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SANS - The SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute was established in
1989 as a cooperative technical research and education organization. The SANS Institute
enables more than 156,000 security professionals, auditors, system administrators,
and network administrators to share the lessons they learn and find solutions to
the challenges they face. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners
in government agencies, corporations, and universities around the world who invest
hundreds of hours each year in research and teaching to help the entire information
security community.
Scandisk - Scandisk is a Windows operating system utility used to check you hard
drive for errors and to correct problems that are found. These errors often occur
when Windows locks up and must be restored.
Scanners - Also known as an IP Scanner. A scanner can check thousands of IP addresses
for security holes in very short periods of time. Most scanners can tell what type
of connection the IP address has to the Internet and sometimes what operating system
the computer is running.
Scareware - One of the biggest threats on the Internet. Fake anti-malware software
that generates bogus infection warnings and then pesters users with ongoing alerts
until they pay a fee to purchase the useless program. Also known as “Rogue Software.”
Script - A type of programming code. Small programs that causes a specific function
to happen. Hackers run a wide variety of scripts to break into systems. Viruses
are made of harmful scripts that cause damage to a computer or a network.
Script Kiddie - An entry-level amateur hacker. They are generally regarded as mischief-makers
as opposed to real threats. They copy real hackers and use their proven hacker tools
to cause problems.
Secure Server - A Web server that supports any of the major security protocols, like
SSL, that encrypt and decrypt messages to protect them against third party tampering.
Making purchases from a secure Web server ensures that a user’s payment or personal
information can be translated into a secret code that’s difficult to crack.
tampering. Making purchases from a secure Web server ensures that
a user’s payment or personal information can be translated into a secret code that’s
difficult to crack.
Secure Sockets Layer - Commonly known as SSL. An Internet communications protocol
to protect private documents for secure passage online. It uses public key encryption,
including digital certificates and digital signatures, to pass data between a browser
and a server. It is an open standard and is supported by Netscape’s Navigator and
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Many web sites use SSL to obtain confidential user
information such as credit card information and credit card numbers. These sites
start with “https:” instead of “http:”
Security Holes - Any part of a program or application that is a security vulnerability.
Security holes, if not taken care of properly, can lead to infection of viruses
and other hacker tools like backdoors.
Server - The main computer on a network where information is stored and backed up.
It also acts in many cases as a gateway to the Internet for the other computers
on the network.
Server-based Networks - A network where a group of computers are controlled by one
computer, known as a server. Most of the networked computers run their programs
straight from the server, and the information that is entered into each computer
is stored on the server.
Signature File - A description or “signature” of a virus stored in a specific file
inside anti-virus program databases. Anti-virus programs are the virus signature
files to scan for viruses and determine whether or not a file is infected.
Slave Computer - A computer that has been taken over by a hacker can can be controlled
remotely. The computer becomes the hacker’s slave, or host system. Many hackers
have dozens of slave computers they use at their will without the owners ever knowing.
They use these slave computers to carry out their attacks on other people so they
can stay anonymous. Also known as a “Zombie” computer.
Sneaker - A professional security expert or hacker hired to break into a computer
system to test its security effectiveness.
Sniffer - A program or device that monitors data traveling over a network. Sniffers
can be used both for legitimate network management functions and for stealing information
from a network. Unauthorized sniffers can be extremely dangerous to a network’s
security because they are virtually impossible to detect and can be inserted almost
anywhere, making them a favorite weapon of hackers.
Social Engineering - A term that describes a non-technical kind of breach or intrusion.
An attacker relies on social means such as phone calls, friendly emails, or disguised
support calls to gain the information they need to break into systems. Social engineers
trick people into giving them passwords and other confidential information to use
in an attack.
SPAM - Unsolicited e-mail or junk-mail on the Internet.
Spoofing - Faking the sender’s address of a transmission to make it look like it
is coming from a trusted host, email or IP address in order to gain illegal entry
into a secure system. Also a generic label for activities in which trusted relationships
or protocols are exploited. Impersonating, masquerading, and mimicking are forms
of spoofing.
Spyware - Invasive software that allows someone to track and monitor everything a
user does on his or her computer.
Stateful Inspection - A firewall architecture also referred to as dynamic packet
filtering, Stateful inspection checks both the header information and contents of
the information packet. As an added security measure against port scanning, stateful
inspection firewalls close off ports until connection to the specific port is requested.
Static IP Address - DSL, Cable modems and other broadband Internet access connections
give the user a static IP address each time they log on to the Internet. That means
they use the same IP address every time they log on to the web. This is easier for
a hacker to identify because it’s a constant computer address and can be targeted
over days or weeks to find a way in. The opposite of static is dynamic.
Stealth Viruses - Viruses that attempt to hide from detection programs by masking
their presence in boot records or files. When such viruses are run, they install
a resident extension. This resident extension intercepts various disk accesses,
determines if its own code is part of the disk access, and removes the code before
giving the data to the calling program. The result is that the virus can be in several
places on the disk. Normal reads of the disk will not reveal it.
SubSeven Trojan - SubSeven gives the hacker or cracker more control of the computer
than the user has. The SubSeven Trojan can even be configured to alert the hacker
when its infected computer connects to the Internet, and then tells the hacker all
the information they need to use the Trojan against you.
