Cryptanalysis is the science of making encrypted data unencrypted. Cryptanalysts Practitioners of cryptanalysis are known as cryptanalysts. Cryptanalysis in Context A cryptographer will use cryptography to convert plaintext into ciphertext and a cryptanalyst will use cryptanalysis to attempt to turn that ciphertext back into plaintext. Both the cryptographer and the cryptanalyst are cryptologists. Cryptography and cryptanalysis are the two sides of cryptology.

Kerberos is a network authentication protocol which utilizes symmetric cryptography to provide authentication for client-server applications. Kerberos Standard Definition Kerberos is defined in RFC 1510 – The Kerberos Network Authentication Service (V5). Kerberos Architecture The core of  Kerberos architecture is the KDC (Key Distribution Server). The KDC stores authentication information and uses it to securely authenticate users and services. This authentication is called secure because it: Does not appear as plaintext Does not rely on authentication by the host operating system Does not base trust on IP addresses Does not Read More

There are times when you do not want to download anti-virus software. These may include: Your computer is too infected or broken to install new software You are on someone elses computer and you don’t want to install software You just need to do a quick check, without the hassle of software installation The solution for virus scanning at those times is to utilize an online virus scanner. Note: Most online virus scanners require Internet Explorer with ActiveX enabled. Online Virus Scanners Trend Micro Housecall Trend Micro HouseCall thoroughly scans Read More

MSN is an ISP (Internet Service Provider) which is owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation. In addition, Microsoft uses the MSN brand on a number of web sites which they operate. How to Change Your MSN Password The way to change your MSN password is to change your Microsoft Passport password. Changing your Microsoft Passport password will change your MSN password, Hotmail password and MSN Messenger password. Steps to Change Your Microsoft MSN Password Login to Microsoft Passport Go to the Microsoft Passport Network: Account Services Home page Select the Read More

Sometimes instead of encrypting a file or a set of files, you want to encrypt an entire file system, partition, or disk. One of the chief advantages of this approach is that, once you have entered your encryption key, the encryption becomes transparent to both you and your applications. When you power off your computer, your data is securely encrypted. It is the best of both worlds. What is Whole Disk Encryption Whole disk encryption is a process in which every bit of data that is on a disk is Read More

Email phishing scams have been around just about as long as email itself. The term email phishing refers to the act of maliciously sending a fake or fraudulent email in order to trick the receiver into visiting a malicious website, downloading a malware infected email attachment, or purposely giving up vital pieces of private information. The next generation of phishing attacks is referred to as spear phishing. This attack is similar to traditional phishing, except that the phishing email is only sent to people in a small, related group such Read More

A known plaintext attack is an attack where the cryptanalyst has access to the ciphertext and the plaintext of one or more pieces of data. A known plaintext attack is somewhat easier to mount than a chosen plaintext attack, because a known plaintext attack does not require the cryptanalyst to be able to feed data into the encryption device, it only requires him to know what data is being fed into the device.

Microsoft Access had no encryption capability until the release of Microsoft Access 2007. With the MS Access 2007 release, encryption is now available. Encryption Requirements To encrypt your access database you must use a new database format released with MS Access 2007, the ACCDB format. Differences between the original MDB format and the new ACCDB format can be found here. If you need to convert your older database to the ACCDB format perform these operations: Open Microsoft Access 2007. Click the “Microsoft Office Button”. It should be in the left Read More

Packet sniffing is the act of intercepting and recording traffic that passes over a specific section or location on a network. As the data passes across the network, a packet sniffer application saves each packet for later use. Network administrators and law enforcement packet sniff for legitimate reasons, but rogue actors who use the captured traffic to steal private and corporate information also use it. How does Packet Sniffing Work? In normal network operations, a computer or networked device only looks at network packets that are addressed to the respective Read More

There are two circumstances that can cause someone to want to change his/her AOL password: 1) forgetting the AOL password and needing to recover it and 2)  to change the AOL password. The latter can be because the AOL password has leaked to someone or the user wants to adhere to the good practice of changing his/her password periodically. It is a good practice to change one’s AOL password at least once in a month. Changing an AOL Password The following steps show in detail how to change an AOL Read More