How does the CPU know where a block of main memory should be placed inside cache memory? The answer is cache memory mapping. There are three fundamental cache mapping techniques: Direct Mapping, Associative Mapping and Set-Associative Mapping. Learn how each technique works, how addresses are divided, important formulas, examples, advantages, disadvantages and the complete comparison.
MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) and 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) are security mechanisms used to make user authentication stronger than relying only on a password. Both require additional evidence before allowing a user to access an account or system.
The important difference is simple: 2FA always uses exactly two authentication factors, while MFA can use two or more authentication factors. Therefore, 2FA is a specific form of MFA.
SIEM and SOC are two important concepts in cybersecurity and security operations. They are closely connected, but they are not the same thing.
SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management. It is a technology platform used to collect, aggregate, analyze and correlate security-related events and logs.
SOC stands for Security Operations Center. It is a function, team or operational facility responsible for continuously monitoring an organization's security environment, investigating suspicious activity and coordinating incident response.
In simple terms:
Kerberos and NTLM (NT LAN Manager) are authentication protocols associated with computer networks and Windows environments. Both can be used to authenticate users and systems, but they use significantly different approaches.
Kerberos is a modern ticket-based authentication protocol designed around a trusted third party, while NTLM uses a challenge-response authentication mechanism.
Understanding Kerberos vs NTLM is important for computer science, cybersecurity, network security, Windows administration and information security examinations.
Encryption is one of the most important techniques used in cybersecurity and modern computer networks. It protects information by transforming readable plaintext into ciphertext so that unauthorized people cannot easily understand the data.
Two fundamental approaches used in symmetric cryptography are block ciphers and stream ciphers. Both use a secret key for encryption and decryption, but they process plaintext differently.
A block cipher processes data in fixed-size blocks, while a stream cipher encrypts data progressively using a generated keystream.
Vulnerability Assessment (VA) and Penetration Testing (PT) are two important cybersecurity activities used to identify security weaknesses in systems, networks, applications and infrastructure.
The terms are often used together as VAPT, meaning Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing. However, they are not the same activity.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are cryptographic security protocols designed to protect communication over networks. They are commonly associated with secure web communication such as HTTPS.
Although people still commonly say "SSL certificate", modern secure connections generally use TLS. SSL is the older protocol family and its historical versions are obsolete.
| SSL | TLS |
|---|---|
| Older security protocol. | Modern successor to SSL. |
| SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 are obsolete. | TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 are widely used modern versions. |
| Has known security weaknesses. | Provides significantly stronger modern security when configured correctly. |
| Historically used to secure network communication. | Used today for secure communication across many applications and protocols. |
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It was an earlier cryptographic protocol developed to provide security for communication between networked systems.
