The Glossary contains several hundred definitions of terms that you might come across in our articles and blogs, or on other information security sites. Unlike the in-depth articles in the Knowledge Base, every definition in the Glossary is succinct, while remaining highly informative.
(This section is currently under construction)
In the Knowledge Base, you will find various articles about common threats, a general classification of malware and unwanted messages, and a brief historical overview of the evolution of these and many other threats.
The Knowledge Base now has three main sections:
– The Detectable Objects section gives detailed information about malicious and potentially dangerous programs that we protect users against every single day all around the world, as well as advice on what to do in case of infection.
– In the Spam and Phishing section, you will learn about phishing and spam mailings, how their creators earn money from them, and how this type of threat has evolved since the 1990s to the present day.
– The articles in the Vulnerabilities and Hackers section is devoted to the topic of software vulnerabilities and how cybercriminals exploit them, as well as legislation and hackers in the broad sense of the word.
This term was once used to describe a clever programmer. In recent years, this term has been applied to those who exploit security vulnerabilities to try and break into a computer system. Originally, those who break into computer systems (for… Read Full Article
A protocol for establishing a secure connection between client and server. It is intended to verify the authenticity and security of the channel being set up, and includes a series of control procedures to keep intruders out. During the handshake… Read Full Article
A file structure element with information about the directory in which the file is contained. A hard link establishes a connection between segmented data blocks on the drive and the file location in terms of the file system. A file… Read Full Article
A hash is a fixed-length sequence of characters obtained through the irreversible transformation of some initial data by using a special mathematical algorithm (hash function). Read Full Article
A mathematic algorithm that converts a random set of data into a fixed-length line of letters and numbers. The conversion function is called cryptographic hash function, and the result of the conversion is named hash. The algorithm is used for… Read Full Article
A cyberattack in which changes are made to data temporarily stored in dynamic memory. The pointers of adjacent memory locations are overwritten, allowing potential attackers to gain access to information that is otherwise off limits to them, or to execute… Read Full Article
A technique used in exploits that involves writing a certain sequence of bytes at various places of a heap – a memory that is allocated for use by programs. The technique resembles spray painting a wall to make it all… Read Full Article
A method for running 64-bit code in a 32-bit process. It is leveraged by cybercriminals to disguise malware and bypass security scanners to deliver a payload. The technique exploits a 64-bit handler embedded in a 32-bit Windows process for compatibility… Read Full Article
The word heuristic is derived from the Greek ‘to discover’ and refers to a learning method based on speculation or guess-work, rather than a fixed algorithm. In the anti-malware world, heuristic analysis involves using non-specific detection methods to find new,… Read Full Article
A hoax is a fake warning about a virus or other piece of malicious code. Typically a hoax takes the form of an e-mail or other message warning the reader of a dangerous new virus and suggesting that the reader… Read Full Article
A honeypot – in the modern, digital sense – is a trap in the form of a system that is intentionally vulnerable to attacks from the internet; experts monitor such traps to collect data on the tools and tactics of attackers. Read Full Article
Techniques used to alter or augment the behavior of an operating system, applications or of other software components by intercepting function calls or messages or events passed between software components. Code that handles such intercepted function calls, events or messages… Read Full Article
The hosts file is a sort of ‘mini DNS server’ on every Microsoft Windows system. When someone types a URL into the web browser, the browser checks the local hosts file to see if the requested domain name is listed… Read Full Article
One of the protocols used to transmit data on the Internet. Originally developed as a standard for sending HTML documents, it is currently used to transfer various types of data. Each HTTP packet consists of a starting line, header, and… Read Full Article
An HTTP protocol add-on for encrypting transmitted data. HTTPS encodes data packets using SSL and TSL, making it pointless to intercept traffic between hosts. HTTPS provides a secure connection for online processing of personal information, financial transactions, and other critical… Read Full Article
A software product or hardware solution for managing virtual machines running within one system. The hypervisor arranges for the operating systems in each of the isolated environments to interact as if they were installed on separate computers. There are two… Read Full Article