Glossary
Term Description
Vulnerability Scanner
A tool used to test a system for known security vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Vulnerability scanners are used to generate reports that indicate the areas or aspects of the system that need to be managed to improve security.
Wait State
The state in which a process is ready to execute but is waiting for an operation such as keyboard input, printing, or file writing to complete.
Walk-through
A manual analysis technique in which the module author or developer describes the module’s structure and logic to colleagues.
WAN (wide area network)
Data communications network that serves users across a broad geographic area and often uses transmission devices provided by common carriers. Frame Relay, SMDS, and X. 25 are examples of WANs. Compare with LAN, MAN.
War Dialing
The act of using a modem to search for a system that will accept inbound connection attempts.
War Driving
The act of using a radio wave signal detector or a wireless network detector to locate wireless networks.
Warez
Pronounced wayrz or wayrss. Commercial software that has been pirated and made available to the public via an electronic bulletin board system (BBS) or the Internet. Typically, the pirate has figured out a way to deactivate the copy protection or registration scheme used by the software. Note that the use and distribution of warez software is illegal. In contrast, shareware and freeware may be freely copied and distributed.
Warning Banners
Messages used to inform would-be intruders or attempted security policy violators that their intended activities are restricted and that any further activities will be audited and monitored. A warning banner is basically an electronic equivalent of a no-trespassing sign.
Waterfall life cycle
A software development process that structures the analysis, design, programming, and testing. Each step is completed before the next step begins.
Web Application Firewall
An Application layer firewall configured specifically to protect against web-based attacks and exploitations.