Axram - P


Password. A security measure used to restrict access to computer systems. A password is a unique string of characters that must be provided before a logon or an access is authorized. Password guidelines
PDFPortable Document Format. A type of file created by the Adobe Acrobat program, a PDF file contains text and graphics that can be viewed by anyone who uses virtually any computer, whether or not they actually have the Adobe Acrobat program on their hard disk. Unlike most files that can only be used on one specific type of computer or operating system, PDF files are meant to be shared among different types of computers, and the PDF document cannot be altered be the recipient.
Peer-to-peer. A democratic arrangement in networking technology where all nodes are created equal. A peer-to-peer relationship has no shared resources on a server. You can have a peer-to-peer relationship between computers in a network that contains servers. Each computer on the node acts as a server and a client.
Perl. Practical Extraction and Report Language Perl is a compiled scripting language written by Larry Wall. It is particularly useful for text processing. Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts. Perl is an interpretive language, which makes it easy to build and test simple programs.
Permissions. Authorization to perform operations associated with a specific shared resource, such as a file, directory, or printer. Permissions must be granted by the system administrator to individual user accounts or administrative groups.
Personal data. See personally identifiable information.
Personal identification number (PIN). A secret identification code similar to a password that is assigned to an authorized user. A PIN is used in combination with an ATM card or smart card, for example, to unlock an authorized functionality such as access to a bank account.
Personally identifiable information (PII) Any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. Such information may include name, country, street address, e-mail address, credit card number, Social Security number, government ID number, IP address, or any unique identifier that is associated with PII in another system. Also known as personal information or personal data.
Personal information See personally identifiable information.
Pharming. Redirects a user to a spoofed Web site by 'poisoning' the local domain name server (DNS). Poisoning a DNS server involves changing the specific record for a domain, which results in sending the user to a Web site different from the one intended unbeknownst to the user. This type of attack involves Trojan horse, worms or other technologies that attack the browser address bar, thus redirecting the user to a fraudulent Web site when the user types in a legitimate address.
Phisher. A malicious user or Web site that deceives people into revealing personal information, such as account passwords and credit card numbers. A phisher typically uses deceptive e-mail messages or online advertisements as a bait to lure unsuspecting users to fraudulent Web sites, where the users are then tricked into providing personal information.
Phreak. Is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a subculture of people who study, experiment with, or exploit telephones, the Telephone Company, and systems connected to or composing the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for the purposes of hobby or utility. It is often considered similar, and therefore grouped in category with computer hacking.
Physical vulnerability. Failure to provide physical security for a computer, such as leaving an unlocked workstation running in a workspace that is accessible to unauthorized users.
Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) An open privacy specification developed and administered by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that, when implemented, enables people to make informed decisions about how they want to share personal information with Web sites.
PIM. Personal Information Manager. A program on computer that provides the features of an address book and diary. Most Pims will not only store names and addresses, but may be set up to remind you of appointments and anniversaries as well as ssisting you in planning your day.
Pine. Pine is a popular mail and Usenet client for Unix and Windows. Developed at the University of Washington, it offers an intuitive, easy-to-use menu interface and supports MIME, IMAP and PGP. Though it includes an extensive options list, in some cases, Pine sacrifices features for usability.
Piracy. The copying, and/or distribution of software, music, or movies without the permission of the writer, author or publisher.
Polymorphic virus. A special virus that modifies itself each time it infects a file on your computer. By modifying itself, a polymorphic virus makes it harder for anti-virus programs to find and kill all possible strains of the virus. See Viruses in Depth
POP Post Office Protocol. An Internet protocol for the retrieval of electronic mail from a mail server
POPmail. An e-mail software that is installed on your personal computer which sends and receives mail very quickly from a shared computer’s electronic post office. Personal computers seldom have the network resources required to serve as an independent post office, which is why most people use shared systems or POPmail for e-mail. POPmail software on your personal computer (the “POP client”) quickly logs into a shared computer which is an e-mail post office (a “POP server”), and transfers received mail from your account on that system to your workstation. When you send a message from your workstation, the POP client transfers it to a dedicated mail system for transmission on the Internet.
Port. In TCP/IP and UDP networks, an endpoint to a logical connection. The port number identifies what type of port it is. For example, port 80 is used for HTTP traffic.
PostScript. PostScript is a page description language (PDL) developed by Adobe Systems. In essence, it is a programming language for describing how a page is to be printed or displayed. (Examples of other PDLs include Envoy, PDF, and PCL.) PostScript consists of functions for describing and positioning lines, shapes, fills, and other graphical elements, and for placing and formatting text. Originally conceived as a means for communicating with printing devices, it has been adapted for screen displays (Display PostScript, as used by NeXT™ computers), and for embedding graphics in documents (Embedded PostScript, or EPS)
Privacy. The control customers have over the collection, use, and distribution of their personal information.
Privacy compromise. A scenario in which an unauthorized individual is able to gain access to personal or confidential information about another user.
Privacy policy. An organization’s requirements for complying with privacy regulations and directives. The policy is expressed in a privacy statement.
Privacy statement. A document describing a company’s position on privacy, detailing what information its Web site collects, with whom the data is shared, and how users can control the use of their personal data.
Private fix. An unofficial hotfix which may not be fully tested or packaged. It is released to the customer to verify that it solves the problem before final testing and packaging.
Private key. One of two keys in public key encryption, the user keeps the private key secret and typically uses it to digitally sign data, or to decrypt data that has been encrypted with the corresponding public key.
Privileges. Usually establishing the particular user rights for gaining access to a computer or programs / data on a computer.
Proxy server. A firewall component that manages Internet traffic to and from a local area network (LAN) and can provide other functions, such as document caching and access control.
Public key. One of two keys in public key encryption. The user releases this key to the public, who can use it to encrypt messages to be sent to the user and to verify the user’s digital signature. Compare with private key.
Public key encryption. A method of encryption that uses a pair of mathematically related keys: a public key and a corresponding private key. Either key can be used to encrypt data, but the corresponding key must be used to decrypt it. Also called asymmetric encryption.
Public key infrastructure (PKI). A framework encompassing the laws, policies, standards, hardware, and software to provide and manage the use of public key cryptography on public networks such as the Internet.
Public domain. Public domain software is released without any conditions upon its use. It may be copied, modified, and distributed as the user pleases. This type of software generally has the least level of support available. Not to be confused with Shareware, a system where the software may be freely distributed but users are required to pay for it if they carry on using it after a trial period.

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