title: Conclusion slug: conclusion

# IN CONCLUSION

Alright, Fam, are you overwhelmed? Guess what? So are we! But the good news is we have one another. And, fundamentally, this is the most important lesson of this curriculum. Digital security is not a destination. It is a journey. By taking it together, we travel as a community toward safety and resilience.

Our hope is that this curriculum acts as a guide you can return to again and again. Use it to inspire your networks and fellow techies to ask hard questions and create collective solutions.

We believe our liberation lies with one another. As this curriculum demonstrates, a commitment to collective safety goes a long way in protecting us, our beliefs, and our movements.

As we enter this new era, we ask you to apply the same ingenuity we use to resist in the streets to resist injustice in the digital sphere. By staying safe—and encouraging others to stay safe—we help ensure the longevity of our ideologies and movements in domains that are crucial to our survival as cultures, peoples, and resistances.

As we say goodbye, we would like to say:

HOLD FAST! COURAGE IS THE ABILITY TO FACE THE DREAD AND NOT LET IT DEFEAT YOU. WE HAVE LOVE, WE HAVE RESILIENCE, AND WE HAVE ONE ANOTHER!

Love,

Equality Labs

## APPENDIX: MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
## GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ACTIVEX

An ActiveX control is a component program object that can be re-used by many application programs within a computer or among computers in a network. The technology for creating ActiveX controls is part of Microsoft’s overall ActiveX set of technologies, chief of which is the Component Object Model (COM). An ActiveX control is roughly equivalent in concept and implementation to the Java applet.

ADWARE/MALWARE

Also referred to as malware, sneakware, or spyware, adware is a program installed without a user’s consent or knowledge during the installation of another program. Much like spyware, adware tracks an individual’s Internet activity and habits to help companies advertise more effectively. Adware is usually installed on a computer with free programs, as the developers are often paid if they include it with their program. Like spyware, adware can be located and removed from a computer using software utilities available on the Internet.

ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM

An antivirus program—also known as antivirus software, AVS, antivir, or just AV—is a software utility designed to protect your computer or network against computer viruses. If and when a virus is detected, the computer gives you the option to remove or ignore the infected file, or move it to the vault.

APPLICATION

A web browser, or simply “browser,” is an application used to access and view websites. Common web browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Apple Safari.

BROWSER

A web browser, or simply “browser,” is an application used to access and view websites. Common web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

COOKIES

Cookies are TK that may store information such as a session identifier, user ID, pricing information, user preferences, and more on your web browser. By changing the value of one of these parameters, an attacker can obtain additional information from the server, such as a user’s personal or financial information.

DECRYPTION

Decryption is the process of converting encoded or encrypted text or data into text that you or a computer can read and understand. This can be done manually or with the proper codes or keys.

DIGITAL SECURITY

Encrypted data is data that’s purposely rendered unreadable by other humans or computers to prevent access to its contents. It’s generated using an encryption program such as PGP or a simple encryption key, and it appears as garbage until it is decrypted. Only those who have the correct password or decryption key can make the data readable again.

ENCRYPTED DATA

The process of making data unreadable by other humans or computers for the purpose of preventing others from gaining access to its contents. Encrypted data is generated using an encryption program such as PGP, encryption machine, or a simple encryption key and appears as garbage until it is decrypted. To read or use the data, it must be decrypted, and only those who have the correct password or decryption key can make the data readable again.

FIREWALL

A firewall is a software utility or hardware device that limits outside network access to a computer or local network by blocking or restricting network ports. Firewalls help prevent unauthorized access to a company or home network.

BROWSING HISTORY

Web browsing history refers to the list of web pages a user has visited recently—along with associated data such as page title and time of visit—which is recorded by web browser software for a certain period of time. Web browser software does this to provide the user with a back button and a history list they can use to return to pages they’ve visited. It also as well as displaying visited links so the user doesn’t have to remember where they’ve been on the web. In addition to the web browser software itself, third-party services can also record a user’s complete or partial web browsing history. For example, in Google’s web History, registered users clicks are recorded and stored in individual user histories, each of which are browsable and searchable by that user.

INCOGNITO MODE

Also referred to as Private Browsing, InPrivate Browsing, or Private Window, Incognito mode is a setting that prevents Internet history from being stored. This means that when you visit any web page, your computer will not store any text, pictures, cookies, searches, or forms during your sessions.

IP ADDRESS

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is an identifier for a computer or device on a network. It is a 32-bit numeric address written as four sets of numbers separated by periods.

ISP

An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that provides customers with Internet access. Data may be transmitted using several technologies, including dial-up, DSL, cable modem, wireless, or dedicated high-speed interconnects. ISP’s also frequently give their customers email accounts, and offer services including telephone and television.

JAVA

Java is a programming language expressly designed for use on the Internet. It was designed to have the “look and feel” of the C++ language, but it is simpler to use than C++ and enforces an object-oriented programming model. Java can be used to create complete applications that may run on a single computer or be distributed among servers and clients in a network. It can also be used to build a small application module or applet for use as part of a Web page. Applets make it possible for a Web page user to interact with the page.

METADATA

Metadata is data that serves to provide context or additional information about other data. For example, a document’s metadata could include information about the file’s title, subject, author, typeface, enhancements, and size. It may also describe the conditions under which the data stored in a database was acquired, its accuracy, date, time, method of compilation and processing, etc. For example, the government may have the authority to collect metadata about our phone calls. This means they cannot collect the actual content of the call, but can collect metadata like the call’s duration, location it was made from and to, the time of the call, and so on.

MODEM

A modem is an electronic device that helps transmit data to or from a computer via telephone or other communication lines.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a collection of Internet-based communities that allow users to interact with one another online. This includes web forums, wikis, and user-generated content (UGC) websites. However, the term is most often used to describe popular social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.