Term
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Definition
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Bayesian filtering
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Bayesian spam filters use a statistical theory developed by English philosopher Thomas Bayes. They calculate the probability of a message being spam, based both on its content and on past results, to separate genuine emails from spam. (Source: vnunet.com) |
Central Processing Unit
(CPU)
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(1) The primary computing device, or the brain, of a computer system in which data is manipulated and in which calculations take place. It consists of a single microprocessor chip. (Source: Hansen Media) (2) The computing part of the computer; the control unit and the arithmetic logic unit. It is the chip that functions as the computer's brain. Also called the processor. A personal computer CPU is a single microprocessor chip. A minicomputer CPU is contained on one or more printed circuit boards. A mainframe CPU is made up of several boards. |
Denial of Service
(DoS)
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A type of network attack that attempts to render a network or Internet resource useless to users, typically by sending large amounts of repeated requests for data. The target may be e-mail services or an IRC server, or it could be access to a particular Website. The methods of attack vary, but the end result is that a resource is artificially slowed down or unavailable to legitimate users. (Source: Geek.com) |
Internet Service Provider
(ISP)
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Company that offers Web access services, allowing the user to concentrate on content, rather than hardware, software and maintenance of the server and connections. ISPs handle the connection needed to link consumers and businesses with the Internet. An ISP provides the servers that store data sent to or from trading partners/correspondents until each retrieves the data. |
Melissa virus
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The Melissa Worm, also known as Mailissa, Simpsons, Kwyjibo, or Kwejeebo, is a computer worm that also functions as a macro virus. First found on March 26, 1999, Melissa came to be one of the most infamous computer worms the world has ever seen. It shut down Internet mail systems that became clogged with infected e-mails propagating the worm. Melissa was first distributed in the Usenet discussion group alt.sex. The virus was inside a file called "List.DOC", which contained passwords that allow access into 80 pornographic websites. The worm's original form was sent via e-mail to many people. Melissa was written by David L. Smith in Eatontown, New Jersey, and named after a lap-dancer he encountered in Florida. The creator of the virus called himself Kwyjibo, but was shown to be identical to macrovirus writers VicodinES and Alt-F11 who had several Word-files with the same characteristic Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), a serial number that was earlier generated with the network card MAC address as a component. (Source: Wikipedia) |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP)
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(1) A protocol for sending e-mail messages between servers. Most e-mail systems that send mail over the Internet use SMTP to send messages from one server to another; the messages can then be retrieved with an e-mail client using either POP or IMAP. In addition, SMTP is generally used to send messages from a mail client to a mail server. This is why you need to specify both the POP or IMAP server and the SMTP server when you configure your e-mail application. (Source: Webopedia) (2) The TCP/IP server-to-server messaging protocol that governs transmission and reception of electronic mail over the Internet. Other protocols are used to access the messages. The SMTP dialog usually happens in the background under the control of the message transport system, e.g. Sendmail, but it is possible to interact with an SMTP server using Telnet to connect to the normal SMTP port. Specified in RFC 821, with extensions specified in many other RFCs. |
Storage Area Network
(SAN)
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A high-speed subnetwork of shared storage devices. A storage device is a machine that contains nothing but a disk or disks for storing data. A SAN's architecture works in a way that makes all storage devices available to all servers on a LAN or WAN. As more storage devices are added to a SAN, they too will be accessible from any server in the larger network. In this case, the server merely acts as a pathway between the end user and the stored data. (Source: Webopedia) |
Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP)
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The most common transport layer protocol used on the Internet. TCP is built on top of Internet Protocol (IP) and is nearly always seen in the combination TCP/IP. TCP is a connection-oriented, end-to-end protocol that provides reliable, sequenced, and unduplicated delivery of bytes to a remote or local user and reliable byte stream communication between pairs of processes in hosts attached to interconnected networks. |
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
