6 ms·

I was forced to write a blog post. So I made a code breaking contest.

39 points by erik_landerholm 16y ago

hugh3 16y ago
I have no idea where to begin with the decryption, but I like this guy's style.
- foresterh 16y ago
  I would start here: http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/dotnet/tools/base64decode/ http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/dotnet/tools/base64decode/
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - geekfactor 16y ago
    Not much of a jump-start :(
myoung8 16y ago
erik, maybe you should give them a clue where to start...
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  I gave some clues of sorts in the comments.
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  it's 500 bones brosuf...i can't just give it away. I will add some more clues next week.
  - adamdecaf 16y ago
    Given that people on HM should be fine with decoding from base64, we're trying to break this code: @(2=(!+Y0NTI;C+U;Y-LV,(73*DP#P&3FNS.#%<O<)H3O4=-DX;FE(&:-'40 #?)%AB8;P#@2<!ZNCSS$?=H*7EJ,!"ULVF:6IF'J "2GFT*FH,>40*W(T @- Y5LF$32/#"#.?!OWI429U;$2LS8VH/A+QZF7HI0(;*#9EJ<G%->?LS<6HE&V 5Y/;I.3TD%I*2O?K>-?-IGN?Z38WH T?-SBTD1A0*/2WN35UJ1CN64/=4:79 RFAJC2S,@;-90 9+"W%T:)6ILRI/JB'"$D%".HNI6I+$C(.*WA.;>*MX?;*L S;@11K/2<EO>UW-;4>4GHEL& I'm trying to make sure I'm seeing the correct things.
    - erik_landerholm 16y ago
      the reason i base64 encoded it is that wordpress was trying to be smart and changing characters for me...which in a coded message is...not a good idea.
      - adamdecaf 16y ago
        I'm aware of those problems, however I'm trying to confirm if the above is the same as what I should be trying to decode. It's a waste of time to decode the wrong string.
    - Estragon 16y ago
      I get the same thing FWIW (using python's base64.decodestring.)
    - geekfactor 16y ago
      Just a note, this is not correct. It is the result of having spaces in the string from the line breaks. See https://gist.github.com/747869 https://gist.github.com/747869
scorchin 16y ago
"I" (11 times) followed closely by "F" and "H" (both 9 times) seem to the most common letters.
- olalonde 16y ago
  I doubt this information will be helpful since for every character there are ~9 characters after encryption.
  - erik_landerholm 16y ago
    you are on the right track.
- olalonde 16y ago
  Other observation: the encoded string's characters seem to range from ASCII 32 to 90.
  - kmort 16y ago
    That range is 58 characters which (perhaps suspiciously) is size of alphabet + 2^5. (Although a whitespace character is also encoded, making that suspicion a little less "round".) From comparing the multiple encodings of Quick Brown Fox, the value distribution across that range is fairly even and every value is used at least once.
- user24 16y ago
  I have the top five as: ; (12 times) I (11 times) * (10 times) - (10 times) 2 (10 times) and for the quick-brown-fox sample he posted in the comments, I have: ! (14 times) # (13 times) C (11 times) , (11 times) U (10 times) So I'm not convinced this is a fruitful path of inquiry.
mrduncan 16y ago
Given that sample (see blog comments), it is a little trickier than a simple substitution. Edit: I stand corrected on the original statement about lengths - wasn't paying attention and was performing integer division.
- olalonde 16y ago
  Are you sure it's exactly 8? I get ~8.9 times its own length. var fox = "THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG"; var decodedfox = atob("SDdRJFYxMSUmPT5WKD85Kzk+Mi8kK0QmJDY2VkMuRTROJT0hLk03KTFGRjUuSiAyPyhRUjNaOlJFTTYqSUNKUFRVMFZLR009IDpKLDY1IU5JKTZFMywnICY8VUROUC8hISBBIzMiLCNBJy1JPyI/T1Y/R1AiLTQ0WT0pPFMjLidLV00ySDpNNTAwJkZJRyNNMVVPSVkuLC9GIyYyLDFNSjZDNi0oIy5QOyE3OiFLIzUiKldDM01UQylTS0hVLSc3OFFDJyRQITRRWE85OlgtVzM7MjZGKElWK0dHT0FDPSgnTFUhUjtXSDZKQ1cjUjYyPFU7OVZPLEYvPkg1TERXIzEpQTpLMFRQJT9SMjNBWE40N1UhLCEjWSogRz1DMCM3WClAOkNKUD5QPykmMCtAIUNHIzdXLCk9JCVYJ0tGVFgxSSxGKyErJSVHTlJVVUQxOUJZLDklKD4yLChIMCc1I0Q3SUYhMTc9OicyKERSNFNOTiIpRz06USdENUVVRCE="); console.log(decodedfox.length/fox.length);
  - narkee 16y ago
    26/3 is ~8.67, I wonder if that is relevant.
- user24 16y ago
  > encodes to exactly 8 times it's own length really? I have strlen(decoded-text) at 383 chars, and qbf as 43 chars, giving the encoded as 8.906976744186 times the size of the original...
- Dobbs 16y ago
  You did the same thing I did which is to forget to force floating point division.
vankap 16y ago
apparently it's ruby..
- res0nat0r 16y ago
  Maybe some kind of crazy ruby unpack function? It looks alot like a pack string from perl, but thats a guess.
  - vankap 16y ago
