OK. This is a bit beyond the charter, but there was a long and annoying thread on Microsoft Palladium last week and I just read an interesting article that seems to minimize the FUD I have been seeing. http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0208.html The author is Bruce Schneier, one of the best known crypto and security experts out there. He is also not a Microsoft fan (or hater) and that makes him one of the best sources for information on computer security issues. Over all, I found the article excellent. It might at least make some of the silly messages on the subject seem even sillier and point out the real concerns and possible benefits of Pd. R. Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) Ernest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) E-mail: oberman@es.net Phone: +1 510 486-8634