BASE64

BASE64 definition - hacker
One of the most popular encoding schemes in use today. It is used to translate binary data that includes nonprintable characters in a printable format to be able to transmit this data with text-based protocols such as SMTP (email) or HTTP (Web).

Note that encoding is not equivalent to encrypting. Encoding just transcribes the data in a different alphabet and involves no keys. The transmitted message can still be considered clear text and is, in fact, picked up directly by network sniffers.

See Also: Encode.

Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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