Glossary

Application settings

Application settings which are common for all task types, regulating the application’s operation as a whole, such as application performance settings, report settings, backup storage settings.

Backup storage

Special storage designed to save backup copies of objects created before their first disinfection or deletion.

Database updates

One of the functions performed by a Kaspersky Lab application that enables it to keep protection current. In this case, the databases are downloaded from the Kaspersky Lab update servers onto the computer and are automatically connected to the application.

Databases

Databases created by Kaspersky Lab’s experts and containing detailed description of all currently existing threats to computer security as well as methods used for their detection and disinfection. Kaspersky Lab constantly updates the databases as new threats appear. In order to achieve higher quality of threat detection we recommend that you copy databases from Kaspersky Lab’s update servers on a regular basis.

Deleting an object

The method of processing objects which ends in it being physically deleted from its original location (hard drive, folder, network resource). We recommend that this method be applied to dangerous objects which, for any reason, cannot be disinfected.

Disk boot sector

A boot sector is a particular area on a computer’s hard drive, floppy, or other data storage device. It contains information on the disk’s file system and a boot loader program that is responsible for starting the operating system.

There exist a number of viruses that infect boot sectors, which are thus called boot viruses. Kaspersky Lab allows scanning boot sectors for viruses and disinfecting them if an infection is found.

Exclusion

Exclusion is an object excluded from the scan by Kaspersky Lab application. You can exclude files of certain formats from the scan, use a file mask, or exclude a certain area (for example, a folder or a program), program processes, or objects by threat type according the Virus Encyclopedia classification. Each task can be assigned a set of exclusions.

Heuristic analyzer

Threat detection technology for threats that cannot be detected using Anti-Virus databases. It allows detecting objects suspected of being infected with an unknown virus or a new modification of the known viruses.

Heuristic analyzer helps to detect up to 92% of threats. This mechanism is fairly effective and very rarely leads to false positives.

Files detected by the heuristic analyzer are considered suspicious.

Infected object

Object containing malicious code. It is detected when a section of the object’s code completely matches a section of the code of a known threat. Kaspersky Lab does not recommend using such objects since they may infect your computer.

Kaspersky Lab’s update servers

A list of Kaspersky Lab’s HTTP and FTP servers from which the application downloads databases and module updates to your computer.

Moving objects to Quarantine

A method of processing a potentially infected object by blocking access to the file and moving it from its original location to the Quarantine folder, where the object is saved in encrypted form, which rules out the threat of infection.

Object disinfection

The method used for processing infected objects that results in complete or partial recovery of data, or the decision that the objects cannot be disinfected. Objects are disinfected using the database records. If disinfection is the primary action to be performed with the object (that is, the first action to be performed with the object immediately it is detected) a backup copy of the object will be created before disinfection is attempted. Part of the data may be lost during disinfection. This backup copy can be used to restore the object to its original state.

Potentially infected object

An object that contains modified code of a known virus or code that resembles code of a virus, but is not yet known to Kaspersky Lab. Potentially infected files are detected using heuristic analyzer.

Protection status

The current status of protection, summarizing the degree of security of the computer.

Proxy server

Computer network service which allows users to make indirect requests to other network services. First, a user connects to a proxy server and requests a resource (e.g., a file) located on another server. Then, the proxy server either connects to the specified server and obtains the resource from it, or returns the resource from its own cache (if the proxy has its own cache). In some cases, a user’s request or a server’s response can be modified by the proxy server for specific purposes.

Quarantine

A certain folder into which all possibly infected objects are placed, which were detected during scans or by real-time protection.

Recommended level

Level of security based on application settings recommended by Kaspersky Lab experts to provide the optimal level of protection for your computer. This level is set to be used by default.

Restoration

Moving an original object from Quarantine or Backup to the folder where it was originally found before being moved to Quarantine, disinfected, or deleted, or to a different folder specified by the user.

Update

The procedure of replacing/adding new files (databases or application modules) retrieved from the Kaspersky Lab update servers.