Questions about the exam, due September 28

• Which topics and ideas do you think are the most important out of those we have studied?
• I think the most important thing to know for the exam will just be to have a general idea of how each of the encryption algorithms we have discussed work.  This might seem obvious, since it's the core focus of the class, but this will the first thing I study for the exam.  I want to be explain simply to myself how each of the encryption and decryption algorithms work.  Also, I will make sure to study the ideas of number theory we have covered thus far, especially properties of modulo arithmetic and the Euclidean algorithm.
• What kinds of questions do you expect to see on the exam?
• I expect there will be computation questions dealing with modulo arithmetic, such as finding the inverse of a number (mod n) or solving equations involving modulo arithmetic.  I also expect there will questions where I will be required to correctly implement certain encryption algorithms, as well as questions where I will have to decrypt simple messages by hand.  Basically I expect the exam to lean heavily toward computation and algorithm implementation, as well possibly some basic proofs of theorems from number theory.
•  What do you need to work on understanding better before the exam?
•  I think the concepts I understand the weakest are finite fields, LFSRs (how to generate and decrypt them), as well as the DES and AES algorithms.  Otherwise I feel  fairly confident in the material that we have covered thus far.