AP Computer Science Principles Unit 3 Vocabulary

computer virus

a program that spreads by first infecting files or the system areas of a computer or network router’s hard drive and then makign copies of itself

cybersecurity

protecting an organization and its employees and assets against cyber threats

keyvlogging

the practice of recording the keystrokes made by a user, often without their knowledge, to capture sensitive information such as passwords and personal data

malware

software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems

personally identifiable information

any data that can be used to identify an individual, such as name, social security number, or email address

phishing

a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by disguising as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications

targeting marketing

an approach to raise awareness for a product or service among a specific (targeted) group of audiences that are a subset of the total addressable market

debugging

the process of finding and fixing errors or bugs in software code

DDoS (distributed denial of service)

a type of cyber attack where multiple systems are used to flood a target with traffic, overwhelming it and causing service disruption

rouge access point

an access point installed on a network without the owner’s permission

syntax error

an error in the code that violates the rules of the programming language, preventing the program from compiling or running

logic error

an error in a program that causes it to operate incorrectly but does not terminate the program

run time error

an error that occurs while a program is running, after being successfully compiled, often due to invalid operations or resource availability issues

index out of bounds error

an error that occurs when a program tries to access an index of an array or list that is outside its valid range

rounding error

a type of error that occurs when a number is approximated to a certain number of decimal places, leading to a loss of precision

privacy

the right of individuals to control their personal information and data, ensuring it is not disclosed without consent

security

the measures taken to protect a computer or network from unauthorized access, attacks, or damage