This is NOT a $5 challenge. This is to show you how to WIN $5 - yes, $5. Paid to you directly through PayPal, or to a charity of your choice. (No political/environmental groups, though. Food banks? Yes. Red Cross? Hatian Relief? Sure. Save the Whales? Maybe, if they're destined for a food bank. Greenpeace? No. DNC or RNC? Very emphatically not.)
Now, each $5 challenge consists of a header (which may seem nonsensical at times) which has embedded in it the Key Phrase used to decrypt the encrypted message.
At the risk of seeming redundant, the message body will ALWAYS follow the header.
The header ALWAYS has the Key Phrase embedded in it.
How do you identify the Key Phrase? Well, that's the trick - isn't it?
Let's look at a Sample Challenge. Remarks are set off by the ## - those aren't part of the message.
## Sample Challenge Starts Here
##Header Starts
BOSTON! Boston Hats, Boston Shirts - Boston the band!
Band on the Run! (No, that was Wings...)
It's more than a feeling - and a great feeling when you win!
## Header End
## Note:
## The Key Phrase will ALWAYS be in the header.
## The header is ALWAYS before the encrypted text.
## The Key Phrase is ALWAYS going to be either two or three words.
## The Key Phrase will NEVER be only one word or more than three words.
## The FIRST Secret has an exception to the above rule.
## The words will ALWAYS be sequential in the header.
## There will USUALLY NOT be punctuation in the Key Phrase.
## The FIRST Secret may have an exception to the above rule.
## The encryption-decryption site is ALWAYS going to be part of the encrypted message. (See bold print in encrypted message.)
## Instructions for getting the $5 will ALWAYS be in the encrypted message.
##### Encrypted: decrypt with http://www.fourmilab.ch/javascrypt/
ZZZZZ AWRVF XAVXD PIHQM MPBRV RGPOC IIFQA NGKFK UFGQS LJAQA FBJRO
GHVAK LRBIC OKVXM PJHCM DLKKC PWNDP IEFWQ CUHCR BCBIT QFUMK UPCGX
ELMFJ NUBCE OLSWS TIQAK QKLPX TBRHR KUXLI JTQBE XGRUD KKVPA CMOQS
UIRLH HDKCW VPRIQ SLPAN HNLPB HEVPD HXZZZ YYYYY
##### End encrypted message
So. Given the rules for the Key Phrase, and knowing the location, you'd look for two or three word combos, and use them as the Key at the decoder site. You WILL need to read the instructions on the decoder site.
In this case, the key "Boston the band" yeilds a decrypted text of:
Did you associate Boston with seafood? Lobsters, perhaps?
Of course, sometimes identifying the Key Phrase isn't going to be easy... but then again, isn't a Challenge supposed to be at least SLIGHTLY difficult?
So... there's 4 challenges out there - you could pick up an easy $20. What are you waiting for? Get to cracking!