Updated 12/29/10

The road to web security is to FIRST be aware of the terms and definitions of the security threats, both local and global. Below are the common terms being used in the PH and the world,  each link will take you to the source page.

image courtesy of CCPS Internet Safety

• Adware : When infected, your system slows down,  and your computer displays unwanted and annoying pop-ups and banner ads
• Bots & Botnets : Hackers use bot programs for theft, fraud, and denial-of-service attacks on Web sites
• Browser Highjacking : when your browser directs you to the hackers website regardless  of the address you entered.
• Cookies : can be used maliciously to keep track of your online behaviour
• “Cyber-boso”  : the act of videoing, uploading, possessing, sharing and watching explicit pictures or videos without permission from concerned individuals
• Cybersquatting : the act of registering, selling or using a domain name with the intent of profiting from the goodwill of someone else’s trademark. It generally refers to the practice of buying up domain names that use the names of existing businesses with the intent to sell the names for a profit to those businesses.
• Digital Signatures : Businesses rely on what is called a digital signature to recognize their customers
• Extortionware : A software program that encrypts essential personal files – taking them hostage and demanding money for their safe return
• Hacktivism: Following the WikiLeaks path Next year marks a time in which politically motivated attacks will proliferate and new sophisticated attacks will appear. More groups will repeat the WikiLeaks example, as hacktivism is conducted by people claiming to be independent of any particular government or movement, and will become more organized and strategic by incorporating social networks in the process.
• Keylogger : a software that is used to steal computer passwords, login names, bank account and credit card numbers
• Malware : a program developed for the purpose of doing harm to a computer system or to create mischief
• Man-in-the-Middle Attack :  Eavesdropping on electronic communication between a consumer and a legitimate organization
• Nigerian Scam : Unsolicited email messages from a stranger who promises great wealth — a get-rich-quick scheme.
• Email Scam : You or your friends email may be hacked. The perpetuator will send an email to your address list asking for money, claiming you are in a foreign land and broke because your money was stolen
• Online Stalker : a stalker is simply a troll that has attached itself to an individual. At worst, boring, at best, flattering.
• P2P File Sharing Peer-to-peer file sharing is very popular on the Internet, but it can also lead to virus infections and a host of other problems
• Pharming A technically sophisticated scam designed to trick individuals into disclosing sensitive information such as bank account, credit card, and Social Security numbers
• Phishing Official looking and sounding messages that urge immediate action to update sensitive financial and identity information
• Rouge Facebook Application A Facebook application that steals personal data and spams
• SMishing Designed to trick you into divulging identity information, SMishing is Phishing over cell phones and other mobile devices.
• Social Engineering : the act of manipulating a person to accomplish goals that may or may not be in the “target’s” best interest. This may include obtaining information, gaining access, or getting the target to take certain action.
• EB [Eyeball] : Never under any circumstances should your child or young teenager agree to meet in person someone whom they meet in social web
• Software Piracy The illegal use and/or distribution of software protected under intellectual property laws
• Spam The cyber equivalent to junk mail – spammers have developed many ways of obtaining email addresses
• Spim Unsolicited product or service advertisements that appear as instant messages
• Sping Spam from a fake blog tricking the unwary into visiting
• Spit A spam campaign against VOIP voicemail
• Splog A spam campaign directed against blogs
• Spoofing A criminal pretends to be a business or organization in order to gain access to a computer user’s sensitive information such as bank account, credit card, or Social Security numbers
• Spy-Phishing In a successful Spy-Phishing attack, a Trojan and/or Spyware is downloaded onto your computer from a Phishing message.
• Stealth, Polymorphic, and Armored viruses These viruses hide, copy, or “armor” themselves in an attempt to avoid detection and removal from a computer.
• Trojan Horses Files or software programs that appear to be legitimate, but once installed can cause havoc
• Troll : a troll is nothing more than a passing nuisance, but they can be a worry (stalker). However, it is almost invariably an inadequate individual who can be safely ignored
• Viruses Malicious programs or codes inserted into computer systems without the user’s permission
• Warez Sites Any site that hosts pirated software
• Worms These malicious software programs spread automatically from computer to computer
• Zombie Drones Personal computers secretly under the control of hackers