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Updated: 09/18/07 ]
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| Word/Term |
Definition |
| [ M ] |
| M of N Control |
M of N control refers to the policy of dividing up a
task among multiple individuals so that a single person isn't able to perform the whole of the task alone. M
of N control provides each individual with a percentage of something, in some cases a private key that could
be used for data recovery. In order to recover lost data at a later date, a Minimum (M) Number (N) of individuals
must work together. |
| Main In The Middle Attack |
A Man In The Middle Attack (i.e. MITM) takes place when
a blackhat convinces two hosts to route their packets through his host. This allows the hacker to sniff, monitor,
or alter the data in real time. |
| Mathieu Orfila |
Mathieu Orfilla lived from 1787 to 1853 and is regarded
by many as the father of forensic toxicology. It was in 1814 that he published his first scientific treatise
on the effects and detection process of poisons. It was from this point forward that toxicology was established
and regarded as a legitimate field of science. |
| Mandatory Access Control |
Mandatory Access Control (i.e., MAC), restricts users
by default and is maintained by the operating system. If one does not have permission to access a source, they
are denied automatically and must be granted permission before any access takes place. MAC falls under the "B" classification
per Department of Defense standards and uses labeling. It is noteworthy to briefly touch on file permissions:
with MAC, a user that has permission to access a file does not have inherent permission to also copy that file
like they would if Discretionary Access Control (i.e., DAC) was being used. |
| Megapixels |
Quite often, cameras advertise an impressive "megapixel" rating.
This number is actually indicative of the max resolution that the camera can attain. For example, a (4) four
megapixel camera is actually capable of taking pictures at a resolution of 2240x1680 which translates to 2240
multiplied by 1680 which equals 3,763,200 or approximately 4,000,000 pixels. Most laptops that come with a built-in
web camera are capable of a 0.3 megapixel image capture; this translates to a 640x480 resolution image (i.e.,
640 multiplied by 480 equals 307,200). |
| Message Digest |
A Message Digest is another term for a hash. |
| Message Digest Version 5 |
Message Digest Version 5 (i.e., MD5) was developed by
a Mr. Ronald Rivest and is used to create a 128-bit summarized version of source file. This algorithm is useful
for determining if a file has been tampered or changed since it was created providing that a user has the original
MD5 checksum. |
| Metropolitan Area Network |
A Metropolitan Area Network (i.e., MAN) is larger than
a Local Area Network (i.e., LAN), but smaller than a Wide Area Network (i.e., WAN). Usually, a MAN covers a
single city or an educational campus. |
| Multipartite Virus |
A multipartite virus quite usually infects both the boot
record of a host as well as individual files. Additionally, it is broken up into multiple parts so that it can
carry out distributed assaults causing infections in several places on the host simultaneously. |
| Mutual Authentication |
Mutual Authentication occurs when the sending and receiving
hosts verify their identities to each other before allowing for the transference of data. |
| Mylar Window Covering |
Radio frequency waves (e.g., waves produced by a broadcasting
wireless router, etc.) do not pass very easily through metal materials such as Mylar which is a very thin aluminum
coating for plastic. The placement of Mylar over windows or walls can reduce the amount of radio frequency "leaking" that
could take place if wireless signals are accessible from outside of a building or defined area. |
