Home > SecureWeb Culture > Glossary

Glossary

[A-D] - [E-H] - [I-L] - [M-P] - [Q-S] - [T-Z]

Electronic certificate (or digital certificate): An electronic document (the equivalent of an identity card) indicating the identity of a person or a server and signed by a Certification Authority, who guarantees the accuracy of the information contained in it.
In order to establish a secured session, a web site must have a digital certificate.
To be sure it is connected to the right Internet site (e-commerce site or on-line bank), your navigator checks this certificate as standard. This check consists of making sure that the certificate owner's name is the same as that of the site which you want to access, that this certificate is valid and that is has been electronically signed by a trustworthy CA.
Encryption (term often used: Encoding): A mechanism through which information can be made unreadable by any person who does not have the code (you also talk of keys).
Firewall (other names used: Gatekeeper, flytrap): A security device (software or dedicated hardware) that filters network connections so that only data streams that are wanted can pass. You are advised to have a firewall if you have a broadband Internet connection.
Fix: See Patch
Gatekeeper: See Firewall
Hacker: A person who has specialised knowledge of computer hardware and software, operating systems and networks. Unlike computer pirates (see the «cracker» link) which they are often included with, the Hacker does not wish to cause harm, but rather wants to improve existing technologies, including those in the security field.
Hoax: In English: hoax – an e-mail spreading false information and urging the people who receive it to do something and/or send the news to all their friends and colleagues.
The information in a hoax is always something disturbing (sick child, death, news of a new virus, etc) or promising a thousand and one good things (certain good fortune, champagne, etc).
To find out more please consult this site, which lists the hoaxes and classifies them: http://www.hoaxbuster.com.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language – The formatting language used for web pages; in particular it allows links between pages to be created.
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol – the protocol used for exchanging data between a web server and an Internet navigator. For example, on entering the address http://www.bnpparibas.com/securitycenter, the navigator uses the HTTP protocol to connect to the Security Center site's web server and receive the page content.
HTTPS: HyperText Transfer Protocol over SSL – the secured version of the HTTP protocol (encryption of transferred data and authentication of the web site).
Hypertext: A type of document that contains links allowing the user to move from one document to another.

Send to a friend

Top of page