This paper discusses various aspects of cryptology. First a clear definition is established to explain what cryptology is and its purpose. Next symmetric stream ciphers are explained from an historic perspective before evaluating the benefits and risks of using this method of encryption. The pros and cons of symmetric block ciphers are addressed next with a small amount of focus on the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Asymmetric ciphers are then discussed in depth including a ‘real world’ example, some historical context and more common, modern examples of its use. Finally some common cryptography tools including digital signatures, digital certificates, public-key infrastructure (PKI), hybrid cryptography and steganography are briefly examined.