== Types of ciphers == The history of cryptography begins thousands of years ago and contains a variety of different types of encryption. Earlier algorithms were performed by hand and are substantially different from modern algorithms, which are generally executed by a machine. === Historical ciphers === Historical pen and paper ciphers used in th... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext
(from the article `data encryption`) the process of disguising information as `ciphertext,` or data unintelligible to an unauthorized person. Conversely, decryption, or decipherment, is ... Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/c/86