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Cyber Glossary

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Cybercrime General

Identity theft, stealing money, stealing private information, controlling private computers.

Ransomware General

Ransomware is a type cyber attack that threatens to publish the victim's data or block access to it unless a ransom is paid.

Internet of Things General

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which enables these things to connect and exchange data.

Cybersecurity General

Protection of computer systems, networks, and data from digital attacks.

Cybersecurity General

Protocols for encrypting/decrypting information. Most cybersecurity breaches happen due to human error, not software bugs.

Computer Science General

The study of computational thinking, the thinking humans need to in order to describe a step by step process to a computer.

Phishing General

The usage of deceptive emails and websites to maliciously gather personal information

operating system (OS) General

The primary software that runs applications and manages all the hardware, memory and other software on a computer.

software General

A set of computer instructions that tells the computer how to work.

workstation OS General

Most commonly used on a desktop or laptop computer and can perform many tasks without an internet connection.

mobile OS General

An operating system used on mobile devices, such as a mobile phone or tablet.

server OS General

Used on specialized computers that take in requests and send back a response (mail server, web server, etc).

embedded OS General

Will only perform one type of task and are used in machines such as an ATM or a GPS system.

firmware General

An operating system that is permanently etched into a hardware device such as a keyboard or a video card.

hypervisor General

Operating systems that are most commonly used to run multiple operating systems on a computer system at the same time.

platform General

An operating system such as Windows, Mac OS, Android or iOS.

single-platform software General

Software that only works on one platform, such as only on Android phones, or only on Mac computers.

cross-platform software General

Software that works on multiple platforms.

user account General

Used to log in to a computer, comprised of a username, password, personalized settings and set permissions.

admin account General

Has full access and full control to manage other users, set permissions and change computer settings and programs.

user permissions General

Authorization given to user accounts that grants them certain privileges and enables them to access specific folders and files.

host account General

The main, controlling account responsible for providing security updates, antivirus software and setting permissions for anyone on the same network.

security baseline General

An agreed upon set of rules and permissions.

authorization General

Specifying access rights and permissions for each user.

authentication General

Proving the identity of the user.

Linux General

An open-source and community-developed operating system.

Apple Macintosh (macOS) General

An operating system that uses a graphical user interface designed by Apple Inc. for use on desktops and laptops.

Microsoft Windows General

An operating system that uses a graphical user interface designed by Microsoft for use on desktops and laptops.

file system General

A method of organizing files and retrieving them from storage.

file management General

Software that manages data and files along with the ability to create, modify, and move these files.

GUI (graphical user interface) General

A type of interface that uses interactive graphical elements such as windows, buttons, and icons.

patches General

Updates that address and fix security vulnerabilities within a program or product.

computer virus General

A type of computer program that can spread by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code (rules).

backup General

A copy or snapshot of the state of your computer.

full backup General

Backs up everything on your computer.

incremental backup General

Backs up only what has changed since the last backup.

browser General

Used to navigate the world wide web and view HTML files.

cache General

A collection of data and files used to increase the speed of the browser.

client-side scripting General

Program code, usually written in JavaScript, that is executed on the client's browser.

proxy server General

An intermediary between the user and the Internet that takes requests from the user and returns a response.

certificate General

Confirms the identity and authenticity of a website.

command line interface (CLI) General

Processes commands to a computer program in the form of lines of text.

file extension General

The suffix at the end of a filename that indicates what the type of file.

processor General

The electronic part of a computer that executes the instructions that are passed to it by the operating system. It’s also called a CPU, or central processing unit.

software license General

Legally binding guidelines for use and distribution of software.

open source software General

Software that is available for anyone to access and modify.

proprietary software General

Software that is owned by an individual or company.

application architecture model General

Refers to the design of the essential parts of an application and how they are connected to each other.

locally installed software General

Software installation that is performed on your local computer.

local network hosted General

Software installation that is performed on a local area network (LAN).

cloud hosted General

Software that is installed, hosted and accessed entirely from a remote server or location.

Protocol General

A set of rules or procedures for transmitting data between electronic devices. In order for computers to exchange information, there must be an agreement as to how the information will be structured and how each side will send and receive it.

Network General

A group of two or more computer systems linked together.

