Pure Python Data Mangling or Encrypting
Randall Smith
randall at tnr.cc
Wed Jun 24 15:00:38 EDT 2015
On 06/24/2015 01:29 PM, Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2015-06-24, Randall Smith <randall at tnr.cc> wrote:
>> On 06/24/2015 06:36 AM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>>
>>> I don't understand how mangling the data is supposed to protect the
>>> recipient. Don't they have the ability unmangle the data, and thus
>>> expose themselves to whatever nasties are in the files?
>>
>> They never look at the data and wouldn't care to unmangle it.
>
> I obviously don't "get it". If the recipient is never going look at
> the data or unmangle it, why not convert every received file to a
> single null byte? That way you save on disk space as well --
> especially if you just create links for all files after the initial
> one. ;)
>
> [I supposed next you're going to tell me that Windows filesystems
> don't support links.]
>
>> The purpose is primarily to prevent automated software (file
>> indexers, virus scanners) from doing bad things to the data.
>
> Life under windows must be more tiresome than I imagined (or could
> imagine) if you have to jump through such hoops to keep "automated
> software" from doing bad things to your data files.
>
These are machines storing chunks of other people's data. The data
owner chunks a file, compresses and encrypts it, then sends it to
several storage servers. The storage server might be a Raspberry PI
with a USB disk or a Windows XP machine - I can't know which.
I don't use Windows and don't recommend it for this software.
Nevertheless, many people do use it.
-Randall
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