what is malware?
a malicious software designed to hack a system
what are 5 types of malware?
viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, ransomware
what is a virus?
programs embedded in other files. They replicate themselves and become part of other programs. Viruses often cause damage by deleting or modifying data.
what is a worm?
self-replicates and spreads across a computer network without any human intervention
what is a trojan?
pretends to be legitimate but are malware, often disguised as email attachments. Trojans cant spread by themselves instead they deceive a user into installing the program
what is spyware?
monitors user activities (such as websites visited, usernames and passwords used) and send the information back to a hacker.
what is ransomware?
blackmails a user into making a payment to a hacker
what is brute force attack?
trys to find a password by trying all possible combinations until the correct one is obtained
what is DOS attack?
bombards the server over and over again with requests so the server is tied up trying to handle all the DOS requests, so it cant respond to legitimate requests
what is data interception?
data is intercepted during transmission using a packet sniffer, which examines data packets as they are sent around a network
what is SQL injection?
adding malicious sql code into a web form in order to view, modify, delete database records or to gain unauthorised access
what is social engineering?
when a scammer tricks the user into providing information such as username and passwords. One possible way is to use phishing. The phishing email pretends to be a genuine message and tries to deceive the user into following a link to a website that looks like the real company
what is penetration testing?
systems are tested for vulnerabilities to reveal any weaknesses in the system
what is anti-malware software?
detects, prevents and removes malware on a system
what is a firewall?
prevents unauthorised connections to and from the Internet
what is user access levels?
the permissions given to a user to access facilities on a computer
what is encryption?
files that have been altered using a secret code and are unreadable to unauthorised parties
