Cryptography for Dummies

Computers and use of the Internet have fostered new interest in cryptog- raphy partly due to the new emphasis on Personal privacy. Little did I realize that in our efforts to make it easy for computers to share stuff, it would make it easy for other people to see all of our personal stuff, too. Perhaps you’ve discovered for yourself that it is far too easy for unknown persons to read your e-mail, private documents, love letters, financial information, and so on. The Internet is truly the Global Village . . . a village where everyone can see what you do and hear what you say. The good news is that you can use cryptography to protect yourself from the eavesdroppers and Peeping Toms of the village.

Not only can cryptography scramble your files, but it can also be used to prove who you are (and maybe who you aren’t!). Cryptography can be used to alert you if the contents of a file have been changed, attest to the identity of the person who sent you a message, keep online communications safe and secure, and, of course, hide important data. And the best news of all is that not every cryptographic solution is expensive, and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to incorporate crypto solutions into your network.

Download