Authentication protocols are very simple distributed algorithms whose purpose is to enable two entities to achieve mutual and reliable agreement on some piece of information, typically the identity of the other party, its presence, the origin of a message, its intended destination. Achieving the intended agreement guarantees is subtle because they typically are the result of the encryption/decr...

We present an in depth static analysis of the Conficker worm, primarily through the exploration of the client-side binary logic. In this paper, we summarize various aspects of the inner workings of binary variants A and B,1 which were the first in a chain of recent revisions aimed to keep this epidemic resistant to ongoing eradication attempts. These first two variants have combined to produce ...

We report on the timing analysis of the observation of the X–ray binary pulsar Her X–1 performed during the BeppoSAX Science Verification Phase. The observation covered more that two full orbital cycles near the maximum of the main–on in the 35 day cycle of Her X–1. We present the pulse profiles from 0.1 to 100 keV. Major changes are present below 1 keV, where the appearance of a broad peak is ...