Tag Archives: Newsroom

Tech Term: Social Engineering

Well, this is kind of awkward. I guess it was inevitable since I am less than organized when it comes to this sort of stuff.  Quite honestly I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner when you consider how many of these vocabulary lessons I’ve actually done. Strange. You’d think I’d be more upset about it. Guess that’s the upside of not having any shame.

Oh geez, now I’m compounding the problem by burying the lede! Oh darn it, now I’m using cool newsroom jargon about beginning a story with secondary details instead of getting to the actual point.  AAUGGGH!

Great, now I’m channeling Charlie Brown

Do people use “ish” instead of issue anymore? Was that ever a thing ? Anyway, my “ish” is that there is a real possibility I may have already dissected this week’s Tech Term, Social Engineering, on a previous podcast episode.  It may have been for our old show at that huge and well-respected media empire both J.D. and I continue to happily toil for or I may have dropped some science about it here on Pop Tech Jam many, many moons ago. While I may not be all that torn up about it I do sincerely apologize if this is the case.  My bad Jammers…and Tech Talkers.

Oh right, the Tech Term! Well according to the Microsoft Safety and Security Center—I hear you snickering, be nice—Social Engineering is a technique used by criminals to gain access to your computer. The purpose of Social Engineering is usually to secretly install spyware or other malicious software or to trick you into handing over your passwords or other sensitive financial and personal information. Social engineering scams can be both online (such as an email message that asks you to open the attachment, which contains malware) and offline (such as a phone call from someone posing as a representative from your credit card company).

To this day I don’t know why they don’t just call it getting conned.  Or hustled. Swindled. Played. Scammed, fleeced, bamboozled, taken for a ride, slickered, skinned…

You get the point.

To listen to Episode 82 click here.