Authentication

The process of identifying an individual, usually based on a username and password. In security systems, authentication is distinct from authorization , which is the process of giving individuals access to system objects based on their identity. Authentication merely ensures that the individual is who he or she claims to be, but says nothing about the access rights of the individual.
- Source Webopedia

Encryption

The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text ; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text.

There are two main types of encryption: asymmetric encryption (also called public-key encryption) and symmetric encryption.

Click on either of the images above to read more about these types of encryption.

Firewalls

A firewall is a network security system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented as both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Network firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.

Hardware and Software Firewalls

Firewalls can be either hardware or software but the ideal configuration will consist of both. In addition to limiting access to your computer and network, a firewall is also useful for allowing remote access to a private network through secure authentication certificates and logins.

Hardware firewalls can be purchased as a stand-alone product but are typically found in broadband routers, and should be considered an important part of your system security and network set-up. Most hardware firewalls will have a minimum of four network ports to connect other computers, but for larger networks, a business networking firewall solution is available.
- Source Webopedia

MAC (Media Access Control) Address Filtering

In computer networking, MAC Filtering refers to a security access control method whereby the MAC address assigned to each network card is used to determine access to the network.

MAC addresses are uniquely assigned to each card, so using MAC filtering on a network permits and denies network access to specific devices through the use of blacklists and whitelists. While the restriction of network access through the use of lists is straightforward, an individual person is not identified by a MAC address, rather a device only, so an authorized person will need to have a whitelist entry for each device that he or she would use to access the network. - Source Wikipedia