From: mcp@cs.umd.edu (Mike Polek)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Re: RSA (Was: RSA gobbledygook)
Date: 19 Nov 92 03:15:44 GMT

In article <1992Nov14.184207@cs.bham.ac.uk> jwh@cs.bham.ac.uk (James "Oolon Colluphid" Hawtin) writes:
>We can compile an RSA equivelent here and then you can use that. With the same
>end; stopping those Borgs. WHY USE RSA WHICH LIMITS THE PEOPLE THAT PLAY? If you
>stop us play I expect you will get the largest and nastiest flame war in history
>and why? because you will not listen. Please let us remain playing or even
>better let us help with the problem we have no export restrictions. Otherwise why
>not give netrek a distribution of US and not WORLD because you will be the only
>ones playing. 

First, how about only using 70 column lines? sheesh...

Second, I would love to have someone outside the US use the publicly 
available version, PGP, to allow outside use. However, there is a 
slight problem. Although PGP exists as plaintext with full source,
etc, out on the net. It's still technically illegal. I've posted 
the header to rsagen.c included with PGP below... see for yourselves.

>
>Our final way to keep playing will be to hack (correct term crack) to get the
>code, not exactly difficult..... We have a law against that here perhaps I will
>move.... Is Germany Ok?

You don't need to crack the code... just ftp the PGP version from some
site that carries it... Alan? care to list all the sites? I can't remember
them.

>
>Also what features are currently going to be in this new client? I bet no one
>knows? ...... Well may be one or two :-0

The RSA clients we have so far are the non-borg bronco vanilla UDP clients.
RSA isn't featureism... it's anti-borg-ism. 
>
>
>				James
>
>.sig: Who needs a .sig?
>
> 

Anyway... here's the header... read and weep....

/*	rsagen.c - C source code for RSA public-key key generation routines.
	First version 17 Mar 87

	(c) Copyright 1987 by Philip Zimmermann.  All rights reserved.
	The author assumes no liability for damages resulting from the use 
	of this software, even if the damage results from defects in this 
	software.  No warranty is expressed or implied.  

	RSA-specific routines follow.  These are the only functions that 
	are specific to the RSA public key cryptosystem.  The other
	multiprecision integer math functions may be used for non-RSA
	applications.  Without these functions that follow, the rest of 
	the software cannot perform the RSA public key algorithm.  

	The RSA public key cryptosystem is patented by the Massachusetts
	Institute of Technology (U.S. patent #4,405,829).  This patent does
	not apply outside the USA.  Public Key Partners (PKP) holds the
	exclusive commercial license to sell and sub-license the RSA public
	key cryptosystem.  The author of this software implementation of the
	RSA algorithm is providing this software for educational use only. 
	Licensing this algorithm from PKP is the responsibility of you, the
	user, not Philip Zimmermann, the author of this software.  The author
	assumes no liability for any breach of patent law resulting from the
	unlicensed use of this software by the user.
*/

--------------------------------------

so there you have it. You're required to licence PGP from PKP anyway.
I suppose it might be easier to get permission to distribute, if the
code is publicly available anyway. Anybody want to wrestle with 
NSA ?   :)

Mike Polek
<mcp@cs.umd.edu>