Internet security

Internet security

Definitions for common terms and phrases related to security threats, vulnerabilities, and technology.

Contributors in Internet security

Internet security

An unwanted electronic message, most commonly unsolicited bulk email. Typically, spam is sent to multiple recipients who did not ask to receive it. Types include email spam, instant messaging spam, ...

variant, variants

Internet; Internet security

A modified version of an existing virus. A variant is usually deliberately produced by the virus author or another person amending the virus code. If changes to the original are small, most ...

master boot record (MBR)

Internet; Internet security

Also known as the partition table, the 340-byte program located in the master boot sector. This program reads the partition table, determines what partition to boot, and transfers control to the ...

master boot sector virus

Internet; Internet security

A virus that infects the system’s master boot record on hard drives and the boot sector on floppy disks. This type of virus takes control of the system at a low level by activating between the ...

boot sector infector (BSI)

Internet; Internet security

A virus that infects the original boot sector on a floppy disk or hard disk. These viruses are particularly serious because information in the boot sector is loaded into memory first, before ...