PIpicture·Sep 4, 2023
Also see Infinite Noise TRNG https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise
In Hardware Random Bit Generatorwaywardgeek
infnoise
C2016–2023
waywardgeek / infnoise
infnoise
The world's easiest TRNG to get right
5Distinct people
8Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
854GitHub stars
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What it is
The world's easiest TRNG to get right
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 5:04:57 PM UTC.
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HN mentions by year8 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2016-09-07 14:27:46 UTC to 2023-09-04 09:43:08 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
What Hacker News says
8 sourcesAnother hardware random generator that's easier to "get right": Infinite Noise
https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise
https://www.crowdsupply.com/13-37/infinite-noise-trng
In Turbid: A High-Entropy Random GeneratorThis is basically what the Infinite Noise[1] project does.
Speed is limited by the speed of a gain stage and a comparator, and can run in excess of 100 Mbit/second per second with high performance components. Cheap solutions with CMOS quad op-amps can run at 8Mbit/second.
This implementation uses Keccak-1600 with cryptographically secure reseeding of more than 400 bits of entropy at a time, overcoming a trickle in/out problem present in the GNU/Linux /dev/random system. Users who need many megabytes per second of data for use in cryptography can set the outputMultiplier as high as they like, which causes Keccak to generate outputMultiplier*256 bits per reseeding by the Infinite Noise TRNG.
[1]: https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise
In Massively parallel ultrafast random bit generation with a chip-scale laserThe need for 18v seems like an annoyance.
In your link they supply it from a battery, but if you want this as a RNG for a computer you aren't going to want a battery...
You can use a regulator to supply it but the noise from the regulator will be a critical consideration since the noise from the regulator may be predictable to an outside observer. So that deserves a careful design.
This sort of design seems simpler to get right at least electronics wise, https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise but OTOH the underlying noise process is a lot less clear than a zener, and I would worry that it's picking up external RF.
In A Simple Unpredictable Random Number Generator (1986) [pdf]Infnoise: https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise
https://www.tindie.com/products/WaywardGeek/infinite-noise-t...
In RTL-entropy: Uses RTL-SDR to turn a DVB-T dongle into an entropy sourceThis is pretty cool use of tech that goes back to SGI. It's definitely not the practical solution to TRNG's. There are analog solutions that use basic physics and EE techniques to generate noise fast, cheap, in tiny footprint if you want, and with a lot of potential diversity in supply chain. Here's an example of an open one:
https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise/blob/master/README.m...
In A wall of lava lamps helps encrypt the internetInfinite Noise – Simple, Open-Source TRNG
140 points · Open discussionWaywardGeek built one on thermal noise that's on Tindie for about $35:
https://github.com/waywardgeek/infnoise
https://www.tindie.com/products/WaywardGeek/infinite-noise-t...
I remember him from the CipherShed project that was trying to reboot TrueCrypt. Discussed securing the build system & distribution. He seemed smart. I have no experience with Tindie, though, so I'd appreciate feedback from anyone that knows about them. He also includes BOM, etc on the GitHub so someone can source and build it themselves.
In How to Generate Secure Random Numbers in Various Programming Languages