What Is Digital Watermark?

We're all familiar with the concept of a watermark. You know that thing you see on the bottom of a photo that says "Copyright 2017 John Smith"? It lets you see that the image is copyrighted, so don't steal it and pass it off as your own. Well, digital watermarks work in much the same way. They're embedded into digital intellectual property (IP) to identify its originator or owner. And they track online digital media use—so if someone tries to use your content without permission, they'll get an email warning them that they'd better stop before getting sued. Digital watermarking is applied to images, audio, and video content to secure it against unauthorized usages, such as image copying on an image-sharing site. Digital Watermarking is used to protect the copyrights of content creators and publishers. It also protects sensitive information, such as patient health information. Digital watermarking may be applied to printed materials, such as books, magazines, or other printed materials, to prevent copying. Digital watermarks, also known as digital fingerprinting, are the secret sauce of IP protection. Imagine putting a hidden message in your work that only you could see and then imagine if you could embed that message in your work so that it could be seen by anyone else who wanted to copy or steal your content. That's digital watermarking—it's like the invisible ink pen for the 21st century! Digital watermarks protect digital IP from unauthorized reproduction and distribution, including programming, images, sound recordings and video. These marks are undetectable to the naked eye but serve as signals when copyrighted materials are downloaded or reproduced. Digital watermarks are invisible to the naked eye, but they're there for all to see. They're like little spies for your IP—they keep an eye on what you're doing with your digital assets and make sure you get credit where credit is due.

By TechDogs Editorial Team

Related Terms by Consumer Electronics Technology

Cellular Automaton (CA)

Cellular automatons are not entirely cellular, quiet, and wholly atomic. They are the best of all worlds when you take the three fields mentioned above, study and play with them as any good scientist would. A cellular automaton (CA) is a system of many cells linked together using those cells' specific order and states. The goal is to change how each cell is ordered through repeated steps in an algorithm. The rules determine how cells change conditions over time. This happens multiple times until the CA stops changing and has reached an end state. Cellular automatons are many mathematical models studied in physics, computer science, social sciences, and other fields. Many natural phenomena, such as snowflakes, tree growth, and fire, inspire them. Cellular automatons are of interest for many reasons. One of them is that they are a non-linear model of physical phenomena. Given the same initial conditions, their outcomes may differ depending on the ruleset, much like non-linear differential equations. Another reason is that their rule sets are often simple enough to be implemented in a computer, allowing in-silico experimentation. Finally, some cellular automatons are used in modeling social and technological phenomena. If the number of ON neighbors exceeds the number of ones, the cell changes its state to ON; if the numbers are reversed, it changes its state to OFF. These rules are self-executing and do not require any external input. Depending on the number and placement of cells, it is possible to construct a variety of interesting CA with various properties and behaviors. The most common rule for a one-dimensional grid is for updating each site (i.e., each grid cell) independently, based on the values of its current neighbors. Cellular Automaton is exciting and intriguing. They're easy to understand but hard to predict. You'll need to sit down with a cup of coffee and think deeply about how they work to start seeing their beauty. Primarily though, they're fun.

Cipher Block Chaining (CBC)

Are you prepared to "chain" yourself to the subject of Cipher Block Chaining (CBC)? It's a method of encrypting information that's used to help keep data safe, and despite how dull it may sound, it's pretty fascinating! CBC, or "block chaining," is a method for encrypting data. This method gets its name because it operates by first dividing the data into blocks and then chaining them together. The output of one block is used as the input for the subsequent block, meaning each block must be encrypted using a unique secret key. Because of this, it is significantly more difficult for potential attackers to decode the data since they would need to crack the encryption for each block in the chain. The CBC algorithm needs to be foolproof, as it has weaknesses that can be exploited by malicious actors, such as when they use padding attacks or other similar techniques. But in general, it is a reliable method for encrypting data. It is used extensively in various contexts, including SSL/TLS protocols, virtual private networks (VPNs), and disc encryption. You may be questioning why we must use encryption in the first place. Consider all the sensitive information, like credit card numbers, login credentials, personal messages, and more, that we send and receive over the internet. If someone with bad intentions were to obtain access to such information, they could put it to any number of unethical uses if they so chose. Even if unauthorized parties receive our data, encryption can ensure that it will remain secure and confidential. Cipher Block Chaining may not be the most exciting topic, but it is crucial for everyone who cares about security and privacy. That is all there is to it, folks; I hope you found this information useful. #CBC #Encryption #Cybersecurity #DataPrivacy #SSL #TLS #VPN #DiskEncryption

