THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY May 18, 2001 white hat ______________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: MindLeaders MindLeaders offers high quality, self-paced training to help achieve your goals conveniently anytime, anywhere! You can access web based training courses in a wide range of topics, including computer applications, Web design, IT professional development, technical certification preparation, and practical end-user skills. http://link.mindleaders.com/e-learn/default.asp?associd=TECHTA001 _____________ QUIZ #3: STORAGE BASICS - How much do you know about the way your computer stores data? Take this week's quiz and find out! http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci551320,00.html _____________ TODAY'S WORD: white hat See our the definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci550882,00.html White hat describes a hacker (or, if you prefer, cracker) who identifies a security weakness in a computer system or network but, instead of taking malicious advantage of it, exposes the weakness in a way that will allow the system's owners to fix the breach before it is can be taken advantage by others (such as black hat hackers.) Methods of telling the owners about it range from a simple phone call through sending an e-mail note to a Webmaster or administrator all the way to leaving an electronic "calling card" in the system that makes it obvious that security has been breached. While white hat hacking is a hobby for some, others provide their services for a fee. Thus, a white hat hacker may work as a consultant or be a permanent employee on a company's payroll. A good many white hat hackers are former black hat hackers. The term comes from old Western movies, where heros often wore white hats and the "bad guys" wore black hats. RELATED TERMS: hacker http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci212220,00.html cracker http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci211852,00.html black hat http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci550815,00.html ____________________ SELECTED LINKS [1] "A hacker in a white hat" is a story that describes one. http://www.bergen.com/biz/hack2420000724.htm [2] "White hat hackers: Use a hacker to catch another" describes the hiring of hackers to catch other hackers. http://www.dqindia.com/content/top_stories/100101410.asp [3] "The confessions of a white hat hacker" reviews hacker software used by a security manager to test the security of his network. http://www.insecure.org/nmap/press/computerworld_confessions_of_white_hat_hacker.html [4] SearchSecurity.com provides links to "Underground and Hacker Sites." http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/bestWebLinks/0,289521,sid14_tax281963,00.html ____________________ TECHTARGET FEATURE Cisco Networking Academy Program: Computer Networking Essentials By: Debra Shinder This book is an extended product offering within the most successful networking print and online publication program in the industry. These products are endorsed and recommended by Cisco Systems for the Cisco Networking Academy Program. The Cisco Networking Academy Program prepares students to design, build, and maintain computer networks. http://www.digitalguru.com/dgstore/product.asp?isbn=1587130009%20&ac_id=76 __________________________ SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR! What do you like? Networks? Computer Games? Shareware? Get FREE info on the topics that interest you most. Postmaster Direct will find related news, information and special offers and deliver them directly to your e-mailbox, all at no charge! http://whatis.techtarget.com/postmasterDirect/1,289639,sid9,00.html _________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS [1] Table of Physical Units http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci551931,00.html [2] abfarad http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci551355,00.html [3] crumb http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci551033,00.html [4] FDDI http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci213957,00.html [5] VSAT http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci214155,00.html If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter simply reply to this message with "REMOVE" in the subject line. Or, visit http://WhatIs.techtarget.com/register and adjust your subscriptions accordingly. If you choose to unsubscribe using our automated processing, you must send the "REMOVE" request from the email account to which this newsletter was delivered. Please allow 24 hours for your "REMOVE" request to be processed.