[Noisebridge-discuss] Attn: Lockpicking and Attn: Interested on Public Key Encryption

Mon Sep 10 20:52:38 UTC 2012

Awesome, glad to help!

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Glen Jarvis <glen at glenjarvis.com> wrote:

> Taylor,
>     Thank you for the lead. Four will work. I'll buy several packs of
> these and paint them different colors. So, this works perfectly!
>
>     I'll start assembling this and maybe put together a fun introduction
> to both symmetric and public/private key encryption concepts. I can give a
> trial run at Noisebridge and see who is interested in attending... kick the
> tires on it, if you will....
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> Glen
>
> On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 12:52 AM, Taylor Alexander <tlalexander at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> I use these:
>>
>> http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-100353756/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=master+lock+4+pack&storeId=10051#.UE2bRqTyZ6k
>> For chaining people to my bed. :-p
>>
>> But that's 4 locks with identical keying and you can buy them at home
>> depot (which is convenient). Of course, every pack has its own unique key
>> (well... they probably arent *totally* unique, but thats not the point). If
>> you want all your locks to use the same key, I suggest contacting a
>> locksmith or calling up Master Lock directly.
>>
>> All I really know is that you can buy that thing at Home Depot. The rest
>> is stuff I've heard.
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 9, 2012 at 2:16 PM, Snail <snailtsunami at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Glen --
>>>
>>> There is a box of 50 or so cut combination locks (still "work", they
>>> just can't lock anything) on the hackshelves in a bin. Feel free to use
>>> them. :)
>>>
>>> On Sep 9, 2012 11:56 AM, "Glen Jarvis" <glen at glenjarvis.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>> Hash: SHA1
>>>
>>> I am interested in communicating difficult concepts in very easy ways.
>>> Something about that gives me a kick. I want to get some physical
>>> lock-key apparati and I thought the lock picking group may help point
>>> me in the right direction.
>>>
>>> I have been explaining public-key encryption to new users for several
>>> weeks now. I found the main source of confusion was that they were
>>> using the concept of symmetric keys and having two keys just didn't
>>> fit that model.
>>>
>>> I found it most helpful use the word 'key' *only* when discussing
>>> symmetric keys and *never* use it when discussing public key
>>> cryptography. I would substitute the words "safe" and "combination"
>>> (concept per GNU Privacy Handbook
>>> (http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual.html) instead of key for public
>>> key encryption.
>>>
>>> So, we would say "your public safe" each time we were referring to the
>>> concept of a public key.  And, we would say "your private combination"
>>> when we were talking about the private key concept.  Because this
>>> repetitively used the words "public and safe" and "private and
>>> combination," it seemed to help a *lot*. In fact, when we started
>>> talking about "John's public safe" and "my public safe" and "my
>>> private combination" it made sense.
>>>
>>> I also used the short story of: "Imagine I'm not home and you're
>>> trying to get me a message that you know ONLY my eyes will see. You
>>> call me on the phone and discuss but don't want to give me the message
>>> over the phone. I explain that, outside my house, on my porch, I have
>>> a safe that's bolted down into the concrete -- it can't easily be
>>> stolen. I leave the safe unlocked. Only I have the combination to it.
>>> So, why don't you put your message inside the safe (since I'm not
>>> home), spin the tumbler to lock it, and know only I can unlock it when
>>> I get home."
>>>
>>> This concept worked very well (it seemed to work in all cases thus
>>> far). It's something physical that people can relate to. Yes, the safe
>>> can be drilled into and the message stolen. and, yes, the concrete
>>> could be destroyed and the safe stolen. But, those things are pretty
>>> hard to do and can take a while -- I may be home before they get by
>>> with it. Those same concepts are true for Public Key encryption.
>>>
>>> I want to take this physical concept and make a classroom apparatus
>>> for it. I want a bunch of small padlocks (the small cheap kind is
>>> fine). But, I need to get like 5 copies of the exact padlock (i.e., I
>>> want one single key to open many different padlocks). The idea is that
>>> each padlock represents a public key and they're passed around the
>>> room willy nilly so anyone can have one (I'll probably paint or in
>>> some way color code them so each set is easily identifiable). And,
>>> then, if I could get a small box or carton or diary or something that
>>> would lock, we can have people write messages, put them in the box,
>>> and then lock it with a lock (e.g., I'll use a red lock because Glen
>>> has the keys for red locks and I can get a message to him). These can
>>> be passed around the room to be delivered to the person in question. I
>>> have no idea what the box thingy will look like -- I'm open to
>>> suggestions.
>>>
>>> I'm more troubled where can I buy a set of identical padlocks where
>>> only one key will open them? (e.g., 1 key and 5 padlocks). And, then
>>> can I buy several sets?
>>>
>>> I thought the lock-picking group may be able to point me to a vendor
>>> or the right location. I hope not to spend more than $30 or so on
>>> this, so we're talking reasonably cheap small locks if possible. I
>>> will only use this a few times when teaching a class...  (although, I
>>> think with this apparatus we could easily teach third graders how
>>> public key cryptography works)..
>>>
>>> Any help would be appreciated.
>>>
>>>
>>> Warmest Regards,
>>>
>>>
>>> Glen Jarvis
>>> - --
>>> "Pursue, keep up with, circle round and round your life as a dog does
>>> his master's chase. Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it,
>>> bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still."
>>>
>>> - --Henry David Thoreau
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
>>> Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (Darwin)
>>>
>>> iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJQTOYSAAoJEKUwgjDmsw1zb3YH/0gwZNJkD2clekXb58GDrWLv
>>> R4ad6DlJE7ly2zS/jpGI/I0MPUXDJ40ZHcDywQl2cykbGkCoAna84Fv1K4cbH25b
>>> QkUYP3b16TuflA+01kN3gRxvbSqp2qCHJVBRBb76b7m5+7XW5JMkFOkIZ8Yk9ArK
>>> 0q++PzHBuR7SkBBA/3w0fqabndJfvgPiAwTyIMyp4w6R7p78S4AoJ+Zk2UOSaCT0
>>> U4VeapiDO7aBQnOoMWQPHXgK3pjaYcNVtmfN7AOZPa39nv5di2yuPFU4CRsDrfRo
>>> R3GyZSNnU6A/GizA4dwO11Te1EfnsDU1ZP/F64a/CKMC6NvKOBin5GLXupjzMwc=
>>> =hIlK
>>> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
>
> "Pursue, keep up with, circle round and round your life as a dog does his
> master's chase. Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it,
> unearth it, and gnaw it still."
>
> --Henry David Thoreau
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20120910/392cf5a5/attachment-0003.html>