APCSP Internet Vocab

Computer Virus

Malicious program that can copy itself and gain access to a computer in an unauthorized way

Malware

Intended to damage a computing system or to take partial control over it’s operation

DDoS Attack

(Denial of service attack) Overwhelming amount of traffic for a website to handle

Phishing

Fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by disguising as a trustworthy entity.

Keylogging

Program to record every keystroke made by a computer user in order to gain access to passwords and confidential information

Rogue Access Point

Wireless access point that gives unauthorized access to secure networks

Cookies

Tracks what you click on to target advertisements towards you

Asymmetric Encryption

A form of encryption that uses a pair of keys, one public and one private, to secure data transmitted over a network. The public key encrypts the data, while the private key is used for decryption.

Symmetric Encryption

A type of encryption that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption of data, requiring both parties to share the key securely before communication.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Method of computer access control in which a user is granted access by presenting multiple pieces of of information

VPN

Creates a secure connection between a connection between a computing device and computer network. Disguises your online identity and makes you appear in a different location

Firewall

Network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and allows packets based on a set of security rules

Why have strong passwords

With bad passwords, data breeches happen often

Computing device

Any artifact that can run a program

Computing system

Group of devices all working together for a common goal

Computer Network

A collection of interconnected computing devices that can communicate and share resources with each other.

Data Stream

The flow of data over a network, typically in a continuous sequence.

Path

A sequence of connections that data takes to travel from one device to another across a network.

Routing

Selects the path for messages to travel (train conductor)

Bandwidth

How much is transferred, measured in bits per second

Protocol

An agreed upon set of rules that specify that behavior of a system

Packets

Small units of data transmitted over a network.

TCP

(Transition Control Protocol) Reassembles and makes sure everything arrives correctly

IP

(Internet Protocol) Director, makes sure it goes to the same place

IP and TCP

Work together to get packets to their designated location correctly

IP Address

Is an addressing system similar to how you address mail. It is always changing except for well known businesses such as Google

World Wide Web

Is a system of linked pages, programs, and files

HTTP

A protocol used to search and find the designated document

DNS

(Domain Name System) Translates URLs to IP addresses

Latency

Time of data transfer (Lagging)

Subdomain

A subset of a larger domain that can point to specific web content or services.

Second-level domain

A domain name that is directly below a top-level domain in the hierarchy, often representing an organization or entity, like 'example' in 'example.com'.

Top-level domain

The highest level of domain names in the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, such as .com, .org, or .net, used to identify specific types of websites.