MD5 Checksum Utility
explanatory Essay
1088 words
MD5 Checksum Utility The goal of this paper is to define and explore the MD5 checksum utility. It is also my goal to discuss how to use MD5 checksums to support Incident Response. First off, I will start with talking a little about MD5 and where it stems from. In relation to cryptography, MD5 stands for Message Digest Algorithm 5. It is also known as RFC 1321. Cryptography is the basis for secure communications .It is by definition, a science of writing or reading coded message. MD5 falls under the category of Hash Functions. A hash function takes a message of arbitrary length and spits out a fixed length code. The output is called the message digest or hash. One way hash functions are used to provide a "fingerprint" of a message or file. The hash fingerprint is supposed to be unique and because of this can prove the authenticity of the message. MD5 was developed by a professor named Ronald Rivest of the prestigious MIT. He created the algorithm to replace an earlier hash function which was MD4. The main job of this digest is to provide some sort of assurance that a transferred file has indeed arrived intact. MD5 along with another hash function called SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm), are the most widely used in current product implementations. The main MD5 message digest is represented as 16-byte (128-bits) Hexadecimal number ( written as 32 characters using the digits 0-9 and A-F or a-f ). This value can be found all over the internet. The checksum is a type of redundancy check that will verify the data in a number of ways. MD5 allows a string of unique letters and numbers to stand for data. MD5 can be used across all platforms making it universal. You can use it with windows, or any other operating system that you wish. I myself used it on Windows XP and it worked flawlessly. While MD5 checksums are used mostly for data verification and for passwords, it is important to note that applications that decompile MD5 sums are widely available on the internet among other places. One should use caution when storing a password with it.
In this essay, the author
- Explains md5 checksum utility and how it can be used to support incident response. cryptography is the basis for secure communications.
- Explains that md5, along with sha, are the most widely used in current product implementations.
- Explains that md5 message digest is represented as 16-byte (128-bits) hexadecimal number. the checksum is a type of redundancy check that will verify the data in various ways.
- Explains that md5 checksums are used mostly for data verification and passwords, but decompilers are widely available on the internet. one should use salt when hashing a password.
- Explains that incident response is a response to an occurrence that deals with information security.
- Explains the main goal of incident response is to minimize down time, minimize cost of recovery, and minimize damage as well. they recommend using preventive measures to make sure that an incident doesn't happen.
- Explains that md5 can be used as a preventive measure for incident response. it will allow you to check the integrity of files that are sent across the internet.
- Explains that they followed the md5 powerpoint tutorial on mr. kaufman's website and installed the program on their entire c drive.
- Opines that they would like to obtain more info on md5 and its uses.
Related
- explanatory
- opinionated
- comparative
- analytical
- The Definition and Importance of Data Encryptionexplanatory essayData Encryption is from the cryptography science, which includes coding and decoding of message to protect the safety. Development computer technology makes the encryption even more complicated. The ability for people to break codes is increasing, so are the ability to guard the codes. Many encryptions are available now. They were developed by some hi-tech company and sold, or you can choose some free service. Actually, when you are using the web browsers, emails, or even the basic system, your information has been automatically encrypted.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that data encryption is the easiest and most practical way to secure the information that we stored and processed, and it's important for our sensitive information.
- Explains that cryptography has a long history working with the secrets, even before there is digital information.
- Explains that symmetric-key encryption is a secret code that each computer must know in order to decode the information.
- Explains that symmetric key encryption has a fatal weakness. it uses two different keys at the same time, combining private key and public key.
- Explains that american has developed an algorithm called data encryption standard (des), based on an earlier design by horst feistel.
- Explains that secure sockets layer (ssl) is an internet security protocol used by internet browsers and web servers to transmit sensitive information.
- Explains that the key in public key encryption is based on a hash value.
- Explains the use of checksum and cyclic redundancy check (crc) to ensure data correction.
- Explains that ramona fricosu was accused of participating in a small mortgage scam. she secured the data in her computer by encrypting it.
