C218 words · Proficient

Life Online vocabulary — C2

Digital communication vocabulary such as zero-day, backdoor and cryptography, plus echo chamber, confirmation bias and filter bubble. Words for discussing online life at an expert level.

18 questions

Words in this set

etiquette
/ˈɛtəkət/
The accepted unwritten rules about behaving politely towards other people.
Example: Replying to everyone breaks basic email etiquette.
nuance
/ˈnuɑns/
A small, subtle difference in meaning, tone, or feeling that is easy to miss in written messages.
Example: Text messages often lose the nuance of a real conversation.
subtext
/ˈsʌbˌtɛkst/
A meaning that is suggested but not directly stated in a message.
Example: There was an unfriendly subtext hidden beneath her polite words.
passive-aggressive
Showing anger or annoyance indirectly, for example through polite-sounding but unkind messages.
Example: His passive-aggressive reply made everyone uncomfortable.
breach
/britʃ/
An incident in which someone gets past protection and steals private data.
Example: The company admitted a breach affecting thousands of customers.
intercept
/ˌɪntərˈsɛpt/
To secretly catch and read a message while it is travelling to the person it was sent to.
Example: Hackers can intercept anything you send over public wifi.
zero-day
Describes a security weakness that is exploited by attackers before the company even knows it exists.
Example: The attack used a zero-day flaw that no one had patched yet.
backdoor
/ˈbækˌdɔr/
A hidden way into a computer system that bypasses normal security checks.
Example: Investigators found a secret backdoor built into the software.
exfiltrate
To secretly remove data from a computer system without permission.
Example: The hackers managed to exfiltrate thousands of customer records.
obfuscate
/ˈɑbfəˌskeɪt/
To deliberately make code or data confusing and hard to understand, often to hide its real purpose.
Example: Malware writers obfuscate their code to avoid detection.
honeypot
A fake system set up deliberately to attract and study hackers.
Example: Security researchers used a honeypot to study the attackers' methods.
penetration testing
A controlled, authorized attempt to find security weaknesses in a system by trying to break into it.
Example: The company hires experts to run penetration testing every year.
cryptography
The science of writing and solving codes to keep information secret and secure.
Example: Modern cryptography protects almost every online payment.
forensics
/fərˈɛnsɪks/
The scientific examination of computers and data to find evidence of a crime.
Example: Digital forensics experts traced the attack back to a single laptop.
echo chamber
An online space where you meet only opinions that already match your own.
Example: Online, it's easy to end up inside an echo chamber.
confirmation bias
The tendency to notice and believe information that supports what you already think, while ignoring what disagrees with it.
Example: Social media feeds can strengthen confirmation bias by showing you similar opinions.
filter bubble
A situation where a person only sees information and opinions that match their own existing views, because of an algorithm.
Example: Personalized feeds can trap users inside a filter bubble.
dopamine loop
A repeating cycle of small rewards, such as likes and notifications, that keeps someone using an app.
Example: Apps are designed around a dopamine loop that keeps people checking their phones.