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Protecting Your Data

Just as the use of the Cyber System has become ubiquitous, the Dark Layer is also increasing to epidemic proportions, almost like a disease. The penetration by Cyber Crime has also blossomed into a poisonous plant that has spread its spores throughout. Data is being evilly hacked or malevolently perverted or even deleted willfully, putting the complete Data Environment into peril. It is predicted that Cyber Crime will cost up to US$6 Trillion by 2021. The intense insecurity over protection of data has increased anxiety levels steeply worldwide, and is threatening to bring down the whole System as in a catastrophic universal landslide. Here are a few Tips To protect Your Data that may lay at least some of the worries to rest.

Some of these Tips To protect Your Data are as follows:

  • Secure Communication: The use of more secure channels in preference to the others is often a good way to prevent subversion. A fine example is WhatsApp security channels, which use encryption (i.e. crypto coding) to prevent hacker access to interpersonal communication. It also allows tailored communications to customers and branches by companies, and allows them to transact business without hindrance or sabotage. The end-to-end encryption provided by some security conscious companies with strong technological bases is ideal for data protection, and is now being increasingly used everywhere.
  • Adding Authentication: The act of adding layers of Authentication protects customers by making penetration of their confidential data by ill-intentioned manipulators more difficult. Real protection consists of many layers. 2FA, or Two factor Authentication, or Mobile Identity, or both, can add to the security of data. 2FA can be applied through SMS, chat apps, push and voice notifications. One-Time PINs for users create an additional Layer of Authentication. These were originally used by the adult escort app SkipThegames (seen here) to fight identity theft and fraud as adult sites are often targets for malicious actors online.
  • Customer Education: The customer is the key, the basis for all protection. Many crimes are committed by the sheer inexperience and lack of knowledge of the customers themselves. Companies need to address the problem by educating the customer, often by holding webinars, emailed advice, public chat sessions over TV, mobile and so on. The main areas of advice should be on how to choose a password, and how to spot an email or web scam.
  • Masking User numbers: The phone numbers used by customers need to be kept secret as far as possible, and masked by the large financial institutions and companies transacting the customer accounts, and tasked with protecting the data. Masking provides further layers of Authentication, privacy and protection.
  • Sending Real Time Alerts: The posting of Alerts in Real Time can prevent the hacking and dilution of many accounts by indicating unusual account activity in time for redressal. The detection and prevention of fraud can sometimes only be addressed by a lightning fast detection and alert system. The system of permission and denial of transfer of large amounts of finance to other safe havens by the criminals, by the use of Real Time Alert systems have foiled many a financial crime.
  • Secure Data Storage: The Storage of Data in a central place has always created more problems than it has solved. While storing all the data in a single location can be an advantage in many ways, such as protection by limiting access, and unifying Customer UX (User Experience), it can also be a source of weakness, by creating a sitting target for cyber criminals. But one thing is becoming abundantly clear. Customer UX is the key to higher Brand values in 2020, leading to far greater popular acceptance. Rather than price of the product and sometimes even the quality, it is the Customer UX that is being treasured the most by the sellers. It is here that Cloud Storage provides some of the best Security techniques available to be applied.

The Security Problem

A 2018 survey has clearly indicated that at least 73% of adults in the US have expressed their extreme concerns over the last few years about deteriorating data security. Another survey has shown that only 21% of people trust that companies handle their data with care.Over 66% of consumers have taken strong steps over securing the privacy of their own data. Data Protection is a vital factor for modern life in 2020.

What Is A Data Breach

It is not for nothing that the age we live in is called the Data Age. Data defines the modern world. Data Science dominates all aspects of commerce, science & technology, and even religion and faith, these days. Much of this data is confidential, and can be disclosed only at the tragic cost of living and life itself. Nations guard against breach of their high-security data with the lives of their soldiers and citizens, while individuals try to protect their intimate and confidential data with their own persons. It is therefore essential for us to study this phenomenon, by trying to answer the question, what is a data breach?

