On 30/01/14 00:32, Trevor Perrin wrote: > SSH: 43:51:43:a1:b5:fc:8b:b7:0a:3a:a9:b1:0f:66:73:a8 > > GPG: 7213 5CAA EA6B 0980 126A 0371 8373 DD15 4D42 48BD > > OTR: C4E40F71 A92175F8 597A29A7 CB7E0943 B27014FF > > TACK: g5p5x.ov4vi.dgsjv.wxctt.c5iul > > Bitcoin: 31uEbMgunupShBVTewXjtqbBv5MndwfXhb > > > SSH: 128 bits, 32 hex chars > GPG: 160 bits, 40 hex chars > OTR: 160 bits, 40 hex chars > TACK: 125 bits, 25 base32 chars (RFC 4648) > Bitcoin: 200 bits, 34 base58 chars (160 bits hash + version/checksum) > > There's also some fingerprint innovations that aren't widespread: > - Zooko's z-base32 > - "Hash extension" from RFC 3972 to squeeze more bits into a smaller > fingerprint > - Phonetic alphabets like the PGPfone wordlist >
There's a common UI principle that says people can remember 7 (5-9) "things" at
once well, where things is some sort of coherent unit. This is consistent with
my own personal experience comparing fps.
Visually, I definitely find PGP and OTR fps easier to compare than SSH fps, OTR
probably marginally more so, since I can hold 8 characters in my head at once.
My eyes go something like this:
screen: C4E40F71->A92175F8 597A29A7->CB7E0943 B27014FF
^ | ^ | ^
| v | v |
paper : C4E40F71 A92175F8->597A29A7 CB7E0943->B27014FF
which I think is the optimum since it reduces "seek time" for your eyes, given
a limited "buffer" of characters that you can remember at once. It now takes
probably less than 5 seconds for me to do this, after a fair bit of practise
(maybe ~100 reps?).
I haven't had much practise comparing TACK or Bitcoin fps, but I imagine that
TACK would be even easier than OTR. The separators are massively helpful and
vital in my opinion if you expect people to visually compare them. SSH goes a
bit overboard though, going past the "5-9" range.
Verbally, I haven't tried doing this. I guess the same principle would apply,
and the S/Key (OPIE) dictionary thing that Nate posted seems interesting. It
would be interesting to come up with a scheme that is easy to compare both
verbally and visually. FWIW, I imagine I'd find it easier to remember 7 spoken
random words, than 7 written random words, which is an asymmetry I can't quite
explain.
X
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GPG: 4096R/1318EFAC5FBBDBCE
git://github.com/infinity0/pubkeys.git
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