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.
An error in the programming of complex apps in which processes are not executed sequentially in a predetermined order, but swap places depending on certain conditions or even run in parallel. The result can be a vulnerability that manifests itself… Read Full Article
A data array containing precalculated hash functions for a certain number of common passwords. With a rainbow table and a database of leaked hashes, attackers can find simple combinations and use them to crack systems. Salting renders the use of… Read Full Article
Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts data (crypto-malware) or blocks access to data (lockers), demanding a ransom in exchange for access. Read Full Article
Programs for remote access to a computer or other device connected to the Internet or a local network. Remote administration tools can be part of a software product or come as separate utilities. RAT enables remote configuration of applications and… Read Full Article
A family of encryption algorithms belonging to RSA Security LLC. There currently exist six versions of the cipher, the most well-known of which are the last three releases: RC4, RC5, and RC6. All the algorithms were developed by Ronald Rivest,… Read Full Article
A symmetric stream encryption algorithm that is used to protect data in several versions of the SSL and TLS protocols, as well as in the WEP and WPA wireless security standards. RC4 was created by Ronald Rivest, and is owned… Read Full Article
A script for filtering and processing traffic in a proxy server. Redirectors can be used to reject redirection requests for certain addresses, modify the content of web pages being transmitted, or display service messages on the screen of the proxy… Read Full Article
A malicious program that remotely accesses infected resources. Trojans of this type are among the most dangerous because they open up all kinds of opportunities for remote control of the compromised system. RAT capabilities usually include program installation and removal,… Read Full Article
One of the most dangerous types of computer vulnerabilities. It allows an attacker to remotely run malicious code within the target system on the local network or over the Internet. Physical access to the device is not required. An RCE… Read Full Article
A protocol for remotely connecting to computers running Windows. Despite the name, it enables not only interaction with desktop elements, but also access to other device resources. RDP was conceived as a remote administration tool, but is often used by… Read Full Article
An installation kit created by a third-party developer. A repack can be designed to reduce the size of the original distribution through more efficient compression methods, or to place multimedia content in other containers. Computer pirates, too, release own builds… Read Full Article
A type of cyberattack based on the reuse of intercepted session IDs or other authorization information in the target system. One variant involves copying transaction data transmitted to a financial system, and then using it to make a payment to… Read Full Article
The detailed examination of a software product or web application to detect vulnerabilities or hidden features. Reverse engineering is the process of studying a finished program using special methods. Reverse engineering covers a broad range of areas, including decompiling and… Read Full Article
RFID technology is based on the reading and processing of radio signals received from special tags attached to objects. Such RFID tags, consisting of an antenna and a microchip, are called transponders. The antenna picks up the signal from the… Read Full Article
Riskware is the generic term used by Kaspersky Lab to describe programs that are legitimate in themselves, but have the potential for misuse by cybercriminals: for example, remote administration utilities. Such programs have always had the potential to be misused,… Read Full Article
Root is the name of the administrator account that gives the full access to system folders and files and enables their editing. A root account is the main administrator’s, or the superuser’s, account.
A malicious program that infects Android phones and tablets to gain root privileges and take full control over the device. After compromising the mobile platform, a rootkit can run adware, delete or install applications, and copy confidential information. Such malware… Read Full Article
A program or collection of software tools programmed to hide certain objects or activity in the system. As a rule, cybercriminals hide the registry keys for the autorun of malicious objects, as well as files, folders, processes in the infected… Read Full Article
RSA is a public key (or asymmetric) encryption algorithm, first described publicly in 1977 by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – the first letters of their surnames make up the name… Read Full Article
A text file format used in earlier versions of Word. The format uses special tags to mark up the text. Developed by Adobe and Microsoft, RTF quickly lost popularity after the appearance of the binary format DOC.