Re: gpg key generation

[Michael Schmitz <schmitz@mail.biophys.uni-duesseldorf.de>]

> > Really, keyboard input usually does it.  I made my key on a PowerBook,
> > but the keyboard isn't USB, there.  Try lots of network activity and a
> > few finds redirected to temporary files, but I don't know if network and 
> > disk IO touch the /dev/random code. 
> 
> network io does not add to the entropy pool for the reason that it
> could make it theoretically possible for someone to predict your
> entropy by sending traffic to your machine.  paranoid yes, but
> /dev/random is supposed to be high level paranoia device.  
> 
> one thing i tested a while ago was the mouse, on my intel box the
> mouse generates ALOT of entropy (just run od /dev/random and move the
> mouse around) on powerpc it generates either very very little or
> none.  not sure about the keyboard.  disk activity appears to add a
> little bit.  

I guess we need to check the keyboard and mouse drivers to see if they
properly use the add_*_randomness hooks. The ADB keyboard and mouse
handlers do. drivers/usb/input.c doesn't - the add_input_randomness there
is commented out (in my 2.2.18-stable copy) and marked BUG. Ideas, anyone? 

	Michael