CYBER CULTURE GLOSSARY

Computer Bulletin Board—A service for computer users to exchange information, computer programs or messages

Copyrighted Software—Programs written by someone who has established the legal right to control their sale or reproduction

Computer Ethics—treating, handling and using computer technology responsibly and honestly

Computer Virus—A computer program that can reproduce by changing other programs to include a copy of itself.  It is a parasite program, needing another program to survive.  Within the virus are instructions that make it perform based on some event.  The event can be a date, the number of times the program is executed or something identified by the computer.  What the virus does can be very destructive or merely irritating to the user.  Normally a computer virus lies asleep for a while before it acts.

Digital Speech—a computer can store and play sound by translating the sound waves into numbers or digits

Hackers/Hacking—Computer users who enjoy tinkering with computers as a way to develop new features or who intentionally access a single computer, system, or a network without permission to do so.  They can be there simply to look around or they can be there to destroy

Logic Bomb—a destructive computer program similar to a virus that does not reproduce itself.  It acts based on a predetermined event.

Modem—a device that allows a computer to talk over phone lines to other computers

Software Piracy—illegally copying or distributing software programs (like computer games) that you did not purchase

Telecommunications Networks—Electronic highways for computers.  They carry visual and voice information from place to place

Worm—Similar to a computer virus but it does not lie dormant nor does it need another program to run

Cyber Culture—Cyber Culture is a social structure and way of life where wealth, power, and success belong to the computer literate.