    I wish I knew. I'm a python guy.
mrduncan 16y ago
The character distribution of the encoded message for the example ("THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG"): 8: " " (note that the original also has 8 spaces) 4: "O" 3: "E" 2: "H", "R", "T", "U" 1: "Z", "B", "Y", "N", "C", "D", "X", "M", "P", "W", "F", "Q", "G", "L", "S", "A", "I", "K", "J", "V" The character distribution of the encoded message (to be solved): 12: ";", " ", "I" 11: "H" 10: "*", "-", "F", "2" 9: "?", "S", "L", "O", "E", "T" 8: "N", "4", "W" 7: "3", "(", "J", "#", "/", "U" 6: "C", ">", "<", """, "D", "A", ".", "%", "0" 5: "9", "V", "@", "+", "$", "Y", "G", "6" 4: "=", ":", "Z", "P", "R", "&", "7", "1", "B", ",", "!" 3: "8", ")", "K", "X", "'", "5" 2: "Q", "M"
- vankap 16y ago
  383 is prime. So it can't be a substitution cipher.
  - waterlesscloud 16y ago
    Well, not a substitution cipher in which each substitution is of equal length. :-)
erik_landerholm 16y ago
Here are four different, but all valid encodings of THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG Each one can be decoded with the same decoding method. IThGMj4wS0gvR0M9PE5QQEEnMyxNIiFHJE1NVTdYSS5PTTdFT1FCVUtMLVBW Qj4nNkBUIDsqLUNTLjVCJS87IkwnT1E/LiZRI1E4ITlBLzBXNU5SNEgmVDM8 QFM0Ty4wLFAvL0ohNTUxQzU2Jy82LVEpN0gpSjs3NCE5Q1lXQlUwUVc1MUFX NDI7LUQnO09BSEI9WVdNRktOTTdLNkI+Pj5HIDtKS1YkSVY0I0pRPTtYVSY9 KyhZVEAqJykrJSIpIjcsI0ckWD4ySlRIIkAhUyw+VStUQVY/NiUpNFZVMis8 IylXMiU9VVFKSFI3WkI3S0A/QTMhIkkuP0pFMVJKQixYJSFGJz8+TD89WFgu JyRSJ1hYIlIoVEFVLlUwOjc0Oi4iQDlNOUVPSUdHOkM5Mj9LWilCMlkmPj1X M0otSiwmKFU4Jy9IJzc5WkFVQ1VFPFFAQ0tHOClYLDklPDs/T1BPS0hTPDAi WkRBQVVSOTIhKjxBR0ZNNypRNzwsMVI= JkpXLlVZIz5MLTxKJj1PUFA2R09BPUtTLSI1Oi9DMEwzM0VYSiE5S1gzVTA4 WksxS0VSVS0pQzlCLTg1VDpATlUpWihIVVIgIDE/V1o2JlA+RkNZJ1BLIFY6 Q1QoWCA2KzlPKlBVTS8mKihNKU9JM1EmK1kkRSxOSD43O1JEWTApOD1JRk48 Ozk1UzJUTkZJOSY2V1AqVUwwQCogVUk6UiIvTDtDSjBGSlNQNCxTNCNIL0VE IC1QLDwnRFE8ISpITSRNOE8iMzBSQlYtQT8mWEFOIkVPSSJXMCkxRT8tPFEj QFlWN1JBIEosWjAmODNCJzM3QCUmTCgwKyowJ1NWWkwyJ0ZFTDggRlMxIUJY JD88NS48SDQpJUNTQitFVS4qOCk8KztaQEI6TysmUC9XNiotNSEtIEYmKS4h QVZXNlI/TEpFPihDITIxIFcrKlQ/UUdWOEk+TFNZOldDQEtWN0c+QzgrQCFW KT82U0k9QVlMQFhAOiw/OT9LICkjQSM= NCs6SixWVishJy4xTSw0SlQsM041SzRFKDIvSVIoPDZaQyY8ODwzMjMqRlNB Uzo1QT0tLyRONyFHOVEhV0A0QzNIOzVOPkg3Kk4tVEhPRCspPkQoQFQnVjw5 IkVFWVkyLEk/PEIuUVFKRyJNUllOVTI/SFNENDw6JDQxLkUxTVo7RCcrQFQ/ LUs4KyUuSSQuSUo7IU0kVU1PQihBMSkxV0I0PFVCR00nJTxKPTMvUiJCI0A9 IjYiNFcuOjdSQUJSNlkpKj05SSFSLThGRDdUTy03PUwxPkIwLFJQRzRBSCdN OTEqU0A2NEJCIkgxOyQzUUYgNTxHUDM2JCdXRE1XTz9aJUAqVlkrRDErIDoh PixMO0A5OCEuMCQwQjk6NFg7QVpQRUk2SkAsKFpINVc+WjouPSUjLkg7WCpZ LU8zSi1ULVlTNic/VUYjLFk9MCNYQz8yIzcvIlk4IzdVMkdVTyNGI1QhPjAh UTdWT0gxRUVULkY9SUI+N1lVPSMvVlY= MzgsTStTREc4JClWNyswNiUxLkUgWitJQjVUSzYxVk07ODwlIExYM1AsM0o4 PSZHQzY6LUorQVVQPzY3V1g1S1FZRUtQWjJaJU9AKSlGMkpLMUtDLEgyQkxL PFYgRzFJNSg0VTsnWTkiVSc4Ni8iQUJHJUxGSS5TNjxPLlZDJzZHLCJKQDxN RywwPDpHK0lWQ00tPEMlRD1GU000TE4gIi9OKEhINT4+VUgzMEkhNDEkIFUh IzYtQD9SS0U1J1kvPzImN1pLWVE1JT1IICInIFVTUjBGJT5TUkM0JlojLzw2 UlgjSz9ATDo8NiM7RlAuP0wwIykxKyhRKCYvR1QoSS8xLUVRTjlIO0UnNixI J1ZLI0tWICcyRCIxT1NCUDkoVCtGPzojUihGUS9TMkA/Kk4/RC9JVkg4WUgk QDsjPlhMRDE8ViUoSkpDSC4pRU9VLDo4LEUmNztMO1c3PEwrM1okTS1GJ1Qs R0YrUjBBIFoqMi5AWkdTPFBONDRHJ0U= It never encodes things the same each time your run it, but they can all be decoded the same way. There are no strange initial conditions you need to know about like time or some other kind of token.
- user24 16y ago
  each decodes to exactly 383 chars.
- deleted 16y ago
lim_nick 16y ago
Here are some integer values for the characters of two of the QBFs [72, 55, 81, 36, 86, 49, 49, 37, 38, 61, 62, 86, 40, 63, 57, 43, 57, 62, 50, 47, 36, 43, 68, 38, 36, 54, 54, 86, 67, 46, 69, 52, 78, 37, 61, 33, 46, 77, 55, 41, 49, 70, 70, 53, 46, 74, 32, 50, 63, 40, 81, 82, 51, 90, 58, 82, 69, 77, 54, 42, 73, 67, 74, 80, 84, 85, 48, 86, 75, 71, 77, 61, 32, 58, 74, 44, 54, 53, 33, 78, 73, 41, 54, 69, 51, 44, 39, 32, 38, 60, 85, 68, 78, 80, 47, 33, 33, 32, 65, 35, 51, 34, 44, 35, 65, 39, 45, 73, 63, 34, 63, 79, 86, 63, 71, 80, 34, 45, 52, 52, 89, 61, 41, 60, 83, 35, 46, 39, 75, 87, 77, 50, 72, 58, 77, 53, 48, 48, 38, 70, 73, 71, 35, 77, 49, 85, 79, 73, 89, 46, 44, 47, 70, 35, 38, 50, 44, 49, 77, 74, 54, 67, 54, 45, 40, 35, 46, 80, 59, 33, 55, 58, 33, 75, 35, 53, 34, 42, 87, 67, 51, 77, 84, 67, 41, 83, 75, 72, 85, 45, 39, 55, 56, 81, 67, 39, 36, 80, 33, 52, 81, 88, 79, 57, 58, 88, 45, 87, 51, 59, 50, 54, 70, 40, 73, 86, 43, 71, 71, 79, 65, 67, 61, 40, 39, 76, 85, 33, 82, 59, 87, 72, 54, 74, 67, 87, 35, 82, 54, 50, 60, 85, 59, 57, 86, 79, 44, 70, 47, 62, 72, 53, 76, 68, 87, 35, 49, 41, 65, 58, 75, 48, 84, 80, 37, 63, 82, 50, 51, 65, 88, 78, 52, 55, 85, 33, 