It is close to, but not entirely the same as, the term "plaintext". Formally, plaintext is information that is fed as an input to a coding process, while ciphertext is what comes out of that process. Plaintext might be compressed, coded, or otherwise changed before it is converted to ciphertext, so it is quite common to find plaintext that is not cleartext.
Websites using insecure HTTP send using cleartext, with all data supplied (including usernames and passwords) being sent from the user's computer through the internet using cleartext. Anyone with access to the medium used to carry the data (the routers, computers, telecommunications equipment, wireless transmissions, and so on) may read the password, username, and anything else sent to the website.
Print server
A print server, or printer server, is a computer or device that is connected to one or more printers and to a network. It accepts print jobs from client computers, then prints the jobs on the requested printer.
The term can refer to:
Network Time Protocol
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a protocol for distributing the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by synchronizing the clocks of computer systems over IP networks.
NTP is one of the oldest Internet Protocols still in use (since before 1985) and uses UDP port 123.
Project Athena
Project Athena was a joint project of MIT, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM. It was launched in 1983, and research and development continued until June 30, 1991, eight years after it began. It is widely believed that the goals were to create a computing environment that would utilize up to 1,000 workstations but in fact, the goal was to improve the quality of education delivered by the Institute.
The concept that a user could go to any workstation and access any files or applications without finding major differences in the user interface and service, just like browsing the Internet today.
The project created many technologies that are widely used today, such as the X Window System and Kerberos.
Session key
A session key is a single-use symmetric key used for encrypting all messages in one communication session. A closely related term is traffic encryption key or TEK, which refers to any symmetric key that is used to encrypt traffic messages. Typically TEKs are changed frequently, in some systems daily and in others for every message.
Session keys introduce complexities in a cryptosystem. However, they also help with some real problems, which is why they are used. There are two primary reasons for using session keys:
Like all cryptographic keys, session keys must be chosen so that they are unpredictable by an attacker. In the usual case, this means that they must be chosen randomly. Failure to choose session keys (or any key) properly is a major drawback in any cryptosystem.
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner is a 2003 book written by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini.
In "The Kite Runner", Amir and Hassan grow up together in Afghanistan like brothers, although they could not be more different. Amir is the son of a rich businessman, a Sunni Muslim, a Pashtun. He is educated and loves to read and write. Hassan's father Ali is a servant to Amir's father. Hassan is a Sh'ia Muslim and a Hazara. He can not read and has a harelip. Neither boy has a mother, although Baba's friend, Rahim Kahn, has a close friendship with Amir. They spend their boyhoods roaming the streets of Kabul together. Amir is a selfish friend to Hassan, who is devoted and loyal to Amir. One day, he hides in fear as Hassan is beaten and raped by three bullies, led by a boy called Assef, when Hassan refuses to give them a kite that he found for Amir. After this, he cannot bear to talk to Hassan and pretends to his father that Hassan stole his watch so that Hassan will be sent away. Although his father forgives Hassan, Ali and Hassan decide to leave. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan sends Amir and his father escaping to the United States, because Amir's father has been known to curse the Communists and had a strong admiration on Ronald Reagan. Amir is called back to Afghanistan, by a terminally ill Rahim Kahn, as an adult during the Taliban rule to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab, when Rahim tells him that he and Hassan are actually half-brothers because his father secretly had sex with Hassan's mother. When rescuing Sohrab, Amir has to confront Assef who is now a leader of the Taliban. He gets severely beaten by Assef and Sohrab eventually saves him by firing a slingshot at Assef's eye. He goes home with Amir to live with him and his wife Soraya, but does not talk or play. Eventually, Amir gets Sohrab to smile when he teaches him to fly a kite.
Combined oral contraceptive pill
The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) is a contraceptive for women. It is often called birth control pill or simply "The Pill." The pills contain hormones that make the women who take them infertile. Women who take the pill will not become pregnant during sexual intercourse. When a woman stops taking the pills, she will usually become fertile again. When taken as prescribed, the pills are one of the safest methods of contraception.
In the 1950s, scientists (such as Carl Djerassi, George Rosenkranz and Alejandro Zaffaroni) realized that the hormone progesterone stopped women from making eggs (stopped ovulation). After this discovery, the combined oral contraceptive pill was created. The combined oral contraceptive pill has two female hormones: estrogen and progesterone. Some oral contraceptive pills have only progesterone. These are often called the "minipill".
The combined oral contraceptive pill is thought to be safe and usually works well.
In the United States, the combined oral contraceptive pill was first given to women in 1960. It was a revolutionary breakthrough in contraception for two reasons. First, it is extremely effective at preventing pregnancy if it is used in the right way. Second, it was the first contraceptive to completely separate the act of contraception (in this case the taking of a pill) from sexual intercourse itself. Unlike barrier methods, when a woman is "on the Pill," she and her man are usually not even aware of it during sexual intercourse, which seems and feels very natural. (In fact, it is possible for the woman to be on the pill without her partner even knowing.) The couple can have sex at any time they wish; they don’t need to interrupt foreplay to put birth control in place, and they can feel the physical sensations and emotional closeness of intercourse without interference from a make or female condom. Unlike coitus interruptus, when a woman is on the Pill, intercourse usually ends with her man reaching orgasm while inside the vagina, which both the man and woman usually find very pleasurable. It may also make women's menses shorter and with less bleeding, as well as helping her complexion, which most women like. For all of these reasons, the Pill is very popular. In 2005, more than 80 million women across the world used the Pill. It is the most common method of contraception in the United States, with four out of five women there having used the pill for birth control at some point in their lives. Use of the Pill is different in different countries, and among women of different ages and levels of education. Both single women and married women use the Pill in large numbers.
The Pill has some slight risks for side effects. It may make a very small increase in the risk of blood clots in the lungs, strokes, heart attacks, and breast cancer. Most of these risk are small. Some women may experience mood swings, weight gain, or loss of sex drive. Sometimes, but rarely, these side effects are serious enough to make a woman decide to stop using the Pill.