McAfee INTERNET SECURITY SUITE 2008 User Manual page 237

Glossary 235
cookie
A small file containing information, usually including a user name and the current date and
time, stored on the computer of a person browsing the Web. Cookies are primarily used by
Web sites to identify users who have previously registered on or visited the site; however,
they can also be a source of information for hackers.
D
DAT
(Data signature files) Files containing the definitions that are used when detecting viruses,
Trojans, spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted programs on your computer or
USB drive.
deep watch location
A folder on your computer that is monitored for changes by Data Backup. If you set up a
deep watch location, Data Backup backs up the watch file types within that folder and its
subfolders.
denial of service
A type of attack that slows or halts traffic on a network. A denial of service attack (DoS
attack) occurs when a network is flooded with so many additional requests that regular
traffic is slowed or completely interrupted. It does not usually result in the theft of
information or other security vulnerabilities.
dialer
Software that helps you to establish an Internet connection. When used maliciously, dialers
can redirect your Internet connections to someone other than your default Internet Service
Provider (ISP), without informing you of additional cost.
dictionary attack
A type of brute-force attack that uses common words to try to discover a password.
DNS
(Domain Name System) A system that converts host names or domain names to IP
addresses. On the Web, DNS is used to convert easily legible Web address (for example,
www.myhostname.com) to IP addresses (for example, 111.2.3.44) so that the Web site can
be retrieved. Without DNS, you would have to type the IP address itself into your Web
browser.
DNS server
(Domain Name System server) A computer that returns the IP address associated with a
host or domain name. See also DNS.
domain
A local subnetwork or a descriptor for sites on the Internet.
On a local area network (LAN), a domain is a subnetwork made up of client and server
computers controlled by one security database. In this context, domains can improve
performance. On the Internet, a domain is part of every Web address (for example, in
www.abc.com, abc is the domain).