44, 33, 35, 89, 42, 32, 71, 61, 67, 48, 35, 55, 88, 41, 64, 58, 67, 74, 80, 62, 80, 63, 41, 38, 48, 43, 64, 33, 67, 71, 35, 55, 87, 44, 41, 61, 36, 37, 88, 39, 75, 70, 84, 88, 49, 73, 44, 70, 43, 33, 43, 37, 37, 71, 78, 82, 85, 85, 68, 49, 57, 66, 89, 44, 57, 37, 40, 62, 50, 44, 40, 72, 48, 39, 53, 35, 68, 55, 73, 70, 33, 49, 55, 61, 58, 39, 50, 40, 68, 82, 52, 83, 78, 78, 34, 41, 71, 61, 58, 81, 39, 68, 53, 69, 85, 68, 33] [33, 56, 70, 50, 62, 48, 75, 72, 47, 71, 67, 61, 60, 78, 80, 64, 65, 39, 51, 44, 77, 34, 33, 71, 36, 77, 77, 85, 55, 88, 73, 46, 79, 77, 55, 69, 79, 81, 66, 85, 75, 76, 45, 80, 86, 66, 62, 39, 54, 64, 84, 32, 59, 42, 45, 67, 83, 46, 53, 66, 37, 47, 59, 34, 76, 39, 79, 81, 63, 46, 38, 81, 35, 81, 56, 33, 57, 65, 47, 48, 87, 53, 78, 82, 52, 72, 38, 84, 51, 60, 64, 83, 52, 79, 46, 48, 44, 80, 47, 47, 74, 33, 53, 53, 49, 67, 53, 54, 39, 47, 54, 45, 81, 41, 55, 72, 41, 74, 59, 55, 52, 33, 57, 67, 89, 87, 66, 85, 48, 81, 87, 53, 49, 65, 87, 52, 50, 59, 45, 68, 39, 59, 79, 65, 72, 66, 61, 89, 87, 77, 70, 75, 78, 77, 55, 75, 54, 66, 62, 62, 62, 71, 32, 59, 74, 75, 86, 36, 73, 86, 52, 35, 74, 81, 61, 59, 88, 85, 38, 61, 43, 40, 89, 84, 64, 42, 39, 41, 43, 37, 34, 41, 34, 55, 44, 35, 71, 36, 88, 62, 50, 74, 84, 72, 34, 64, 33, 83, 44, 62, 85, 43, 84, 65, 86, 63, 54, 37, 41, 52, 86, 85, 50, 43, 60, 35, 41, 87, 50, 37, 61, 85, 81, 74, 72, 82, 55, 90, 66, 55, 75, 64, 63, 65, 51, 33, 34, 73, 46, 63, 74, 69, 49, 82, 74, 66, 44, 88, 37, 33, 70, 39, 63, 62, 76, 63, 61, 88, 88, 46, 39, 36, 82, 39, 88, 88, 34, 82, 40, 84, 65, 85, 46, 85, 48, 58, 55, 52, 58, 46, 34, 64, 57, 77, 57, 69, 79, 73, 71, 71, 58, 67, 57, 50, 63, 75, 90, 41, 66, 50, 89, 38, 62, 61, 87, 51, 74, 45, 74, 44, 38, 40, 85, 56, 39, 47, 72, 39, 55, 57, 90, 65, 85, 67, 85, 69, 60, 81, 64, 67, 75, 71, 56, 41, 88, 44, 57, 37, 60, 59, 63, 79, 80, 79, 75, 72, 83, 60, 48, 34, 90, 68, 65, 65, 85, 82, 57, 50, 33, 42, 60, 65, 71, 70, 77, 55, 42, 81, 55, 60, 44, 49, 82]
nathanhammond 16y ago
Erik says that all of the strings can be decoded with the same method. Since the input string can result in multiple different valid encoded forms that implies to me that the method for decoding these strings is also encoded in the string (it seems that otherwise we would have to guess magic inputs). However, assuming that approach, it is interesting to me that each resulting string ended up the same length. Trying to tease out some encoding code from the outputs now...
lim_nick 16y ago
Erik, is there some kind of offset within the ciphertext?
invisible 16y ago
The strange properties of the encryption lead me to believe it was some binary modification (just a pattern), but that may have been looking too far into the problem. I started to see a pattern by deleting bits initially but it disappeared as I progressed. I'm not even sure where to start with using the unencoded string.
vankap 16y ago
I am working on the assumption that the first few chars could be a randomly generated salt and the rest is equal sized blocks of encrypted content. The random salt results in a different encoding each time. This is what I have so far and it seems to fit the original encoded message too. The salt is the first 29 chars. Each encrypted block is 59 chars. So for the QBFs : 29 + 6x59 For the original message : 29 + 5x59
- vankap 16y ago
  Note: I have never come across such sizes for salt and block though. I may be totally off.
- lim_nick 16y ago
  Here are some numbers for this approach. Here are another two QBFs SALT: [52, 43, 58, 74, 44, 86, 86, 43, 33, 39, 46, 49, 77, 44, 52, 74, 84, 44, 51, 78, 53, 75, 52, 69, 40, 50, 47, 73, 82] BLOCKS: [40, 60, 54, 90, 67, 38, 60, 56, 60, 51, 50, 51, 42, 70, 83, 65, 83, 58, 53, 65, 61, 45, 47, 36, 78, 55, 33, 71, 57, 81, 33, 87, 64, 52, 67, 51, 72, 59, 53, 78, 62, 72, 55, 42, 78, 45, 84, 72, 79, 68, 43, 41, 62, 68, 40, 64, 84, 39, 86] [60, 57, 34, 69, 69, 89, 89, 50, 44, 73, 63, 60, 66, 46, 81, 81, 74, 71, 34, 77, 82, 89, 78, 85, 50, 63, 72, 83, 68, 52, 60, 58, 36, 52, 49, 46, 69, 49, 77, 90, 59, 68, 39, 43, 64, 84, 63, 45, 75, 56, 43, 37, 46, 73, 36, 46, 73, 74, 59] [33, 77, 36, 85, 77, 79, 66, 40, 65, 49, 41, 49, 87, 66, 52, 60, 85, 66, 71, 77, 39, 37, 60, 74, 61, 51, 47, 82, 34, 66, 35, 64, 61, 34, 54, 34, 52, 87, 46, 58, 55, 82, 65, 66, 82, 54, 89, 41, 42, 61, 57, 73, 33, 82, 45, 56, 70, 68, 55] [84, 79, 45, 55, 61, 76, 49, 62, 66, 48, 44, 82, 80, 71, 52, 65, 72, 39, 77, 57, 49, 42, 83, 64, 54, 52, 66, 66, 34, 72, 49, 59, 36, 51, 81, 70, 32, 53, 60, 71, 80, 51, 54, 36, 39, 87, 68, 77, 87, 79, 63, 90, 37, 64, 42, 86, 89, 43, 68] [49, 43, 32, 58, 33, 62, 44, 76, 59, 64, 57, 56, 33, 46, 48, 36, 48, 