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Glossary of terms and definitions for IT (Information Technology), the Internet and cyber security.
This glossary provides more than 480 clear and concise definitions of commonly used terms in the fields of information technology, the internet, and cyber security. It is designed to support users of all levels in understanding key concepts, technical jargon, and acronyms frequently encountered across digital platforms and security-related discussions. Whether you are a business owner, student, professional, or simply interested in the digital landscape, this resource aims to enhance your knowledge and confidence in navigating the ever-evolving world of technology.
A physical or virtual storage unit used to save and retrieve digital data, such as a hard drive, USB drive, or cloud-based storage drive.
Example: He transferred the files onto a USB drive.
See also: Hardware
The unintentional download of malware when visiting a compromised website, often without the user's knowledge.
Example: Visiting an infected website causes a malicious file to be downloaded onto your computer automatically.
A software program that allows the operating system to communicate with hardware devices, enabling proper functionality.
Example: After installing a new graphics card, the user downloads the latest driver to ensure compatibility with games.
A data storage device used for storing operating systems, software, documents, and other digital files, either internally or externally.
Example: The hard drive failed and all data was lost.
A storage device that uses flash memory to store data, offering faster access speeds and greater durability compared to traditional hard drives.
Example: Installing an SSD significantly reduced the computer's boot time.
A copy of data stored separately to restore original information in case of loss.
Example: She made weekly backups of her laptop to an external drive.
See also: Off-site Backup
Baiting is a social engineering attack where an attacker lures a victim into performing a specific action by offering something tempting, such as free software, a USB drive, or access to exclusive content. The bait often contains malware or leads to a phishing site.
Example: An employee finds a USB drive labelled "Confidential Payroll Data" in the office car park. Curious, they plug it into their work computer, unknowingly installing malware that grants the attacker remote access to the system.
Software that acts as a gatekeeper between users and cloud services to enforce security policies and protect data.
Example: A CASB monitors and controls employee access to cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox.
A set of measures designed to protect data, applications, and services hosted in cloud environments.
Example: Encrypting data stored in Google Drive and using multi-factor authentication to access your cloud account.
The unintended deletion or corruption of digital information.
Example: He experienced data loss after his hard drive failed.
See also: Data
The process of retrieving lost, corrupted, deleted, or inaccessible data from storage devices such as hard drives, SSDs, or USB drives.
Example: A technician performs data recovery on a damaged external hard drive to retrieve a client's family photos.
Malware that resides in a computer's memory rather than the hard drive, making it difficult to detect and remove.
Example: An attacker exploits a vulnerability in a web browser to run fileless malware that steals data during a session.
The process of preparing a storage device for use by erasing existing data and setting up a new file system.
Example: Before installing Windows, the technician formats the hard drive to remove all previous data.
A unit of digital information equal to 1,024MB (1024 megabytes) in most computing contexts, however disk drive manufacturers use it to mean 1,000,000 bytes in order to report larger storage capacities.
Example: The operating system used approximately 10GB of disk space.
See also: Gibibyte (GiB), Megabyte (MB)
A security risk posed by individuals within an organisation, such as employees or contractors, who may misuse their access for malicious purposes or due to negligence.
Example: An employee with access to sensitive customer data copies it onto a USB drive and sells it to competitors.
A unit of digital information equal to 1,024 bytes in most computing contexts, however disk drive manufacturers use it to mean 1,000 bytes in order to report larger storage capacities.
Example: The document was 50KB in size.
See also: Kibibyte (KiB), Byte
A unit of digital information equal to 1,024KB (1024 kilobytes) in most computing contexts, however disk drive manufacturers use it to mean 1,000 bytes in order to report larger storage capacities.
Example: The music file used 4MB of space.
See also: Mebibyte (MiB), Kilobyte (KB)
A unit of digital information equal to 1,024TB (1024 terabytes) in most computing contexts, however disk drive manufacturers use it to mean 1,000,000,000,000 bytes in order to report larger storage capacities.
Example: 1PB is really really large.
See also: Pebibyte (PiB), Terabyte (TB)
A data storage technology that combines multiple physical drives to improve performance, redundancy, or both.
Example: The server used RAID 5 to protect data against drive failures.
A Reciprocal Link is when two websites agree to link to each other, often to improve SEO or drive mutual traffic.
Example: Two Australian blogs added reciprocal links to boost visibility and support each other's content.
An interface used to connect storage devices like hard drives and SSDs to a computer's motherboard.
Example: The hard drive was connected to the motherboard via a SATA cable.
A unit of digital information equal to exactly 1,024GiB. (1024 gibibytes.) There is no confusion with how big a tebibyte (TiB) is as there could be with a terabyte (TB). Therefore, TiB is the more correct term to use.
Example: Because of the way drive manufacturers represent terabytes, a 1TB drive only contains 931GiB of storage space.
See also: Terabyte (TB), Gibibyte (GiB)
A unit of digital information equal to 1,024GB (1024 gigabytes) in most computing contexts, however disk drive manufacturers use it to mean 1,000,000,000 bytes in order to report larger storage capacities.
Example: Because of the way drive manufacturers represent terabytes, a 1TB drive only contains 931GB of storage space.
See also: Tebibyte (TiB), Gigabyte (GB)
A standard interface for connecting peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and storage devices to a computer.
Example: He transferred files using a USB flash drive.