How to Speak Like an Expert on File Sharing

How to Speak Like an Expert on File Sharing

How do you keep your information safe? File sharing programs are commonplace and can be a minefield of viruses and spam. In 2011 alone there were 535 data breach occurrences in the USA, causing the theft of over 30 million consumer records. The information security conversation is more lively than ever. Here’s a handy guide to some basic terms and ideas that are frequently discussed:

Different Types of Servers
A server is simply a computer on a network that manages the resources in that network. Here is a list of some different types of servers:
-Mail Server
-Server Platforms
-Web Server
-Application Server
-Collaboration Server
-List Server
-Telnet Server
-Open Source Server
-FTP Server
-Proxy and Reverse Proxy Server

What is a reverse proxy?
A proxy is a computer in a network that serves as a hub through which requests are processed. A reverse proxy collects information from different types of servers on behalf of a client and then returns this information to the client as though it originated from the proxy server.

What is ftp? What is ftps?
Ftp stands for file transfer protocol. It is used to transfer files between computers on a network. Ftps is an extension of ftp that adds support for encryption. Ftp can be used through a simple command system, but there are also commercial systems that streamline the process.

What is Managed File Transfer?
Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a a software alternative to ftp that manages the secure transfer of files between computers on a network.

What is Encryption?
-Encryption is the process of taking information and transforming it into an unreadable algorithm called ciphertext.
-There are two ways to encrypt information: Symmetric encryption (or secret key encryption) and asymmetric encryption (or public key encryption)
-The most common encryption and authentication method is the RSA algorithm

Symmetric Vs Asymmetric Encryption
-Symmetric encryption was first and is most widely recognized
-Symmetric encryption uses a secret key to encode the information, and then uses the same key to decrypt it when the file is delivered
-Asymmetric encryption uses two keys, one public and one private, for encoding and decoding the information. This eliminates the security risk of others knowing the encryption key

What is PGP?
PGP stands for Pretty Good Privacy. It is an encryption program geared toward privacy in data communication. It is most often used for increasing security in email communications via encryption and decryption of texts, emails, files, etc.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it covers the basics. Leave any questions in the comments!