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Staying Secure Online
You wouldn’t leave your front door or windows open, so why leave your computer, laptop, phone or tablet for anyone to access? You might not think it, but your digital devices hold a lot of information about you, your friends, your hobbies, your habits and even your bank accounts! You need to keep this information secure, it’s valuable to you and CRIMINALS. Jargon Buster:
Hacking |
Is to gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer |
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Phishing |
Is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication |
Viruses |
Is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes to cause harm to your device or data. |
Ratting |
“Remote Access Trojans” software that yo might download by accident, that might allow criminals to take control of your computer or Spy on you. |
Spyware |
Gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge. Typically it is bundled with other free software. |
Trojan |
Is any malicious computer program which misrepresents itself to appear useful. You may accidentally download a Trojan. |
Click Jacking / Baiting |
Links that are made to look interesting that when clicked will try and download viruses, spyware or Trojans to your computer. You might see links like ‘click for £100’ or ‘OMG what happened next’ or ‘Free Voucher’ |
Worm |
A self-replicating virus which can spread across multiple computers and damage networks, some can even shut computers down |
Malware |
Malicious software used to damage computer systems without the owner’s consent. This can include viruses and wormsspyware and trojans |
Ransonware |
A growing class of malware with two types; one encrypts files on your computer or network and the other locks a user’s screen. Some also act like a worm. |