Since I was in the network security class last semester, and I enjoy learning about it, I already knew about all the security topics, such as encryption, attacks, malware, etc. However, I did learn what secrecy, integrity, and necessity threats are. Although I had already learned about those topics, it is always a smart idea to review and refresh your knowledge, so it was not a bad thing.

I learned what a web bug, or a web beacon, is, which I found very fascinating. It is amazing that you can hide a small graphic on a webpage that can work with cookies to receive information on you and send it to a third party. It really made me more aware of how much tracking can happen behind the scenes when you are just browsing a website. I knew about multifactor authentication, but I did not know that a username and a password are called single-factor authentication, which does make sense. I also learned that a digital watermark can be invisible and undetectable. I always thought that they were just the ones that were visibly displayed on the actual piece itself, which I think is a great thing because this prevents people from just cutting out the visible watermark.

Something that I found important to learn was the identity theft section. I already knew about some of it, but I liked having all the steps you should take if you discover someone stole your identity. It is good to be reminded of how serious identity theft can be and how quickly you need to act to protect yourself. I tend to do many things they listed to do to check to make sure that your identity has not been stolen, and how to try to prevent it from happening. However, with something like that, it is always good to remind yourself of what you should or could be doing.