Re: Good random number source in oracle

why are you assuming truncation? try reading the post in its entirety and without reading into it.

"Ian Ledzion" <ian.ledzion_at_lgxbow.com> wrote in message news:9c3ppp$fp5$1_at_rex.ip-plus.net...
> Using milliseconds would mean that a cracker just has to run through 1000
> possible permutations. Squaring the number would still mean 1000
> permutations. In my view true randomness cannot exist withing a computer
 as
> the systems are rule-based.
>
> A thought: try downloading files from SETI_at_home and sequences out of that,
> as cosmic background noise *is* random, unless you've had the misfortune
 to
> land on an ETI signal...
>
> "Steve Long" <steven.long_at_erols.com> wrote in message
> news:9c1pv3$2au$1_at_bob.news.rcn.net...
> > if you are using sysdate, recall that sysdate gets down to
> > milliseconds...what is the likelyhood that anyone would know the precise
> > value of time wrt milliseconds when the function actually received a
 value
> > from the system clock? you can use the low end of the systdate squared
 and
> > then modified further...etc etc
> >
> > "Peter J. Holzer" <hjp_at_enkur.wsr.ac.at> wrote in message
> > news:slrn9e8iid.g2j.hjp_at_enkur.wsr.ac.at...
> > > I have a stored procedure which generates random passwords. Currently
> > > dbms_random.initialize is called with a value computed from sysdate.
> > > Of course this isn't very random, so if somebody knows the algorithm
 and
> > > the (approximate) time when a password was created, he can easily
> > > compute the password. So I am looking for values which can be used as
> > > "real" random number sources, I.e. values which change often and
 cannot
> > > be guessed with sufficient accuracy from the outside. Things like
 number
> > > of sessions, bytes read or written since last startup, etc.
> > >
> > > Any suggestions? (Apart from using dbms_pipe to call a script which
> > > reads /dev/random - I am aware of that possibility).
> > >
> > > Also I am interested in the internal workings of the dbms_random
 package
> > > (what kind of RNG it uses, etc.) Any pointers would be appreciated.
> > >
> > > hp
> > >
> > > --
> > > _ | Peter J. Holzer | It's nice to fix problems by accident.
> > > |_|_) | Sysadmin WSR / LUGA | -- Theo de Raadt
> > > | | | hjp_at_wsr.ac.at | <deraadt_at_CVS.OPENBSD.ORG>
> > > __/ | http://www.hjp.at/ | on bugtraq 2001-03-19
> >
> >
>
>
Received on Tue Apr 24 2001 - 13:10:40 CDT