Originally Posted by axemansean
The key may be changeable, but with around 1 million + users in P2P programs thats a lot more resources. If in 1999 it took 22 hrs on 100,000 pcs it'll probably take 2 hrs with the pcs of today. My message is to be careful, remember there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. A lot of you may think you know it all about computers and security, but you really know maybe 0.01%.
you're right, i looked up some things and found your 1999 example. DES is vulnerable in that sense. 3DES is still relatively secure, however, even given the level of computing power available today. this is the reason why AES and other encryption algorithms have not found as solid of a market as DES. 3DES will eventually be overcome as computers get faster and faster, but for now DES (and all it's permutations) remains pretty much the standard. if you can provide contrary evidence i'd like to hear it.