| A | B |
|---|
| access-control software | Software that only allows user access according to the user's needs. Some users can open only files that are related to their work. Some users are allowed read-only access to files they can see but not change. |
| active badge | A microprocessor-controlled ID badge that broadcasts infrared identification codes to a network receiver that updates a badge-location database. |
| antivirus | A program designed to search for viruses, notify users when they're found, and remove them from infected files. |
| authentication mechanisms | Computer network security measures that ensure that only legitimate users have access to the system by asking potential users to identify themselves. |
| authorization mechanisms | Computer network security measures that guarantee that users have permission to perform particular actions. |
| autonomous systems | Complex systems that can assume almost complete responsibility for a task without human input, verification, or decision making. |
| backup | The process of saving data-especially for data recovery. Many systems automatically back up data and software onto disks or tapes. |
| biometrics | Measurements of individual body characteristics, such as a voice print or fingerprint; sometimes used in computer security. |
| Code of Ethics | Policies and procedures, such as those developed by companies and by organizations such as the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), to guide the behavior of information workers. |
| computer crime | Any crime accomplished through knowledge or use of computer technology. |
| computer security | Protecting computer systems and the information they contain against unwanted access, damage, modification, or destruction. |
| denial of service (DoS) attack | A type of computer vandalism that bombards servers and Web sites with so much bogus traffic that they're effectively shut down, denying service to legitimate customers and clients. |
| encryption | Protects transmitted information by scrambling the transmissions. When a user encrypts a message by applying a secret numerical code (encryption key), the message can be transmitted or stored as an indecipherable garble of characters. The message can be read only after it's been reconstructed with a matching key. |
| ethics | Moral philosophy-philosophical thinking about right and wrong. |
| hacking | Electronic trespassing and vandalism. |
| identity (ID) theft | The crime, committed by hackers or other unscrupulous individuals, of obtaining enough information about a person to assume his or her identity, often as a prelude to illegally using the victim's credit cards. |
| logic bomb | A program designed to attack in response to a particular logical event or sequence of events. A type of software sabotage. |
| malware | Malicious software, especially destructive programs such as the viruses, worms, and Trojan horses devised and spread by computer saboteurs. |
| passwords | The most common security tools used to restrict access to computer systems. |
| plagiarism | The act of presenting someone else's work as one's own. |
| smart weapon | A missile that uses computerized guidance systems to locate its target. |
| social engineering | Slang for the use of deception to get individuals to reveal sensitive information. |
| spoofing | A process used to steal passwords online. |
| spyware | Technology that collects information from computer users without their knowledge or consent. |
| Trojan horse | A program that performs a useful task while at the same time carrying out some secret destructive act. A form of software sabotage. |
| uninterruptible power supply (UPS) | A hardware device that protects computers from data loss during power failures. |
| viruses | Software that spreads from program to program, or from disk to disk, and uses each infected program or disk to make copies of itself. A form of software sabotage. |
| worms | Programs that use computer hosts to reproduce themselves. Worm programs travel independently over computer networks, seeking out uninfected workstations to occupy. A form of software sabotage. |
