Securing Your Pc And Lan

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adware

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Software installed on a computer that produces pop-up ads using your browser; the ads are often based on your browsing habits.

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antivirus (AV) software

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Utility programs that prevent infection or scan a system to detect and remove viruses. McAfee Associates’ VirusScan and Norton AntiVirus are two popular AV packages.

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authentication

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The process of proving an individual is who they say they are before they are allowed access to a computer, file, folder, or network. The process might use a password, PIN, smart card, or biometric data.

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authorization

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Controlling what an individual can or cannot do with resources on a computer network. Using Windows, authorization is granted by the rights and permissions assigned to user 3 accounts.

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boot sector virus

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An infectious program that can replace the boot program with a modified, infected version, often causing boot and data retrieval problems.

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browser hijacker

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A malicious program that infects your Web browser and can change your home page or browser settings. It can also redirect your browser to unwanted sites, produce pop-up ads, and set unwanted bookmarks. Also called a home page hijacker.

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CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol)

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A protocol used to encrypt account names and passwords that are sent to a network controller for validation.

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data migration

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Moving data from one application to another application or from one storage media to another, and most often involves a change in the way the data is formatted.

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dialer

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Malicious software installed on your PC that disconnects your phone line from your ISP and dials up an expensive pay-per-minute phone number without your knowledge.

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Encrypted File System (EFS)

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A way to use a key to encode a file or folder on an NTFS volume to protect sensitive data. Because it is an integrated system service, EFS is transparent to users and applications and is difficult to attack.

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encrypting virus

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A type of virus that transforms itself into a nonreplicating program in order to avoid detection. It transforms itself back into a replicating program in order to spread.

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encryption

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The process of putting readable data into an encoded form that can only be decoded (or decrypted) through use of a key.

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file virus

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A virus that inserts virus code into an executable program file and can spread whenever that program is executed.

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grayware

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A program that AV software recognizes to be potentially harmful or potentially unwanted.

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infestation

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Any unwanted program that is transmitted to a computer without the user’s knowledge and that is designed to do varying degrees of damage to data and software. There are a number of different types of infestations, including viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and logic bombs. See malicious software.

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Kerberos

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A protocol used to encrypt account names and passwords that are sent to a network controller for validation. Kerberos is the default protocol used by Windows 2000/XP.

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key fob

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A device, such as a type of smart card, that can fit conveniently on a key chain.

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keylogger

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A type of spyware that tracks your keystrokes, including passwords, chat room sessions, e-mail messages, documents, online purchases, and anything else you type on your PC. Text is logged to a text file and transmitted over the Internet without your knowledge.

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logic bomb

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A type of malicious software that is dormant code added to software and triggered at a predetermined time or by a predetermined event.

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macro

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A small sequence of commands, contained within a document, that can be automatically executed when the document is loaded, or executed later by using a predetermined keystroke.

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macro virus

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A virus that can hide in the macros of a document file.

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malicious software

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Any unwanted program that is transmitted to a computer without the user’s knowledge and that is designed to do varying degrees of damage to data and software. Types of infestations include viruses, Trojan horses, worms, adware, spyware, keyloggers, browser hijackers, dialers, and downloaders. Also called malware or an infestation.

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malware

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Another term for malicious software.

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multipartite virus

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A combination of a boot sector virus and a file virus. It can hide in either type of program.

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passphrase

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A type of password that can contain a phrase where spaces are allowed. A passphrase is stronger than a one-word password.

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phishing

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(1) A type of identity theft where a person is baited into giving personal data to a Web site that appears to be the Web site of a reputable company with which the person has an account. (2) Sending an e-mail message with the intent of getting the user to reveal private information that can be used for identify theft.

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PKI (Public-key Infrastructure)

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The standards used to encrypt, transport, and validate digital certificates over the Internet.

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polymorphic virus

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A type of virus that changes its distinguishing characteristics as it replicates itself. Mutating in this way makes it more difficult for AV software to recognize the presence of the virus.

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rootkit

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A type of malicious software that loads itself internal Windows components so that it masks information Windows provides to user-mode utilities such as Windows Explorer or Task Manager.

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scam e-mail

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E-mail sent by a scam artist intended to lure you into a scheme.

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script virus

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A type of virus that hides in a script which might execute when you click a link on a Web page or in an HTML e-mail message, or when you attempt to open an e-mail attachment.

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smart card

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Any small device that contains authentication information that can be keyed into a logon

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smart card reader

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A device that can read a smart card used to authenticate a person onto a network.

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social engineering

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The practice of tricking people into giving out private information or allowing unsafe programs into the network or computer.

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spam

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Junk e-mail you don’t ask for, don’t want, and that gets in your way.

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spyware

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Malicious software that installs itself on your computer to spy on you. It collects personal information about you that it transmits over the Internet to Web-hosting sites that intend to use your personal data for harm.

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stealth virus

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A virus that actively conceals itself by temporarily removing itself from an infected file that is about to be examined, and then hiding a copy of itself elsewhere on the drive.

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Trojan horse

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A type of infestation that hides or disguises itself as a useful program, yet is designed to cause damage when executed.

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virus

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A program that often has an incubation period, is infectious, and is intended to cause damage. A virus program might destroy data and programs or damage a disk drive’s boot sector.

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virus hoax

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E-mail that does damage by tempting you to forward it to everyone in your e-mail address book with the intent of clogging up e-mail systems or by persuading you to delete a critical Windows system file by convincing you the file is malicious.

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virus signature

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A set of distinguishing characteristics of a virus used by antivirus software to identify the virus.

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worm

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An infestation designed to copy itself repeatedly to memory, on drive space or on a network, until little memory or disk space remains.

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zero-fill utility

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A utility provided by a hard drive manufacturer that fills every sector on the drive with zeroes.