Bitrate General

The amount of data (in bits) that can be sent in a fixed amount of time.

Bandwidth General

The capacity of data transfer in a system. Measured by bitrate.

Latency General

The latency of a system is the time it takes for a bit to travel from sender to receiver. Fiber optic cables have low latency.

IPv6 General

A new 128 bit version of the Internet Protocol.

IP (Internet Protocol) General

The protocol that defines the payout of an an Internet address.

Domain Name System (DNS) General

Used to translate domain names into IP addresses.

Routing General

The process of sending data between two computers on the internet. The data is sent through routers that determine the route.

Redundancy General

When multiple paths exist between two points. This improves reliability and makes the internet fault tolerable. Makes the routing system scalable.

HTML Documentation HTML

Documentation and syntax for HTML

html docs html documentation

Packets General

Packets are the units of data that are sent over the network.

Metadata General

a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.

Internet Protocol (IP) General

Standardizes the layout of all packets. All packets must have a destination IP address, a from IP address, and the actual data being sent. Defines the layout of a SINGLE packet.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) General

Allows for sending MULTIPLE packets between two computers. TCP checks that all packets arrived and can be put back in the proper order. The metadata must include a destination IP address, a from IP address, the message size and the packet order number.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) General

Protocol that standardizes the language for talking to web servers to send and receive web resources. Defines how computers send and receive hypertext information. (HTTPS: The “S” denotes a secure connection using HTTP.)

URL General

Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. You are locating a resource that exists somewhere on the internet.

number system General

Defines how numbers are represented, which digits are used, and what each position (place) in a number means.

binary number system General

A number system that only uses two symbols: typically "0" and "1".

hexadecimal numeral system General

A number system that uses 16 symbols: 0-9 and A-F

bit General

A basic unit of information in computing and digital communications.

motherboard General

A circuit board with ports and sockets used to connect the main devices of a computer.

BIOS General

A special kind of firmware that runs programs strictly to start up your computer.

central processing unit (CPU) General

The core component of a device that accepts and executes instructions.

random access memory (RAM) General

A fast type of computer memory which temporarily stores all the information your device needs right away.

solid-state drive (SSD) General

A fast access storage device used in computers.

graphics processing unit (GPU) General

A component designed to speed up the creation of images and output them to a display device, like a monitor.

network interface card (NIC) General

A component with a built in wired network port that allows the computer to connect to a network.

network port General

A location where information is sent from one computer to another.

port scan General

Checks to see which ports on a network are open.

firewall General

A device or software that blocks unwanted Internet traffic while allowing legitimate traffic.

plug-and-play device General

A device that will be recognized by your computer and install on its own.

driver General

A group of files that allows a device to communicate with the computer’s operating system.

Bluetooth General

A short-range wireless communication technology that uses radio waves to transmit information.

NFC (Near Field Communication) General

Enables short-range communication between compatible devices.

network device General

An electronic device which is required for communication between devices.

network adapter General

An internal component of a computer that is used for communicating over a network.

modem General

A network device that allows a device to connect to the Internet.

switch General

Enables wired connections between more than one computer or device.

access point General

A network device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network.

router General

An access point that allows for network management and security configuration.

volatile storage General

Storage that is available only while the system is on and disappears when the system is turned off.

non-volatile storage General

Storage that is saved and available even when the system is shut down.

network-attached storage (NAS) General

Storage that contains one or more drives that can be accessed over a network.

file server General

Network attached storage that is equipped with powerful network adapters.

WLAN General

A wireless LAN that uses radio frequency technology to send and receive data.

VLAN General

A virtual LAN that allows for the setup of separate networks by configuring a network device.

wireless networking standards General

A set of protocols that specify how your Wi-Fi network and other data transmissions work.

command line interface (CLI) General

Processes commands to a computer program in the form of lines of text.

routing table General

A list of specific routing destinations; essentially a map for the router.

Form Factor General

The size, shape, and physical specifications of any physical aspect of a computer system.

Data privacy General

how company's use your data

Data security General

protecting your data online

https General

secure data transfer protocol when on the internet

Privacy Policy General

Legal document outlining how a company can collect and use your data

Copyright General

A law that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use, distribution, and sale

Public domain General

Objects in the public domain are not subject to copyright laws, and thus may be freely used by the general public.