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This protocol suite provides for the reliable delivery of data streams from one host to another across interconnected networks in the Internet. The two protocols allow different computer systems to communicate. TCP controls data transfer and IP controls routing. TCP/IP includes TCP and IP plus other complementary and cooperative protocols. TCP/IP was developed under contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to enable internetworking of dissimilar systems. It is a de facto UNIX standard, but is now supported on almost all platforms. TCP/IP is the protocol of the Internet. |
Trojan horse
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A program that appears to be something useful, but covertly damages or erases files on your computer while you are running it. A malicious, security-breaking program that is disguised as something benign, such as a directory lister, archiver, game, or in one notorious 1990 case on the Macintosh a program to find and destroy viruses. |
back end
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(1) Also back-end processor. A server is often called a back end, and a workstation is often called the front end. On a LAN (local area network), a back-end processor runs on a server. It is responsible for preserving data integrity and handles most of the processor-intensive work, such as data storage and manipulation. (2) A node or software program that provides services to a front end. (Source: Cisco Systems Internetworking Terms and Acronyms) (3) A computer that does the main processing but has a smaller, more friendly computer that the user interacts with - called the front end. A program that takes care of details behind the scenes, performing tasks not directly controlled by the user. (Source: ComputerUser.com High-Tech Dictionary) |
bandwidth
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The amount of data that can be sent through a given communications circuit per second. A measure of the transmission capacity of a computer network. The bandwidth is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies a network can transmit. It should be noted that this is limited not only by the physical infrastructure of the traffic path within the transit networks, which provides an upper bound to available bandwidth, but is also by the number of other flows that share common components of this selected end-to-end path. |
blacklist
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(1) Blacklists, also called blocklists, work just the opposite of whitelists. A blacklist is a list of servers that spammers are known to be operating or that have been used to send spam in the past. (Source: TurnTide) (2) A list of people or things that are deemed unsafe or undesirable. (Source: The Word Spy) |
blocking
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In a switching system, a condition in which no paths are available to complete a circuit. The term is also used to describe a situation in which one activity cannot begin until another has been completed. (Source: Butterfly Glossary) |
chat room
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An interactive discussion (by keyboard) about a specific topic that is hosted on a BBS, online service or the Internet.(Source: TechWeb.com) |
code
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(1) A set of machine symbols that represents data or instructions. (2) Any representation of one set of data for another. For example, a parts code is an abbreviated name of a product, product type or category. A discount code is a percentage. (3) To write a program. (4) To encode for security purposes. |
data packet
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A format in which data is transmitted over a network. A packet contains the data itself as well as addresses, error checking, and other information necessary to ensure the packet arrives intact at its intended destination. (Source: High-Tech Dictionary) |
dictionary attack
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(1) A version of a brute force attack, refined by the assumption that, for example, passwords are more likely to be real words rather than random character strings, and so trying or access using only words found in a dictionary file, or other common source. (Source: Rob Slade's Security Glossary) (2) An e-mail spamming technique in which the spammer sends out thousands or millions of e-mails with randomly generated addresses using combinations of letters added to known domain names in the hopes of reaching a percentage of actual e-mail addresses. For example, a dictionary attack list might begin with john@webopedia.com, john1@webopedia.com, john2@webopedia.com, and so on until all possible combinations of letters and numbers has been exhausted. (Source: Inside ID Online Glossary of Identity Management Terminology)
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false positive
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(1) In the context of computer security, this occurs when the system classifies an action as anomalous - a possible intrusion - when it is a legitimate action. (Source: SANS Institute NSA Glossary of Terms Used in Security and Intrusion Detection) (2) In the context of computer security, a false positive error occurs when antivirus software wrongly claims a virus infects a clean file. False positives usually occur when the string chosen for a given virus signature is also present in another program. (Source: McAfee Virus Glossary of Terms) (3) In the context of spam, When anti-spam software wrongly identifies a legitimate message as spam. (Source: Sophos Spam Glossary) |
hardware
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Refers to objects that you can actually touch, like disks, disk drives, display screens, keyboards, printers, boards, and chips. In contrast, software is untouchable. Software exists as ideas, concepts, and symbols, but it has no substance. (Source: Webopedia) |
