Overview
The following defines some of the technical words and phrases used on this web site.
Dictionary Attack
A brute force way for guessing usernames and/or passwords. A spammer uses dictionary attacks to guess e-mail addresses, while hackers use dictionary attacks to login to systems with weak passwords.
LAMP
LAMP is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. These four technologies provide the necessary engine for delivering web applications, for example: wikis, online forums, content management, and others.
Mail Bomb
A flood of unwanted e-mail to a mail server. Mail bombs are usually caused by spammers performing dictionary attacks, or from hackers attempting to slow down a server or annoy a particular e-mail recipient.
Open Source Software
Open source software grants the user the right to run, copy and modify source code for a given software program. There is a common misconception that open source means the price of the software is zero. The following definition from the Free Software Foundation clarifies the phrase:
Detailed definition at the Free Software Foundation
Phishing
Phishing is an e-mail message and/or web site that masquerades as a legitimate request for personal information. This type of fraud is typically used to lure people into providing sensitive personal information such as credit card numbers, banking information, and usernames/passwords. eBay, PayPal and banking institutions are the most common organizations used for phishing attempts.
Product End-of-Life / End-of-Life
Software needs to be updated on a regular basis. However, these updates do not last forever. Every software release comes with a end-of-life: the date when software updates are no longer provided.