Carrier IQ

If your phone company knows more about you than you do, it's probably Carrier IQ. Carrier IQ is a company that provides analytics software to various telecom providers. They've developed programs that offer information about smartphone users to cellphone carriers, like what apps they use, how often they use them, how long they spend on them, and even where the user is using them. The problem with this is that there needs to be a way for an average user to know whether or not her carrier has installed these programs on her phone. Even if she knows that her page uses the Carrier IQ program, she cannot opt out of it or stop it from collecting data about her activities and movements. The fact that this kind of information is being collected without our knowledge or consent raises serious privacy concerns—yet we have no say in whether or not our carriers can do this. Privacy advocates are up in arms over the Carrier IQ scandal, which involves a company collecting performance data on smartphone users. Carrier IQ gathers performance data, tracking and logging what users do on their phones. This can include calls made, texts sent, and emails received. While this is not necessarily an invasion of privacy in terms of content (e.g., Carrier IQ does not have access to the actual content of phone calls), it does present a risk to user privacy because it allows third parties access to information about whom you called or texted, whether you're using your phone to browse the web or send emails, etc. The issue came to light when reports revealed that Carrier IQ had collected information about users' phone activity without their knowledge or consent. It was reported that some phones were even sending data from users' text messages directly to Carrier IQ without permission from the device's owner!

Trending Definitions

Humane Tech

Since its inception, technology has consistently possessed both positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it has endowed us with extraordinary instruments that fundamentally alter our reality. Conversely, technology has also produced new means by which the human species might be exploited and harmed. Humane technology aims to help humans achieve essential goals rather than exploiting them for profit. The fight for humane technology can also be interpreted as a movement to guarantee that technology contributes to the common good rather than harming human beings in various ways. This is one interpretation of what the battle for humane technology entails. The Center for Humane Technology defines humane technology as "technology that helps people live, connect, and contribute to our humanity." The Center for Humane Technology is a nonprofit organization promoting humane technology. They want to make sure that the technology we use is not only helpful to us in terms of getting things done but beneficial to our health as well. They think there is a "digital attention crisis," in which the many types of technology that are now in use may have a detrimental effect on human existence by diverting attention away from "living in the real world." For instance, the social phenomenon known as "phubbing" perfectly illustrates this point. Phubbing refers to the act of someone using their phone while in the company of other people, which may be pretty awkward or even incredibly aggravating (and it can even lead to serious relationship problems). The Center for Humane Technology collaborates with academic institutions and tech firms such as Google and Facebook to compile information about how people use their products and the sorts of impacts those products have on people's lives. These resources include topics such as the memory loss that may result from switching back and forth between apps on a smartphone and the distractions that email alerts can create while a person is driving home from work. The goal of the Center for Humane Technology is to support the development of technology that is more humane.

Exit Code

Exit code may sound like a dramatic way to leave a party, but it means something completely different in programming. An exit code is a simple way for a program to tell the operating system if it has finished its task. It's like a note the program leaves to say, "Hey, everything went as planned" or "Oops, something went wrong." Imagine a chef putting the finishing touches on a dish in the kitchen. If everything went well, they might give a thumbs up and say, "All good, let's serve it up." If something went wrong, like the dish getting burned or having harmful ingredients, they might throw up their hands and say, "Uh-oh, back to the drawing board." In the same way, a program talks to the operating system through its exit codes. If everything went as planned, it could return an exit code of 0. If something went wrong, it could send back a different exit code to show what went wrong. For example, an exit code of 1 could mean that the program ran into a problem with the input, while an exit code of 2 could indicate a problem with a file. Even though exit codes might seem small, they are essential for programmers and system administrators. They can help fix problems and figure out why they are happening. For instance, if a program keeps crashing and always gives the same exit code, it could mean a specific problem must be fixed. Exit codes can be used for more than just finding problems. They can also automate tasks and make the software more stable. For example, a script might use an exit code to check if a specific program has finished running before moving on to the next step. Or, a programmer might use exit codes to ensure their program handles errors and exceptions correctly. Ultimately, exit codes might not be the most exciting thing at a party, but they are essential to programming and system administration. They help programs talk to the operating system, find errors and other problems, and do things automatically. So, the next time you see an exit code, don't just ignore it. It could help you solve a problem or make better software.

What Is Digital Watermark?