Online Safety - Glossary
Adware
A generic term referring to a type of software that causes a victim's web browser to display pop-up advertisements and advertising banners.
Antivirus software
Software specifically designed for the detection and prevention of known viruses. You can also get more advanced packages with spyware/spam detection
Botnet
A botnet (also known as a zombie army) is a number of Internet computers that, although their owners are unaware of it, have been set up to forward transmissions (including spam or viruses) to other computers on the Internet
Cookie
A text file created on a computer by a website when a user first visits the site and which is used to store information that the website can use during the user's current and perhaps subsequent visits. Cookie information may also be used to provide targeted pop-up advertising (see adware so)
E-crime/Cybercrime
E Crime/Cybercrime covers such a broad scope of criminal activity but is generally accept to mean t he use of networked computers, or Internet technology to commit or facilitate the commission of crime.
Identity theft
The fraudulent act of collecting sufficient personal information about an individual in order that their identity can be assumed for the purposes of carrying out some other illegal or malicious activity.
Advanced Fee Fraud
A confidence trick where upon receipt of an unsolicited email the victim is persuaded to give small sums of money or bank details in exchange for huge returns, (sometimes referred to as 419 Fraud). Too good to be true.
Pop-up
A supplementary and often unwanted window. Pop-ups may contain undesirable or otherwise unwelcome content and may have design elements that make them difficult or impossible to close.
Phishing
The fraudulent act of sending bogus, spam emails (which appear to originate from a legitimate organisation) that entice the recipients to visit a fake website - often an almost exact replica of the organisation's genuine site, for the purposes of gathering personal or sensitive financial information.
Spam
The electronic equivalent of junk mail. Thanks to the availability of huge email address databases and the relatively small cost of sending emails spam is a lucrative business and now accounts for the majority of all email messages.
Virus
Computer code written with the intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by infecting another file. Besides spreading, viruses can be used for criminal activity or to cause harm. Types include: email virus, boot sector virus etc…
Wi-Fi
Wireless-Fidelity. Common applications for Wi-Fi include Internet and VOIP phone access, gaming and network connectivity for consumer electronics such as televisions, DVD players and digital camera’s.