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The A to Z of security

Got the Love Bug? Scared of spyware? Read this rundown on what's keeping techies awake at night.

CNET News staff
2 min read
Confused by virus variants? Trying to untangle two-factor authentication? Each year sees new threats and concerns emerge for those who want to keep on top of security. Here's a lowdown on the hottest and groundbreaking topics.

Antivirus

Most people know they need software to keep viruses off their PCs. But the tools still need to work harder.

Botnet

These armies of zombie PCs are used by cybercriminals for sending spam.

Cell phone threats

Are mobile viruses a real threat? As cell phone sales grow, the question is more pressing.

DDoS

Distributed denial-of-service attacks, which take down a Web resource, are a common technique used by digital blackmailers.

Extradition

Hacking is an international crime. Is extradition the right way for governments to go?

Federated ID

This system aims to make it easier for people to manage log-ins across a number of digital resources.

Google

Just picture what the search giant has to do to keep all that data private.

Hacking

Hacking doesn't just mean breaking into computer systems: It can refer to any action that achieves an outcome by deviating from the intended path.

IM

As e-mail users become more savvy about threats, instant messaging services become a more appealing target.

Jaschan (Sven)

The German teenager was responsible for the Sasser virus, which has caused a lot of headaches for companies. Part of a rundown of hot security topics.

Kid's game?

Once the domain of teenagers, hacking is now being used by organized crime. Part of a series on hot security topics.

Love Bug

The computer virus caused an estimated $8.5 billion in damage, making it the most expensive to date.

Microsoft

The software giant has created a hole that many software companies are gladly stepping in to fill.

Neologisms

An inordinate number of new terms have been created to keep up with the dubious activities of spammers, scammers and their ilk.

Open source

Experts have issued warnings of complacency over security in open-source projects.

Passwords

The debate oscillates between telling people to be creative to telling them to write passwords down.

Questions

Security is ever-evolving--as soon as one threat is defeated, another emerges.

Rootkits

Hackers aren't the only ones using rootkits. Sony fiasco brought the toolkits into the mainstream.

Spyware

Software that covertly monitors the actions of a PC user is getting more sophisticated.

Two-factor authentication

Banks and other online financial institutions consider alternatives to the password.

USB sticks/devices

Some companies are pouring glue into USB ports to disable them. Find out why.

Virus variants

What's the difference between "Leap.A" and "Leap.B"? A look at naming of variants.

Wi-Fi

For all Wi-Fi has done to bring people online, it's also opened them up to potential risk.

Mac OS X

Debate rages over whether the Mac operating system is inherently safer than Windows.

You

Scammers and hackers are targeting the human factor in system setups.

Zero day

Such alerts set off a scramble to get a patch out fast for a bug vulnerable to hackers.