wanna rub the LAMP?

LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQl, and PHP(sometimes substituted with Perl or Python). It is essentially an open-source compilation of OS, server, database, and development language that is used to develop and maintain servers and web sites. Many websites today are built around the components which comprise LAMP. That is due to a variety of reasons. One reason is because it is open source (no buying of commercial software). Another is because it is considered pretty stable.

Rights and stuff

Digital privacy, however protective it might be, in my mind is clearly a negative right.For instance, a bank using my personal information cannot distribute my info without my consent. If I had no digital privacy, the bank could have done whatever they wanted to my information. They could have sold my info to the highest bidder if they wanted to. However, digital privacy laws protects me from unwanted distribution of my information.

What should I get taught today?

I believe that schools have the right to teach a student how to be an engaged citizen. When the students go on and graduate from the school/university they become an ambassador for the school they left. They are an extension of what the school has done. They become a representative from their alma mater. Schools should be able to customize their education in a way that they feel most exemplifies what an alumnus should be by the end of their stay at the school. In the very least, the school should at least offer a program where you can learn to become a better citizen. If a student does not want to participate in such a program, the student can always transfer out to a program where they do not have to participate.

When is taking pictures going to far?

Google has raised fears of privacy intrusion with the release of it's new tool,Google Street View. However, Google has taken some steps to ensure that privacy can be protected. For instance, prior to release, Google removed any photos of domestic violence shelters and allows the user to flag some photos as sensitive. Google will then review the picture and make changes if necessary. In Canada, Google will blur the faces and recognizable characteristics in order to allay some of those privacy fears. Some people believe that these measures are not enough. I believe that these measures are adequate enough. Google is allowing the public to decide whether a photo is too invasive. If they feel like something has gone too far, the public has an option to actually do something about it.

encryption: the electronic combo lock

Encryption/decryption keys can be delivered in a number of ways: person A can select a key and physically deliver it to person B; a third party can select a key and deliver it to both A and B; if they have had previous contact using an encryption, they could use that encryption to send the new code to each other; and lastly, if both A and B have an encrypted connection to a third party, the third party can send the new key over the encrypted connection.

In order to crack RSA, the user could use two separate methods:one is by trying all possible private keys. This can be difficult because the key can be insanely huge. The other approach deals with trying to find the two prime numbers used in the key. If you have the two prime numbers, you can plug it into an algorithm and find the key again. Diffie-Hellman is secure from everything except replay attacks.

Sender ID confirmation is achieved through a number of ways. One is to use your private key to encrypt an entire message to a recipient. When the message is received, the recipient decrypts the message using the sender's public key to encrypt the message. Another way of ID confirmation is to encrypt a small block of bits(the authenticator) with the sender's private key. The recipient will notice that the sender's public key is necessary to decrypt the message.

As for strengths and weaknesses, both RSA and Diffie-Hellman have both. Both are fallible. However difficult to crack, it is possible to decrypt them both. Both have algorithms that, given time, could possibly be broken. Their strengths lie in the complexity of the algorithms. RSA has a variable key length. The longer the message the longer the key. Diffie-Hellman's strength is the difficulty in computing a complex discrete logarithm.