radioactive sources etc etc.
Then I realised that I was at the website of John Walker, a founder of Autodesk, which is responsible for AutoCad .
Still ... I'm sure that if most people tried to purchase a "60 microcurie Jordan Nuclear Krypton-85 (85Kr) source capsule, model BB-0005" they would have the police, or worse, knocking on their door in no time.
Luckily he had one spare in his toolbox ....
Comments
You could also use a domestic smoke detector which contains a tiny amount of radioactive Americium Oxide.
However, given the technological ignorance of our politicians, police and media, there is a real risk of arrest:
"Dirty Bomb" plot - smoke detector hype
Posted by: wtwu | December 4, 2005 6:46 PM
There is also the webcamera pointed at "Lava Lamp" or other chaotic image source approach to produce a cryptographically sound pseudorandom number generation, which you could combine with other sources of "random" numbers.
http://www.lavarnd.org/what/index.html
Posted by: wtwu | December 4, 2005 7:04 PM
Don't be too silly. Everyone already knows that numbers in any base are never random (base 2 - 0 and 1 ....base 10 - 0 to 9 ....base 16 0 to F ...etc.) with such a limited choice random bases and numbers combined would be a much better option. The paradox is that as soon as the resultant 'random' is digitised on a computer it reverts back to a single base. Therefor the only true random number is one which once obtained cannot be expressed as it would cease to exist. I can remember hearing a similar arguement relating to the existance of god. I hope this clarifies the matter.
Posted by: psycho alan | December 9, 2005 6:49 AM
Have you been smoking pot?
Posted by: Alex | December 29, 2005 9:45 AM
How could you tell that I had been smoking pot from my blog entry on Random Numbers? Hmm .. perhaps you mean the other comment .. I hope.
Posted by: drk | December 31, 2005 12:15 PM