K

Coded by Michelle Manzo, February 2007, Desert Rose Adult High School.

k- K
Abbreviation for KILOBYTE. By convention, a capital K stands for a factor of 1,024 and a lowercase k stands for a factor of 1000, as in the metric system.

K6 chip
Microprocessor introduced by AMD in 1997 as a competitor to the Intel Pentium.

K56flex
A standard formerly used by Rockwell and other modern manufacturers for transmitting data on telephone lines at speeds up to 56,000 bits per second, now superseded by v.90.

Kana
The Japanese phonetic writing system.There are two styles, hiragama and katakana. Kana contrasts with kanji, the Chinese- derived symbols for whole words. Written Japanese uses a mixture of kana and kanji.

KB
Abbreviation for KILOBYTE.

kBps
KiloBytes per second.

kbps
Kilobits per second.

Kerberos
An authentication protocol that allows users and computers to identify each other without risk of impersonation and to communicate securely by encrypting their data. A Kerberos system uses a central authenticatiion server to issue tickets, which are temporary authorizations to communicate.

Kermit
A protocol for transferring files from one computer to another by modem without going through the Internet. Kermit is also the name of a program that implements this protocol.

Kernel
The central part of an OPERATING SYSTEM. In many operating systems, only the kernel can access hardware directly.

kerning
Adjustment of the amount of space between certain combinations of letters in proportional-pitch type.

key1. A button on a computer keyboard. 2. The value needed to encrypt or decrypt a message.

keyboard
The primary computer input device for alphanumeric data.

keyboarding
Entering data through the keyboard.

key disk
A non-copyable diskette that must be inserted into a computer in order to run a particular program.

key escrow
A crytographic key entrusted to a third party, meaning that the key is kept "in escrow."

key exchange
The protocol used to set up a security association in the Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) protocol suite.

key frame
An artist-supplied image representing a single moment in an animation.

key management
Process of handling and controlling cryptographic keys and related material (such as initialization values) during their life cycle in a cryptographic system, including ordering, generating, distributing, storing, loading, escrowing, archiving, auditing, and destroying the material.

key pair
In an asymetric encryption system, a private or confidential key and its (mathematically) related public key.

key recovery
A means of recovering crytographic keys when the usual means for obtaining them is unavailable.

key space
A range of possible values of a cryptographic key, or the number of distinct transformations supported by a particular cryptographic algorithm.

keyed hash
Cryptographic hash or digest in which the mapping to a hash result is varied by a second input parameter that is a cryptographic algorithm.
keying
Typing.

keystroke logger
A hardware device or small program monitoring each keystroke a user types on a computer keyboard.

keystroke logging
An act of recording the keys that a person presses as he or she uses a computer.

keyword
A word that has a special meaning in a particular programming language.

kibi-
Proposed metric prefix meaning x1024 (2^10), the binary counterpart of kilo.

kibibyte
1024 bytes.

killer app
A software application that becomes so desirable that it is the reason people purchase a computer, computer peripheral, or operating system.

kill file
A list of people whose incoming e-mail messages or newsgroup postings are automatically deleted or hidden from view.

kilo-
Metric prefix meaning x1000(10^3). Kilo-is derived from the Greek word for "thousand."

kilobyte
A unit of computer memory capacity equal to 1024 characters.

kilowatt-hour
A unit of electrical energy consumption equal to 1000 watt-hours.

kiosk
A small stand containing a computer that people can walk up to and use to retrieve information.

KISS principle
Keep It Simple Stupid. In regard to security, espousing the belief that simplicity is inherently more secure.
kit Refers to a program that produces a virus from a menu or a list of charateristics.

kluge
An improvided, jury rigged, and poorly thought solution to a problem, usually intended only for temporary use.

knife
In a drawing program, a tool that cuts an object into pieces, defining a new oultine along the cut edge and thus preserving the fill attributes of the original object.

Knight, Tom and Kotok, Alan Team
Two of the original hackers at MIT in the 1960s.

knockout
An area where an underlying color has been cut out so that the overpriming color can remain pure.

knowledge base
A collection of knowledge that is used as the basis for solving problems or making recommendations.

known-plaintext attack
Cryptanlysis technique in which the analyst tries to determine the key from knowledge of some plaintext-ciphertext pairs, although the analyst may also have other clues.

KVM switch (keyboard video mouse switch)
A device that allows several computers to share a single keyboard, screen, and mouse.

Kylix
A development environment for C++ and Delphi programming under Linux, produced by Boreland International.