Anyone good at cracking codes?

[PCFiend138]

Im moving into a new apartment next weekend and as I was going through my collections of crap I found a code I wrote as a kid. It has stood the test of time so far, none of my friends at the time could decipher it, and over the years as I come across it again I post something coded in it and nobody has been able to figure it out yet. If anybody is interested Ill post something. It takes a LONG time to type it out so if there isn't any interest Im not bothering. Should I type something out? Anyone want to take a crack at it?

 

[Billski]

I was here and read your words, but I don't crack codes. I'll come back and look at this.

 

[DanielB]

Would taking and posting a photo be easier, or is the cypher/decoded message visible?

I love a challenge.

 

[BSAGuy]

Go for it. Post a sample.

 

[morgantruce]

Why do I suspect we're being set up for something?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Why do I suspect we're being set up for something?

I am suspicious, too.

PC, if you wrote it as a kid then I am assuming it is a simple direct substitution cypher and not a one-time pad code. Also you would probably remember the book or file or document you used if it was a one-time pad. I am also assuming that you operated with whole characters, and not binary bits of the ascii, nor did you use any sort of pseudorandom hash method. So a simple dictionary attack should do the trick. This will be particularly easy if you left the spaces between words. Frequency of appearance of the cyphertext characters is useful, too. Google is your friend. You should be able to do this in an hour or less. Way less, actually.

SO, I think you are up to something.

 

[rebelpride1653]

Sounds like fun

 

[PCFiend138]

Why do I suspect we're being set up for something?

...I think you are up to something.

I was bored and experiencing "i can't believe i still have this" syndrome and figured why not. rebelpride1653 is on the same train of thought, it could be fun.

 

[PCFiend138]

So after taking forever to type out, here it is. I knew I was bored when I was indoors as a child but this was just ridiculous. I cannot believe i had time to write, and translate, messages to and from my friends... Oh the joys of pre adultness. But yea, with google and everything now, it probably won't be too difficult to figure out.

(“ 2p5whk/’/g6c8fv)(0k3mp1/cg3p94/37dz5g/i7h4nd/k9f5bc)(g6c8fv/37dz5g/zrd4k9),(be10j3/m3794b/cg3p94/be10j3/25g49c)(2p5whk/d4i8pz)(t9i3vx/5n03gd/d4i8pz).(2p5whk)(37dz5g/g6c8fu)(d4i8pz/m3794b/cg3p94)(fn0g3d/7b2syd/d4i8pz/295whk/g6c8fv/37dz5g/d4i8pz/cg3p94)(696dfc/37dz5g/i7h4n9/37dz5g/a07ej9/a07ej9)!(a07ej9/d4i8pz/37dz5g/d4i8pz/cg3p94)-(t9i3vvx/8a2el5)-(d4i8pz/m3794b/cg3p94)-(696dec/37dz5g/i7h4np/37dz5g/a07ej9/a07ej9)-(37dz5g/0k3mp1/d4i8pz)!(e893dj/t9i3vx/5n0g3d)(i7h4nd/t9i3vx)(zrd4k9/t9i3vx/d4i8pz)(n03f70/37dz5g/zrd4k9/d4i8pz)(d4i8pz/t9i3vx)(g6c8fv/cg3p94/a07ej9/a07ej9)(n03f70/2p5whk/d4i8pz/m3794b)(g6c8fv/cg3p94)!(be10j3/m3794b/cg3p94/be10j3/2kg49c)(2p5whk/d418pz)(t9i3vx/5n0g3d/d4i8pz).(m3794b/cg3p94/e8p3dj)(0k3mp1/2p5whk/8c23jg/7b2syp/cg3p94/e8p3dj)!(i7h4nd/t9i3vx/zrd4k9/‘/d4i8pz)(n03f70/t9i3vx/0k3mp1/0k3mp1/e8p3dj),(g6c8fv/cg3p94)(37dz5g/zrd4k9/i7h4nd)(g6c8fv/e8p3dj)(a07ej9/hb3tlc/5n0g3d/37dz5g/ith4nd)(t9i3vx/8a3elf)(5n0g3d/7b2syp/d4i8pz/2p5whk/g6c8fv/37dz5g/d4i8pz/cg3p94)(696dfc/37dz5g/ith4nd/37dz5g/a07ej9/a07ej9)(n03f70/ 2p5whk/7b2syd/7b2syd)(8c23jg/0k3mp1/t9i3vx/d4i8pz/cg3p94/b310j3/d4i8pz)(e8p3dj/t9i3vx/5n0g3d).(be10jc/m3794b/cg3p94/be10j3/25g49c)(2p5whk/d4i8pz)(t9i3vx/5n0g3d/d4i8pz),(2p5whk/zrd4k9/i7h4nd/cg3p94/8c23jg/cg3p94/zrd4k9/i7h4nd/cg3p94/zrd4k9/d4i8pz/7b2syd/e8p3dj)(d4i8pz/37dz5g/0k3mp1/j62q9v/cg3p94/d4i8pz/2p5whk/zrd4k9/j62q9v)(8c23jg/37dz5g/0k3mp1/d4i8pz/2p5whk/be10j3/7b2syd/cg3p94/-/696dfc/cg3p94/37dz5g/g6c8fv)(8c23jg/m3794b/37dz5g/7b2syd/37dz5g/zrd4k9/37dz5g/0m9k4h)(k9f5bc/k9f5bv/n03f70/m3794b/37dz5g/8c23jg)!(8a2el5/0k3mp1/e8p3dj)(m3794b/37dz5g/7b2syd/8a2el5)(37dz5g)(be10j3/2p5whk/d4i8pz/e8p3dj)(n03f70/2p5whk/d4i8pz)(d4i8pz/m3794b/a07ej9)(8c23jg/5n0g3d/8c23jg/8c23jg/ep83dj).(n03f70/cg3p94)(j62q9v/t9i3vx/d4i8pz)(d4i8pz/37dz5g/be10j3/d4i9pz/2p5whk/be10j3/7b2syd/cg3p94)(a07ej9/g6c8fv/37dz5g/0k3mp1/d4i8pz)(g6c8fv/2p5whk/a07ej9/a07ej9/7b2syd/cg3p94/a07ej9),(8c22jg/m3794b/37dz5g/a07ej9/cg3p94/-/8c23jg/7b2syd/37dz5g/a07ej9/gc8fv/37dz5g)(8c23jg/5n0g3d/7b2syd/a07ej9/cg3p94)(0k3mp1/2p5whk/8a2el57b2syd/cg3p94/z07ej9),(n03f70/cg3p94)(j62q94/t9i3vx/d4i8pz)(a07ej9/t9i3vx/zrd4k9/2p5whk/be10j3)(cg3p94/7b2syd/cg3p94/be10j3/d4i8pz/0k3mp1/t9i3vx/zrd4k9/2p5whk/be10j3)(696dfc/37dz5g/7b2syd/7b2syd)(696dfc/0k3mp1/cg3p94/37dz5g/25g49/cg3p94/0k3mp1/a07ej9)!(n03f70/cg3p94)(j62q9v/t9i3vx/d4i8pz)(zrd4k9/5n0g3d/25g49c/cg3p94/a07ej9),(25g49c/zrd4k9/2p5whk/k9f5bc/cg3p94/a07ej9),(a07ej9/m3794b/37dz5g/0k3mp1/8c23jg)(a07ej9/d4i8pz/2p5whk/be10j3/25g49c/a07ej9”)

