Datasheet

1050
Understanding Authentication and Authorization
Figure 1-5:
A lockdown
cable is
used to
secure
computer
equipment
to a desk.
Remembering ways to physically secure your systems will help you with the
security portion of the A+ exam. Be sure to place critical systems in locked
rooms and lock down equipment that is accessible by the public.
Understanding Authentication and Authorization
After you physically secure your environment, focus on the people who
access your systems and network. The next step after implementing physical
security is to ensure that persons who enter your server room or have a con-
nection to a network port are authorized to log on to the network. Logging
onto the network is authentication.
Authentication
Authentication is the process of proving one’s identity to the network envi-
ronment. Typically, authentication involves typing a username and pass-
word on a system before you are granted access, but you could also use
biometrics to be authenticated. Biometrics is using one’s unique physical
characteristics, such as a fingerprint or the blood vessels in one’s retina, to
prove one’s identity. Figure 1-6 shows a fingerprint reader used to scan your
fingerprint when logging on.
Here is a quick look at what happens when you log on to your system with a
username and password. When you type a username and password to log on
to a system, that username and password are verified against a database —
49_487389-bk09ch01.indd 105049_487389-bk09ch01.indd 1050 9/10/09 11:03 PM9/10/09 11:03 PM