The approach used to assault a computer system or network. A fancy way of saying "method or type of attack," the term may refer to a variety of vulnerabilities. For example, an operating system or Web browser may have a flaw that is exploited by a Web site. Human shortcomings are also used to engineer attack vectors. For example, a novice user may open an e-mail attachment that contains a virus, and most everyone can be persuaded at least once in their life to reveal a password for some seemingly relevant reason. See attack, vulnerability and social engineering.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- My new daughter is a lot like Linux
- Windoze is a boys smelly diaper, Linux is a girls one, that's the messageI guess some people will never be mature enough to get it.Handling the learning curve...is not very hard. Particularly when you let them use the simple Gnome user interface which the standard Ubuntu has.Maybe this website of...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- Less than 24-hours on and a potential Windows 7 Achilles' heel surfaces
- 3 Words for you...Windows Live Essentials...Saves on bloat?It was nothing to do with that. Microsoft have said that they unbundled a lot of things from the OS build as it allowed for easier and more frequent updates.Good point.I use Hotmail but also use Live Mail on my own machines as...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-23
- Windows SMB2 exploit now public; Expect in-the-wild attacks soon
- Another "researcher" makes a name for himself.So, just why was it necessary for for this Bozo to actually "create and release the code" for the exploit? Let me guess. His company makes money by hyping up the level of fear. See their web page where they say...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-29
- Apple up to its old tricks, pushing unwanted software onto PCs
- I've experienced exactly what Ed described.I get it every time iTunes is updated.No. A PC running Windows XP.I need iTunes for my iPhone.Hmmm ...Hmmm, I've had several APPL updates come in on several systems, and I've not seen that ... odd. Tried replicating on another system?I've even checked for .........
- Discussion threads 2009-09-27
- Microsoft plays the security card in response to Google's Chrome Frame
- "Latest" phishing/malware data from NSS Labsapplies to Chrome 2. The most current Chrome is 3.0.195.21. I'm not surprised Microsoft mentions it though; they need to say something. Concering Chrome running inside IE..Yea I think they do, sort of. Correct me if I'm wrong but in Vista and beyond that plugin...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-24
- Hijacking Windows System Restore for cybercrime profits
- welp.... they are finally getting a taste of their own crap.I wonder what they are doing. We use steadystate on all of our machines. Reboot the machine and everything is restored.Maybe they should move from a PC based environment to a terminal server like system. Each reboot...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-23
- Why open source remains an ideological divide
- Oh that was superb.Open Source.Stand for something! :)you are ideological from the startIf you want to remove ideology from the equation your clearly state your needs - functionnal, commercial and technical support ... etc, and compare available solutions.Price might be a key factor and it might not; availability of srouce...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-07
- Apple confirms malware protection in Snow Leopard
- They say Americans don't understand ironyNo irony there, Jason. Any degree of immunity that OS X has to malware is exactly because of such measures.I am gonna love.....to see the people make excuses for the reason for this. You can't say one thing and then do another in the...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-27
- Firewire-Based Physical Security Attacks on Windows 7, EFS and BitLocker
- This paper discusses Firewire-based physical security attacks on Microsoft Windows 7. In the course of research, it was successfully able to bypass the Windows 7 RTM authentication check and logon with any password. While the attack vector itself is not new, also it describes the impact of Firewire-based Windows authentication...
- White papers 2009-08-13
- Twitter knocked offline by DDoS attack; Koobface returns with a twist
- Popular microblogging service Twitter was knocked offline for an extended period this morning by what appears to be a massive distributed denial-of-service attacks. Twitter confirmed the outage was linked to malicious attackers in a brief status message posted around 11:00 a.m EST. We are...
- Blog posts 2009-08-06
- Hacker demos persistent Mac keyboard attack
- Hacker demos persistent Mac keyboard attackHa ha, hah ah ahahahhah... Mac Security.God... is Apple still running smug "we are so secure" commercials?Doesn't this require physical access to the keyboard?In order to embed a firmware into the keyboard, wouldn't one need physical access to that keyboard? Or are we...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-03
- Transmitter.C mobile malware spreading in the wild
- Researchers from NetQin Tech. are reporting on a newly discovered mobile malware variant (Transmitter.C) distributed through a modified version of legitimate mobile application. Upon execution, the malware attempts to automatically spread by SMS-ing hundreds of messages linking to a web site where a copy of it (sexySpace.sisx) can be found....
- Blog posts 2009-07-08
- iPhone executes SMS binary code as root
- A security flaw has been discovered in the iPhone OS that could allow attackers to gain root access to the iPhone OS and allow them to install and execute malicious programs at will. Charlie Miller announced the discovery of the vulnerability during a presentation at the SyScan...
- Blog posts 2009-07-02
- 10 ways to secure the Apple iPhone
- Guest post: TechRepublic's Michael Kassner highlights 10 ways to secure an iPhone. For more posts like this see TechRepublic's 10 Things blog. The Center for Internet Security CIS is well -known for developing security benchmarks for operating systems, applications, network devices, and now the Apple iPhone. I’ve read...
- Blog posts 2009-06-12
- Dangerous Microsoft DirectX vulnerability under attack
- Microsoft today warned that hackers are using rigged QuickTime media files to exploit an unpatched vulnerability in DirectShow, the APIs used by Windows programs for multimedia support. The company has activated its security response process to deal with the zero-day attacks has issued a pre-patch advisory with...
- Blog posts 2009-05-28
- Who are the real swine here?
- Who are the real swine here?Glad to see this getting some pressIt's about time that the meat industry gets called on their part in the evolution of viruses and other diseases. Their industrial production techniques lead to a homogeneous gene pool. This condition is ripe for the propagation...
- Discussion threads 2009-05-01
- New ransomware locks PCs, demands premium SMS for removal
- UPDATE: Another variant has been detected. Following the recently uncovered hybrid scareware with elements of ransomware, and last year's GPcode ransomware attacks, cybercriminals have once again demonstrated their interest in the concept of ransomware. PandaLabs is reporting on a newly discovered ransomware variant which...
- Blog posts 2009-04-22
- Mac botnet being used in DDOS attacks
- Mac botnet being used in DDOS attacksYeah he reminds me....Of an Apple fanboy. All fluff no substance. LOOK EVERYONE!!@#@!!! HE MENTIONS ME AGAIN!!@#@!This guy is starting to become my biggest fan! :) Some of you others are having some competition now.Let's wait for Loverock to postsome...
- Discussion threads 2009-04-20
- Not even Apple can protect the dumbest users from themselves
- Not even Apple can protect the dumbest users from themselvesDid this botnet pop into creation when it was discovered?[i]This is the first Mac botnet.[/i]Did this botnet pop into creation when it was discovered? No, of course not, it existed [b]before[/b] it was discovered and it was only discovered because it...
- Discussion threads 2009-04-16
- Microsoft ships fixes for Excel, WordPad malware attacks
- Microsoft's April batch of security patches are out: 8 bulletins with patches for at least 20 documented vulnerabilities. The most serious of the flaws could lead to remote code execution attacks that give a malicious hacker complete ownership of a vulnerable machine. This month's fixes cover several...
- Blog posts 2009-04-14
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