This is a glossary of terms used on the website that explains acroynms and concepts. Some terms will link to further material for you to read to help your understanding of concepts to help you secure your business.
A
ACCSE – Australian Centre for Cyber Security Excellence is a funded initiative by the Australian Federal Government. It recognises ECU and University of Melbourne as the 2 current centres. ACCSE partially funds CyberCheckMe
Anti-virus – A protective piece of software you install that detects and stops viruses, worms and other malware attacking your device.
Attachment – An attachment is a document sent with an email message. Many types of files can be sent this way (e.g. Word documents, PDFs, Excel files, JPEGs). Be wary of attaching large files because these can take a lot of time for the recipient to download. If you have a large file, it is considered good practice to compress the file using software before attaching it.
AustCyber – AustCyber is the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network
B
Backup – Backup refers to the process of making copies of data or data files to use in the event the original data or data files are lost or destroyed.
Browser – A software program that allows you to surf the web. Popular web browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
C
Cache – When you download a web page, the data is “cached,” meaning it is temporarily stored on your computer. The next time you want that page, instead of requesting the file from the web server, your web browser just accesses it from the cache.
Cloud – Cloud computing service means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive.
Cookie – Cookies are messages that web servers pass to your web browser when you visit internet sites.
Cyber attack – A cyber attack is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organisation to breach the information system of another individual or organization. Usually, the attacker seeks some type of benefit from disrupting the victim’s network.
Cybercrime – Defined as a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime (hacking, phishing, spamming) or is used as a tool to commit an offense.
Cybersecurity – Cybersecurity refers to measures designed to protect your computer, device or network from cybercrime. This involves preventing unintended and unauthorised access, change and damage.
D
Data – In computing, data is information that has been translated into a form that is efficient for movement or processing.
Domain – A domain name (or just a domain) is the name of a website. Ie Cybercheck.me would be our domain.
Download – Download means to receive data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system.
E
Encryption – Encryption is a process that encodes a message or file so that it can be only be read by certain people. Encryption uses an algorithm to scramble, or encrypt, data and then uses a key for the receiving party to unscramble, or decrypt, the information.
F
Firewall – a firewall is a device or software that filters network traffic based on pre-defined rules.
FTP – File transfer protocol (FTP) is a common method of transferring files via the internet from one host to another host
G
Gateway – A point within a network that interconnects with other networks.
H
HTML – Hyper-text markup language (HTML) is a set of symbols inserted into files intended for display on the world wide web.
I
Intranet – Intranets are private networks used by businesses and organisations to distribute communications exclusively to their employees.
J
JPEG – stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, this is the format is commonly used for photos displayed on the world wide web.
L
LAN – LAN is an abbreviation which stands for Local Area Network.
M
Malware – a term used to refer to types of malicious codes such as viruses, worms, backdoors, RATs
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – MFA is using something in addition to a PIN or password to access your system. It could be a fingerprint, eye scan, facial recognition or a hardware token you have
O
Operating System – An operating system (OS) is the software that manages all of a computer’s processes and allows programs and applications to run.
P
Phishing – Phishing is a type of email fraud in which the cyber criminal sends out emails that appear to come from a legitimate service or reputable company, such as a bank or an email service provider.
Plug-in – A software plug-in is a component that adds to a software program’s functionality.
R
Ransomware – This is a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the victims files.
Read-only – A read-only file cannot be edited, modified or deleted.
S
Spam – Spam refers to unsolicited email messages sent for marketing purposes.
U
Unzip – To unzip a zip file is to extract and decompress compressed files from it.
URL – Short for Uniform Resource Locator, a URL is the location of a specific website, page, or file on the Internet.
V
Virus – A piece of malicious software designed to “infect” your device and change its protections and the way it should normally operate
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more.
W
Windows Key – also known as the winkey or WK, the Windows key is a key found on IBM compatible keyboards. The Windows key has the Microsoft logo on it . Pressing the Windows key by itself opens the Start menu.
Holding down the Windows key and pressing another key, to trigger a keyboard shortcut, can speed up common tasks. For a full list of Windows key shortcuts, see this Windows shortcut keys guide.
Wireless – Wireless is the term used to describe any computer network where there is no physical wired connection between sender and receiver.