66, 57, 58, 52, 88, 59, 65, 90, 80, 69, 73, 54, 74, 64, 44, 40, 90, 72, 53, 87, 62, 90, 58, 46, 61, 37, 35, 46, 72, 59, 88, 42, 89, 45, 79, 51, 74, 45, 84, 45, 89, 83] [54, 39, 63, 85, 70, 35, 44, 89, 61, 48, 35, 88, 67, 63, 50, 35, 55, 47, 34, 89, 56, 35, 55, 85, 50, 71, 85, 79, 35, 70, 35, 84, 33, 62, 48, 33, 81, 55, 86, 79, 72, 49, 69, 69, 84, 46, 70, 61, 73, 66, 62, 55, 89, 85, 61, 35, 47, 86, 86] SALT: [51, 56, 44, 77, 43, 83, 68, 71, 56, 36, 41, 86, 55, 43, 48, 54, 37, 49, 46, 69, 32, 90, 43, 73, 66, 53, 84, 75, 54] BLOCKS: [49, 86, 77, 59, 56, 60, 37, 32, 76, 88, 51, 80, 44, 51, 74, 56, 61, 38, 71, 67, 54, 58, 45, 74, 43, 65, 85, 80, 63, 54, 55, 87, 88, 53, 75, 81, 89, 69, 75, 80, 90, 50, 90, 37, 79, 64, 41, 41, 70, 50, 74, 75, 49, 75, 67, 44, 72, 50, 66] [76, 75, 60, 86, 32, 71, 49, 73, 53, 40, 52, 85, 59, 39, 89, 57, 34, 85, 39, 56, 54, 47, 34, 65, 66, 71, 37, 76, 70, 73, 46, 83, 54, 60, 79, 46, 86, 67, 39, 54, 71, 44, 34, 74, 64, 60, 77, 71, 44, 48, 60, 58, 71, 43, 73, 86, 67, 77, 45] [60, 67, 37, 68, 61, 70, 83, 77, 52, 76, 78, 32, 34, 47, 78, 40, 72, 72, 53, 62, 62, 85, 72, 51, 48, 73, 33, 52, 49, 36, 32, 85, 33, 35, 54, 45, 64, 63, 82, 75, 69, 53, 39, 89, 47, 63, 50, 38, 55, 90, 75, 89, 81, 53, 37, 61, 72, 32, 34] [39, 32, 85, 83, 82, 48, 70, 37, 62, 83, 82, 67, 52, 38, 90, 35, 47, 60, 54, 82, 88, 35, 75, 63, 64, 76, 58, 60, 54, 35, 59, 70, 80, 46, 63, 76, 48, 35, 41, 49, 43, 40, 81, 40, 38, 47, 71, 84, 40, 73, 47, 49, 45, 69, 81, 78, 57, 72, 59] [69, 39, 54, 44, 72, 39, 86, 75, 35, 75, 86, 32, 39, 50, 68, 34, 49, 79, 83, 66, 80, 57, 40, 84, 43, 70, 63, 58, 35, 82, 40, 70, 81, 47, 83, 50, 64, 63, 42, 78, 63, 68, 47, 73, 86, 72, 56, 89, 72, 36, 64, 59, 35, 62, 88, 76, 68, 49, 60] [86, 37, 40, 74, 74, 67, 72, 46, 41, 69, 79, 85, 44, 58, 56, 44, 69, 38, 55, 59, 76, 59, 87, 55, 60, 76, 43, 51, 90, 36, 77, 45, 70, 39, 84, 44, 71, 70, 43, 82, 48, 65, 32, 90, 42, 50, 46, 64, 90, 71, 83, 60, 80, 78, 52, 52, 71, 39, 69]
brandnewlow 16y ago
22 subscribers to their blog's RSS feed. The web has changed.
robinhouston 16y ago
Quick thought: each byte is a printable ascii character between space (0x20) and 'Z' (0x5a) inclusive. All these bytes appear in all the encoded files. Does anything interesting happen if you interpret the files as encoded in base 59? (Edit: obviously I'm talking about the files after they have been base64 decoded…)
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  getting warmer. the range of ascii characters is correct. The code isn't as simple though as just base59ing it.
- jbester 16y ago
  It seems more like the string decodes to multiple base 59 numbers. The cipher is another layer on top of that.
erik_landerholm 16y ago
If you base64 decode this IThGMj4wS0gvR0M9PE5QQEEnMyxNIiFHJE1NVTdYSS5PTTdFT1FCVUtMLVBW Qj4nNkBUIDsqLUNTLjVCJS87IkwnT1E/LiZRI1E4ITlBLzBXNU5SNEgmVDM8 QFM0Ty4wLFAvL0ohNTUxQzU2Jy82LVEpN0gpSjs3NCE5Q1lXQlUwUVc1MUFX NDI7LUQnO09BSEI9WVdNRktOTTdLNkI+Pj5HIDtKS1YkSVY0I0pRPTtYVSY9 KyhZVEAqJykrJSIpIjcsI0ckWD4ySlRIIkAhUyw+VStUQVY/NiUpNFZVMis8 IylXMiU9VVFKSFI3WkI3S0A/QTMhIkkuP0pFMVJKQixYJSFGJz8+TD89WFgu JyRSJ1hYIlIoVEFVLlUwOjc0Oi4iQDlNOUVPSUdHOkM5Mj9LWilCMlkmPj1X M0otSiwmKFU4Jy9IJzc5WkFVQ1VFPFFAQ0tHOClYLDklPDs/T1BPS0hTPDAi WkRBQVVSOTIhKjxBR0ZNNypRNzwsMVI= The first 5 characters are "!8F2>" Those 5 characters represent the first "T". Another "T" won't necessarily result in the same code. Actually, the odds of ever seeing that code again for a "T" is low.
- mmastrac 16y ago
  The message is: DON’T FORGET TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE Seriously, don't downvote me. That's the decrypted message.
  - erik_landerholm 16y ago
    You are right. Congrats!! There is actually an exclamation point at the end, but close enough! send an email to erik@carwoo.com and we can figure out how to get you the $500. Also, if you would detail your solution...that would be awesome!
    - sandal 16y ago
      Here's a Ruby version of the solution that was posted to your blog: http://pastie.org/1390793 http://pastie.org/1390793
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - mmastrac 16y ago
    Here's a blog post that details my solution somewhat. Fun challenge for a lazy Sunday. :) http://grack.com/blog/2010/12/19/solving-the-carwoo-code-breaking-challenge/ http://grack.com/blog/2010/12/19/solving-the-carwoo-code-bre...
erik_landerholm 16y ago
"A Christmas Story" is pretty great christmas movie. One of the greatest scenes is when Ralphie decodes the secret orphan annie message. I changed it a bit so that someone wouldn't just guess it. it seemed fitting as it is the only encoded message in any holiday movie I could think of! :)

