Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Applies To: Anyone interested in what Encryption is and how it works online
Yet again the Egyptians beat us to it… The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all knew about keeping a secret using very early forms of cyphers, cryptography and steganography, and (disputed) actual encryption.
The first known use of encryption to hide something so it remained secret was around 1500BCE* and it was used to encrypt a recipe for pottery glaze!
I read a really interesting article on Encryption the other day, and with the whole debate coming back in the press every so often, I thought I would share a link.
The WIRED article covers (once you scroll past a mountain of adverts):
- What is encryption? (one of the best explanations of what encryption is that I have read)
- Safe, not ‘hackerproof’ (nothing is hacker proof, it’s all about time)
- Bits explained (what exactly does 128bit encryption actually mean in the real world? Clue: it’s about time again)
- Keeping it tight (this is about the future of encryption)
If you are interested then give it a read here https://www.wired.co.uk/article/encryption-software-app-private-data-safe
This post was brought to you by encryption! You can be fairly certain that it has not been read or changed between your PC and our website provider. (If there is a padlock in the address bar).
If you have any questions please drop them in a comment below, thank you!
Stay Safe
Mike 🙂
*I had to google this. BCE means Before Common Era which is the same as BC.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cryptography#Classical_cryptography
And because no article on Egyptian Encryption is complete without a penguin, here is an Egyptian Penguin:)
Egyptian Penguin 🙂
April 30, 2017 at 2:54 pm
the message in a folder I saw the but about encription, I did a lesson on it years ago and saved the folder. Then I forgot how to open it. I think it must be still in my files. Could you tell me how to open it Thank you Eileen
May 1, 2017 at 10:45 am
Hi Eileen
Thanks for the question.
Chances are you will need whatever program you used to encrypt the folder to un-encrypt it.
Could you let me know more about how you encrypted the folder?
Thanks
Mike 🙂
April 29, 2017 at 3:56 pm
For anyone interested in codes, encryption etc., The Code Book by Simon Singh is a first class read, as it covers ancient examples of codes etc up to modern times. It also explains the encryption method that the USA tried to make illegal as it couldn’t be broken; it was simply called PGP (Pretty Good Privacy).
PGP can be downloaded by anyone wanting to use it, providing it is not the American version, or you could expect a “knock on your door”. It is a fascinating book.
May 1, 2017 at 10:44 am
Hi John
That sounds like a really interesting book, thanks for the tip! I wonder if it covers Number Stations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station ??
For anyone who wants to know more about the book, there is a Wiki page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Code_Book
The current state of encryption is really interesting, it verges a little too close to politics for this website, but those who are interested should check out the BBC Technology news pages for anything to do with WhatsApp
Thanks for the book suggestion!
Mike 🙂
April 10, 2017 at 4:44 pm
That should read: to reach Tim’s Tech Inner Circle quickly
April 11, 2017 at 11:36 am
No worries at all, I have replied to your question below. Thanks for the clarification 🙂
April 10, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Hi. Is there a way of making a desktop icon or something to reach quickly, please?
April 11, 2017 at 11:35 am
Hello There certainly is.
To do this, right-click on the desktop, select “new” then “shortcut” in the location box type in (no spaces or other characters) https://www.pcinnercircle.co.uk/ Click “Next” then change the name to say “Tim’s Tech Inner Circle” click finish.
You can also bookmark the page by pressing CTRL+D in MS Edge (which it the one you are using) or CTRL+B in any other web browser.
Hope this helps
Mike 🙂
April 11, 2017 at 4:17 pm
Thanks, Mike. That worked a treat!
Chris
April 12, 2017 at 10:10 am
Awesome! Thanks for the update 🙂