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Make your own wallet-sized Enigma(tm)-like Machine

Step 5Okay, I've got this thing, and it looks cool and all, but how do I use it?

Okay, I\
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  • CAT.jpg
  • AAA.jpg
  • AAB.jpg
First, set the machine into your desired initial setting, which can be described with a 3 character sequence.  In the first photo here, you can see that I have set it to "CAT".

Then follow the process described in all the little boxes in the second photo.  Note that in that photo I have set the rotors to position "AAA". 

Then, after enciphering each letter, you might want to advance the reflector one position.  The third photo shows the setting changed to "AAB" by advancing the rotor one position. 

If you are enciphering long messages you would also want to advance the other rotors from time to time, but that is beyond the scope of this instructible.  But if you are just using it to turn passwords into a two-factor system, then don't even bother advancing the reflector, as the message length will be very short, typically only 8 or so characters, and thus difficult to attack using frequency analysis.  More to the point, if you are using it for passwords, then the cipher text will never be revealed to anyone, making frequency analysis VERY difficult.

After a bit of practice I found that I could use this procedure to encipher or decipher (remember that this is a symetric cihper, so deciphering uses exactly the same process as enciphering) an 8 letter password in between 60 and 100 seconds. 

Okay, that's not real fast, but it is just using a cardboard code wheel, and it has not batteries to go flat, and can secure a virtually limitless number of passwords!

But there is a faster way to use it, too...

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Author:gardners