Glossary of Terms

Backdoors

A method of bypassing normal authentication and securing remote access to a computer while remaining anonymous .

Blaster

A computer worm that spread on computers running the Microsoft operating systems from August 11, 2003 to August 13, 2003. It could infect a computer simply by being connected to the internet and would cause the machine to freeze and shut down.

On August 29, 2003, Jeffrey Lee Parson, an 18-year-old from Hopkins, Minnesota was arrested for creating the Blaster worm; he was sentenced to an 18-month prison term in January 2005.

Botnet

A collection of comprimised computers that are autonomously controlled remotely be someone other than the computer's owner. Its been estimated that up to one quarter of all personal computers connected to the internet may become part of a botnet.

Carders

A hacker who specializes in stealing credit card information online.

Cyberspace

The whole range of information resources available through computer networks. The term originated by author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer.

Cyberwarfare

The use of computers and the Internet in conducting warfare in cyberspace.

Hackers

A is generic term for a computer expert, often with a specific specialty in computer intrusion. 'White hats' are the good guys and 'black hats' are the bad guys.

Mafia Boy

The Internet alias of Michael Calce, a high school student from Montreal, Canada who launched a series of highly publicized denial-of-service attacks in February 2000 against large commercial websites including Yahoo!, Amazon.com, Dell, Inc., E*TRADE, eBay, and CNN.

He was sentenced to to eight months of open custody, one year of probation, restricted use of the Internet, and a small fine on September 12, 2001.

Malware

Made from the words malicious and software, it's software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's consent.

Microsoft Word Virus

A virus that hides inside a Microsoft word document. When the author e-mails it across the internet, the virus infects the new computer and begins to collect documents which are sent back to the authors of the virus.

Phishing

A method hackers use acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. They masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an e-mail asking for personal information.

Spyware

Computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a computer to take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's knowledge.

Spyware programs can collect various types of information, such as Internet surfing habits but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs.

Storm Worm

A backdoor Trojan horse (see other terms in glossary) that affects computers using Microsoft operating systems. It began infecting thousands of computers in Europe and the United States on Friday, January 19, 2007, using an e-mail message with a subject line about a recent weather disaster, "230 dead as storm batters Europe". By January 22, 2007, the Storm Worm accounted for 8% of all infections globally.

Trojan Horse

Software that appears to perform a desirable function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions.

Virus

A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user.

War Driving

The act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer or PDA. Connecting to the network and using its services without explicit authorization is referred to as piggybacking.

Worm

A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.

Zombie

A zombie computer is a computer attached to the Internet that has been compromised by a hacker, a computer virus, or a trojan horse. Generally, a compromised machine is only one of many used to perform malicious tasks. Most owners of zombie computers are unaware that their system is being used in this way.

It's estimated that Zombies have been used to send an estimated 50–80% of all spam worldwide allowing spammers to avoid detection and reduce their bandwidth costs.