All articles

Everything on The Useful Layer, organised by topic.

Internet Basics

• How DNS Works: From Domain Name to IP Address — The Domain Name System, or DNS, is a distributed naming system that helps a device find information associated with a domain name, including an IP address.
• What HTTPS Means and What It Does Not Prove — HTTPS protects web communication using Transport Layer Security, but does not prove that a site, seller, or request is legitimate.

Security Hygiene

• What Is Multifactor Authentication? MFA Explained — Multifactor authentication, or MFA, requires more than one distinct type of proof at sign-in.