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Cybersecurity is full of jargon — and jargon keeps people from protecting themselves. Here's a plain-English guide to the terms you'll run into, no computer science degree required.

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Cyber Jargon

General vocabulary — the tools, technology, and everyday terms you'll run into while getting your accounts and devices set up safely.

Advertising ID: A behind-the-scenes number your phone hands to apps so advertisers can recognize you and follow what you do from app to app. Your phone lets you delete it, or stop apps from asking to track you, which cuts down on that tracking.
Authenticator app: A free phone app that shows a fresh six-digit sign-in code every 30 seconds, used as the second step when you log in. It's safer than getting codes by text message, because the codes never travel over the phone network, where scammers can sometimes redirect them.
Backup: A spare copy of your important files kept somewhere safe, so a lost, stolen, or infected device doesn't mean losing your photos and documents for good.
Breach: When information that was supposed to be private gets exposed or stolen — usually from a company that held your data. Checking whether you're affected is part of a good security review.
Crypto ATM (also called a bitcoin ATM or cryptocurrency kiosk): A machine, often in a gas station or convenience store, that turns cash into cryptocurrency and sends it to a digital wallet. Scammers tell people to pay through them because the money is nearly impossible to get back once it's sent.
Cyber hygiene: Everyday habits that keep you safer online, like installing updates, using unique passwords, and pausing before you click. Small and regular beats big and occasional.
Encryption: Scrambling information so only someone with the right key can read it. It's what keeps your messages, files, and passwords private even if someone intercepts them.
End-of-support device (also called end-of-life): A phone, computer, or other device that its maker no longer sends security updates to. Any new security holes found in it stay open for good, so it's time to replace it.
End-to-end encryption: Encryption that keeps a message scrambled the whole way from your device to the other person's, so not even the company running the app can read it. Not every messaging app uses it, and some apps have dropped it, so it's worth checking before you share something private.
eSIM: A digital SIM card built into your phone. Instead of swapping a tiny plastic card, you add a phone plan by scanning a QR code or using your carrier's app. Handy for travel: add a local data plan for the trip and remove it when you get home.
Exposed services: Parts of a device or router that can be reached from the internet. Some are needed, but ones left open by accident can give attackers a way in.
Family Code Word (also called a Safe Word): A word or phrase agreed on in advance among family members, kept off social media, and used to confirm that an urgent call or message asking for money is really from them and not an impersonator.
Firewall: A barrier that watches traffic coming into and out of your network or device and blocks anything suspicious — like a gate guard for your internet connection.
Guest network: A separate Wi-Fi network your router can create for visitors or smart-home gadgets, kept apart from the computers and phones that hold your personal information.
ID (for remote help): A number that a remote-support program, like the one we use for remote check-ups, shows to identify your computer — a bit like an address. Reading it to your helper tells them where to connect. On its own it can't get anyone in: they also need your one-time password and your OK.
IoT (Internet of Things): Everyday devices that connect to the internet — smart TVs, doorbell cameras, thermostats, speakers. Convenient, but each one is a potential way in if it's not secured.
Legacy contact: Someone you choose ahead of time to look after an account if you pass away. Apple and Facebook both let you name one, so a family member can reach your photos or memorialize your profile without a long, difficult process.
Malware: Any software built to do harm — viruses, ransomware, spyware, and the like. Short for “malicious software.”
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): A second step when logging in — like a code from your phone — so a stolen password alone isn't enough to get into your account. Sometimes called two-factor authentication or 2FA.
Muted: On a phone or video call, muted means your microphone is off, so no one can hear you until you turn it back on.
One-time password: A password or code that only works once, or for a short time. A remote-support program shows a fresh one each time you open it, and the sign-in codes some websites text you work the same way. Only share one with a helper you contacted yourself — never with someone who called you out of the blue.
Parental controls: Settings on a device, app, or internet service that let a parent limit what a child can see, download, or buy, and for how long.
Passkey: A newer way to sign in that replaces your password with your phone's or computer's screen lock — your fingerprint, face, or PIN. There's nothing to type, remember, or steal, and a passkey won't work on a fake look-alike website, which makes it very hard to phish.
Password manager: A secure app that remembers all your passwords so you don't have to. You remember one master password; it handles the rest, and can create strong, unique passwords for every account.
Patch / Update: A fix released by a device or software maker to close security holes. Installing updates promptly is one of the simplest, most effective things you can do to stay safe.
Photo location data (also called a geotag): Hidden details saved inside a photo that can include exactly where it was taken. Many apps remove it when you post, but not all do, and photos sent as files or by email often keep it. You can turn it off in your camera settings.
Precise location: A setting that lets an app know where you are down to the street or building, rather than roughly which part of town you're in. Most apps — weather, shopping, social media — work fine with approximate location.
Punycode: The garbled "xn--" text your browser shows for web addresses that mix different alphabets. It's a technical translation, not an error — and often the only visible clue that an address isn't what it appears to be.
QR code: The square, pixelated barcode you scan with a phone camera to open a link. Handy — but because you can't see where it leads before scanning, scammers use fake ones to send you to dangerous sites. Be cautious scanning codes from unexpected packages, flyers, or emails.
Recovery information: The backup email address or phone number an account uses to help you get back in if you forget your password. Keeping it current is one of the simplest ways to avoid getting locked out.
Remote control (also called remote access): When someone helps from a distance by seeing your screen and using your mouse and keyboard, through a program you open and approve. You can watch everything they do and end it any time by closing the program. Scammers ask for this too, so only allow it for help you arranged yourself.
Router: The box that brings the internet into your home and shares it with your devices over Wi-Fi. It's the front door to your whole network, which is why securing it matters.
Screen lock: The PIN, password, fingerprint, or face check that has to be passed before anyone can use your phone, tablet, or computer.
Screen sharing: A video-call feature that lets the other person see what's on your screen. On its own it only lets them watch; controlling your device is a separate permission.
Security baseline: The starting set of protections every device should have, such as updates, a screen lock, backups, and strong sign-ins.
Security posture: The overall strength of your security: how well your devices, accounts, and habits protect you, taken together.
VPN: A “virtual private network” — a tool that hides your internet activity from outsiders by sending it through an encrypted tunnel. Useful on public Wi-Fi.
Web browser: The app you use to visit websites, such as Safari, Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.

