Subject: Passwords

From: Steven Owens <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1993 07:06:19 -0700

Somebody I know is trying to figure out a secure way to handle passwords
in a MOO-to-MOO connection system.  The idea is to set it up so players
can "walk" from MOO to MOO without worrying that their passwords are
compromised.

Something that occurred to me is that perhaps the first MOO could take
the already-encrypted password of the player, and pass it to the second
MOO.  Then a simple comparison to see if the encrypted passwords match.

Does this work?

Assuming this works, you could use it one of three ways:

1) Your password at the first MOO is the same as your password at
other MOOs accessible via "walk" (simplest, obviously has minor
security problems).

2) You have multiple password properties created via a variant of
the @password command, containing passwords to other MOOs in
encrypted form (still somewhat simple, but you have to trust the
variant @password command).

3) You e-mail or otherwise upload an already-encrypted version of
the password (best, but not all players are competent to do so).

Steven J. Owens
[email-masked]

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From: Sean Owens <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1993 00:06:12 -0700

Steven> Somebody I know is trying to figure out a secure way to handle passwords
Steven> in a MOO-to-MOO connection system.  The idea is to set it up so players
Steven> can "walk" from MOO to MOO without worrying that their passwords are
Steven> compromised.

I don't have time to look at this fully.  I'll try to before I log off but if I
don't, heres a short suggestion.  Try Kerberos.  Kerberso is a zero knowledge
transfer system.   Basically it works like

1) Server knows your password
2) You know your password
3) Server sends you a random string (changes every time - usually its the
	current time or something
4) Your end (usually a program on your workstation, i.e. the login program)
	uses the password you gave it to encrypt the string and sends the
	encrypted version back to the server
5) The server encrypts the same string it sent you with what it KNOWS is your
	password and checks what you give it against its own version.  If 
	they match then you're you
Note, at no time did your password travel across the net.

Sean

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From: Arthur Chandler <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1993 10:32:06 -0700

This suggestion is so patent that I'm sure I'm overlooking a flaw in my
proposal. But here it is:
   If you want to go from MOO to MOO, why lug along encryption systems and
put the burden on the MOOs? Why not just write a script that shells you
out of MOO#1 then shuttles you over to MOO#2? That way the whole login
procedure is governed by your own communications software. There are folks
already who "multiMOO" in this way, whether by scripting or just by
manually shelling in and out of MOOs.  MultiMOOing, though, usually leaves
your presence in each MOO -- that is, you don't only travel from one MOO
to another: you remain logged in to all the MOOs, though you're only
active in one at a time. However, if you want to leave MOO#1 and walk to
MOO#2, thereby leaving MOO#1 as you would leave a place IRL, then your
script could just include an @quit instead of a ^] and ^Z (the shellout
commands on the VAX I use).
  Does this make sense as a method for inter-MOO travel? Or am I missing
something else that folks have in mind when they worry about passport
transfer and encryption?