Glossary

ActiveX
ActiveX is a model for writing programs so that other programs and the operating system can call them. ActiveX technology is used with Microsoft Internet Explorer to make interactive Web pages that look and behave like computer programs, rather than static pages. With ActiveX, users can ask or answer questions, use push buttons, and interact in other ways with the Web page. ActiveX controls are often written using Visual Basic.

Active X is notable for a complete lack of security controls; computer security experts discourage its use over the Internet.

Adware
Adware is often combined with a host application that is provided at no charge as long as the user agrees to accept the adware. Because adware applications are usually installed after the user has agreed to a licensing agreement that states the purpose of the application, no offense is committed.

However, pop-up advertisements can become an annoyance, and in some cases degrade system performance. Also, the information that some of these applications collect may cause privacy concerns for users who were not fully aware of the terms in the license agreement.

Archive
A disk, tape, or directory that contains files that have been backed up.

A file that contains one or more files in a compressed format.

Backdoor
A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in place by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such holes is not always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of the box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service technicians or the vendor's maintenance programmers.

Boot sector
A sector at the beginning of each disk that identifies the disk's architecture (sector size, cluster size, and so on). For startup disks, the boot sector also contains a program that loads the operating system.

Boot virus
A virus that infects the boot sector of a fixed or floppy disk. An attempt to boot from a diskette infected with a boot sector virus will cause the virus to become active in memory. Every time you boot your system from that point on, you will have the virus active in memory.

Browser
Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of these are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. In addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information, including sound and video, though they require plug-ins for some formats.

Command line
In a command line interface, the user types commands in the space provided directly on the screen using command language.

Cookie
Within the Internet industry, cookies are described as small files containing information about individual computers that can be analyzed and used by advertisers to track your online interests and tastes. In this realm, cookie technology is still being developed and the intention is to target ads directly to what you've said your interests are. It's a double-edge sword for many people because on one hand, it's efficient and pertinent as you only see ads about what you're interested in. On the other hand, it involves actually "tracking" and "following" where you go and what you click. Understandably so, there is a debate over privacy and many people feel offended by the notion that they are viewed as a "SKU number" (you know, the bar code on the back of packages that gets scanned at the grocery check-out line). While this viewpoint may be extreme, in some cases it is accurate.

Disk drive
It's a machine that reads data from and writes data onto a disk.

A hard disk drive reads and writes hard disks.

A floppy drive accesses floppy disks.

Disk drives can be either internal (housed within a computer) or external (housed in a separate box that connects to the computer).

Download
To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an online service to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer on the network.

E-mail
Electronic mail. A service that sends messages on computers via local or global networks.

Events
An action or occurrence detected by a program. Events can be user actions, such as clicking a mouse button or pressing a key, or system occurrences, such as running out of memory.

False positive
Occurs when a scanner identifies a file as infected when in fact it is not.

Filename extension
The portion of a filename, following the final point, which indicates the kind of data stored in the file.

Many operating systems use filename extensions, e.g. Unix, VMS, and MS-DOS. They are usually from one to three letters (some sad old OSes support no more than three). Examples include "c" for C source code, "ps" for PostScript, "txt" for arbitrary text.

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