What is a Rootkit?
What is a Rootkit?
A rootkit is a software program designed to provide a user with administrator access to a computer without being detected. Rootkits are are considered one of the most serious types of malware since they may be used to gain unauthorized access to remote systems and perform malicious operations.
The name "rootkit" includes the word "root," because the goal of a rootkit is to gain root access to a computer. By logging in as the root user of a system, a hacker can perform nearly any operation he or ...
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What is Botnet?
A botnet is a group of computers that are controlled from a single source and run related software programs and scripts. While botnets can be used for distributed computing purposes, such as a scientific processing, the term usually refers to multiple computers that have been infected with malicious software.
In order to create a malicious botnet, a hacker must first compromise several computers. This might be done by exploiting a security hole through a Web browser, IRC chat program, or a computer's operating system. For example, if a user has turned ...
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What is a Hacker?
While this term originally referred to a clever or expert programmer, it is now more commonly used to refer to someone who can gain unauthorized access to other computers. A hacker can "hack" his or her way through the security levels of a computer system or network.
This can be as simple as figuring out somebody else's password or as complex as writing a custom program to break another computer's security software. Hackers are the reason software manufacturers release periodic "security ...
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What is Denial of Service?
A denial of service attack is an effort to make one or more computer systems unavailable. It is typically targeted at web servers, but it can also be used on mail servers, name servers, and any other type of computer system.
Denial of service (DoS) attacks may be initiated from a single machine, but they typically use many computers to carry out an attack. Since most servers have firewalls and other security software installed, it is easy to lock out individual systems. Therefore, distributed denial of service (DDoS) ...
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What is a CDN?
Stands for "Content Delivery Network." A CDN is a group of servers distributed in different locations. Small CDNs may be located within a single country, while large CDNs are spread across data centers around the world.
CDNs are used to provide content to users in different locations as quickly as possible. For example, a user in San Francisco may receive website content from a server in Los Angeles, while a user in England may receive the same content from a server in London. This is accomplished ...
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What is Lossless?
Lossless compression reduces a file's size with no loss of quality. This seemingly magical method of reducing file sizes can be applied to both image and audio files. While JPEGs and MP3s use lossy compression, newer compression algorithms, such as JPEG 2000 and Apple Lossless compression, can be used to create lossless compressed files.
Lossless compression basically rewrites the data of the original file in a more efficient way. However, because no quality is lost, the resulting files are typically much larger than image ...
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What is an Algorithm?
An algorithm is a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task. This can be a simple process, such as multiplying two numbers, or a complex operation, such as playing a compressed video file. Search engines use proprietary algorithms to display the most relevant results from their search index for specific queries.
In computer programming, algorithms are often created as functions. These functions serve as small programs that can be referenced by a larger program. For example, an image viewing application may include a library of functions that each use ...
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What is MPEG?
Stands for "Moving Picture Experts Group." MPEG is an organization that develops standards for encoding digital audio and video. It works with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to ensure media compression standards are widely adopted and universally available.
The MPEG organization has produced a number of digital media standards since its inception in 1998. Examples include:
MPEG-1 – Audio/video standards designed for digital storage media (such as an MP3 file)MPEG-2 – Standards for digital television and DVD videoMPEG-4 – Multimedia standards for the computers, mobile devices, and the webMPEG-7 – ...
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What is a Zip?
Zip is a common type of file compression. "Zipping" one or more files creates a compressed archive that takes up less disk space than the uncompressed version. It is useful for backing up files and reducing the size of data transferred over the Internet.
An archive compressed with standard Zip compression has a .ZIP file extension — for example, Archive.zip. To open the file or files in a Zip archive, you must first "unzip" or decompress the archive. Both Windows and macOS include a built-in file decompression utility that can unzip Zip files. Alternatively, you can use a third-party file ...
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What is File Compression?
File compression is used to reduce the file size of one or more files. When a file or a group of files is compressed, the resulting "archive" often takes up 50% to 90% less disk space than the original file(s). Common types of file compression include Zip, Gzip, RAR, StuffIt, and 7z compression. Each one of these compression methods uses a unique algorithm to compress the data.
So how does a file compression utility actually compress data? While each compression algorithm is different, they all work in a similar fashion. ...
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