Comments on: Enigma Machine on eBay http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/ The Neat Side of the Web Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:26:02 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: cb http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/comment-page-1/#comment-160429 cb Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:04:55 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/#comment-160429 I took a (bad) photo of one at the WWII Museum in New Orleans earlier this year. I guess if you win the ebay auction you could send messages to the museum. http://digimills.com/2007/06/06/a-visit-to-the-d-day-museum/ I took a (bad) photo of one at the WWII Museum in New Orleans earlier this year. I guess if you win the ebay auction you could send messages to the museum.

http://digimills.com/2007/06/06/a-visit-to-the-d-day-museum/

]]> By: yayo http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/comment-page-1/#comment-160408 yayo Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:13:30 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/#comment-160408 http://www.xat.nl/enigma/ and a java applet emulator http://russells.freeshell.org/enigma/ http://www.xat.nl/enigma/

and a java applet emulator
http://russells.freeshell.org/enigma/

]]> By: Sid Morrison http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/comment-page-1/#comment-160129 Sid Morrison Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:44:08 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/#comment-160129 Well, yeah, I guess it isn't much use to have just one -- if that is really why you are buying it! But people will be buying this because it is a rare surviving bit of WWII history. If all you want to do is pass coded messages, you can do that much more securely now with free 128-bit (or more) encryption software and now hardware. Alternatively, if you really wish to do it the Enigma way, there are software "Enigma emulator" programs out there. The Enigma machines were a wonderful idea, but the Germans were a bit too complacent with the "unbreakability" of it, especially when machines fell into Allied hands and British & Polish cryptanalysts were able to figure them out. The machine shown is one of the simpler (less difficult to decipher) ones, as it has only 3 rotors (wheels above the keyboard). This is typical of ones used by the German Army. The Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Abwehr (intelligence service) typically used 4 rotor variants. Later 5 and even 6 rotor versions were made. None were bulletproof when you knew how they were wired and if knew (or could deduce) the wheel setups. Without knowing those, though, they were pretty well impossible to brute-force with the computing technology of the day. Well, yeah, I guess it isn't much use to have just one -- if that is really why you are buying it! But people will be buying this because it is a rare surviving bit of WWII history. If all you want to do is pass coded messages, you can do that much more securely now with free 128-bit (or more) encryption software and now hardware. Alternatively, if you really wish to do it the Enigma way, there are software "Enigma emulator" programs out there.

The Enigma machines were a wonderful idea, but the Germans were a bit too complacent with the "unbreakability" of it, especially when machines fell into Allied hands and British & Polish cryptanalysts were able to figure them out.

The machine shown is one of the simpler (less difficult to decipher) ones, as it has only 3 rotors (wheels above the keyboard). This is typical of ones used by the German Army. The Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Abwehr (intelligence service) typically used 4 rotor variants. Later 5 and even 6 rotor versions were made. None were bulletproof when you knew how they were wired and if knew (or could deduce) the wheel setups. Without knowing those, though, they were pretty well impossible to brute-force with the computing technology of the day.

]]> By: yayo http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/comment-page-1/#comment-159644 yayo Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:50:50 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/#comment-159644 nope, you can send the machine with James Bond ^g^ I think the public key is one of those two roses in the right... nope, you can send the machine with James Bond ^g^

I think the public key is one of those two roses in the right...

]]> By: Neil http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/comment-page-1/#comment-159460 Neil Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:41:43 +0000 http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/18/enigma-machine-on-ebay/#comment-159460 Isn't it kinda worthless to just have one of these? Wouldn't you need 2 to be able to send encrypted messages to anyone? Isn't it kinda worthless to just have one of these? Wouldn't you need 2 to be able to send encrypted messages to anyone?

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