Computer Virus: A computer virus is a program that can replicate itself inside one computer and also spread from computer to computer. Computer viruses work by attaching themselves to existing legitimate programs.
Adware: Advertising-supported software or adware is any software package that automatically plays, displays or downloads advertisements to a computer. You may see these routinely as “pop-ups” or windows that pop-up when you go to a website. You can turn these off in your browser, but you may or may not determine that blocking pop-ups is more trouble than it is worth.
Spyware: Designed to gather personal, private information from your computer. If the program is designed to capture login and passwords, it is sometimes called a keylogger.
Keylogger: A program that is designed to log keystrokes on a computer in a manner that the user is unaware of the data capture, record them and transmit the information to another computer for use in a variety of ways. Some companies use this method to monitor their employees’ computer activities, but it can be used for illegal and malicious reasons.
Worms: A computer worm can use a computer network to send copies of itself to other computers (nodes) on the network. Worms are always harmful even if they do nothing but copy themselves because they can ultimately use up all of the computer’s memory.
Trojan Horse: Designed to steal information or harm the computer system. The term comes from the Greek story of the Trojan War. Adware is a form of Trojan Horse program. The Trojan Horse often gets into your computer when you click on an unsolicited ad or email to download a “free” copy of a program.
Phishing: An unsolicited, fake message or email that appears to be legitimate asking you to send personal, private information such as credit card numbers, phone numbers, birth information (birth place, birth date), or any other type of information. These messages may have a genuine-looking logo or look like official letters. Again, never, never, never respond to an unsolicited message from anyone with any kind of information. Just clicking on the link may give the remote computer your personal information or, at least, tell the sender that they have a valid email address or that you are too naive to avoid their scam.
Rootkit: A program installed on your computer to allow someone remote access to your computer without your knowledge or permission. This can be as simple as a relative or member of your family that uses your computer without your permission by stealing your password and then using it to set up an account or user on your computer.
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