The Value Of Data

The commercial world is perhaps the best example of the value of data, and the cost of data breaches. It is said that the very value of a company depends on its data, and its ability to secure this data. Recently, Target, a billion-dollar company specializing in Credit Cards, found that literally millions of numbers and internal data of credit cards were stolen, in the Q4 (Quarter 4) of 2013. The results were truly tragic. Furious customers savaged the reputation that Target took many decades building, and the customer count dropped sharply by over 10% almost immediately the news of the loss broke. The Quarterly results showed a precipitous drop of 16% in profits. Target is still fighting to regain its old glory, and may still not survive the ferocious competition in the market, with its reputation in tatters. And now, eBay is the victim of another massive Data Breach, and observers are waiting with bated breath to see what the future will hold for this behemoth of the online retail business.

Data Breaches Explained

But, what is a data breach? A Data Breach is defined as the deliberate, intentional, malevolent or even unintentional & accidental release of highly private, delicate and secure information to an environment that is untrustworthy, insecure or uncontrolled, or all of these, and so provide access to unauthorized individuals or groups for whatever purpose or profit that may be sought. The access of information without authorization can hurt business and consumers in numerous ways. It can damage the reputations and the lives of the sufferers immensely, sometimes irreparably. But that in itself must not surprise us. As we transcend the Digital World with the Data world next, impossible masses of potentially sensitive data now occupy our Data storages. Criminals can and do penetrate the Data Stores wherever they can, and are bent on creating the maximum damage. The most common target of these malevolent forces are personally identifiable information, such as full names, social security numbers and credit card numbers. Personal Finances figure as a close second. The huge corporations and monolithic business formats that are increasingly more popular these days in view of their efficiency and competitiveness, are the topmost targets to cyber criminals, because of the large masses of data that can be stolen at one go.

Typical Targets

  • Weak Passwords: The casual or careless use of hackable passwords make it easy for hackers to penetrate accounts. Whole words or phrases are a typical mistake, which hackers find easy to guess. Unique and complex passwords based on individual background experience or isolated memories are always far more difficult to hack.
  • System Vulnerabilities: The use of outdated or outmoded software can itself create weak points for cyber criminals to exploit, and sneak in malware time-bombs for misuse at a convenient moment. They often target specific platforms in which users like anonymity such as adult apps and free local fuck sites. Such was the case with the highly publicized Ashley Madison data breach.
  • Drive-by Downloads: The unplanned or unsolicited browsing of unknown websites, and downloading of software, application or browser that is not fully secured in advance or screened suitably, can result in this type of Data Breach, which can be quite murderous in effect.
  • Targeted Malware Attacks: These attacks are the result of positive malevolent sources, that use phishing and spam and fake emailing tactics to penetrate the user’s guard. Avoidance of links with unfamiliar sources is a must. Once infected, malware can not only damage the computer it has entered, but also the links to which the computer subscribes, and spread the infection far and wide.

Protective Steps

Some steps users can take take to cover themselves are:

  • Strong and secure Passwords are a must. Consider using a password generator.
  • Bank and other financial accounts must be monitored at regular intervals, and sometimes suddenly also, to detect any malfunction or strange behavior.
  • Credit Reports must be checked regularly, and credit cards are bound by law to provide credit reports at least once every 12 months or on demand.
  • The heart of modern communications is the mobile phone, and this must be secured immediately against Data Breaches.
  • Maintain high security in choices of software, URLs, and files.
  • File backup, and wiping Hard Disks are a must.
  • Take instant action whenever a Data Breach is detected.

