It's staggering how many different Internet threats exist.  As part of our effort to help you become informed and to learn how to protect yourself from these threats, we are launching a series of articles targeted as helping you to understand and protect yourself from these threats.

In this article, we will start with a list the types of threats that we have found.  We extend a special thanks to McAfee for their online Virus Glossary, and C|Net's Glossary of Internet Security Terms, which we found to be a great starting point for identifying these terms.  We've also added a few of our own, which while they may not be standard terms, we will be using as a launching point for future articles designed to educate and protect you.

• Anti Anti-Virus Virus:  This has got to me my favorite if not just for its name.  This is a virus that attacks anti-virus software.
• Back Door/Trap Door:  This is a generally a secret password left in software by the programmer, which can pose a security risk if found by hackers.
• Brute-Force Attack: This is when an attacker just keeps hitting away at an account or computer in an attempt to find a password to gain access.
• Denial-of-Service Attack:  This is when an attacker continuously sends request to a server, or exploits known vulnerabilities to cause a server to stop answering legitimate requests.
• Drive-by: This is when an attacker causes a program to be installed on your computer without your knowledge.
• Drive-by Network Hijacking: Yes, we made up the term, but not the threat.  This is when a hacker accesses your wireless network, sometimes by driving near your home with a laptop in their car.
• Fram:  This was a new one for me.  This is when a friend or family member forwards spam to you.
• Keylogger: This is a program that monitors your keyboard activity, often sending it to another computer for analysis in hopes of stealing passwords or other private information.
• Password Attacks: These include all sorts of ways hackers attempt to steal passwords.
• Shoulder Surfing: Somewhat low-tech, this is when someone attempts to watch you using your computer in hopes at seeing sensitive information.
• Sniffing: This is when an attacker monitors Internet traffic in hopes of intercepting passwords or sensitive information.
• Peer-to-Peer (P2P): This is a way for multiple computers to share information. P2P itself is not so much a threat as it is a way for copyrighted information to be shared, and also for viruses to be transmitted to your computer.
• Pharming: This is a way for hackers to take your legitimate Internet requests and reroute them to their own servers in hopes to steal your information.
• Phishing: This is when hackers attempt to trick you into providing passwords and other information.  Typically this is in the form of email that tells you to go to a legitimate-sounding web site, but it can take place pretty much anyway someone might communicate with you.
• Port Scan: This is when a hacker programmatically scans your computer's network protocols to locate potential targets for attacking.
• Social Engineering: This is when attackers drop the technical approach, and work to gain your trust to get you to divulge sensitive information or take actions that can open your computer to attacks.  This is a particularly effective method of attack.
• Spoofs: This is when attackers try to disguise themselves as legitimate or known sources to you.  For example, they might send malicious email appearing to be from a known and trusted friend.
• Spyware: This is a pretty generic terms for programs and viruses that watch your computer activity, often triggering pop-up advertisements, or even stealing your information.
• Trojans, or Trojan Horses: These are malicious programs that appear not to be malicious.  Common forms include screen savers and games.  These programs typically perform the function you expect, and then a little more that you don't.
• Viruses: These are programs that "infect" your computer by altering the programs or memory.  They are able to run without your knowledge, and they spread to other computers automatically.
• Worms: These are a type of virus that instead of altering programs or memory, they simply replicate themselves where ever possible.
• Zombie: A fun term, but a serious problem.  This is when your computer is no longer under your control, but rather being controlled by a unknown hacker.  Zombies are often used to launch Internet attacks leaving the hacker free from detection.

Wow!  As you can see, there are a wide variety of threats on the Internet.  Fortunately, with a little knowledge and diligence, we can all keep ourselves protected.  Be sure to watch for our upcoming articles where we will visit these threats in more detail.

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