11–20 of 47 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you for this writeup, this was before my time on the internet. > People remixed each other's work until the core DeCSS algorithm was only a single line of code. Gzipped, there was nearly nothing left What was the actual number? Can you post it here?
k·256^211 + 99
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
Then again, encryption of something that the self-contained software will need to be able to decrypt is probably just a small hindrance.
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
It outlaws bypassing any DRM, regardless of how trivial it is mathematically, the legitimate purpose of doing so, or even whether the content inside the DRM is copyrighted.
tl;dr- Programming code serialized to binary seems like a Base-2 number to them, so they were looking for "illegal" C scripts that would be prime when read as a Base-2 number. They give the example of a C script that breaks an old DRM crypto scheme. It seems kinda silly since primes have a fairly regular distribution, so all they need to do is: 1. Pick any program they want to be "prime". 2. Serialize it and check if…
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
Thank you for this writeup, this was before my time on the internet. > People remixed each other's work until the core DeCSS algorithm was only a single line of code. Gzipped, there was nearly nothing left What was the actual number? Can you post it here?
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
Thank you for this writeup, this was before my time on the internet. > People remixed each other's work until the core DeCSS algorithm was only a single line of code. Gzipped, there was nearly nothing left What was the actual number? Can you post it here?
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
Another aspect you didn't mention is how the number came to be illegal in the first place. The law for it was signed in 1998 and is one of very few laws that outlaws distributing information regardless of how you got the information. It outlaws bypassing any DRM, regardless of how trivial it is mathematically, the legitimate purpose of doing so, or even whether the content inside the DRM is copyrighted.
> > You could change the "region" on your DVD player or computer, but only 3 times or so.
Before this law the shops selling DVD players (for TVs, not computers) would also give you a sheet of paper with a controller code to turn your machine into a region free player. You'd tap some numbers into the remote control.
After these laws (which were introduced across the world) shops would no loner do this because it was a criminal act.
The fact that I could not legally buy a DVD that was only sold in Japan (never sold in the UK) and play it was really weird and scary. It was now more legal for me to pirate that DVD than to buy a real copy.
So, when people ask me why I pirate so much, DeCSS and DMCA are why.
Some context for people younger than me: This was a Big Thing On The Internet back in 2000. It was lovely, and it was where I discovered how a bunch of motivated nerds on the internet could make a dent. So anyway, the thing was DVDs were pretty new, and DVDs had "region protection". Cutting corners, this means that data on DVDs could be encrypted with different keys depending on which continent you were on, to allow…
Just a nitpick, but this was not before Netflix; I remember this vividly because I was called to a friend's house to troubleshoot their problems with Netflix DVDs and it was because their DVD player had been purchased off ebay for cheap and was region-locked.
The super-cheap DVD rentals offered by Netflix were really game-changing for people who were interested in DVD quality but couldn't justify the cost of purchase/rental in my area.
In particular they contain this illegal prime number, and the gzipped and non-gzipped versions of this program in every programming language possible.
Does that mean that they may become illegal someday if they are proven to be normal?
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_number
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disjunctive_sequence
[2] http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/pimatrix.html
(edited to add links)