American pop artist Andy Warhol famously said, ‘In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.’ He never knew that his words would be used to name a class of computer worms that could shut down the entire internet. Self replicating worms are a major security problem because they are capable of spreading themselves […]
Definition of the Day: PharmingPharming is a derivation of the hacking technique of host file redirection. It is targeted at a broad swath of potential victims. (Think phishing + farming = pharming.) This hack redirects an innocent internet user to a fake clone of a website where the user then unknowingly gives high risk information to the hacker. Finding […]
Definition of the Day: ScarewareScareware is malware that frightens users into downloading software that appears to be legitimate but is actually malware. It usually takes the form of a pop-up that looks like it comes from a legitimate anti-virus company. The pop-up tells the user that it has identified a serious, dangerous virus in your machine and then prompts […]
Definition of the Day: EncryptionEncryption refers to encoding and decoding data such that it can’t be read easily. In computers, encryption is usually done by an algorithm that applies a large sequence of numbers that follow a specific pattern to each letter or number of the text string. Encoding and decoding the encrypted data requires what is known as […]
Definition of the Day: Keystroke LoggingKeystroke logging is the process of identifying and recording every keystroke made on a computer. Hackers use keyloggers to capture sensitive data like passwords, financial information, corporate secrets, intellectual property and any other type of data that might be useful to exploit. Keyword loggers can reside in just about every part of the computer: the […]
Definition of the Day: Zero Day ExploitA zero-day exploit is a vulnerability in a software program that is unknown to the company or person who created the software. This hole is then exploited by hackers before the vendor is aware the vulnerability exists and can fix it. Hence, ‘zero day’ attack. A zero-day exploit highlights the essential weakness of today’s computer […]
Definition of the Day: Stealth VirusA stealth virus is a type of virus malware that contains sophisticated means of avoiding detection by antivirus software. After it manages to get into the now-infected machine a stealth virus hides itself by continually renaming and moving itself around the disc. Like other viruses, a stealth virus can take control of many parts of […]
Definition of the Day: Metamorphic VirusesA metamorphic virus is a class of viruses that call to mind the movie ‘Terminator.’ One of the most infectious and complicated viruses, metamorphic viruses are capable of changing themselves by translating, editing and rewriting their own code. Antivirus programs have a great difficulty detecting metamorphic viruses because the virus changes its code structure and […]
Definition of the Day: Macro VirusA macro is a set of commands used by a program that perform a set of related actions used commonly. For example, the act of opening a document in most word processors is not a single command but a set of commands in the form of a macro. What is a Macro-Virus? A macro virus […]