hugh3 16y ago

I have no idea where to begin with the decryption, but I like this guy's style.

foresterh 16y ago
I would start here: http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/dotnet/tools/base64decode/ http://www.opinionatedgeek.com/dotnet/tools/base64decode/
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- geekfactor 16y ago
  Not much of a jump-start :(

myoung8 16y ago

erik, maybe you should give them a clue where to start...

erik_landerholm 16y ago
I gave some clues of sorts in the comments.
erik_landerholm 16y ago
it's 500 bones brosuf...i can't just give it away. I will add some more clues next week.
- adamdecaf 16y ago
  Given that people on HM should be fine with decoding from base64, we're trying to break this code: @(2=(!+Y0NTI;C+U;Y-LV,(73*DP#P&3FNS.#%<O<)H3O4=-DX;FE(&:-'40 #?)%AB8;P#@2<!ZNCSS$?=H*7EJ,!"ULVF:6IF'J "2GFT*FH,>40*W(T @- Y5LF$32/#"#.?!OWI429U;$2LS8VH/A+QZF7HI0(;*#9EJ<G%->?LS<6HE&V 5Y/;I.3TD%I*2O?K>-?-IGN?Z38WH T?-SBTD1A0*/2WN35UJ1CN64/=4:79 RFAJC2S,@;-90 9+"W%T:)6ILRI/JB'"$D%".HNI6I+$C(.*WA.;>*MX?;*L S;@11K/2<EO>UW-;4>4GHEL& I'm trying to make sure I'm seeing the correct things.
  - erik_landerholm 16y ago
    the reason i base64 encoded it is that wordpress was trying to be smart and changing characters for me...which in a coded message is...not a good idea.
    - adamdecaf 16y ago
      I'm aware of those problems, however I'm trying to confirm if the above is the same as what I should be trying to decode. It's a waste of time to decode the wrong string.
  - Estragon 16y ago
    I get the same thing FWIW (using python's base64.decodestring.)
  - geekfactor 16y ago
    Just a note, this is not correct. It is the result of having spaces in the string from the line breaks. See https://gist.github.com/747869 https://gist.github.com/747869

scorchin 16y ago

"I" (11 times) followed closely by "F" and "H" (both 9 times) seem to the most common letters.

olalonde 16y ago
I doubt this information will be helpful since for every character there are ~9 characters after encryption.
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  you are on the right track.
olalonde 16y ago
Other observation: the encoded string's characters seem to range from ASCII 32 to 90.
- kmort 16y ago
  That range is 58 characters which (perhaps suspiciously) is size of alphabet + 2^5. (Although a whitespace character is also encoded, making that suspicion a little less "round".) From comparing the multiple encodings of Quick Brown Fox, the value distribution across that range is fairly even and every value is used at least once.
user24 16y ago
I have the top five as: ; (12 times) I (11 times) * (10 times) - (10 times) 2 (10 times) and for the quick-brown-fox sample he posted in the comments, I have: ! (14 times) # (13 times) C (11 times) , (11 times) U (10 times) So I'm not convinced this is a fruitful path of inquiry.

mrduncan 16y ago

Given that sample (see blog comments), it is a little trickier than a simple substitution. Edit: I stand corrected on the original statement about lengths - wasn't paying attention and was performing integer division.

olalonde 16y ago
Are you sure it's exactly 8? I get ~8.9 times its own length. var fox = "THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG"; var decodedfox = atob("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"); console.log(decodedfox.length/fox.length);
- narkee 16y ago
  26/3 is ~8.67, I wonder if that is relevant.
user24 16y ago
> encodes to exactly 8 times it's own length really? I have strlen(decoded-text) at 383 chars, and qbf as 43 chars, giving the encoded as 8.906976744186 times the size of the original...
Dobbs 16y ago
You did the same thing I did which is to forget to force floating point division.

vankap 16y ago

apparently it's ruby..

res0nat0r 16y ago
Maybe some kind of crazy ruby unpack function? It looks alot like a pack string from perl, but thats a guess.
- vankap 16y ago
  I wish I knew. I'm a python guy.

mrduncan 16y ago

The character distribution of the encoded message for the example ("THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG"): 8: " " (note that the original also has 8 spaces) 4: "O" 3: "E" 2: "H", "R", "T", "U" 1: "Z", "B", "Y", "N", "C", "D", "X", "M", "P", "W", "F", "Q", "G", "L", "S", "A", "I", "K", "J", "V" The character distribution of the encoded message (to be solved): 12: ";", " ", "I" 11: "H" 10: "*", "-", "F", "2" 9: "?", "S", "L", "O", "E", "T" 8: "N", "4", "W" 7: "3", "(", "J", "#", "/", "U" 6: "C", ">", "<", """, "D", "A", ".", "%", "0" 5: "9", "V", "@", "+", "$", "Y", "G", "6" 4: "=", ":", "Z", "P", "R", "&", "7", "1", "B", ",", "!" 3: "8", ")", "K", "X", "'", "5" 2: "Q", "M"

vankap 16y ago
383 is prime. So it can't be a substitution cipher.
- waterlesscloud 16y ago
  Well, not a substitution cipher in which each substitution is of equal length. :-)