Z
Zip – To zip files is to archive and compress them into one file of smaller size using a suitable program.
A
ACCSE – Australian Centre for Cyber Security Excellence is a funded initiative by the Australian Federal Government. It recognises ECU and University of Melbourne as the 2 current centres. ACCSE partially funds CyberCheckMe
Anti-virus – A protective piece of software you install that detects and stops viruses, worms and other malware attacking your device.
Attachment – An attachment is a document sent with an email message. Many types of files can be sent this way (e.g. Word documents, PDFs, Excel files, JPEGs). Be wary of attaching large files because these can take a lot of time for the recipient to download. If you have a large file, it is considered good practice to compress the file using software before attaching it.
AustCyber – AustCyber is the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network
B
Backup – Backup refers to the process of making copies of data or data files to use in the event the original data or data files are lost or destroyed.
Browser – A software program that allows you to surf the web. Popular web browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
C
Cache – When you download a web page, the data is “cached,” meaning it is temporarily stored on your computer. The next time you want that page, instead of requesting the file from the web server, your web browser just accesses it from the cache.
Cloud – Cloud computing service means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive.
Cookie – Cookies are messages that web servers pass to your web browser when you visit internet sites.
Cyber attack – A cyber attack is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organisation to breach the information system of another individual or organization. Usually, the attacker seeks some type of benefit from disrupting the victim’s network.
Cybercrime – Defined as a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime (hacking, phishing, spamming) or is used as a tool to commit an offense.
Cybersecurity – Cybersecurity refers to measures designed to protect your computer, device or network from cybercrime. This involves preventing unintended and unauthorised access, change and damage.
D
Data – In computing, data is information that has been translated into a form that is efficient for movement or processing.
Domain – A domain name (or just a domain) is the name of a website. Ie Cybercheck.me would be our domain.
Download – Download means to receive data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system.
E
Encryption – Encryption is a process that encodes a message or file so that it can be only be read by certain people. Encryption uses an algorithm to scramble, or encrypt, data and then uses a key for the receiving party to unscramble, or decrypt, the information.
F
Firewall – a firewall is a device or software that filters network traffic based on pre-defined rules.
FTP – File transfer protocol (FTP) is a common method of transferring files via the internet from one host to another host
G
Gateway – A point within a network that interconnects with other networks.
H
HTML – Hyper-text markup language (HTML) is a set of symbols inserted into files intended for display on the world wide web.
I
Intranet – Intranets are private networks used by businesses and organisations to distribute communications exclusively to their employees.
J
JPEG – stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, this is the format is commonly used for photos displayed on the world wide web.
L
LAN – LAN is an abbreviation which stands for Local Area Network.
M
Malware – a term used to refer to types of malicious codes such as viruses, worms, backdoors, RATs
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – MFA is using something in addition to a PIN or password to access your system. It could be a fingerprint, eye scan, facial recognition or a hardware token you have
O
Operating System – An operating system (OS) is the software that manages all of a computer’s processes and allows programs and applications to run.
P
Phishing – Phishing is a type of email fraud in which the cyber criminal sends out emails that appear to come from a legitimate service or reputable company, such as a bank or an email service provider.
Plug-in – A software plug-in is a component that adds to a software program’s functionality.
R
Ransomware – This is a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the victims files.
Read-only – A read-only file cannot be edited, modified or deleted.
S
Spam – Spam refers to unsolicited email messages sent for marketing purposes.
U
Unzip – To unzip a zip file is to extract and decompress compressed files from it.
URL – Short for Uniform Resource Locator, a URL is the location of a specific website, page, or file on the Internet.
V
Virus – A piece of malicious software designed to “infect” your device and change its protections and the way it should normally operate
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more.
W
Windows Key – also known as the winkey or WK, the Windows key is a key found on IBM compatible keyboards. The Windows key has the Microsoft logo on it . Pressing the Windows key by itself opens the Start menu.
Holding down the Windows key and pressing another key, to trigger a keyboard shortcut, can speed up common tasks. For a full list of Windows key shortcuts, see this Windows shortcut keys guide.
Wireless – Wireless is the term used to describe any computer network where there is no physical wired connection between sender and receiver.
Z
Zip – To zip files is to archive and compress them into one file of smaller size using a suitable program.