header
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(1) A network communications term that refers to the initial part of a message. The header contains data such as the identities of the sending and receiving network members as well as the priority of the message. (2) In C++, a file holding declarations used in more than one translation unit. Thus, a header file acts as an interface between separately compiled parts of a program. A header file often contains inline function definitions, const definitions, enumerations, and template definitions, it cannot be included from more than one source file if it contains noninline function definitions or variable definitions. (Source for 2: Bjarne Stroustrup's C++ Glossary) (3) In C++, a file containing class declarations, preprocessor directives, and so on, and included in a translation unit. It is expanded by the preprocessor. (Source: Glen McCluskey & Associates LLC C++ Glossary) |
hijack
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An attack whereby the hacker attempts to take over one side of an existing (authenticated) connection. Since authentication generally takes place only at the start of a connection, this will allow the hacker to fully masquerade as the other side without further security checks. (Source: Hacking Lexicon) |
identity theft
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Also, identity fraud; taking the victim's identity to obtain credit, credit cards from banks and retailers, steal money from the victim's existing accounts, apply for loans, establish accounts with utility companies, rent an apartment, file bankruptcy, obtain a job using the victim's name, or to commit crimes ranging from traffic infractions to felonies. Impersonators use the victim's social security number, birth date, address, phone number, and/or other identifying information and a false driver's license with their own picture to then pose as the victim. The thief obtains the victim's information from the victim's doctor, accountant, lawyer, dentist, school, place of work, health insurance carrier, courts, public documents, the Internet and/or other places, including garbage cans and dumpsters. (Sources: Identity Theft Prevention and Survival; WatchIT.com™) |
message board
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A feature of online services that allows members to post public messages for other members to read and respond to. Most major areas of any ISP service have at least one message board. (Source: Computer, Telephony and Electronics Glossary and Dictionary) |
phishing
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Phishing is the term coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in e-mails to entice people to share passwords or credit-card numbers. (Source: The Word Spy) |
portal
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A Web site, or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and online shopping malls. The first Web portals were online services, such as AOL, that provided access to the Web, but by now most of the traditional search engines have transformed themselves into Web portals to attract and keep a larger audience. (Source: Webopedia) |
proxy server
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(1) A server that provides access to files from other servers by retrieving them either from its local cache or from the remote server. (Source: ComputerUser.com High-Tech Dictionary) (2) A server that sits between a client application, such as a Web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server. (Source: Webopedia) (3) A process that acts like a switchboard through a firewall to manage the various types of permitted communications with the outside world. Proxy servers may also use caching to make communications more efficient. (Source: Glossary of Internet Terms) |
spam
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Electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. Real spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup. Spam eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Consequently, there are many organizations, as well as individuals, who have taken it upon themselves to fight spam with a variety of techniques. |
spamware
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Spamware is any kind of basically spammer software. Spambots are a type of spamware, as is the software the spammer uses to send the mail. Often these are integrated into one package. (Source: Spambot Beware) |
virus
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A program that replicates itself on computer systems by incorporating itself into programs that are shared among computer systems. When these infiltrated programs are executed the embedded virus is executed also, causing the 'infection.' Viruses may do things such as writing or popping-up a message on the screen, altering display settings, or even deleting files. The term virus has passed into popular usage, and is often incorrectly used to denote a worm or a Trojan horse. |
whitelist
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(1) A list of servers known to be sending good, legitimate, non-spam e-mails. (Source: TurnTide) (2) A list of people or things that are deemed safe or desirable. (The Word Spy) |
worm
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A program that sends itself over a network, reproducing as it goes. Worms may carry a simple message or a more serious computer virus. Unlike a virus, a worm can infect other computers without assistance. |
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