Back to: Privacy & Security

By Joshua Gliddon, Pulse editor, The Bulletin magazine

Anti-virus software
Viruses, and their relatives worms and Trojan horses, are malicious programs that can harm your computer or use your computer to harm another's machine or computer network. An anti-virus program keeps watch for viruses, quarantining and destroying any it finds.

Because new viruses appear all the time, anti-virus software must be updated regularly using online subscription services offered by the software company.

Broadband
Broadband is a catch-all term for high speed, always-on internet. The other type of internet access, dial-up, is slower and you need to connect to the internet every time you wish to go online.

Broadband comes in several varieties including cable modem, ADSL and satellite. Your broadband options depend on the types of service available in your area.

Denial of service attack
Some viruses can use your computer and your broadband service to attack another computer. When thousands of computers all attack one computer or computer network at the same time, legitimate traffic cannot get through. This is called a Denial of Service Attack, or DOS.

Firewall
Like a quarantine station, a firewall watches traffic running into your computer from the internet and blocks anything it considers undesirable. The computer user can set the firewall's sensitivity, depending on the type of traffic they want running in and out of their machine.

Anyone with a broadband connection to the internet should have a firewall running on their machine.

Ghost websites
A ghost website is one which looks similar to a financial institution's legitimate site, but is fake, capturing customer's details and using them to transact on the customer's account.

ISP
Internet service providers, or ISPs, offer internet service either through broadband, or dial-up connection.

Instant messaging
An instant messaging program lets you type and receive messages straight away, a bit like having an online conversation. Instant messaging, or IM, is incredibly popular with kids and has also started to gain a following for business communications.

Macintosh
Apple's MacOS is the operating system that runs its Macintosh computers. Although less common than Windows, it essentially performs the same functions.

Operating system
Without an operating system your computer is just a plastic box full of electronics. The operating system (or OS, as it's often called) runs the computer and acts as an intermediary between the programs and the computer itself.The operating system provides an interface, using a mouse, windows and a pointer, that makes it easy for humans to use the computer.

Microsoft Windows and Apple's MacOS are the most common operating systems. Enthusiasts sometimes use an operating system called Linux, but it's a little trickier to run than the mainstream operating systems.

Patch
Operating systems are complex pieces of software. Software makers will periodically release patches for their operating systems that close security holes, or enhance the software's performance.

Phishing
Phishing is a scam that uses fraudulent emails to entice people to surrender their banking or credit card details. The emails are crafted to look like a legitimate email from a financial institution and often contain links to authentic looking but fraudulent websites. The rule of thumb is that a financial institution will never ask you for your account details by email. If in doubt, contact the institution by phone.

Social engineering
The goal of an expert fraudster is to win the trust of people to gain access to computer systems and other information that he will then use to obtain money. He may use the phone, posing as the employee of a financial institution or government agency. He may "tailgate" an employee into a corporate office through a secure door, pretending to have lost his card key.

For example, a fraudster may wander around a room and spot passwords lying around on sticky notes. Or they may just watch an oblivious employee type in a password. Another favourite trick is to search through the corporate rubbish behind buildings until key data is obtained.

Spam
Electronic junk mail is called spam. Spam often contains viruses and other unsavoury material. Avoiding spam is tricky, however there are software applications and services that can help.

Spyware
Software that gathers information without your knowledge is called spyware. It can get into your machine as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program.

Trojan
A program that pretends to be something it's not. Trojan horses are usually malicious, causing damage to their host computer. Unlike viruses and worms, Trojan horses cannot spread or reproduce by themselves.

Virus
A malicious software program that invades your computer. Some viruses cause damage to the computer they infect, others use the infected machine and its internet connection to launch an attack on another computer or computer network.

A particularly serious virus is one that records key-strokes and logs your activities – including your Customer IDs and passwords, network passwords and credit card numbers entered into online shopping sites. This information is then sent back to the hacker who may use it to empty your account and run up purchases on your cards.

Windows
Microsoft Windows is the most common computer operating system. The current version is called Windows XP, while older versions include Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 95.

Windows update
Windows update is a Web service offered by Microsoft, which recommends patches suitable for your version of Windows.

Worm
Similar to a virus, a worm's main feature is that it replicates itself using a host computer. It either causes damage to the host, or uses the host computer to launch an attack elsewhere.

Zombie
A computer that, unbeknownst to its owner, is used for an attack on another machine. Zombies are created after a virus or worm infection.