Geek Speak - a Glossary

If you’re unsure what some of the technical terms in this document mean, this glossary may help. If you have questions not addressed by this glossary, please call the Computer Center Help Desk (x-7300).

Adware: Software (usually free downloads) that may appear beneficial, but in fact sends “pop up” or similar advertisements to your computer. Often, the same software is also “spyware.” (See below)

Disarmed e-mail: Some e-mail clients, like Microsoft Outlook, tag messages as “disarmed” if they contain web links that appear to be malicious. For example, if a message says “click here to contact your Amazon.com” but the link really goes to www.werenotreallyamazon.com, it will be tagged as disarmed to thwart “phishing” attacks. (See below)

Encryption: A process to obscure the contents of a file so unauthorized persons can’t read it. Similar to writing it in secret code, though with a code that’s prohibitively difficult to crack.

Firewall: A process that limits what types of internet traffic can talk to your computer. By blocking communication types that you don’t use, a firewall stops malicious attempts to access your computer.

Phishing: A fraudulent attempt, generally by e-mail, to trick a user into providing personal information or accessing a malicious web site. Common phishing messages claim to be from banks, Amazon.com, eBay, or PayPal.

Spyware: Software (usually free downloads) that may appear beneficial, but in fact “spies” on you, sending information about your computer or internet habits to a third party like a web advertising company. (Related to “adware” above.)

Trojan: Named for the mythological Trojan Horse, this is a malicious program installed secretly on your computer when you install software (usually free downloads) that may appear beneficial. Different from a virus in that users, however unwittingly, initiate the installation of a Trojan. (See below)

Virus: A virus is a bit of malicious computer code, different from a Trojan (see above) in that it propagates itself onto other computers.

Related pages:

• Data security practices
• Computer security settings
• Security homepage