Re: ZipTorrent 1.3.7.3 Discloses Proxy Passwords to Local Users

[Nicholas Knight <nknight () runawaynet com>]

Nick Boyce wrote:
> Surely this is just another rehash of the same old debate that appears
> here every now and then - the conclusion will always be that stored
> passwords are inherently vulnerable.   They can be obfuscated as much
> as you like, but it only needs one successful piece of R&D to render
> the whole obfuscation scheme useless for everybody.
>
> See 
>    http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?t=92420089800002&r=1&w=2 
>    http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?t=94570694700003&r=1&w=2
> for a couple of useful Bugtraq debates on this topic. 
> [both in 1999 ... was that _really_ the last time this came up ?]

Good grief. Are DOS and Win9x concepts really so burned into people's 
brains that they can't recognize the proper solution for storing data 
where other users on a system can't get to it?

These aren't the days of single-user desktop operating systems anymore, 
people. You don't need inherently insecure obfuscation techniques to 
hide data, you just have to store it where it friggin' belongs -- IN THE 
USER'S HOME DIRECTORY.