PC Security:
About Encryption and Making
Your System Secure
by Ainuddin Mohamad
Encryption simply makes it
harder for people to gain access to important information,
like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first
thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm
that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and
that...
What
does encryption do for me?
Encryption
and cryptographic software has been used in many different
ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only
a few ways that such software can make your system more
secure, including:
1) Encrypting
your email
2) Encrypting
your files
To
programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information.
There are many more programs out there that will help, but
these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They
have the added benefit of both being free with source code
available.
Will
encryption stop people from accessing my information?
Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to
important information, like passwords or sensitive information
in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is
that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or
more complex and that affects how securely what you have
encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken
when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is
easy to break.
Why
bother to encrypt my email?
It should be
noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two
very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed
easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is
really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that
someone has snooped around in your email despite your best
intentions to stop it.
How do I go
about encrypting my email?
There are
many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email.
A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu
offshoot GPG.
PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/)
self-describes itself this way: This "is a program that gives
your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have:
Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody
but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the
message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters.
PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most
sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted
text."
Why
bother to encrypt my files?
The
answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer.
If you have financial data with important information like
social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and
passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable
information. Most corporate Internet security employees will
attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information.
As long as you are connected to the Internet you are
vulnerable.
How
do I go about encrypting my files?
AxCrypt File
Encryption Software (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/)
Self-described as "Free Personal Privacy and Security for
Windows 98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption,
Compression and transparent Decrypt and Open in the original
application."
About the Author
Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of
http://www.BestWebsites.com.my which is a Directory of Best Websites. Since
July 2000
BestWebsites.com.my has featured thousands of best websites in many
categories of interest with descriptions/reviews given by leading publications
and webmasters.
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