Simple Steps to Data Encryption: A Practical Guide to Secure Computing (Paperback)

Everyone wants privacy and security online, something that most computer users have more or less given up on as far as their personal data is concerned. There is no shortage of good encryption software, and no shortage of books, articles and essays that purport to be about how to use it. Yet there is precious little for ordinary users who want just enough information about encryption to use it safely and securely and appropriately--WITHOUT having to become experts in cryptography.

Data encryption is a powerful tool, if used properly. Encryption turns ordinary, readable data into what looks like gibberish, but gibberish that only the end user can turn back into readable data again. The difficulty of encryption has much to do with deciding what kinds of threats one needs to protect against and then using the proper tool in the correct way. It's kind of like a manual transmission in a car: learning to drive with one is easy; learning to build one is hard.

The goal of this title is to present just enough for an average reader to begin protecting his or her data, immediately. Books and articles currently available about encryption start out with statistics and reports on the costs of data loss, and quickly get bogged down in cryptographic theory and jargon followed by attempts to comprehensively list all the latest and greatest tools and techniques. After step-by-step walkthroughs of the download and install process, there's precious little room left for what most readers really want: how to encrypt a thumb drive or email message, or digitally sign a data file.

There are terabytes of content that explain how cryptography works, why it's important, and all the different pieces of software that can be used to do it; there is precious little content available that couples concrete threats to data with explicit responses to those threats. This title fills that niche.

By reading this title readers will be provided with a step by step hands-on guide that includes:

• Simple descriptions of actual threat scenarios
• Simple, step-by-step instructions for securing data
• How to use open source, time-proven and peer-reviewed cryptographic software
• Easy to follow tips for safer computing
• Unbiased and platform-independent coverage of encryption tools and techniques

• Simple descriptions of actual threat scenarios
• Simple, step-by-step instructions for securing data
• How to use open source, time-proven and peer-reviewed cryptographic software
• Easy-to-follow tips for safer computing
• Unbiased and platform-independent coverage of encryption tools and techniques

每個人都希望在線上擁有隱私和安全，對於他們的個人數據而言，大多數電腦使用者已經或多或少放棄了這一點。儘管有很多優秀的加密軟體，也有很多自稱是關於如何使用它的書籍、文章和論文，但對於只想獲得足夠的加密資訊以安全、適當地使用它的普通使用者來說，這方面的資訊卻非常有限，而不需要成為密碼學專家。

如果正確使用，數據加密是一個強大的工具。加密將普通可讀數據轉換為看起來像亂碼的數據，但只有最終使用者才能將其轉換回可讀數據。加密的困難程度在很大程度上取決於決定需要保護哪些類型的威脅，然後以正確的方式使用適當的工具。這有點像汽車的手動變速器：學習使用手動變速器很容易，但學習如何製造一個手動變速器卻很難。

本書的目標是為普通讀者提供足夠的資訊，讓他們立即開始保護自己的數據。目前關於加密的書籍和文章從數據損失的成本統計和報告開始，很快就陷入了密碼學理論和術語，然後試圖全面列出所有最新和最好的工具和技術。在逐步指導下載和安裝過程之後，幾乎沒有空間給大多數讀者真正想要的內容：如何加密隨身碟或電子郵件，或者如何對數據文件進行數字簽名。

有很多內容解釋了密碼學的工作原理、其重要性以及可以用於加密的各種軟體，但很少有內容將具體的數據威脅與明確的應對措施相結合。本書填補了這一空白。

通過閱讀本書，讀者將獲得一個逐步操作指南，其中包括：

- 實際威脅情境的簡單描述
- 保護數據的簡單、逐步指示
- 如何使用開源、經過時間驗證和同行評審的加密軟體
- 更安全計算的易於遵循的提示
- 對加密工具和技術的公正和平台無關的涵蓋