Cyber Scams

The specific schemes and techniques scammers and attackers use to target you — what they look like and how they work.

Brushing scam: When a stranger ships you a cheap item you never ordered so a shady seller can post a fake “verified” review under your name. The package is harmless, but receiving one is a sign your name and address are circulating where they shouldn't be.
Copycat account (also called a cloned account): A fake profile that copies a real person's name and photos, then sends friend requests to their friends and family. Once accepted, it asks for money, gift cards, or personal details. If you get a second request from someone you're already friends with, check with them another way first.
Credential stuffing: When criminals take an email-and-password combo leaked from one breached company and try it on your other accounts — your bank, email, shopping. It's why reusing the same password everywhere is so risky.
Deepfake: A fake video, image, or recording made with artificial intelligence to look or sound like a real person or place, such as a video call staged to look like it's coming from a government office.
Fake sign-in page (also called a look-alike login page): A copy of a real company's sign-in page, built by scammers and reached through a link in a phishing message. Whatever you type into it, such as your password or card number, goes straight to the scammer.
Government impersonation scam (also called a law enforcement impersonation scam or fake agent scam): A scam where the caller claims to be from the FBI, a sheriff's office, the U.S. Marshals, a court, or another agency, often using a real official's name and a faked phone number, and demands payment to clear a warrant or other made-up legal problem. Real agencies never call or text to demand payment of any kind.
Homoglyph attack: A trick where a scammer registers a web address using a letter from a different alphabet that looks identical to one of ours (like a Cyrillic "о" standing in for a regular "o") — so the fake address looks exactly like the real one. Also called script spoofing or an IDN homograph attack.
Jury duty scam (also called a warrant scam): A kind of government impersonation scam where the caller says you missed jury duty or have a warrant for your arrest, and that you can clear it by paying right away, usually with gift cards, a crypto ATM, or another hard-to-trace method.
Phantom hacker scam: The FBI's name for a scam that starts with a fake tech support call and is followed by people posing as your bank and then a government agency, all urging you to move your savings to a “safe” account the scammers control.
Phishing: A scam message (email, text, or call) pretending to be someone you trust, designed to trick you into handing over passwords, money, or personal information.
Ransomware: A type of malware that locks up your files and demands payment to unlock them. Good backups are the best protection against it.
Refund scam (also called a tech support refund or overpayment scam): A trick where a scammer offers to refund a charge you never made, then fakes a transaction so it looks like they sent you too much and asks you to “send back” the difference, often in gift cards, a wire transfer, or crypto.
Social engineering: Manipulating people rather than computers — tricking someone into breaking security through persuasion, urgency, or impersonation. Most scams are social engineering.
Spoofing (also called caller ID spoofing): Making a message or call look like it came from someone else, for example by typing a bank's or a store's name into the sender name of an email, or faking the name and number that show up on caller ID. What you see is just text, so it proves nothing about who really sent it or who is really calling.
Tech support scam: A scam where someone pretends to be from a well-known company, like Microsoft or Apple, and claims your computer has a problem. They're after remote access to your computer, a payment, or both. Real tech companies don't call or pop up out of the blue asking for either.
Voice Cloning (also called AI Voice Cloning): Software that learns the sound of a real person's voice — pitch, pace, and accent — from a short recording, often just a few seconds, and can then generate new sentences in that voice saying things the person never actually said.

Don't see a term you're wondering about? Ask us and we'll explain it — and probably add it here.