erik_landerholm 16y ago

Here are four different, but all valid encodings of THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG Each one can be decoded with the same decoding method. IThGMj4wS0gvR0M9PE5QQEEnMyxNIiFHJE1NVTdYSS5PTTdFT1FCVUtMLVBW Qj4nNkBUIDsqLUNTLjVCJS87IkwnT1E/LiZRI1E4ITlBLzBXNU5SNEgmVDM8 QFM0Ty4wLFAvL0ohNTUxQzU2Jy82LVEpN0gpSjs3NCE5Q1lXQlUwUVc1MUFX NDI7LUQnO09BSEI9WVdNRktOTTdLNkI+Pj5HIDtKS1YkSVY0I0pRPTtYVSY9 KyhZVEAqJykrJSIpIjcsI0ckWD4ySlRIIkAhUyw+VStUQVY/NiUpNFZVMis8 IylXMiU9VVFKSFI3WkI3S0A/QTMhIkkuP0pFMVJKQixYJSFGJz8+TD89WFgu JyRSJ1hYIlIoVEFVLlUwOjc0Oi4iQDlNOUVPSUdHOkM5Mj9LWilCMlkmPj1X M0otSiwmKFU4Jy9IJzc5WkFVQ1VFPFFAQ0tHOClYLDklPDs/T1BPS0hTPDAi WkRBQVVSOTIhKjxBR0ZNNypRNzwsMVI= JkpXLlVZIz5MLTxKJj1PUFA2R09BPUtTLSI1Oi9DMEwzM0VYSiE5S1gzVTA4 WksxS0VSVS0pQzlCLTg1VDpATlUpWihIVVIgIDE/V1o2JlA+RkNZJ1BLIFY6 Q1QoWCA2KzlPKlBVTS8mKihNKU9JM1EmK1kkRSxOSD43O1JEWTApOD1JRk48 Ozk1UzJUTkZJOSY2V1AqVUwwQCogVUk6UiIvTDtDSjBGSlNQNCxTNCNIL0VE IC1QLDwnRFE8ISpITSRNOE8iMzBSQlYtQT8mWEFOIkVPSSJXMCkxRT8tPFEj QFlWN1JBIEosWjAmODNCJzM3QCUmTCgwKyowJ1NWWkwyJ0ZFTDggRlMxIUJY JD88NS48SDQpJUNTQitFVS4qOCk8KztaQEI6TysmUC9XNiotNSEtIEYmKS4h QVZXNlI/TEpFPihDITIxIFcrKlQ/UUdWOEk+TFNZOldDQEtWN0c+QzgrQCFW KT82U0k9QVlMQFhAOiw/OT9LICkjQSM= NCs6SixWVishJy4xTSw0SlQsM041SzRFKDIvSVIoPDZaQyY8ODwzMjMqRlNB Uzo1QT0tLyRONyFHOVEhV0A0QzNIOzVOPkg3Kk4tVEhPRCspPkQoQFQnVjw5 IkVFWVkyLEk/PEIuUVFKRyJNUllOVTI/SFNENDw6JDQxLkUxTVo7RCcrQFQ/ LUs4KyUuSSQuSUo7IU0kVU1PQihBMSkxV0I0PFVCR00nJTxKPTMvUiJCI0A9 IjYiNFcuOjdSQUJSNlkpKj05SSFSLThGRDdUTy03PUwxPkIwLFJQRzRBSCdN OTEqU0A2NEJCIkgxOyQzUUYgNTxHUDM2JCdXRE1XTz9aJUAqVlkrRDErIDoh PixMO0A5OCEuMCQwQjk6NFg7QVpQRUk2SkAsKFpINVc+WjouPSUjLkg7WCpZ LU8zSi1ULVlTNic/VUYjLFk9MCNYQz8yIzcvIlk4IzdVMkdVTyNGI1QhPjAh UTdWT0gxRUVULkY9SUI+N1lVPSMvVlY= MzgsTStTREc4JClWNyswNiUxLkUgWitJQjVUSzYxVk07ODwlIExYM1AsM0o4 PSZHQzY6LUorQVVQPzY3V1g1S1FZRUtQWjJaJU9AKSlGMkpLMUtDLEgyQkxL PFYgRzFJNSg0VTsnWTkiVSc4Ni8iQUJHJUxGSS5TNjxPLlZDJzZHLCJKQDxN RywwPDpHK0lWQ00tPEMlRD1GU000TE4gIi9OKEhINT4+VUgzMEkhNDEkIFUh IzYtQD9SS0U1J1kvPzImN1pLWVE1JT1IICInIFVTUjBGJT5TUkM0JlojLzw2 UlgjSz9ATDo8NiM7RlAuP0wwIykxKyhRKCYvR1QoSS8xLUVRTjlIO0UnNixI J1ZLI0tWICcyRCIxT1NCUDkoVCtGPzojUihGUS9TMkA/Kk4/RC9JVkg4WUgk QDsjPlhMRDE8ViUoSkpDSC4pRU9VLDo4LEUmNztMO1c3PEwrM1okTS1GJ1Qs R0YrUjBBIFoqMi5AWkdTPFBONDRHJ0U= It never encodes things the same each time your run it, but they can all be decoded the same way. There are no strange initial conditions you need to know about like time or some other kind of token.

