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The popularity of the modern internet has made security a focal issue for websites and applications. Without appropriate security measures, you leave your online business open to a host of vulnerabilities.A large part of surfing the internet involves sending sensitive personal information. Some examples of personal information you exchange with great frequency include passwords, PINs, and phone numbers.

With such a great deal of information being exchanged on a daily basis, security is now a major concern on the internet. All methods of security rely on encryption, which involves encoding data in such a way that it is not easily decoded except by the author (person or computer) with the appropriate key.

There are two main methods of encryption, symmetric-key encryption and public key encryption. In symmetric key encryption, each computer has a secret code used to encrypt data before sending it over a network to another computer. This type of encryption necessitates that the computers that will be communicating are identified before exchanging data. The standard for encryption keys is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This symmetric algorithm uses 128-, 192- or 256-bit keys. This standard is quite secure because of the tremendous number of key combinations.

One of the weaknesses of the symmetric key method of encryption is that the users that intend to communicate with each other need a secure way of doing so, otherwise an attacker can easily steal the data. In light of this, there is an alternative to symmetric-key encryption. The alternative to symmetric-key encryption is public-key encryption or asymmetric key encryption.

Public-key encryption is a combines the use of a private key and a public key. The private key is only available to your computer, and the public key is provided by your computer to any other computer that requests to communicate securely with it. In order to decode an encrypted message, a computer needs its own private key and the public key from the computer sending the message.The message being sent is not secure, because the public key is available to everyone. An additional caveat is that the message cannot actually read without the private key. The key itself utilizes prime numbers, and because of the potentially infinite number of prime numbers available, this system is extremely secure.

For large-scale implementation, public-key encryption requires the use of digital certificates. A digital certificate is a unique piece of code or a large number that verifies that a web server is trusted by an independent certificate authority. It validates that the computer's identity is legitimate and provides the public keys of each computer to the other.

The other aspect of security is authentication. Authentication is a method of identifying that data is coming from a trusted source. The most widely known methods of authentication include passwords, pass cards, digital signatures, and biometrics. Biometrics uses biological information to verify identity. Authentication and encryption work hand in hand to ensure security.

The final consideration is that data being sent over a network has not been corrupted while being sent. Pretty Good Privacy is probably one of the best software programs for encrypting your data. Check your local computer retailer or online shops for the best in data encryption software!

Source: howstuffworks.com
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