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freeware

Freeware-Software that is given away for free. Often times a company will give away a version of their software to entice you into purchasing a more enhanced version of the software. Often you can find simple little full-version programs online for free too.

Heuristics

A way to determining that a file might be infected due to several virus-like conditions being met. These are called heuristic flags. When certain flags or combinations of flags are set (the file is "flagged"), it is decided that the file is infected.

Hijacker

Often installing as a helpful browser toolbar, hijackers may alter browser settings or change the default home page to point to some other site.

Hijacker, Browser Hijacker

A program which sets your browser settings (such as home page, search page, etc.) to other sites without your permission.

HOSTs file

A file which contains hardcoded IP addresses for domain names. Commonly exploited by malware to keep users from reaching certain sites.

Injected file

A file (usually a .dll file) which is hooked to another running process. This is usually a legitimate process, such as Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer.

Keylogger

A program which captures keystrokes. These logs are often broadcast over the net via email or some other method to someone looking to steal confidential information (passwords, credit cards, etc.).

Macro Virus

A virus which uses VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) or some other macro scripting languages. Usually exploits MS Office documents.

Mailer

A program which creates and sends emails. Viruses are often mailers that distribute copies of themselves to addresses harvested from an infected machine.

malware

Malware-Short for "malicious software," malware refers to software programs designed to damage or do other unwanted actions on a computer system. In Spanish, "mal" is a prefix that means "bad," making the term "badware," which is a good way to remember it (even if you're not Spanish).

Common examples of malware include viruses, worms, trojan horses, and spyware. Viruses, for example, can cause havoc on a computer's hard drive by deleting files or directory information. Spyware can gather data from a user's system without the user knowing it. This can include anything from the Web pages a user visits to personal information, such as credit card numbers.

outbreak

Outbreak-What occurs when a piece of malware has a significant and rapid rise in distribution.

Pharming

Pharming is the exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software that allows a hacker to acquire the Domain Name for a site, and to redirect traffic to that website to another web site. DNS servers are the machines responsible for resolving internet names into their real addresses - the "signposts" of the internet.

Phishing

The act of tricking someone into giving them confidential information or tricking them into doing something that they normally wouldn’t do or shouldn’t do. For example: sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.

Redirect Page

Code that redirects or forwards a user from a page (often obsolete) to a desired location.

registry

Registry- In the Microsoft Windows operating systems beginning with Windows 95, the registry is a single place for keeping such information as what hardware is attached, what system options have been selected, how computer memory is set up, and what application programs are to be present when the operating system is started. In general, the user updates the registry indirectly using Control Panel tools. When you install or uninstall application programs, they also update the registry. In a network environment, registry information can be kept on a server so that system policies for individuals and workgroups can be managed centrally.

reverse engineer

Reverse Engineer-Reverse engineering (RE) is the process of taking something (a device, an electrical component, a software program, etc.) apart and analyzing its workings in detail, usually with the intention to construct a new device or program that does the same thing without copying anything from the original. Hackers use the reverse engineering process to create variants of old virus and spyware infections to infect computers in new ways.

Runkey

A registry key which starts programs each time Windows is started.

Shareware

Software that is distributed through sharing, which is encouraged. Usage is usually requested as a donation to the author(s).

Signature

The content of a definition. A signature is a unique identifier for an infection which allows the scanner to determine whether a file is infected.

social engineering

Social Engineering-In computer security, social engineering is a term that describes a non-technical kind of intrusion that relies heavily on human interaction and often involves tricking other people to break normal security procedures.

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