Glossary of Terms B.J.G

A Glossary of Computer Terms - including current Security & Internet Concerns

This is an ongoing 'work', to be added to as new terms are 'created' and appear in the technical literature, and as time permits. Feel free to submit any you come across for inclusion here.

For more information, where available, please click on the 'more' note following the explanation.

TERM	CONTEXT	MEANING/EXPLANATION
Blog	Internet	A personal commentary maintained on a web site offering observations, experiences, sources of comments, 'rants', or even daily diaries!
boot	General, Computer	The process of starting or restarting your computer (often by turning on the power), which (hopefully!) culminates in the loading of your operating system.
botnet	security	A network of (compromised) computers running software (often Virus or spyware based) for various target applications: the most notorious are those used for transmitting spam, and targeted denial-of-service attacks.
browser hijacker	Security	A program which changes your Internet browser settings (such as home page, searches, etc.) and often prevents you from changing them back. Usually intended to force the browser to a specific website, or another source of spyware.
Cookie	Internet, Security	A small file which can be created when visiting a website, and which stores your personal identification relative to that site. Often a convenient feature to identify yourself when returning to that site, it can be badly misused by some, to gain more than basic identification and serve as a link to gain access to your system. A good spyware search & removal program can usually differentiate, and identify those which should be removed.
Cracker	Security	Someone who tries to break the security of, and gain access to, someone else's system without being invited to do so. Often with a view to profit.
Cyber Gang	Security	A term used by some in the security industry to refer to organised groups of criminals or crackers with the ability to perform their activities via the Internet (sometimes called "Cyber Mafia")
Cyber Punk	Security	A term used by some in the security industry to refer to crackers who are generally seeking notoriety and bragging rights, rather than profit.
Denial of Service	Security	The prevention of authorized access to a system resource or the delaying of system operations and functions. Often performed by flooding a targeted website with a high volume of requests or inquiries. see also Botnets.
dialer	Security	A program that dials long distance (and expensive) calls, many times without your knowledge.
Hacker	Security	Someone with a strong interest in computers, who enjoys learning about them and experimenting with them. (See: cracker.) The recommended definition is the original meaning of the term from the early days of popular computing, which then had a neutral or positive connotation of "someone who figures things out and makes something cool happen". Today, the term is frequently misused, especially by journalists, to have the pejorative meaning of cracker.
Hijack	Security	An action, generally caused by spyware or a virus, where your Internet browser addresses are redirected to another website for illegitimate reasons.
HijackThis	Security	A software program, & service, that can be used as a last resort, with the help of professionals, to remove many spyware or other malware infections. (Not, as some have been led to believe, a piece of spyware!)
Hotspot	Internet, Telephony	A term used to describe an area, or locale, within which people can connect to the Internet via wireless-equipped computers, or PDA's etc. A hotspot can be provided as a service, such as within a coffee shop, a large building or a public gathering area, or as a corporate facility. Supporters of these facilities are hoping for widespread and interlinking hotspots to be created in the near future.
Keylogger	Security	A type of spyware, which records the keystrokes entered on an infected system to a secret file: this file will be uploaded for collection at a source location. Originally identified as a means of collecting anonymous information for Internet marketing, it is now usually associated with identity theft and criminal elements.
Malware	Security	A general term for programs which collect information about you or interfere with your computer without your consent or knowledge -usually of an illegal nature.
Pharming	Security	Otherwise known as Domain spoofing, or DNS poisoning. Domain spoofing involves stealing a domain (or Internet website) address and rerouting it to another site, usually for identity theft purposes.
Phishing	Security	Sending unsolicited emails (spam) which include inducements to respond by clicking on embedded links. The links are frequently to website sources of malware/spyware, & often lure respondents into providing personal identifications (account numbers, passwords, etc.)
Rootkit	Security	A software package which once installed is hidden from the operating system, and hence from antivirus and anti-spyware scans. This software forms the base for a new breed of spyware, and can also provide 'safe' harbour for various viruses.
Smurf	Security	Software that mounts a denial-of-service attack ("smurfing") by exploiting IP broadcast addressing and ICMP ping packets to cause flooding.
Spam, Spamming	Security	Unsolicited email, and the sending of.. Generally (but wrongly) regarded as just an annoyance, the mechanisms for both creating the email address lists, and for the transmission, frequently take advantage of security weaknesses and can compromise innocent systems into being used as transmission networks!
Spyware	Security	A general term for all classes of software which are downloaded either without your knowledge, or disguised as free software and interfere with your computer operations. Includes 'malware', 'cookies', 'keyloggers', etc. In other words, any software which operates without your knowledge, gathering information and relaying it back to an unauthorised third party. In general, the motivation behind spyware is profit.
Trojan Horse	Security	A computer program that appears to have a useful function, but also has a hidden and potentially malicious function that evades security mechanisms, sometimes by exploiting legitimate authorizations of a system entity that invokes the program.
Virus	Security	A hidden, self-replicating section of computer software, usually malicious logic, that propagates by infecting- i.e. inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of - another program. A virus cannot run by itself; it requires that its host program be run to make the virus active. In general the motivations behind viruses are the creation of service disruptions, grudges against specific organisations or corporations, or simply achieving a level of notoriety.
VoIP	Internet, Telephony	Acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol; the use of the Internet for voice telephony. Of appeal primarily to avoid long distance phone charges, it is regarded as an addition to high speed internet service and as a means of integrating voice messaging and storage with email.
VPN	Internet	Virtual Private Network. A means of securely using the Internet to transfer encrypted information between systems- such as between an employee at a home computer and a company office.
Wi-Fi	Internet, Telephony	Wi-Fi®, or Wireless Fidelity, allows you to connect to the internet from virtually anywhere at speeds of up to 54Mbps. Wi-Fi-enabled computers and handsets use radio technologies based on the IEEE 802.11 standard to send and receive data anywhere within the range of a base station. Please see 'Hotspot' for additional information. The same standard is used in wireless networking at home.
Worm	Security	A computer program that can run independently, can propagate a complete working version of itself onto other hosts on a network, and may consume computer resources destructively.
Zombie	Security	We assume that this term, which we have often encountered without explanation, is similar to botnet, meaning a component of a network mounting a concerted action, such as a denial of service attack.