When I started working at McAfee, I noticed that many of the terms commonly used here were completely unknown to me. Fortunately I had no problems understanding them, but I’m sure that more than one person has read a McAfee security update and thought “What does this mean?” This question is more likely when a report contains only minimal information, which is never enough to understand what is going on if you don’t already know this issue, and sometimes even when you do know it.
At that point I got the idea of a blog for beginners, for those who are just starting in the security world or whose curiosity or work requires them to pay attention. I offer these lessons as a way to help others understand—with not too technical explanations—the basic concepts used in our updates and reports.
I’ve decided to call these posts Security 101 because I shall focus on the basic definitions in four big topics: Vulnerabilities, Attack Vectors, Malware, and Defense Mechanisms. I’ll cover each topic in a couple to several posts, and I plan to update them twice a month, my workload permitting.
I don’t expect that those who read this blog will become security experts. That takes years of experience to achieve. Just a fair warning.
So, welcome to Security 101, and enjoy the blog! 