When Is It Random Enough?

TheCamper asks: "The generation of random numbers is very important in many areas, especially encryption. Pseudo Random numbers created by software is simply not good enough. Many key generation applications ask the user to move the mouse or bang on the keyboard to add to the randomness. You can also purchase a (very expensive) hardware random number generator to make truly random numbers. Wanting the randomness of a hardware random number generator without wanting to pay for or build my own, I was wondering if crinkling cellophane (or the like) into my computer's microphone would be considered random enough for serious encryption key generation." What entropy sources would you use for the generation of strong encryption keys?

Comments

Windy

[BladeMelbourne]

I prefer to burp or pass wind. Nobody can do that like I can; and the random number produced helps keep my data safe.

a nice hot cup of tea

[tverbeek]

OK, technically it's brownian motion, but isn't that random enough?

Someone should make a...

[rekenner]

d1,00,000,000 for this...

ob. dilbert

[syrinx]

Accounting troll: "That's our random number generator."

RNG: "nine. nine. nine. nine. nine. nine."

Dilbert: "Are you sure that's random?"

Accounting troll: "That's the problem with randomness; you can never be sure."

Here:

[boring, tired]

84213475436342364273642 There's your random number. Use that.

Re:An idea

[wayne606]

I think there's a daemon process you can run that will do that - maxwelld I think :-)

True Random Numbers

[Ed Almos]

Female reasoning, that should be random enough but you might have problems converting the actions of a woman into a series of 32 bit numbers.

Ed Almos
Budapest, Hungary