[ale] OT: Diffie-Hellman key exchange for dummies?

[transam at verysecurelinux.com (Bob Toxen)]

Honestly, I suggest not bothering to understand the math or algorithms.

Do be sure to use established and highly regarded algorithms and code,
such as SSH or PGP or GPG or signed certificates from well-known
Certificate Authorities, etc.

Bob Toxen
bob at verysecurelinux.com               [Please use for email to me]
http://www.verysecurelinux.com        [Network&Linux/Unix security consulting]
http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com [My book:"Real World Linux Security 2/e"]
Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.
Quality spam and virus filters.

"Microsoft: Unsafe at any clock speed!"
   -- Bob Toxen 10/03/2002

On Sat, Aug 04, 2007 at 03:23:46PM -0400, Jay Loden wrote:
> This is somewhat off topic for a Linux enthusiast group, but this a group of smart folks with lots of knowledge, so I figured it might be a good place to ask anyway:
> 
> I've heard the term "Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange" used before, and in basic terms I know that it's a secure way of agreeing on a secret key. However, when I tried to read a couple of articles to understand how it works under the hood, I found myself out of my depth. I have programming experience, but I'm not formally trained, and I never went beyond Algebra 2. Even though I was able to implement a simplistic version of the exchange by following the Linux Journal article below I don't really understand why it works on a mathematical level.
> 
> Anyone who likes a challenge feel like trying to explain in laymen's terms to a mathematically challenged individual? :-)
> 
> References:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie-Hellman
> http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/node.asp?id=2248
> http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6131
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrete_logarithm
> 
> -Jay
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