Define malware.
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Define malware.
Malware (malicious software) is any software that has been created with malicious intent to cause harm to a computer system.
What is a virus?
A virus is a program which can replicate itself on a user's computer and contains code that will cause unwanted and unexpected events to occur, such as corrupting files, deleting data, or preventing applications from running correctly.
True or False?
Worms are similar to viruses but can spread to other drives and computers on the network.
True.
Worms are similar to viruses, with the main difference being that they will spread to other drives and computers on the network.
What is a Trojan?
A Trojan, sometimes also called a Trojan Horse, is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software but contains malicious code in the background.
Define spyware.
Spyware is software that allows a person to spy on the users' activities on their devices, such as recording the screen, logging keystrokes, and gaining access to passwords.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a form of malware that locks your computer or device and encrypts your documents and other important files, often demanding money to receive the password that will allow the user to decrypt the files.
Define social engineering.
Social engineering is exploiting weaknesses in a computer system by targeting the people that use or have access to them.
What does phishing mean?
Phishing is a form of social engineering where fraudulent emails are sent to a large number of email addresses, claiming to be from a reputable company or trusted source, to try and gain access to the recipient's details, often by coaxing them to click on a login button.
True or False?
Human errors, such as not locking doors to computer/server rooms or sharing passwords, can lead to significant security issues.
True.
Human errors, such as not locking doors to computer/server rooms or sharing passwords, can lead to significant security issues.
Define brute-force attack.
A brute-force attack is a method where an attacker repeatedly tries multiple combinations of a user's password to try and gain unauthorised access to their accounts or devices.
What is a denial of service attack (DOS attack)?
A denial of service attack (DOS attack) occurs when an attacker repeatedly sends requests to a server to flood the server with traffic, causing it to overload and become unusable.
True or False?
A distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack involves traffic coming from multiple distributed devices in a coordinated attack on a single server/network.
True.
A distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack involves traffic coming from multiple distributed devices in a coordinated attack on a single server/network.
Define data interception and theft.
Data interception and theft is when thieves or hackers can compromise usernames, passwords, and other sensitive data by using devices such as a packet sniffer to collect the data being transferred on a network.
What is SQL?
SQL (Structured Query Language) is a language used to create, access, and manipulate a database.
What is SQL injection?
SQL injection is entering an SQL command into a web text field to manipulate the SQL query, with the goal of inserting, modifying, or deleting data from the database.
Define penetration testing.
Penetration testing is a method of identifying vulnerabilities whereby a company employs people to try and hack their network and databases, allowing them to fix any issues found.
What form of attack would penetration testing help to prevent?
Penetration testing would help to prevent SQL injection attacks.
What is anti-malware software?
Anti-malware software is a combination of different software, such as anti-virus, anti-spam, and anti-spyware, to prevent computers from being susceptible to viruses and other malicious software.
True or False?
Anti-malware software scans email attachments, websites, and downloaded files to detect and block malware.
True.
Anti-malware software scans email attachments, websites, and downloaded files to search for issues and block malware based on known signatures.
Define firewall.
A firewall is a barrier between a network and the internet that filters requests and prevents unwanted traffic from entering the network.
What forms of attack would a firewall prevent?
A firewall would help prevent hackers, malware, unauthorised access to a network, and DOS/DDOS attacks.
What are user access levels?
User access levels ensure users of a network have designated roles and access restrictions, such as unrestricted access for administrators, partial access for teaching staff, and restricted access for students.
Define password.
A password is a digital lock that prevents unauthorised access to an account, often stored as encrypted text in a database.
What forms of attack would user access levels and passwords prevent?
User access levels and passwords would help prevent data interception and theft, as well as SQL injection attacks.
Define encryption.
Encryption is a method of converting plain text into ciphered text using complex mathematical algorithms to scramble the data.
True or False?
Encryption prevents all forms of attacks on a network.
False.
Encryption does not prevent attacks from occurring, but it stops the attacker from gaining access to the information.
What is physical security?
Physical security refers to measures that physically prevent access to parts of a network, such as locked doors, biometrics, and surveillance cameras.
What forms of attack would physical security prevent?
Physical security would help prevent data interception and theft, as well as social engineering attacks.
Define anti-virus software.
Anti-virus software is a type of anti-malware software specifically designed to detect and remove computer viruses.