Different Data Types And File Formats

The data types are used mostly in every programming language. A data type is defined as the type of information which can be processed using your program of computer. It can be numerical, decimal, and alphanumeric etc. For an instance add ten and twenty which can be written as 10+20. Look at another instance add the two decimal numbers 10.50 and 20.50 which can be written as 10.50 + 20.50. Let’s look another example which was written by a student in his notebook like:

Name: XXX
Class: XXX
Section: A
Age: 14

Here the first instance is about the addition of two whole numbers and second instance is about addition of two decimal numbers. The third instance is the mix of everything. The name of the student is Ali Zara which is the character sequence which is also known as string. The 6th class is represented as the mix of whole number and two-character string like it is a mix of alphanumeric number. The section of the student is represented by A and age is shown by 14. In the daily life of ours, we deal with various kinds of data like whole numbers, strings, decimal numbers, and whole numbers etc. When you are going to write the program of a computer for process various type of information, you are required to specify the data type with clarity. If not, the system will no understand how various functioned can be done in the particular data types. Various languages of programming utilize various keywords to mention various types of data.

Data types of C and Java

Java and C supports almost similar data types even though have supports extra data types. Let’s discuss Some common data types supported by both the programming languages.

  • Number is int keyword which ranges from -32,768 to 32,767 or -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
  • Character is the char keyword which ranges from -128 to 127 or 0 to 255
  • Small number is the short which ranges from -32,768 to 32,767
  • Long number is the long which ranges from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
  • Decimal number is the float which ranges from 1.2E-38 to 3.4E+38 till 6 decimal places

These are known as primitive data types for building more complicated data types which is known as user defined data type.

Data types of python

python data types

Python consists of five standard data types but this language of programming does not utilize any keyword for specifying a particular data type. It is the intelligent data type to understand a specific data type in an automatic way. The data types it has are strings, numbers, list, dictionary, and tuple.

The number mentions every number type incorporating decimal numbers. The sting shows the character sequence with the length of one or more characters. The remaining are the advanced data types.

Various types of file formats

When you feel like people are talking in secretive language that you don’t understand, you will think yourself what is all this. That secretive language is various kinds of file formats of computer. Every type of file can support one or more content forms such as video, text, and images. When you decide which one to utilize. It is crucial to note each advantages and drawbacks.

PNG: It is the file format which is of high quality utilized for images. This type of file is dependable on the compression which is lossless which means that it supports images of high quality. It is used for online utilization while acquiring the images colors and sharpness that are original. PNG’s support the images with backgrounds that are transparent.

If you wish to have an image without having any background such as a product or logo, you can save it as file of PNG and utilize different backgrounds. But this file is not lightweight with the JPEG file format. It is going to take up a large storage and enhance your site loading time. It offers file of high quality and supports backgrounds which are transparent. Its main drawback is having heavyweight file. It is better to use it for websites, logos, social networks, and website photos etc.

JPEG: It is in full form called as joint photographic experts’ group. It is the digital cameras and images living natural format present on world wide web. This type of file format is dependable on lossy compression means that is keeps visible data to the viewer and eliminates the information that can’t be perceived by human eye. The JPEG file stems prominent is lightweight while offering digital utilization. Because of its size, it loads sooner yet can be uploaded to any type of platform regardless of limitations of size. This file format can also be seen on any kind of device without the special image download requirement. But it is crucial to become aware that all the time, you can save the file as in the JPEG format. Hence compressing it over and over, it leads to the image for losing quality and turn into something grainy.

It consists of file which is lightweight which can be shown on any type of program. The drawback is losing quality when you save it multiple time. It is utilized for social networks, photo portfolios, and web design images.

GIF: GIF in the full form called as graphic interchange format. It is the prominent highlights which is taking internet through storm by its animation. The file of GIF is bitmap images form means the graphic is composed of small parts known as pixel such as PNG file formats and JPEG. This type of file is dependable on a form of special thing known as lossless data compression shapes, logos and diagrams. This type of file supports a background which is transparent and has basic animation. The drawback is that is shows colors of gradient in a poor way. There are many websites that serve as GIF libraries. These are commonly used for social channels like Twitter and Facebook.

There are also other types of file formats like SVG, MP4, and MP3 etc. So, these are some of the best file formats used by the people.