Re: Memorizing a 128 bit / 256 bit hex key

On 18/06/2024 14:55, Stefan Claas wrote:

You thoughts please, gentlemen.
 Let's say you travel and do not want to store your secret hex key on your
device and recreate it from memory.
 What do you think about this proposal?
 $ printf '%x' $(date -u -d '1979-01-01 12:34:56' +%s) $(date ...) 4 or 8 times.
 One has to remember only the dates (times are optional) and then simply run the
one liner.
 The encryption software can be downloaded when one arrives at his destination.
 

Pravda - well, Pravda - Pravda said: (Russian double-talk) It stinks.
Dates mostly come in 19xx or 20xx sizes, so those 19.. or 20.. digits are guessable. The 0 in the month 01 (I am using month first) is mostly an 0, or else it is a 1. The 0 of the date is either 0,1,2 or 3, so the entropy is lower.
Plus people will use dates they remember - the Moon landing, their birthdays, their children's birthdays, and so on.
And remembering the dates and the order is, to be pernickety, hard.
Peter Fairbrother