2007 wordsRead More - What Is Steganography?opinionated essayThese days in the age of the Internet when a considerable measure of data is being traded from each other, should be secret about the data and information that are being sent turns out to be more imperative as ever. The Internet is an open circle and there is the risk that secret data might be discharged, more awful, to gatherings of individuals who shouldn 't have it. Hence, distinctive techniques now are being used so that these critical bits of data could be well-kept. Data security has turned into an imperative angle in PCs and innovation. One of these techniques is
In this essay, the author
- Explains that steganography has been used in military, conciliatory, individual and licensed innovation applications.
- Explains that steganography procedures have been utilized for a considerable length of time. the primary application goes back to the old greek times, when delivery person's tattooed messages on their shaved heads.
- Explains that herodotus noticed two cases of steganography in his histories. histiaeus made an impression on his vassal, aristagoras, by shaving the leader of his most trusted hireling, "denoting" the communication onto his scalp.
- Opines that data security has turned into an imperative angle in pcs and innovation.
- Explains that the term steganography originated from the greek work steno which signified secured composing. it alludes to various strategies for interchanges that shroud the message.
- Explains that steganography has become more required amid the seasons of war, since nobody would need the adversary to know the basic data about them.
- Explains that the objective of steganography is not only to conceal the data, but also to interpret the concealed message.
- Concludes that in present day steganography, the entire procedure would just be considered fruitful if the general population couldn't discover any hint of the message.
1266 wordsRead More - Nt1330 Unit 3 Assignmentcomparative essayDatabase security is an increasing concern, especially with the growing levels of loss of data and exposure of unauthorized persons to sensitive information. It is a specific topic in the broad Information and Technology (IT) security. The need to understand database security grows with the expanding use of data that is transferred electronically, the amount of data that is collected and shared (Kedar, 2007). People use computers so much to store our valuable information both at home and at work and, therefore, this data needs to be protected. Some of the data security issues include: deployment failures which is lack of due care at the time of
In this essay, the author
- Explains the purpose of this report to determine the correct security solutions or products that could be employed and show how it is of utmost importance in the world.
- Explains oracle database security's comprehensive portfolio of security solutions, including monitoring and blocking activity, privileged user control, transparent data encryption, and secure configuration management.
- Explains that mcafee identifier captures the end user identity with great accuracy regardless of the traffic.
- Recommends using mcafee's database security solution to protect your databases from all threats in real time, provide vulnerability detection by establishing a security baseline, and provide detailed and continuous report compliance.
- Explains that database security is an increasing concern, especially with the growing levels of loss of data and exposure of unauthorized persons to sensitive information.
- Explains that oracle has a fast password scanner, privileged user controls, and auditing of user activities to ensure accountability.
- Describes fortidb as a broad database security, heterogeneous and compliance platform that supports windows xp/vista, red hat enterprise linux, solaris 10, and virtualized environments.
1490 wordsRead More - HIPAA: Effective Communication In The Healthcare Industryexplanatory essayToday's business world processes the majority of communications through emails, and everything from RFP's to memos to invoices and negotiations will be processed electronically. A lot of our communication has become virtualized, and there are laws that have been put into place to improve network security. Compliance to these standards have been designed for protecting customer information like private and sensitive customer data. The majority of these things will require a yearly vulnerability scan, and there are other password requirements and security measures that need to be practiced.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that today's business world processes the majority of communications through email, and there are laws that have been put into place to improve network security.
- Explains that hipaa protects confidential patient information and medical records, while pci ensures that banking information remains safe from cyber criminals.
- Explains that the sarbanes-oxley act of 2002 lays out a set of rules related to financial reporting, and it has been designed to combat fraud.
270 wordsRead More - MP3's Benefit both Consumers and Record Companiesopinionated essayMP3 is a small compressed format that allows music to be downloaded quickly with very little sacrifice in the sound quality. Moving Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer III is what MP3 stands for. All this came about in the 1980's when a German Institute wanted to code music a different way. They did so and received a patent for the MP3. About 20 years later, there were many applications making MP3's an everyday thing. People around the world were downloading copyrighted music for free (Jones). In 1999, there were 60,000 MP3 websites and 6,000,000 people downloading a day (Knab). No one was concerned, but then Napster arrived (Jones).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how they read the newest interview of their favorite band talking with rolling stone. the rest of the interview is about this new band that they are raving about.
