Here is an attempt to explain Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
Maria regularly sends and receives letters to and from Juan. Sometimes they’re Statement of Accounts and sometimes it’s just a grocery list. Regardless its between Maria and Juan and no one else’s business.
Unfortunately Zhang Wei for some reason wants to see them. So he’s devised an ingenious way to get a copy of the letters between the two. The letters still get to where they’re going, and Zhang is so good no one practically notices.
However people like me and countless others in IT, we notice. We notice, and we are alarmed because as far as we are concerned it’s tantamount to an Act of War. Zhang Wei has surreptitiously configured things to pass through his eyes important or not. What he does with it is irrelevant. Clearly it’s none of his business.
Maria and Juan need to put their letters in envelopes so no one can see them. Essentially, that is what SSL is. Unfortunately it’s not as obvious as with real life which is why guys like me need to get out and spread that message. If SSL is available for your website, email or instant messaging, you need to use it immediately. It’s equivalent to putting your messages in an envelope so no one can read it in between transit. Can it be opened still? Sure. Nothing’s impossible to the really determined. But you can hide the important with the unimportant, make it inconspicuous, or trick someone into looking elsewhere, making them waste their time. Any number of techniques are available to mislead and even entrap a snoop.
Unfortunately most people don’t want to understand and throw their arms in the air when asked to learn something new and high tech, like email. They’re more concerned with gossipping on social media, cheap airline tickets and porn. So someone reads his payslip? Or looks through his family pics? Who cares? He’s too busy watching NBA or following celebs on IG to care or even try to understand ‘all this hi tech stuff’.
But would you ever send a letter without an envelope? No matter how trivial it may be? If Zhang reads your letters without your permission wouldn’t you want to tell Zhang and all the other entitled motherfuckers like him to go fuck themselves?
I’m not going to make assumptions as to what may or may not offend people. Regardless of what he’s doing with it Zhang has no business looking into other people’s data. At some point there will be a way to stop Zhang or make him pay amends. I’m sure of it because Zhang isn’t just looking at Maria and Juan’s. He’s looking at John’s, Jiahao’s, Sergei’s, Kaito’s, Vijay’s and many other people’s letters around the world too. Zhang couldn’t care less because he’s from the Middle Kingdom, the self proclaimed owner of the world. Sooner or later the world will have something to say about that.
Right now we need to be understanding and using SSL. Maybe this will help make things clearer for some.