user24 16y ago
each decodes to exactly 383 chars.
deleted 16y ago

lim_nick 16y ago

Here are some integer values for the characters of two of the QBFs [72, 55, 81, 36, 86, 49, 49, 37, 38, 61, 62, 86, 40, 63, 57, 43, 57, 62, 50, 47, 36, 43, 68, 38, 36, 54, 54, 86, 67, 46, 69, 52, 78, 37, 61, 33, 46, 77, 55, 41, 49, 70, 70, 53, 46, 74, 32, 50, 63, 40, 81, 82, 51, 90, 58, 82, 69, 77, 54, 42, 73, 67, 74, 80, 84, 85, 48, 86, 75, 71, 77, 61, 32, 58, 74, 44, 54, 53, 33, 78, 73, 41, 54, 69, 51, 44, 39, 32, 38, 60, 85, 68, 78, 80, 47, 33, 33, 32, 65, 35, 51, 34, 44, 35, 65, 39, 45, 73, 63, 34, 63, 79, 86, 63, 71, 80, 34, 45, 52, 52, 89, 61, 41, 60, 83, 35, 46, 39, 75, 87, 77, 50, 72, 58, 77, 53, 48, 48, 38, 70, 73, 71, 35, 77, 49, 85, 79, 73, 89, 46, 44, 47, 70, 35, 38, 50, 44, 49, 77, 74, 54, 67, 54, 45, 40, 35, 46, 80, 59, 33, 55, 58, 33, 75, 35, 53, 34, 42, 87, 67, 51, 77, 84, 67, 41, 83, 75, 72, 85, 45, 39, 55, 56, 81, 67, 39, 36, 80, 33, 52, 81, 88, 79, 57, 58, 88, 45, 87, 51, 59, 50, 54, 70, 40, 73, 86, 43, 71, 71, 79, 65, 67, 61, 40, 39, 76, 85, 33, 82, 59, 87, 72, 54, 74, 67, 87, 35, 82, 54, 50, 60, 85, 59, 57, 86, 79, 44, 70, 47, 62, 72, 53, 76, 68, 87, 35, 49, 41, 65, 58, 75, 48, 84, 80, 37, 63, 82, 50, 51, 65, 88, 78, 52, 55, 85, 33, 44, 33, 35, 89, 42, 32, 71, 61, 67, 48, 35, 55, 88, 41, 64, 58, 67, 74, 80, 62, 80, 63, 41, 38, 48, 43, 64, 33, 67, 71, 35, 55, 87, 44, 41, 61, 36, 37, 88, 39, 75, 70, 84, 88, 49, 73, 44, 70, 43, 33, 43, 37, 37, 71, 78, 82, 85, 85, 68, 49, 57, 66, 89, 44, 57, 37, 40, 62, 50, 44, 40, 72, 48, 39, 53, 35, 68, 55, 73, 70, 33, 49, 55, 61, 58, 39, 50, 40, 68, 82, 52, 83, 78, 78, 34, 41, 71, 61, 58, 81, 39, 68, 53, 69, 85, 68, 33] [33, 56, 70, 50, 62, 48, 75, 72, 47, 71, 67, 61, 60, 78, 80, 64, 65, 39, 51, 44, 77, 34, 33, 71, 36, 77, 77, 85, 55, 88, 73, 46, 79, 77, 55, 69, 79, 81, 66, 85, 75, 76, 45, 80, 86, 66, 62, 39, 54, 64, 84, 32, 59, 42, 45, 67, 83, 46, 53, 66, 37, 47, 59, 34, 76, 39, 79, 81, 63, 46, 38, 81, 35, 81, 56, 33, 57, 65, 47, 48, 87, 53, 78, 82, 52, 72, 38, 84, 51, 60, 64, 83, 52, 79, 46, 48, 44, 80, 47, 47, 74, 33, 53, 53, 49, 67, 53, 54, 39, 47, 54, 45, 81, 41, 55, 72, 41, 74, 59, 55, 52, 33, 57, 67, 89, 87, 66, 85, 48, 81, 87, 53, 49, 65, 87, 52, 50, 59, 45, 68, 39, 59, 79, 65, 72, 66, 61, 89, 87, 77, 70, 75, 78, 77, 55, 75, 54, 66, 62, 62, 62, 71, 32, 59, 74, 75, 86, 36, 73, 86, 52, 35, 74, 81, 61, 59, 88, 85, 38, 61, 43, 40, 89, 84, 64, 42, 39, 41, 43, 37, 34, 41, 34, 55, 44, 35, 71, 36, 88, 62, 50, 74, 84, 72, 34, 64, 33, 83, 44, 62, 85, 43, 84, 65, 86, 63, 54, 37, 41, 52, 86, 85, 50, 43, 60, 35, 41, 87, 50, 37, 61, 85, 81, 74, 72, 82, 55, 90, 66, 55, 75, 64, 63, 65, 51, 33, 34, 73, 46, 63, 74, 69, 49, 82, 74, 66, 44, 88, 37, 33, 70, 39, 63, 62, 76, 63, 61, 88, 88, 46, 39, 36, 82, 39, 88, 88, 34, 82, 40, 84, 65, 85, 46, 85, 48, 58, 55, 52, 58, 46, 34, 64, 57, 77, 57, 69, 79, 73, 71, 71, 58, 67, 57, 50, 63, 75, 90, 41, 66, 50, 89, 38, 62, 61, 87, 51, 74, 45, 74, 44, 38, 40, 85, 56, 39, 47, 72, 39, 55, 57, 90, 65, 85, 67, 85, 69, 60, 81, 64, 67, 75, 71, 56, 41, 88, 44, 57, 37, 60, 59, 63, 79, 80, 79, 75, 72, 83, 60, 48, 34, 90, 68, 65, 65, 85, 82, 57, 50, 33, 42, 60, 65, 71, 70, 77, 55, 42, 81, 55, 60, 44, 49, 82]

nathanhammond 16y ago

Erik says that all of the strings can be decoded with the same method. Since the input string can result in multiple different valid encoded forms that implies to me that the method for decoding these strings is also encoded in the string (it seems that otherwise we would have to guess magic inputs). However, assuming that approach, it is interesting to me that each resulting string ended up the same length. Trying to tease out some encoding code from the outputs now...

lim_nick 16y ago

Erik, is there some kind of offset within the ciphertext?

invisible 16y ago

The strange properties of the encryption lead me to believe it was some binary modification (just a pattern), but that may have been looking too far into the problem. I started to see a pattern by deleting bits initially but it disappeared as I progressed. I'm not even sure where to start with using the unencoded string.

vankap 16y ago

I am working on the assumption that the first few chars could be a randomly generated salt and the rest is equal sized blocks of encrypted content. The random salt results in a different encoding each time. This is what I have so far and it seems to fit the original encoded message too. The salt is the first 29 chars. Each encrypted block is 59 chars. So for the QBFs : 29 + 6x59 For the original message : 29 + 5x59

