Technical terms

Here's some security terminology you may come across:

Adware: software that delivers advertisements on your computer.

Boot virus: affects the Master Boot Record of a hard disc, where information about the drive is stored (when you boot from the infected disc, the virus loads before the operating system does).

Botnet: short for bot network, also known as a "zombie army" – it’s a collection of infected internet-connected computers running unauthorised automated software (called robots or bots) that can distribute spam and viruses and launch attacks on computers or networks.

Firewall: a software program and/or hardware device that limits outside network access to a computer by blocking or restricting entrances (ports) to your computer.

Malware: a generic term for unwanted software that secretly executes unwanted actions.

On-access scanning: constant monitoring of a computer’s memory and file system that activates automatically and scans any file (as it’s opened, closed or moved) to detect virus activity before it can infect the system.

On-demand scanning: scanning of selected  files as required by a user.

Phishing: attempts to lure users to reveal credit card details, account passwords and personal information by pretending to be an email from a trusted financial institution or service.

Port: a virtual opening into your computer through which information can pass in and out. Used for communicating over the internet. Port can also refer to a physical connection point for attaching devices.

Quarantine: the isolation of files suspected to contain a virus, so that they can't be opened or activated.

Rootkits: programs that conceal malicious code’s access to files, folders and registry keys (they also make programs, system services, drivers and network connections invisible to the user).

Spam: unsolicited (junk) email distributed on a large scale and often part of a scam.

Spyware: software that secretly gathers information about a user from a computer.

Trojan: a malicious program hidden in a benign application. Often used by hackers to enable access to the victim’s computer.

Virus: a software program, script, or macro that has been designed to infect, destroy, modify, or cause other problems with a computer or software program.

Report by Hadyn Green.