Hack The Box

Networking Key Terminology

There are many different terms in the field of information technology. However, we only need to know some of them, only the essential ones. Information technology has become so big that it equals the medical sector, if not already surpasses it. The number of programming languages, functions, protocols, different procedures, areas of application, details, and at the same time, the number of errors that can occur. All these areas are so large that you can specialize your entire career in 1-2 areas.

The key terminology is the rough alphabet we need to know to understand what we will talk about in the other modules. We have created a list with many different but still with the most common protocols and their descriptions to create this foundation. It is important to note that this list is incomplete, and we will cover one or two protocols in other modules. However, we recommend that you review this list from time to time and expand it as you learn new protocols:

  • Wired Equivalent Privacy - WEP
    ~ type of security protocol that was commonly used to secure wireless networks.
  • Secure Shell - SSH
    ~ secure network protocol used to log into and execute commands on a remote system
  • File Transfer Protocol - FTP
    ~ network protocol used to transfer files from one system to another
  • Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - SMTP
    ~ protocol used to send and receive emails
  • Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP
    ~ client-server protocol used to send and receive data over the internet
  • Server Message Block - SMB
    ~ protocol used to share files, printers, and other resources in a network
  • Network File System - NFS
    ~ protocol used to access files over a network
  • Simple Network Management Protocol - SNMP
    ~ protocol used to manage network devices
  • Wi-Fi Protected Access - WPA
    ~ wireless security protocol that uses a password to protect wireless networks from unauthorized access.
  • Temporal Key Integrity Protocol - TKIP
    ~ security protocol used in wireless networks but less secure.
  • Network Time Protocol - NTP
    ~ used to synchronize the timing of computers on a network.
  • Virtual Local Area Network - VLAN
    ~ segment a network into multiple logical networks.
  • VLAN Trunking Protocol - VTP
    ~ Layer 2 protocol that is used to establish and maintain a virtual LAN (VLAN) spanning multiple switches.
  • Routing Information Protocol - RIP
    ~ distance-vector routing protocol used in local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs).
  • Open Shortest Path First - OSPF
    ~interior gateway protocol (IGP) for routing traffic within a single Autonomous System (AS) in an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
  • Interior Gateway Routing Protocol - IGRP
    ~ Cisco proprietary interior gateway protocol designed for routing within autonomous systems.
  • Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol - EIGRP
    ~ advanced distance-vector routing protocol that is used to route IP traffic within a network.
  • Pretty Good Privacy - PGP
    ~ encryption program that is used to secure emails, files, and other types of data.
  • Network News Transfer Protocol - NNTP
    ~ protocol used for distributing and retrieving messages in newsgroups across the internet.
  • Cisco Discovery Protocol - CDP
    ~ proprietary protocol developed by Cisco Systems that allows network administrators to discover and manage Cisco devices connected to the network.
  • Hot Standby Router Protocol - HSRP
    ~ protocol used in Cisco routers to provide redundancy in the event of a router or other network device failure.
  • Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol - VRRP
    ~ protocol used to provide automatic assignment of available Internet Protocol (IP) routers to participating hosts.
  • Spanning Tree Protocol - STP
    ~ network protocol used to ensure a loop-free topology in Layer 2 Ethernet networks.
  • Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System - TACACS
    ~ protocol that provides centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting for network access.
  • Session Initiation Protocol - SIP
    ~ signaling protocol used for establishing and terminating real-time voice, video and multimedia sessions over an IP network.
  • Voice Over IP - VOIP
    ~ technology that allows for telephone calls to be made over the internet.
  • Extensible Authentication Protocol - EAP
    ~ framework for authentication that supports multiple authentication methods, such as passwords, digital certificates, one-time passwords, and public-key authentication.
  • Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol - LEAP
    ~ proprietary wireless authentication protocol developed by Cisco Systems. It is based on the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) used in the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP).
  • Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol - PEAP
    ~ security protocol that provides an encrypted tunnel for wireless networks and other types of networks.
  • Systems Management Server - SMS
    ~ systems management solution that helps organizations manage their networks, systems, and mobile devices.
  • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer - MBSA
    ~ free security tool from Microsoft that is used to detect potential security vulnerabilities in Windows computers, networks, and systems.
  • Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition - SCADA
    ~ type of industrial control system that is used to monitor and control industrial processes, such as those in manufacturing, power generation, and water and waste treatment.
  • Virtual Private Network - VPN
    ~ technology that allows users to create a secure, encrypted connection to another network over the internet.
  • Internet Protocol Security - IPsec
    ~ protocol used to provide secure, encrypted communication over a network. It is commonly used in VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, to create a secure tunnel between two devices.
  • Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol - PPTP
    ~ protocol used to create a secure, encrypted tunnel for remote access.
  • Network Address Translation - NAT
    ~ technology that allows multiple devices on a private network to connect to the internet using a single public IP address. NAT works by translating the private IP addresses of devices on the network into a single public IP address, which is then used to connect to the internet.
  • Carriage Return Line Feed - CRLF
    ~ combines two control characters to indicate the end of a line and a start of a new one for certain text file formats.
  • Asynchronous JavaScript and XML - AJAX
    ~ web development technique that allows creating dynamic web pages using JavaScript and XML/JSON.
  • Internet Server Application Programming Interface - ISAPI
    ~ allows to create performance-oriented web extensions for web servers using a set of APIs.
  • Uniform Resource Identifier - URI
    ~ syntax used to identify a resource on the Internet.
  • Uniform Resource Locator - URL
    ~ subset of URI that identifies a web page or another resource on the Internet, including the protocol and the domain name.
  • Internet Key Exchange - IKE
    ~ protocol used to set up a secure connection between two computers. It is used in virtual private networks (VPNs) to provide authentication and encryption for data transmission, protecting the data from outside eavesdropping and tampering.
  • Generic Routing Encapsulation - GRE
    ~ protocol is used to encapsulate the data being transmitted within the VPN tunnel.
  • Remote Shell - RSH
    ~ program under Unix that allows executing commands and programs on a remote computer.