Trojan horse

n 1: a subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in

espionage or sabotage; an enemy in your midst [syn: {fifth

column}, {Trojan horse}]

2: a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek

soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the

Trojan War [syn: {Trojan Horse}, {Wooden Horse}]

Trojan horse

(Coined by

{MIT}-hacker-turned-NSA-spook Dan Edwards) A malicious,

security-breaking program that is disguised as something

benign, such as a directory lister, archiver, game, or (in one

notorious 1990 case on the Mac) a program to find and destroy

{virus}es! A Trojan horse is similar to a {back door}.

See also {RFC 1135}, {worm}, {phage}, {mockingbird}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1995-03-21)