- Explains how they download a song from this mysterious band, which is respected musically by the ones they respect in the business.
- Explains that mp3 is a small compressed format that allows music to be downloaded quickly with very little sacrifice in the sound quality.
- Opines that napster was an mp3 software that allowed any song to be downloaded at any time by anyone who had an internet connection. others like it are being pursued by the music industry in terms of shutting down.
- Opines that the concept of sharing is what the battle is over. most companies now provide a software that allows users to share files.
- Analyzes how the opposition states that mp3 does not offer copyright protection. nick petreley says, "i don't want anyone to make money off of my ideas and work."
- Argues that napster was in trouble with copyright laws because it held a database where the files were stored for users to download from. other companies, like kazaa, don't.
- Explains christopher knab's advice to emerging artists, "hell, give your music away[...]do you want fans or not?!" mp3 opens the door for hard-core music fans. record labels can benefit by responding to fans' wishes for new music
- Explains that sharing files over the internet is an excellent use of technology. anyone with an internet connection can now access almost any song ever recorded.
- Opines that the internet is the most important reason why we use it for music because it is cheap.
- Opines that record labels should applaud the use of sharing applications rather than discourage it.
- Explains that some companies are starting to have a subscription fee for you to access their server. profit is the intention behind every internet music-sharing company.
- Explains that downloading mp3s is illegal and unattainable. if record companies would look at the facts and use this technology to their advantage, everyone would benefit greatly.
- Cites auster, bruce b., "i want my mp3, but who pays the bill?" u.s. news & world report.
- Cites jones, christopher, knab, lazarus, david, petreley, nick, and peterley.
1241 wordsRead More - MP3explanatory essayMP3 stands for MPEG 1 Layer 3 Audio, which is a digital audio compression format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. It takes a CD audio file and gets rid of all the frequencies on the song that can’t be heard by the human ear, thus ridding the data file of much wasted space. With compression, the files turn out to be around four times smaller than the original with the same, near CD quality audio. While “MP3“ may technically be the name of the compression format, it has become synonymous with the music files themselves.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mp3 audio stands for mpeg 1 layer 3 audio, which is a digital audio compression format developed by the moving picture experts group.
- Explains that mp3s are a quarter of the original file size and are easily downloaded from the internet and shared among people.
- Explains that any music cd can be used to create mp3s, even commercial ones. while some users download these copyrighted songs from the internet, the act is illegal.
- Explains that mp3s and websites are a godsend for up and coming bands. they can record cds at any recording studio, then rip them and put them on their website for anyone to download.
- Explains that mp3s allow music lovers around the globe to easily find out about new bands and their music.
- Explains how the mp3 standard was first developed on computers. diamond, a well-known manufacturer of computer multimedia devices, invented the rio.
- Explains that mp3s are easy to pirate, giving the format a bad name and causing bands to lose money. the recording industry association of america sued diamond because of illegal tracks on the player.
- Explains that mp3 compression is one of the greatest computer and internet technologies to come along in a while.
679 wordsRead More - The Home Depot Data Breach Case Studyopinionated essayFor an in-depth defence approach, case study provides a series of things that describe about what is working nowadays for a secure data.
In this essay, the author
- Recommends disabling all unnecessary ports and services on the pos devices.
- Explains that p2p encryption provides encryption at the point of swipe when using your credit or debit card, and encrypts your 4-digit pin code.
- Opines that third-party vendors should be allowed minimal access to perform their tasks, and denied internal resources unless required.
- Explains how to verify downloads if they are malicious and proceed to download. this will yield good results.
- Explains that vulnerability assessments are performed regularly so that we can figure out any vulnerability in the initial stages.
- Explains the use of unique id's to all parties involved to increase the security level.
