Online threats

BOTNETS are networks of computers that have been hijacked by malicious groups or individuals. Their owners are usually unwitting victims who have no idea their machines have been infected and turned into so-called "zombies" or "bots." The zombie computers are typically used to distribute spam or phishing (see below) e-mails, or viruses and Trojans that are used to hijack other computers. Botnet operators often rent time or bandwidth on their networks to spam e-mail marketers and phishing scam artists.

MALWARE is a catch-all term for malicious software such as computer viruses and spyware, that compromise the security or function of personal computers.

PHISHING is a technique in which criminals try to trick people into disclosing sensitive information, such as online banking names and passwords, and is often conducted through e-mails.

PHARMING is an attack in which malicious individuals try to redirect traffic from one website to a false one. This is sometimes done to collect a person's login or password information.

TROJANS are programs that appear to perform a useful function in order to hide a malicious one. Like the Trojan horse of Greek myth that such programs are named after, the deception tricks people into granting crooks access to a computer.

ZOMBIES are computers that have been hijacked to perform commands and functions issued to them by the attackers, often without the owners' knowledge. They are typically infected by Trojans, a type of software that enables attackers to use them in a botnet. An infected computer is sometimes referred to as a bot — short for robot.