Learn about the multitude of ways you can be identified with technology.
Guests
Chris Bongaarts
Chris Bongaarts
Chris Bongaarts is a systems programmer for the Office of Information Technology at the University of Minnesota. He is part of the Internet Services group responsible for managing the University's central e-mail, directory, and authentication services. In October 2002, the group implemented a new spam-control system to cut down on the amount of junk e-mail received by users at the University.
Yongdae Kim
Yongdae Kim
Yongdae Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He received is Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Southern California. His research interests include group and network security.
For Your Files
Systems programmer Chris Bongaarts suggested that you have different passwords for different uses:
"You have one that you use for your high security stuff like your home Internet banking. You have one for your medium scale stuff like ... your e-mail and stuff, and then a low security one that you might use as your log in to the Web forums [such as the New York Times]."
Hackers get your passwords using viruses or spyware or they have other ways:
"One of the most frequent ways that people can get their passwords compromised is if [they're] using say ... wireless access either at home or on the road ... because in a wireless environment anyone within range of your computer antenna can see what you're doing unless you take steps to protect that using say VPN, virtual private network technology."
To prevent that Chris suggests using SSL, secure sockets layer:
"Basically all it is, is adding a layer of encryption on top of your session, whereas normally your password is going over the network so that anyone can see it. This is encrypting that."
Computer science professor Yongdae Kim said some hackers use computer programs to guess your password:
"The attacks they are launching have an automated ... computer-generated program that guesses your password. Now how can you prevent that? In the captcha program you want to compare ... if the one who is failing the login is human or not. Humans can read this easily; however, there is no computer program that can distinguish [this]. When you fail the login three times, then they will show this to you. [They'll say, prove that you're a human and] by that way you can slow down the dictionary attacks."
Biometrics
Biometrics are identification methods first introduced by Alfonso Berling back in about 1890. He created contraptions that would measure shoulder width, skull shape, and space between the cheek bones. Since that time biometrics have evolved into, most commonly, the fingerprint. There are two biometrics systems currently in use in the Twin Cities: a thumb print recognition system and a hand geometry reader.
Captcha
An acronym for "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart." It is a program used to tell if a login failure is being caused by a human or another program that guesses passwords. Typically, it asks users to identify blurred words that humans can read but computers programs cannot.
SSL
An abbreviation for secure sockets layer. Normally your password goes over the network so that anyone can see it. SSL encrypts your password.
Virtual Private Network
In a wireless environment, anyone within range of your computer antenna can see what you're doing unless you take steps to protect yourself using VPN, or virtual private network technology, an additional piece of software typically used in corporate/institutional environments. At the University of Minnesota you can use it to get into the network if you have an account with the University.