Found this linkage over at Slashdot .

TechWorld.com has a new encryption primer for all of the newbs of the world (or, for the old school geeks to brush up with). It's like Encryption 101.

Find it here:
http://www.techworld.com/security/fe...?featureid=993

The article reminds me of my first personal programming project. I had purchased a book on codes and ciphers. The code in the book used a explode command from apple basic. My Commodore 64 didn't have this command, so I used assembly language to add the command.

The program I ended up writing used Random Substitution, however I used XOR instead of adding an offset. That way the same program with the same key value would be able to both encode and decode the message.

I doubt that the psuedo-random number generator that the C64 uses would pass muster however.

Wow - the Commodore 64 was my first computer, but all I did with it was code in BASIC to make my name scroll endlessly down the screen. I thought I was so cool! (I was 8 years old ) Little did I know, it wasn't yet "cool" to be a geek!

Yeah, C64 was my first machine too. I got a used one a few years ago as present from my employer. I think I'll dig it out and practice a little assembler... I never got the chance to learn it 'cos my first C64 blew up in a shortage given to the user port. May it rest in peace.

Maybe I get the 64 to communicate with my PC. It's like talking to an old aboriginee shaman...