C117 words · Advanced

Life Online vocabulary — C1

Digital communication vocabulary such as encryption, surveillance and vulnerability, plus authentication, exploit and anonymize. Words for discussing tone online and its security.

17 questions

Words in this set

recipient
/rəˈsɪpiənt/
The person a message is addressed to and delivered to.
Example: Check the recipient before you send anything confidential.
thread
/θrɛd/
A chain of replies kept together under one message, so the whole conversation stays in order.
Example: I lost track of the thread after forty replies.
tone
/toʊn/
The feeling or attitude that your choice of wording seems to show to a reader.
Example: Emails can sound rude because tone is so hard to read.
correspondence
/ˌkɔrəˈspɑndəns/
Letters, emails, or messages exchanged between people, especially for business or official purposes.
Example: All correspondence with the client is saved in this folder.
misinterpret
/mɪsɪnˈtɜrprət/
To understand a message or someone's meaning incorrectly.
Example: It's easy to misinterpret tone in a short text message.
encryption
/ɛnˈkrɪpʃən/
The process of changing information into a secret code so others cannot read it.
Example: Messaging apps use encryption to keep your chats private.
surveillance
/sərˈveɪləns/
The constant close watching of what people do, by cameras or by software.
Example: The city expanded its surveillance network again last year.
vulnerability
/ˌvʌlnərəˈbɪlɪti/
A weak point in a system that an attacker could use to get in.
Example: Researchers found a serious vulnerability in the payment app.
authentication
/ɔˌθɛntəˈkeɪʃən/
The process of proving that someone really is the person they say they are.
Example: The bank added a second step of authentication for large payments.
exploit
/ˈɛkˌsplɔɪt/
A way of using a weakness in a computer system to gain unauthorized access or control.
Example: Hackers found an exploit in the outdated software.
compromise
/ˈkɑmprəˌmaɪz/
To weaken the security of a system, allowing someone unauthorized to gain access.
Example: The attackers managed to compromise the company's servers.
anonymize
/əˈnɑnəˌmaɪz/
To remove or hide information that could identify a particular person from a set of data.
Example: Researchers anonymize the data before sharing it publicly.
decrypt
To change coded, protected information back into a form that can be read normally.
Example: Only the right key can decrypt the encrypted file.
token
/ˈtoʊkən/
A physical device or digital code used as extra proof of identity when logging in.
Example: She needed her security token as well as her password to log in.
denial-of-service
A type of attack that floods a website or system with traffic to make it stop working.
Example: The website crashed after a denial-of-service attack.
engagement
/ɛnˈɡeɪdʒmənt/
The amount of liking, commenting and sharing that a post manages to attract.
Example: Our engagement dropped after we changed posting times.
curate
/ˈkjʊrət/
To choose and arrange things carefully so that other people can enjoy the collection.
Example: She curates a weekly feed of the best design work.