Fake anti-virus programs prey on people’s fear of malicious software. They are typically installed when someone clicks on a link in an e-mail, or clicks on an item listed after a search engine query, or clicks on a rogue advert… Read Full Article

A false flag is a cyber attack that tries to pin the blame for a malicious campaign on a particular entity, organization, or state. A number of tools are used to link the covert operation to the target entity. For… Read Full Article

A false positive is another way of saying mistake. As applied to the field of anti-malware programs, a false positive occurs when the program mistakenly flags an innocent file as being infected. This may seem harmless enough, but false positives… Read Full Article

A technology for hiding the IP addresses of cybercriminal servers by manipulating DNS settings. Fast Flux uses the legitimate technique of linking multiple IP addresses to a single domain name. The cybercriminals control an ever-changing network of botnet devices acting… Read Full Article

Fileless (or bodiless) malware is malware that is loaded directly into a device’s memory and is not stored on the hard drive. Read Full Article

This term is taken from the world of fire-fighting, where a firewall is a barrier created to block the spread of a fire. In computing, a firewall forms a barrier between a computer system (either a corporate system or a… Read Full Article

System software stored in a device’s non-volatile memory. Initially, firmware did not allow for modifications during operation, and was written to memory just once, during manufacture. It gradually became more flexible, and most firmware these days is updatable. In many… Read Full Article

A type of Denial-of-service attack which is conducted by flooding the targeted system with excessive number of requests in order to overload it and to prevent its normal functionality.

A software product created on the basis of the code of another system and representing a development branch of the source project. Most forks are released under a free and open-source software license.

A computer program that intentionally or due to a coding error creates endless copies that can also start multiplying uncontrollably. It is named after the fork() function, which exists in many programming languages. Fork bombs are deployed in denial-of-service attacks,… Read Full Article

Malicious technique that tries to steal authorization credentials from a web data form before it is passed to a secure server via encrypted protocol.

The software environment that defines the basic functionality and architecture of a product. A framework provides a standard structure in which applications are created and customized; it is often an executable platform. One implementation of such a model could be… Read Full Article

Deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. In the context of cybersecurity — cyberfraud is usually an attempt to deceive a victim in order to gain access to his banking… Read Full Article

Software whose author grants full rights to an unlimited number of users to perform any actions with it, including modification and upgrading. Unlike freeware, free software is distributed with the source code, which can be used as the basis for… Read Full Article

Software given away by its author for free. Small tools, special versions of software products with limited features, and apps with adverts are typically distributed under the freeware model. Unlike free software, usually a freeware product license grants only free-of-charge… Read Full Article

Full disk encryption is the encryption of all data on a disk, including programs and system files. Read Full Article

A software testing method whereby intentionally incorrect data is input and the reaction of the test subject is monitored. Fuzzing is performed with a view to identifying memory use issues and security weak spots.