McAfee VSF09EMB1RAA - VirusScan Plus 2009 User Manual page 185

Glossary 183
worm
A virus that spreads by creating duplicates of itself on other drives, systems, or networks. A
mass-mailing worm is one that requires a user's intervention to spread, e.g., opening an
attachment or executing a downloaded file. Most of today's email viruses are worms. A
self-propagating worm does not need user intervention to propagate. Examples of
self-propagating worms include Blaster and Sasser.
WPA
Wi-Fi Protected Access. A specification standard that strongly increases the level of data
protection and access control for existing and future wireless LAN systems. Designed to run
on existing hardware as a software upgrade, WPA is derived from, and is compatible with,
the 802.11i standard. When properly installed, it provides wireless LAN users with a high
level of assurance that their data remains protected and that only authorized network users
can access the network.
WPA-PSK
A special WPA mode designed for home users who do not require strong enterprise-class
security and do not have access to authentication servers. In this mode, the home user
manually enters the starting password to activate Wi-Fi Protected Access in Pre-Shared Key
mode, and should change the pass-phrase on each wireless computer and access point
regularly. See also WPA2-PSK (page 183), TKIP (page 180).
WPA2
An update to the WPA security standard, based on the 802.11i standard.
WPA2-PSK
A special WPA mode that is similar to WPA-PSK and is based on the WPA2 standard. A
common feature of WPA2-PSK is that devices often support multiple encryption modes (for
example, AES, TKIP) simultaneously, while older devices generally support only a single
encryption mode at a time (that is, all clients would have to use the same encryption
mode).