communication and the internet Flashcards
what is a Network
an arrangement of computers and other devices connected together to share resources and data
what is Local area network (LAN)
a network that covers a relatively small geographical area often a single site
what is Wireless local area network (WLAN)
a local area network in which connected devices use high frequency radio waves to communicate
what is Wide area network (WAN)
a network that covers a large geographical area it connects together two or more LANs and is usually under collective ownership the largest wide area network is the internet
what is a Client-server network
a network that has at least one server to provide services to the client computer
what is peer to peer network
a network that dosent have any centralized servers each computer in the network can act as client and server
what is a Network topology
describes how the devices on a network are connected together
what is the internet
a worldwide system of interconnected networks that enables information to be exchanged and shared
what is communication media
the means by which data is transmitted between devices on a network coaxial cable , fibre optic cab,e and microwaves are all forms of communication media
what is a Protocol
a set of rules that govern how communications on a network should be formatted and what data they should include
what is Eavesdrop
having unauthorized sight of data being sent from one computer to another over a network
what is Bandwidth
the amount of data that can be carried on a network in a given period of time
what is a Packet
a small quantity of data being sent through a network the packet is labelled with the senders address the recipients address how many packets are being transmitted and the position of this packet in the complete message
what is a Web server
powerful computer systems that store web pages and any multimedia that the pages might contain
what is Network security
activities designed to protect a network and its data from threats such as viruses , hacker attacks , denial of service attacks , data interception and theft , and equipment failure
what is Denial of service (DoS)
an attack on a network that attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing its services
what is Access control
this determines which users have access to which data , and what they are allowed to do with it
what is Hacking
the act of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system and the data it contains
what is Physical security
controlling access to critical parts of a network using physical methods rather that software
what is Malware
short for “malicious software” it is used as a generic term for any kind of software that is designed to disrupt the use of a computer system
what is a USB
Universal serial bus sockets found on most modern computer systems
what is Cyberattack
any kind of malicious attack on a network- connected device
what is Social engineering
any kind of attack on a computer system or network that exploits how people behave and respond to certain situations
what is Phishing
attempting to get confidential information by sending a user a message that appears to come from a trustworthy person or organisation
what is Shoulder surfing
Gaining access to information by watching someone enter it into a computer system
what is Unpatched Software
software that hasn’t had the latest security updates applied to it making it vulnerable to attack
Code vulnerability
a computer program that has been written in such a way that it creates a security issue that may be taken advantage of to gain access to the computer system or data within it
modular testing
testing each block of code as it is completed to ensure the code works as expected
audit trail
a record of activities that have taken place on a computer system this record is generated automatically and will record what has happened and who or what made the change
Internet service provider (ISP)
an organisation that provides its customers with a connection to the internet
router
a piece of networking hardware used to forward packets of data from one network to another
