AOL

Adware
See Spyware

Antivirus software
Software specifically designed for the detection and prevention of known viruses.

Attachment
A program or document that is sent with an email.

Back door
A weakness in a computer's security that allows a hacker to gain access.

Chat controls
Chat controls are a parental control setting that restrict a member's ability to participate in chat rooms, AOL-hosted conference rooms or to view hyperlinks to websites. Chat controls must be set using a master screen name.

Custom controls
A custom control lets you customise any one of the four age categories to meet your child's needs. For example, perhaps you want your child to exchange email only with people you know. This feature is part of parental controls. To change custom controls for screen names on your account, you must be using a master screen name, then go to Parental Controls and click on the screen name whose settings you wish to change.

Cookie
A file that is deposited on your computer. It can store information and preferences and is accessed when the website is revisited.

Download controls
Download controls are a custom control that let the master screen name determine a screen name's ability to download files from AOL software libraries and FTP sites. Download controls must be set using a master screen name.

Email filter
A type of software that scans incoming email for spam and filters it accordingly.

Firewall
A firewall helps protect your computer or home network against unwanted access and comes in a variety of forms. They may be included with a gateway device such as a router or be software programs that run on your computer.

Hacker
An individual who illegally breaks into systems or creates viruses.

Identity theft
Stealing someone's personal information, such as PINs and passwords, to gain access to their finances.

Key logging
An intrusive piece of software or hardware that monitors keystrokes on a computer to harvest passwords, credit card numbers and other private details as you type them in for criminal gain.

Malware
See Spyware

Network
Any number of computers that are connected together.

Padlock
A symbol in the browser indicating that the site is secure. Click on the padlock to see the retailer's encryption certificate. If in doubt, do not enter personal information or financial details.

Parental Controls
Parental Controls are controls that help parents set limits on what their kids can see and do while they are online. AOL provides multiple screen names on one AOL account so that each child can have his or her own screen name with its own parental controls settings.

Pharming
Fraudsters redirect large numbers of internet users from legitimate to fake websites, where your personal details are harvested for criminal gain.

Phishing
Fraudulent emails and pop-ups designed to fool you into typing personal information, such as passwords, credit card details and account numbers, into dummy internet sites, for criminal gain.

Pop-up
A small window that opens over the website, usually for advertising purposes.

Premium rate
A telephone number that costs a lot when dialled – these numbers are normally prefixed by 00 or 09.

Rogue dialler
A software application that can install itself on to your computer and change your settings to dial a premium-rate telephone number for internet access, resulting in larger-than-expected phone bills.

Screen name
A screen name is an online identity. Each screen name has its own level of access to AOL and the rest of the internet. Some screen names (designated as master screen names) have additional privileges, such as adjusting controls for other screen names. Note: Your child's screen name is also their email address and publicly identifies them anytime they communicate with others online.

Spam
Unsolicited bulk junk emails that can flood your mailbox, often offering products or services in which you have no interest, or that are fraudulent, pornographic or illegal.

Spyware
Spyware, sometimes called 'adware' or 'malware', refers to software or programs that monitor where you go on the internet, often without your permission or knowledge. In addition to violating your privacy, these programs can slow down your PC and cause it to disconnect.

Trojan
Trojan are a type of virus. They appear to perform some (often apparently useful) function but contain, hidden in their code, instructions that cause damage (sometimes severe) to your computer.

Virus
Viruses are small programs that can reproduce themselves and spread from one computer to another. Viruses are sometimes benign, doing nothing more than filling up space on your computer's hard drive. Unfortunately, some viruses are malicious and can destroy critical data on your computer.

Worm
This is a type of virus that can spread without user action and distribute complete copies (possibly modified) of itself across networks. It can consume memory or network bandwidth, thus causing a computer to stop responding.