Summary
This article introduces the encryption principle and the use of DVD encryption to encrypt and back up files and the correct use of encryption passwords.
The word “encryption” has acquired a lot of negative connotations with the arrival of ransomware viruses. They are continually spreading from one computer to others, and the severity of the virus can range from a mildly disruptive effect to severe data destruction. Disruption of the system is the ultimate goal of the virus, so they end up causing the system to become inoperable and a lot of data to be lost. These ransomware use encryption algorithms to encrypt files on the computer, and then require the victim to unlock them for a certain fee. We need to back up essential data to prevent unnecessary losses from accidents.
Storing data, of course, is safety first. In this networked society, the data you store is likely to be stolen, causing immeasurable losses. Many users keep important personal information on their hard drives without realizing they need to back them up. You can burn and save necessary data on CD/DVD without worrying about data security. To protect the information on the disc, you should be encrypted. This way, even if the disc is lost, the data will not be disclosed.
What is encryption
Data encryption is a technique that encrypts all data stored and transmitted in the system so that it becomes a secret message. In this way, after intercepting the data, the attacker cannot understand the content of the data; and only the authorized person can receive and decrypt the data to understand its content, thus effectively protecting the security of the system information resources. Data encryption techniques include such aspects as data encryption, data decryption, digital signatures, signature identification, and digital proof.
Among many encryption technologies, AES encryption technology is one of the most widely used techniques. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a block encryption standard algorithm, which was proposed to upgrade and replace the original DES encryption algorithm. Therefore, its security strength is higher than the DES algorithm. In 2003, the U.S. Federal Government announced that AES could be used to protect confidential data. It led to the advanced encryption standard becoming the default algorithm for encrypting sensitive information and the first encryption algorithm approved by the National Security Agency.
How AES encryption works
Advanced Encryption Standard is built on three packet cyphers: AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256. Each of these cyphers encrypts and decrypts 128-bit data blocks using 128-, 192-, or 256-bit encryption keys. The cyphers are designed to accept other block sizes and key lengths, but these features were dropped when Rijndael became AES. All symmetric encryption cyphers use the same key to encrypt and decrypt data, which means that both the sender and receiver must have the same key. Each key length is considered sufficient to protect confidential data up to the “Secret” level, while “Top Secret” information requires a 192-bit or 256-bit key length. A 128-bit key has ten rounds, a 192-bit key has 12 rounds, and a 256-bit key will eventually have 14 rounds. What is round? They correspond to many processing steps, including substitution and replacement of the encrypted text, and then converting it to encrypted form.
The first step in the AES encryption process is to replace the information using a substitution table. A second conversion changes the data rows, while a third conversion of the columns changes the data rows. The last transformation is a necessary, mutually exclusive XOR process done on each column using different parts of the encryption key. The longer the encryption key, the more rounds are required.
How to encrypt a disc, is the encrypted disc safe
Currently, encryption and recording technology and related products can be divided into two broad categories: pure software processing and software and hardware integration. The software-only processing can be divided into directory/file hiding, directory spoofing and third-party software.
The principle of directory/file hiding has been known since the MS-DOS era – to hide a directory/file by modifying its attribute bytes. However, due to the unique process of CD burning and the disk reading and writing characteristics of Windows and other systems, the object of this operation becomes a data image file, i.e. a .cue, .cif, etc. file used by standard burning tools.
Directory spoofing exploits the particular structure of the image file to modify the display name of a confidential directory so that it does not match the actual operating name, resulting in abnormal file access. Also, this is often used in combination with directory hiding to enhance secrecy.
The third way of software encryption is to re-encode before or while the original data is burned, and place the decryption program in the DVD Autorun. Only after the password is verified can the original information be seen. Otherwise, even if you can browse the DVD, what you see is only processed “processed products.”
Today we are going to introduce a CD/DVD encryption software – idoo Secure Disc Creator, which allows you to set the size of the secure and public areas according to your needs. The protected area can only be accessed by entering the correct password. The general area can view the files in the same way as using a regular DVD. When our encrypted disc is lost, stolen or used by others, the files in the encrypted area cannot be seen, which is very useful to ensure the safety of all the files in the encrypted area. The encrypted DVD can be used on any computer. You don’t need to install additional drivers.
How to choose a password that best protects you from data leakage
Password settings can keep our data safe. But before setting them, we felt that the more complex the password, the better, such as preferably containing upper and lower case letters, numbers, special symbols, etc., and many articles suggest that you often need to change new passwords. However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a new set of password definition specifications that make setting up passwords more user-friendly.
According to the researchers, the previous password setting standards, while a headache for most people, were still relatively easy for hackers to crack. Therefore, in the new password definition specification, it is recommended that password settings should ideally be kept simple, long enough and easy to remember.
According to the researchers, you can try converting an image into a phrase or word as a password. Passwords need to be long enough to prevent hackers from cracking them without adding extra things like capital letters, numbers or punctuation.
| Password Length | ALL Characters | Only Lowercase |
| 3 characters | 0.91 seconds | 0.03 seconds |
| 4 characters | 1.42 minutes | 0.51 seconds |
| 5 characters | 2.23 hours | 12.8 seconds |
| 6 characters | 8.65 days | 5.23 minutes |
| 7 characters | 2.26 years | 2.43 hours |
| 8 characters | 2.23 centuries | 2.85 days |
| 9 characters | 20.24 millennia | 2.14 months |
| 10 characters | 1,76 millennia | 4.32 years |
| 11 characters | 180,412 millennia | 1.23 centuries |
| 12 characters | 17,184,812 millennia | 3.21 millennia |
| 13 characters | 1,627,797,079 millennia | 78.6 millennia |
| 14 characters | 154,640,721,456 millennia | 2,052 millennia |
As you can see from the illustration, a password with a long sentence is more effective for security. We also don’t need any tools to help remember passwords: “When you think of an image you like, you write them out this is the best password.”
Besides, if you want to change the password frequently, but the constituent elements of the password have not changed much; in fact, there is not much change in the file protection effect.
