
We are not aware of these stages while we sleep. When we wake, we often do not remember our dreams. We rely on machines like the electroencephalograph (EEG) to offer scientists clues about the stages of sleep.

Prior to the Internet, financial accounts were kept at a local branch. Identification like a driver’s license was required for large transactions, and your identity was protected by being recognized by the people you regularly did business with. In the Digital Age, your financial accounts are usually accessible from anywhere with nothing more than a username and password, leading to a significant amount of financial identity theft. The goal of this article is to illustrate what steps banks have taken to protect finances from fraud and show how you can take full advantage of these security features in order to protect against identity theft.
There are several ways hackers can compromise your financial passwords. The oldest is a keylogger. Keyloggers are typically viruses (they can also be USB devices, but this requires that the hacker has access to your physical computer) that monitor the keys you press and the names of the windows you have open. Sophisticated keyloggers will send the keys you press back to a hacker or phisher when the window matches a major bank’s login page. If a hacker can track the keys you press, they can easily discern what your username and password is and log into your bank remotely. The first breakthrough in protecting against identity theft was simple. Instead of allowing users to enter their password with their keyboards, require them to use a mouse to click the letters on the screen. Many modern security systems still use this method to fool keyloggers.
Modern keylogger-defeating security screens more often feature a secret image that you select when you open the account. Even if a keylogger detects your password, there is no way for them to detect the image you click, thus protecting finances from fraud. 
The most secure type of authentication is using an RSA authenticator. In addition to requiring your username and password to log in, the financial account will also require an RSA token, usually a string of six numbers, which changes every few seconds. Banks can send you this RSA token on an RSA authenticator, a device about the size of a keychain. Since the string of numbers changes regularly, only the person holding the RSA authenticator has access to the account, thus protecting finances from fraud.
The security of your financial accounts usually relates to the number of hoops a hacker needs to jump through in order to access them. The most secure requires the hacker to have stolen your RSA authenticator. Less secure methods of authentication require you to disclose a secret image. The least secure additional authentication measure is simply sending an access password to your e-mail account. This can be compromised by a hacker that also has access to your e-mail. 