152 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
152 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: The Saga of plt, Part 1
|
|
date: 2015-02-14
|
|
series: plt
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
The Saga of plt, Part 1
|
|
=======================
|
|
|
|
The following is adapted from a real story. Parts of it are changed to keep it
|
|
entertaining to read but the core of the story is maintained. I apologize that
|
|
this issue in the epic will be shorter than the others, but it gets better.
|
|
|
|
The Beginning of The Interesting Pain
|
|
-------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
It all started when I got this seemingly innocuous PM on Freenode:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
2015-01-23 [18:32:48] <plt> Hello. I am writting a new ircd and can I have the channel ##ircd please?
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
This is a fairly common event on larger IRC networks, especially given the
|
|
length of the channel name and the fact that it references IRC daemons
|
|
specifically. At this point I had *forgotten* I owned that channel. So
|
|
naturally I decided to give it a join and see if the person who requested the
|
|
channel was worthy of it or had brought enough activity to it such that it was
|
|
morally correct to hand it off.
|
|
|
|
This was not the case.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[18:33:54] *** Joins: Xe (xe@unaffiliated/xe)
|
|
[18:34:02] <plt> Hello xe.
|
|
[18:35:17] <plt> Xe the project name pbircd.
|
|
[18:37:09] <plt> Xe the project site is http://sourceforge.net/p/pbircd
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
In case the site is removed from SourceForge, it is the default sourceforge
|
|
page.
|
|
|
|
After taking a look at this and then getting off the call with my family I was
|
|
on at the point, I decided to reply.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[20:30:49] <Xe> plt: I've decided against giving you my channel
|
|
[20:31:03] <Xe> you have no code in your repo.
|
|
[20:31:31] <plt> I am currently working on the project. Can I help you in the channel?
|
|
[20:32:04] <Xe> if you are working on it
|
|
[20:32:11] <Xe> I'd expect to see at least something
|
|
[20:32:25] <Xe> for example: https://github.com/Xe/scylla
|
|
[20:32:35] <Xe> that's mostly autogenerated code and makefiles, but it's something
|
|
[20:33:31] <plt> Take a look at this http://pastebin.com/F8MH3fSs
|
|
[20:34:04] <plt> You know it takes a while to write ircd code.
|
|
[20:34:16] <Xe> I don't see any commits
|
|
[20:34:20] <Xe> not even framework code
|
|
[20:34:24] <Xe> or design
|
|
[20:34:26] <Xe> or an outline
|
|
[20:34:30] <Xe> all I see is that pastebin
|
|
[20:34:39] <Xe> which is in no way connected to that git repo
|
|
[20:35:07] <plt> I am still adding more features so its not going to be posted on the main web site yet.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The contents of the pastebin looked like a changelog, but that pastebin has
|
|
since expired or was explicitly deleted. He was all talk and no game. I admit
|
|
at this point I was pretty tired and frustrated, so I told him off:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[20:35:19] <Xe> fucking commit it then
|
|
[20:35:52] <plt> I was going to wait until the code was completed.
|
|
[20:36:43] <Xe> yeah good lick then
|
|
[20:36:45] <Xe> luck*
|
|
[20:37:14] <plt> Itgoing to get done and I am the only one working on the project so what do you expect?
|
|
[20:37:29] <Xe> to be able to look at the in-progress code?
|
|
[20:39:24] <plt> The code will do you no good because you will not be able to compile it.
|
|
[20:39:51] <Xe> then you have nothing
|
|
[20:40:06] <plt> I am not required to approve it.
|
|
[20:41:08] <plt> I can post the run program on the web site.
|
|
[20:42:33] <Xe> then do that
|
|
[20:43:28] <plt> Done.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The "run program" was nothing but a wrapper around the nonexistent binary for
|
|
pbircd and seemed to be compiled in a language that doesn't respect assembly
|
|
functions and all of the forms of RE that I know how to do were useless. If you
|
|
know how to better do RE on arbitrary binaries please let me know.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[20:44:12] <Xe> there are binaries
|
|
[20:44:15] <Xe> not source code
|
|
[20:44:25] <Xe> this is what you use git for
|
|
[20:44:35] <plt> The source code will do you no good since you can not compile it.
|
|
[20:52:02] <plt> In order for you to compile it you need the encryption program and I am not going to release the source code.
|
|
[20:54:43] <Xe> lol
|
|
[20:55:34] <plt> The program is freeware and I have no obligation to release the code under the License agreement.
|
|
[21:00:56] <Xe> you also will get no users
|
|
[21:03:13] <plt> The company that wrote Conferenceroom has a lot of customers.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
ConfrenceRoom was a company that made a commercial IRC daemon. They have lost
|
|
to Slack and other forms of chat like HipChat. Note here that he says "you can
|
|
not compile it". This is true in more ways than you would think. He also claims
|
|
it is Freeware and not full fledged open source software. As someone who is
|
|
slightly proactive and paranoid after the Snowden bullshit, I find this highly
|
|
suspect. However, this "encryption program" was something I was oddly most
|
|
interested in.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
2015-01-24
|
|
[12:11:14] <plt> Xe why do you always demand to see the source code?
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Curiosity? To learn from other people's ideas? To challenge myself in
|
|
understanding another way of thinking about things? To be able to improve it
|
|
for others to learn from? Those seem like good reasons to me.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[22:46:33] <plt> PBIRCD is a irc daemon.
|
|
[22:46:36] <plt> Hello xe
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The `PB` in that name will become apparent later.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[23:09:31] <plt> Would you like to see what I have in the updates?
|
|
[23:09:40] <Xe> sure
|
|
[23:09:47] <plt> http://pastebin.com/2udHPSyP
|
|
[23:13:10] <plt> Tell me what you think about it?
|
|
[23:16:32] <plt> I need to take a short break.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Again, the paste is dead (I should really be saving these gems) but it was
|
|
another set of what appeared to be patch notes.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
[23:22:37] <plt> Do you like what I have in the notes?
|
|
[23:23:49] <Xe> I still think it's ridiculous that you don't have the balls to release your code
|
|
[23:24:36] <plt> I understand what you telling me.
|
|
[23:25:48] <plt> There is no way to working around protecting the encrypted information.
|
|
[23:34:19] <plt> Why are you do want to see the code?
|
|
[23:43:36] <plt> Xe The encryption is used to encrypt the Operators, Link and the other passwords.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
This sounds suspect. Any sane system of encrypting passwords like this would be
|
|
a mathematical one-way function. By not showing the code like this, is this
|
|
a two-way function?
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
2015-01-25
|
|
[00:05:55] <plt> Xe Question if the authors that wrote free pgp do not release their source code then why should I have do
|
|
```
|