Your word not here? Ask me to add a definition.
| Add-In | see “Plug-In” |
| Attack Surface | If you live on your own in a very big house it will be easier for a thief to break in than if you lived in a small house. The “attack surface” is bigger. Each new app or software program increases the attack service of your device or computer. That’s why it’s a good idea to think carefully before installing new software. |
| Bot | Short for robot, this a piece of software designed to seem like a human being. When you chat with a company on their website, if your query is simple you may be dealing with a bot, not with a real human. Another type of bot is used to post large numbers of message on social media to trick people into thinking that there is a lot of support for a party or cause |
| Browser | Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer (which you should stop using) are all types of browser. |
| Browser Extension | Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Opera etc.) have to do lots of different work and it would be too complicated to have one gigantic set of computer code in the browser. “Browser extensions” are small programs that let you “accessorise” your browser for special tasks that the plain browser can’t do. They may be written by programmers who don’t work on the browser itself. The programming code may be excellent, but it could be badly written or unsafe. |
| Bug | The first bug was literally an insect that was found in a computer at Harvard in the United States. It came to mean a fault in a computer program. Bugs are not attacks on software, but they are often a “weak spot” that an attacker can use to break in to a system. |
| Coding | Coding is computer programming, but the focus tends to be on languages like JavaScript which form part of a web site and may control the part of the site that the user sees, rather than the “plumbing” that works behind the scenes. Writing code can be simpler than true computer programming since a coder doesn’t always need to understand the background system that supports the web site. |
| Cyber-Bullying | Bullying over the Internet. Many people use this word when bully and victim know each other. If they’re strangers, it’s often called trolling. |
| Data Breach | A data breach is when data that should be kept private by an organisation is taken by an attacker. Many well-known organisations have suffered data breaches as you can see here |
| Extension | see “Plug-In” |
| E-Safety | The E in “E-Safety” is short for Electronic. So E-Safety is about keeping your device safe from attackers. It covers the use of a mobile phone, a tablet or a laptop computer. See “E-Sense” |
| E-Sense | This is the “human” side of staying safe online. Road safety is not just about your car. It’s also about the way that you use it. Good drivers are skillful but also calm and patient. E-Sense is the knowledge we need to avoid scams and keep out of trouble. See “E-Safety” |
| Fake Reviews | Since so many people look at reviews to make buying decisions, businesses sometimes cheat by writing their own reviews or paying money for fake reviews. The reviews say nice things about them or nasty things about their competitors. The extra money they make by looking good on TripAdvisor or getting to the top of Amazon searches covers the cost of the phoney reviews. |
| FOMO | Fear Of Missing Out can be caused by spending too much time on social media and taking it seriously. Generally people only post things that make them look happy and successful. Someone who compares this fantasy online world with their own life may feel that there is something wrong with them. “Why do I have so many problems when these people spend their whole lives having fun and making money?” (etc.) |
| Hacker | This word is used to mean several different things. People who don’t work in technology say “hacker” are often talking about someone who unlawfully attacks a system, but they may also use the expression “life hack”, which doesn’t mean anything bad. For IT people, the idea of a hacker may be similar: someone who finds clever ways to do a job or fix a problem. |
| Hacker, Ethical | An ethical hacker is someone invited by an organisation to try and beat their security. The ethical hacker uses the same skills as the criminal hacker. The important difference is that they are paid for what do and don’t risk being arrested and possibly jailed. |
| Identity Theft | When someone has captured information that identifies you so that they can take over accounts belonging to you |
| Key Logger | A key logger is a piece of software that an attacker puts onto your system to record what you type. It tells them the web sites you visit and your passwords. |
| Money Laundering | Criminals cannot use money from crime until they hide where it came from. Money laundering is they way they clean it up and get it into a bank so that they can use it. |
| Money Muling | This is helping a criminal by passing stolen money through your bank account so that it looks like the money was honestly made. The criminal pays you a share in return for your services. |
| Operating System | An empty device straight from the factory is useless. It needs to have an operating system installed before it can run any other software or store pictures or information. |
| Pen Tester | This is someone who tests the defences of a system – See also ethical hacking. |
| Phishing Attack | Directing a user to a malicious site which is disguised as an honest site. Thinking they are at the honest site, the user enters credentials which are then used at the honest site to steal from them . |
| Podcast | A podcast is like a radio programme that you listen to by clicking the link. One example is Le Show by Harry Shearer who did some of the voices behind “The Simpsons” cartoon. |
| Pwn | The word “pwn” is sometimes used instead of “own” when an attacker controls something that belongs to you such as the name and password of your social account. |
| Plug-In | A plug-in is a piece of software that “plugs” into a software program. After the plug-in is added, the main program will able to do new jobs that it couldn’t do before. A browser is one example of a program that can be extended with a plug-in. |
| Remote Wipe | Wiping data from your mobile phone when it’s not with you. You could do this to prevent a thief from getting your passwords and personal data. |
| Script Kiddie | Someone with a low skill level who is not interested in getting a deep knowledge of technology. Script kiddies often launch attacks on systems but instead of fully understanding what they are doing they rely on software written by others. Most of the comments in this article Avoid Becoming A Script Kiddie are pretty accurate. |
| Search Engine | A piece of software running in your browser that lets you search the Internet. Google and Bing (a less popular product from Microsoft) are both search engines. |
| Shortened URL | Since some web addresses are long and hard to type, people and companies will use services like Bitly to give you a much shorter link that still takes you to the right address. Unfortunately unless you use a web address expander, you won’t know where the shortened link points, which can be a security risk. |
| Social Engineering | Social “Engineering” is not really engineering. It’s any method of getting into a system that involves tricking people, instead of using technical methods to attack the software |
| Spam | Emails or other messages sent by computer software. It has a list of addresses. It puts those addresses together with a message. It’s easy to send thousands or millions of messages this way. They are usually scams.If only one in 10,000 people reply that may be enough for the scammer to make money |
| Virus | A small computer program that gets onto your device and tries to copy itself to (“infect”) other devices. Each copy of the virus will try to do the same so if it works it spreads fast. |
| URL | A web address, like https://gosafer.online |
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