- Explains the home depot's data breach in 2014, wherein 56 million payment cards were stolen and the issues related to the occurrence.
- Explains that once you have segregated the pos network, you need to apply rules on the networking device responsible for the vlan.
- Opines that the paper about home depot is a good approach with the description of how exactly the home depot worked.
1138 wordsRead More - Your checks are manufactured with a range of security features designed to prevent fraud. If they're not, they should be! Familiarize yourself with these safety features in order to stay safe when dealing with checks.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that checks are manufactured with a range of security features designed to prevent fraud. familiarize yourself with these safety features to stay safe when dealing with checks.
- Explains that although electronic payments surpassed checks ten years ago, checks still represent the largest dollar volume of all transactions, making them the payment method most frequently targeted by criminals.
- Recommends using a high-security check printing system that offers advanced check security features, and using highly secure check stock with at least seven features.
- Explains that checks that include advanced check security features that protect them against counterfeiting and alterations will have a small padlock icon following the word "dollars" on the front of the check.
- Explains that micro-security print is a very small print that will break up if someone attempts to photocopy or scan the check.
- Explains watermarks are subtle designs on the front and back of checks that are visible only when held up to light at a 45-degree angle. they were made during the manufacturing process by applying varying pressure to the paper.
- Explains that copy void pantographs are patented designs in the background pattern of a check that make the pattern disappear and the word "void" appear when the check is copied.
- Explains that security inks are solvents that react with eradicator chemicals, making the check change the appearance.
- Explains that high security checks are your first line of defense against the check fraud. they must be manufactured by the paper mill to the same security specifications as the banks' checks supplier.
- Recommends ordering checks online from a safe place, such as www.ordercheapchecks.org.
532 wordsRead More - A Brief History of Cryptographyanalytical essayComputer science is a vast field that includes nearly everything relating to computers. Everyday there is information transmitted all over the Internet. Pictures are uploaded, transactions are made on thousands of online retail websites, and banking transactions take place everyday on the Internet. All of these transactions have created a need for secure communications. People wish to keep things like banking, medical, and political information from the eyes of unwelcome parties. This has created a need for cryptography. Cryptography is the science or study of the techniques of secret writing, especially code and cipher systems, and is used by everyone from the average citizen to the government and military.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that cryptography was designed to be private key, which means that the two parties involved in the transfer of information met beforehand to agree on the encryption and decryption algorithm, as well as a common secret key.
- Argues that quantum cryptography is a future-proof technology, based on the law of physics, which states that photons are not made for long-distance use.
- Explains how one-way functions are easy to compute and hard to invert. they explain how a hacker without the starting information would have hard time getting anything out of the function.
- Explains that hash functions are used for message integrity. they are effective because there is an extremely low chance that two different messages will produce the same.
- Explains that cracking an encryption can be easy or very hard, depending on the strength of the encryption.
- Explains that cryptography is the science or study of the techniques of secret writing, especially code and cipher systems, used by everyone from the average citizen to the government and military.
- Explains how one-way functions are used to store passwords, such as username and password, and trap-door functions, which make public-key encryption easier.
- Explains that cryptography is the study or science of secret writing, mainly codes and ciphers.
1864 wordsRead More - Computer Virusesexplanatory essayThere is a type of computer program that is designed and written to destroy, alter or damage data stored on computers without your knowledge or permission. These are some of the problems that these programs cause
In this essay, the author
- Explains the difference between viruses, worms and trojan horses in the context of computer and data security.
- Explains the difference between viruses and trojan horses and worms.
- Explains that a computer virus is designed to replicate and spread itself on its own, preferably without anybody knowing it exists.
- Explains that worms are very similar to viruses but are technically different in the way that they replicate and spread through the system.
- Explains that a trojan horse masquerades as legitimate programs and erases your hard drive. they are nasty and difficult to detect, but they do not replicate themselves.
- Explains that there are precautions that can be taken to protect and maintain data security, such as using a virus detection program, making frequent backups, and ensuring there is no unauthorised access.
696 wordsRead More