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RC5-72 Clients Available on distributed.net

Posted by michael on from the get-cracking dept.

Yoda2 writes "From the distributed.net site... 'The RC5-72 project is now officially up and running, as of 03-Dec-2002! You will need to download a new client in order to participate. Our FAQ-O-matic has been updated with the beginnings of a new RC5-72 section.' Also, there is a $10,000 prize for the winner, but as with the other RC5 projects, the owner of the computer that finds the key does not get all of the money."

15 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. I predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    That it will take 3 years, 2 months, 12 days, 4 hours, 17 minutes and 10 seconds to crack it.

  2. Why bother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's an outdated, unused cipher with a completely unused keysize. Do something useful, like protein folding or golomb rulers. (Not SETI@Home, I said useful ;-)

    1. Re:Why bother? by the+unbeliever · · Score: 5, Informative
      Grr, damn HTML

      A Golomb ruler is a set of integers (marks) a(1) < ... < a(n) such that all the differences a(i)-a(j) (i > j) are distinct. Clearly we may assume a(1)=0. Then a(n) is the length of the Golomb ruler. For a given number of marks, n, we are interested in finding the shortest Golomb rulers. Such rulers are called optimal.

  3. Wouldn't it be funny? by Yoda2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    if they randomly cracked it in a week?

  4. This is a waste of time by TerryAtWork · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We KNOW it'll take a lot of computers a long time to crack the code.

    These cycles would be a lot better spent on something constructive like the protean folding project.

    --
    It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
    1. Re:This is a waste of time by GGardner · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'd like to see the cost of electricity to power all those cycles, and compare it to the $10,000 prize.

    2. Re:This is a waste of time by MasterD · · Score: 5, Informative
      These cycles would be a lot better spent on something constructive like the protean folding project.

      No, no, use your cycles to crack something real like the TiVo password!

  5. Stats Page... by httpamphibio.us · · Score: 5, Informative

    the current stats page doesn't seem to be linked from the main page anywhere... anyway, here's the link.

    --
    sig.
  6. Is this even worth it? by bnenning · · Score: 5, Informative

    RC5-64 took 4 years, and this has a keyspace that's 256 times larger. Even if we assume that computers are 4 times faster now than the average speed at which RC5-64 keys were processed, we're still looking at 256 years to completion. It doesn't seem like it makes any sense to start until computers are at least 20 times faster.

    --
    How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
    1. Re:Is this even worth it? by athakur999 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Especially since one of the goals of the project (from this page) was to show that the US policy dictating the maximum keysize was out of date. That policy has since been changed and there is AFAIK, no restriction on keylength anymore (but you still can't export to "bad" countries).

      The "Because it's fun" one is bizarre too. I'm sure it was fun writing the client and developing all the server side stuff. But if you just run the client in the background and get any excitement of that then you need to get out more ;)

      But, as always, it's their computers and if they want to run this contest more power to them.

      --
      "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
  7. RC5-72 stats not currently available by Decibel · · Score: 5, Informative

    Althogh that link does work, RC5-72 stats are not yet available, we're still working some bugs out.

  8. We fiddle while the puppeteers flee... by jerryasher · · Score: 5, Funny

    If it's a distributed solution, don't you also have to consider the sheer numbers of processors participating? There are more folks in participating in the project now than four years ago, and many of these folks have more computers.

    Five years from now, it may be that your house is participating, your cars are, as well perhaps as your shirts and underwear.

    In sixeen years, shortly before skynet takes over, the smart dust in your living room may decide to participate as well. (Most likely the dust will not participate, but will instead form themselves into a gollum and try to kill you, but maybe...)

  9. I HAVE AN IDEA by BasharTeg · · Score: 5, Funny

    These cycles would be a lot better spent on something constructive like the protean folding project.

    We can use some of distributed.net's power to spell check this guy's post!

  10. Also... by serlaten · · Score: 5, Funny

    if the correct key is found by a P2 300 MHz laptop, floating around the pacific on a small raft, before it's batteries are empty, Taco Bell will give free tacos to all.

  11. Don't forget Optimum Slackitude by Crag · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The principle of Optimum Slackitude points out that because of Moore's Law, the overall cost in time or money can be decreased by waiting to being. If current numbers predict 12 years to exhaust the keyspace, and we wait 18 months to start, then that first 18 months worth of effort will have to be made up at the end, but 12 years later computers will be 2^8 or 256 times faster. That first 18 months worth of effort will only take 2-3 days to make up at the end of the project.

    I think that's probably what people object to about starting this project now instead of in a couple years.