Cryptography for Dummies

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 336 pages
• Published by: For Dummies January 30, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764541889
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764541889
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

Product Review
“…a useful guide for anyone bamboozled by encryption…” (PC Utilities, June 2004)

“The reader can dip into it whenever the mood takes them…” (MicroMart, 29^th April 2004)

Product Description

• Cryptography is the most effective way to achieve data security and is essential to e-commerce activities such as online shopping, stock trading, and banking
• This invaluable introduction to the basics of encryption covers everything from the terminology used in the field to specific technologies to the pros and cons of different implementations
• Discusses specific technologies that incorporate cryptography in their design, such as authentication methods, wireless encryption, e-commerce, and smart cards
• Based entirely on real-world issues and situations, the material provides instructions for already available technologies that readers can put to work immediately
• Expert author Chey Cobb is retired from the NRO, where she held a Top Secret security clearance, instructed employees of the CIA and NSA on computer security and helped develop the computer security policies used by all U.S. intelligence agencies

Reader Reviews
Cryptography is one of the most intimidating aspects of computer security, conjuring up, as it does, such concepts as hash functions and public-key infrastructures. For the average user who wants to know about cryptography without gaining the proficiency of a cryptographer, Cryptography for Dummies is the perfect introduction. The book details the core elements of cryptography that the average user needs to understand, leaving the theoretical topics to more long-winded texts. Emphasis is put on simplicity and straightforwardness, with as little gibberish as possible. Screen shots and illustrations are used effectively without being condescending or insulting. As the book progresses, the chapters plumb more detail. Those wishing just a quick introduction should stop after part one. For the more ambitious, sections on public-key infrastructures, secured sockets layer, authentication systems, and virtual private networks lie ahead.