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TERM / WORD |
Definition of Terms / Words |
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adware |
a form of spyware that monitors
viewers' surfing habits, web sites viewed, sends this data to
advertisers who then invoke popup ads |
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anti virus |
term applied to software designed
to detect and keep a virus from entering and infecting a
computer |
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Anti-virus Software |
Anti-virus software scans a
computer's memory and disk drives for viruses. When a virus is
found, the result is displayed. The software may
clean, delete or quarantine any files, directories or disks
affected by the malicious code. |
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Anti-antivirus Virus |
Anti-antivirus viruses
attack, disable or infect specific anti-virus software |
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Attack |
An attempt to subvert or bypass a
system's security. Attacks may be passive or active. Active
attacks attempt to alter or destroy data. Passive attacks try
to intercept or read data without changing it. Some
attacks result in Denial of Service, Hijacking, Password
Attacks, Password Sniffing, virus attack |
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Back Door |
A programmer's tool sometimes
built into programs to allow special privileges normally
denied to users of the program. Often programmers build back
doors so they can fix bugs. The feature can pose a security
risk if hackers or others learn about it. |
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Backup |
A duplicate copy of data made for
archiving purposes or for protecting against damage or loss.
Some programs backup data files while maintaining both the
current version and the preceding version on disk. To be
considered secure, the Backup must be stored away from
the original. |
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Blog |
a quick and easy way to share
timely information (updated news, trends, developments),
answer questions, express opinions and exchange views. |
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Browser Hijacker |
a program that attempts to alter home page, search page and/or
other browser settings. |
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backup device |
includes floppy disks, CD's, Zip
disks, tape drives, on which clean files and data can be
recorded for future use |
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CAN SPAM Act |
legislation signed into law in
2004, designed to establish guidelines for commercial email to
minimize spam and penalize spammers |
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chat loggers |
a type of spyware that detects and
records chat room messages. It is capable of screening
for specific topics and reporting to the person who installed
it, who can actually be at a remote location. |
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child safe |
Internet resources that are free
of pornography, hate, mayhem, etc., that are available to
children through responsible search engines, websites, when
surfing the World Wide Web. |
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compromise |
To access or disclose information
without authorization. |
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cookie |
Cookies are blocks of text placed
in a file on your computer's hard disk. Web sites use cookies
to identify users who revisit the site. Cookies can be used to
gather more information about a user than would be possible
without them. |
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data recovery |
disaster
recovery... see hard drive recovery |
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email recorders |
software
that monitors email exchanges. Some available email
recorders automatically save POP or SMTP email packets in
easily viewable Outlook Express format, displaying details
including real contents. |
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file sharing |
Peer to Peer exchange of files for music, images, etc, such as
Kazaa, and others. Requires caution to avoid hidden viruses
and malware |
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firewall |
Hardware and/or software
designed to keep unauthorized outsiders from tampering with a computer system or
network. (The system can be a standalone
computer, a small Local Area Network or a company-wide network with thousands of users). |
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hacker / cracker |
Generally, internet hackers like to think of themselves as an
elite group of information seekers, very good at exploring
computer systems and networks.
Briefly, Crackers are criminal Hackers |
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hard drive recovery |
saving
the files and data on a hard drive after it has had a virus
infection
removed (also names 'Data Recovery') |
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identity theft |
the
deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to
gain access to their
credit or
frame them for some crime. |
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keylogger |
software
and hardware keystroke loggers that monitor, record and often
transmit your keystrokes to undesirable third parties |
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keystroke monitor |
see Keylogger |
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malware |
malicious programs, ie, adware,
spyware, etc,. that monitor your internet and other computer
activities and report stolen personal information and surfing
habits to unknown third parties, often for criminal purposes. |
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message blocker |
software that minimizes or stops Messenger Spam pop-ups on
your monitor screen. Po up messages are among the
fastest growing type of unsolicited advertising on the
Internet today! |
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MyDoom |
one of many similar worms that use
infected computers' address lists to send emails containing
other viruses to all listings in your address book |
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online security |
The state of being free from danger or injury while using a
computer connected to the internet |
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password recorders |
Spy
software that secretly records all passwords, email, and
keystrokes |
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personal privacy |
the right of individuals to protect financial, historical, and
other personal and secret information from identity thieves
and other parties who have no reason to have it |
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phishing |
Criminal use of the Internet to send official-looking (but
fraudulent) e-mail that purports to have been sent by a
familiar business or organization -seeking personal and
private information from unsuspecting individuals,
to be used by criminals for stealing identities and money. |
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popups |
additional windows that appear
suddenly on top of the page your are viewing which are
triggered by code buried in the source code of the window that
that was opened originally |
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SCAM |
A scam is any attempt to remove money from you by promising
you something youll never get; a swindle; a fraudulent
business scheme |
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SPAM |
Spam is email that appears in
email inboxes without our permission that often contains
pornography, scams, unwanted ads and spyware |
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spoofing |
a practice of Spammers who use misleading information in the
subject line of your incoming email to entice you to open a
message which usually contains ads for undesirable or unwanted
products, etc. |
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spyware |
malicious
programs that often send personal data, passwords and other
private personal and financial data to third parties |
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Stinger |
A FREE downloadable program (not
an online virus scanner) from McAfee that finds and removes
viruses on an infected computer |
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trojan / trojan horses |
are impostor files that claim to
be something desirable but are actually malicious. Trojan
horse programs do not replicate themselves. They contain
malicious code that causes loss, or even theft, of data when
triggered |
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UCE |
unsolicited commercial email, the
accepted official terminology for Spam |
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virus |
A computer program file capable of
attaching to disks or other files and replicating itself repeatedly, typically without user
knowledge or permission. Some viruses display symptoms, and
some viruses damage files and computer systems, but neither
symptoms nor damage is essential in the definition of a virus;
a non-damaging virus is still a virus. |
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virus grief |
Unhappiness brought about by a
computer virus infection including the problems encountered in
recovering lost files and data and restoring normal system
operation. |
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virus hoax |
Hoaxes are not viruses, but are
usually deliberate or unintentional
e-mail messages warning people about a virus or other
malicious software programs that aren't actually viruses. |
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virus infection |
the
existence (visible or hidden) of viruses, worms, spyware,
malware and other similar threatening and harmful
software injected into your computer system. |
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virus symptoms |
The apparent indications of
something not quite right with the system operation, the
complete failure of certain programs, repeated email bounces,
and other abnormalities |
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virus protection |
the
practice of creating security systems for your computer, such
that viruses, worms, trojan horses, malware, etc, are
unable to penetrate and infect it. |
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worm |
a parasitic computer program that
replicates, but unlike viruses, does not infect other computer
program files. Worms can create copies on the same computer,
or can send the copies to other computers via a network |
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