Welcome to the fourth instalment of our Glossary.

If there are any terms which we have not yet covered, please feel free to get in touch with us and we will be happy to help.

This week, we are continuing with:

 

Checksum

This is a function used to check the true validity of transmitted data.  The idea of Checksum is to determine if data has been corrupted in some way or modified.  Any slight change to the file will change its checksum.

Cold Boot

A Cold Boot is when the power to the PC is turned off without going through the proper shut down channels.  This can be either through a power cut, accidentally or if the PC has crashed or become infected.  The only way to shut the PC down is to turn off the power at the mains or by pressing the power button on the PC until it shuts down.

Compromised

This is when the PC has been accessed without permission.

Cookie

Cookies are small strings of text stored by Web Browsers to allow websites to see who is revisiting their websites. The Web Browser can store information such as login information.  Web Browsers allow us to change the way that Cookies are handled so to allow us to control our own privacy. Cookies are not viruses but can be used to initiate Spyware which can be detected by good Anti Virus software.

Cyber Criminal

A Cyber Criminal is one who uses a PC connected to the Internet to commit crimes such as hacking, phishing, spamming, and ID theft etc.  To protect against becoming a victim of a Cyber Criminal, you should take note of the following:

• Always use mainstream Anti Virus software and keep it up to date
• Follow advice on Web Browser security settings
• Never open email attachments unless you are 100% happy with the source of the email
• Always be cautious when clicking on links to Websites that you are not sure of
• Always keep your Windows Operating system up to day via Microsoft Windows Update

 Cyber Gangs

Cyber Gangs are groups of Cyber Criminals who set out to commit Cyber Crime.

Cyber Warfare

This is a form of hacking which is politically motivated to conduct sabotage or espionage.  Such attacks of Cyber Warfare could be used to hack a website and change the content with a political message, another form of attack could be a Denial Of Service attack to bring down an entire website or network, or in more extreme cases it could be used to effect a entire city by bringing down the networks controlling supplies such as electricity or water.

The Glossary will continue next week.  In the meantime, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!

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