Glossary

Script kiddies

Inexperienced hackers who use publicly available tools.

A computer that provides a service to other computers over a network.

The 'fingerprint' that is used by anti-virus software to detect an infection.

A form of user authentication that relies on a credit card-sized card with an embedded chip

Tricks performed by malicious users offline to gain access to secure systems, for example impersonating a technical support agent.

A firewall that runs on a computer as a program, as opposed to a hardware firewall

Unsolicited commercial e-mail. Also known as junk e-mail.

To make a transmission appear to come from a user other than the user who performed the action.

For example forging email messages or scanning internet packets to acquire a valid password, with which to hack into a computer.

Unwanted software that secretly monitors a user's activity, scans for private information or gives outsiders control of a computer

The SSID is the name given to a wireless network which enables users to find it.

Secure Socket Layer, a public key encryption system that secures world wide web communications over the internet

A password that provides an effective defence against unauthorized access to a resource. See Use strong passwords.