 

[BSAGuy]

Does it say - "Ouch is the king of B&B?"

 

[PCFiend138]

Does it say - "Ouch is the king of B&B?"

couldn't you have pretended it took you more than 3 minuted to figure out? It took me over an hour just to type it.

 

[BSAGuy]

That's good, PCFiend. Thanks for understanding my weak attempt at humor. That is a lot of typing and I look forward to seeing what the code-crackers here come up with.

couldn't you have pretended it took you more than 3 minuted to figure out? It took me over an hour just to type it.

 

[PCFiend138]

I was going to say it says 'was' king, but i didn't want ouch to send his knights after me, my fingers are mildly tired and i don't think i could adequately hold my sword to fight with

 

[August West]

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine®.

 

[Slash McCoy]

couldn't you have pretended it took you more than 3 minuted to figure out? It took me over an hour just to type it.

Looks like you have some typos, too.

 

[rebelpride1653]

My head hurts now.

side question how long it it take for you to come up with this

 

[rebelpride1653]

I'm going to have to have my computer programmer father look at this because it looks like hexadecimal and is way more than my newspaper cryptoquip mind can handle

 

[PCFiend138]

side question how long it it take for you to come up with this

I have no recollection, but probably not too long, honestly. Ive always been good at problem solving. Id always get in trouble for "not showing my work" in grade school. I probably made a game of making sure that there were no repeating sequences and what not. I wrote it when i was 11 while Da was stationed at Elmendorf AFB near Anchorage. So it was probably at like 2 in the morning with sunlight shining through the window while my insomnia was being clingy.

 

[Raissermesser]

Interesting. I'll take a wild guess that each world is separated by parenthesis and each character by a slash. Punctuation is left unaltered. There's repetition, and my guess that each group is a letter in substitution style.

 

[Raissermesser]

PC, if you wrote it as a kid then I am assuming it is a simple direct substitution cypher and not a one-time pad code. Also you would probably remember the book or file or document you used if it was a one-time pad. I am also assuming that you operated with whole characters, and not binary bits of the ascii, nor did you use any sort of pseudorandom hash method. So a simple dictionary attack should do the trick. This will be particularly easy if you left the spaces between words. Frequency of appearance of the cyphertext characters is useful, too. Google is your friend. You should be able to do this in an hour or less. Way less, actually.

Grin. We went from substitution ciphers to Civil War era by Junior High. Most Civil War codes weren't great shakes - one the Union could crack almost as soon as they intercepted the message. We did some tinkering with code words to scramble messages and using multiple keys. Nothing that would make a cryptographer break a sweat, but a bit more than a substitution cipher.