vankap 16y ago
Note: I have never come across such sizes for salt and block though. I may be totally off.
lim_nick 16y ago
Here are some numbers for this approach. Here are another two QBFs SALT: [52, 43, 58, 74, 44, 86, 86, 43, 33, 39, 46, 49, 77, 44, 52, 74, 84, 44, 51, 78, 53, 75, 52, 69, 40, 50, 47, 73, 82] BLOCKS: [40, 60, 54, 90, 67, 38, 60, 56, 60, 51, 50, 51, 42, 70, 83, 65, 83, 58, 53, 65, 61, 45, 47, 36, 78, 55, 33, 71, 57, 81, 33, 87, 64, 52, 67, 51, 72, 59, 53, 78, 62, 72, 55, 42, 78, 45, 84, 72, 79, 68, 43, 41, 62, 68, 40, 64, 84, 39, 86] [60, 57, 34, 69, 69, 89, 89, 50, 44, 73, 63, 60, 66, 46, 81, 81, 74, 71, 34, 77, 82, 89, 78, 85, 50, 63, 72, 83, 68, 52, 60, 58, 36, 52, 49, 46, 69, 49, 77, 90, 59, 68, 39, 43, 64, 84, 63, 45, 75, 56, 43, 37, 46, 73, 36, 46, 73, 74, 59] [33, 77, 36, 85, 77, 79, 66, 40, 65, 49, 41, 49, 87, 66, 52, 60, 85, 66, 71, 77, 39, 37, 60, 74, 61, 51, 47, 82, 34, 66, 35, 64, 61, 34, 54, 34, 52, 87, 46, 58, 55, 82, 65, 66, 82, 54, 89, 41, 42, 61, 57, 73, 33, 82, 45, 56, 70, 68, 55] [84, 79, 45, 55, 61, 76, 49, 62, 66, 48, 44, 82, 80, 71, 52, 65, 72, 39, 77, 57, 49, 42, 83, 64, 54, 52, 66, 66, 34, 72, 49, 59, 36, 51, 81, 70, 32, 53, 60, 71, 80, 51, 54, 36, 39, 87, 68, 77, 87, 79, 63, 90, 37, 64, 42, 86, 89, 43, 68] [49, 43, 32, 58, 33, 62, 44, 76, 59, 64, 57, 56, 33, 46, 48, 36, 48, 66, 57, 58, 52, 88, 59, 65, 90, 80, 69, 73, 54, 74, 64, 44, 40, 90, 72, 53, 87, 62, 90, 58, 46, 61, 37, 35, 46, 72, 59, 88, 42, 89, 45, 79, 51, 74, 45, 84, 45, 89, 83] [54, 39, 63, 85, 70, 35, 44, 89, 61, 48, 35, 88, 67, 63, 50, 35, 55, 47, 34, 89, 56, 35, 55, 85, 50, 71, 85, 79, 35, 70, 35, 84, 33, 62, 48, 33, 81, 55, 86, 79, 72, 49, 69, 69, 84, 46, 70, 61, 73, 66, 62, 55, 89, 85, 61, 35, 47, 86, 86] SALT: [51, 56, 44, 77, 43, 83, 68, 71, 56, 36, 41, 86, 55, 43, 48, 54, 37, 49, 46, 69, 32, 90, 43, 73, 66, 53, 84, 75, 54] BLOCKS: [49, 86, 77, 59, 56, 60, 37, 32, 76, 88, 51, 80, 44, 51, 74, 56, 61, 38, 71, 67, 54, 58, 45, 74, 43, 65, 85, 80, 63, 54, 55, 87, 88, 53, 75, 81, 89, 69, 75, 80, 90, 50, 90, 37, 79, 64, 41, 41, 70, 50, 74, 75, 49, 75, 67, 44, 72, 50, 66] [76, 75, 60, 86, 32, 71, 49, 73, 53, 40, 52, 85, 59, 39, 89, 57, 34, 85, 39, 56, 54, 47, 34, 65, 66, 71, 37, 76, 70, 73, 46, 83, 54, 60, 79, 46, 86, 67, 39, 54, 71, 44, 34, 74, 64, 60, 77, 71, 44, 48, 60, 58, 71, 43, 73, 86, 67, 77, 45] [60, 67, 37, 68, 61, 70, 83, 77, 52, 76, 78, 32, 34, 47, 78, 40, 72, 72, 53, 62, 62, 85, 72, 51, 48, 73, 33, 52, 49, 36, 32, 85, 33, 35, 54, 45, 64, 63, 82, 75, 69, 53, 39, 89, 47, 63, 50, 38, 55, 90, 75, 89, 81, 53, 37, 61, 72, 32, 34] [39, 32, 85, 83, 82, 48, 70, 37, 62, 83, 82, 67, 52, 38, 90, 35, 47, 60, 54, 82, 88, 35, 75, 63, 64, 76, 58, 60, 54, 35, 59, 70, 80, 46, 63, 76, 48, 35, 41, 49, 43, 40, 81, 40, 38, 47, 71, 84, 40, 73, 47, 49, 45, 69, 81, 78, 57, 72, 59] [69, 39, 54, 44, 72, 39, 86, 75, 35, 75, 86, 32, 39, 50, 68, 34, 49, 79, 83, 66, 80, 57, 40, 84, 43, 70, 63, 58, 35, 82, 40, 70, 81, 47, 83, 50, 64, 63, 42, 78, 63, 68, 47, 73, 86, 72, 56, 89, 72, 36, 64, 59, 35, 62, 88, 76, 68, 49, 60] [86, 37, 40, 74, 74, 67, 72, 46, 41, 69, 79, 85, 44, 58, 56, 44, 69, 38, 55, 59, 76, 59, 87, 55, 60, 76, 43, 51, 90, 36, 77, 45, 70, 39, 84, 44, 71, 70, 43, 82, 48, 65, 32, 90, 42, 50, 46, 64, 90, 71, 83, 60, 80, 78, 52, 52, 71, 39, 69]

brandnewlow 16y ago

22 subscribers to their blog's RSS feed. The web has changed.

robinhouston 16y ago

Quick thought: each byte is a printable ascii character between space (0x20) and 'Z' (0x5a) inclusive. All these bytes appear in all the encoded files. Does anything interesting happen if you interpret the files as encoded in base 59? (Edit: obviously I'm talking about the files after they have been base64 decoded…)

erik_landerholm 16y ago
getting warmer. the range of ascii characters is correct. The code isn't as simple though as just base59ing it.
jbester 16y ago
It seems more like the string decodes to multiple base 59 numbers. The cipher is another layer on top of that.

erik_landerholm 16y ago

If you base64 decode this IThGMj4wS0gvR0M9PE5QQEEnMyxNIiFHJE1NVTdYSS5PTTdFT1FCVUtMLVBW Qj4nNkBUIDsqLUNTLjVCJS87IkwnT1E/LiZRI1E4ITlBLzBXNU5SNEgmVDM8 QFM0Ty4wLFAvL0ohNTUxQzU2Jy82LVEpN0gpSjs3NCE5Q1lXQlUwUVc1MUFX NDI7LUQnO09BSEI9WVdNRktOTTdLNkI+Pj5HIDtKS1YkSVY0I0pRPTtYVSY9 KyhZVEAqJykrJSIpIjcsI0ckWD4ySlRIIkAhUyw+VStUQVY/NiUpNFZVMis8 IylXMiU9VVFKSFI3WkI3S0A/QTMhIkkuP0pFMVJKQixYJSFGJz8+TD89WFgu JyRSJ1hYIlIoVEFVLlUwOjc0Oi4iQDlNOUVPSUdHOkM5Mj9LWilCMlkmPj1X M0otSiwmKFU4Jy9IJzc5WkFVQ1VFPFFAQ0tHOClYLDklPDs/T1BPS0hTPDAi WkRBQVVSOTIhKjxBR0ZNNypRNzwsMVI= The first 5 characters are "!8F2>" Those 5 characters represent the first "T". Another "T" won't necessarily result in the same code. Actually, the odds of ever seeing that code again for a "T" is low.

mmastrac 16y ago
The message is: DON’T FORGET TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE Seriously, don't downvote me. That's the decrypted message.
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  You are right. Congrats!! There is actually an exclamation point at the end, but close enough! send an email to erik@carwoo.com and we can figure out how to get you the $500. Also, if you would detail your solution...that would be awesome!
  - sandal 16y ago
    Here's a Ruby version of the solution that was posted to your blog: http://pastie.org/1390793 http://pastie.org/1390793
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- mmastrac 16y ago
  Here's a blog post that details my solution somewhat. Fun challenge for a lazy Sunday. :) http://grack.com/blog/2010/12/19/solving-the-carwoo-code-breaking-challenge/ http://grack.com/blog/2010/12/19/solving-the-carwoo-code-bre...

erik_landerholm 16y ago

"A Christmas Story" is pretty great christmas movie. One of the greatest scenes is when Ralphie decodes the secret orphan annie message. I changed it a bit so that someone wouldn't just guess it. it seemed fitting as it is the only encoded message in any holiday movie I could think of! :)