<P> Other classifications are according to the procedures used or the type of vulnerabilities exploited: attacks can be concentrated on network mechanisms or host features . </P> <P> Some attacks are physical: i.e. theft or damage of computers and other equipment . Others are attempts to force changes in the logic used by computers or network protocols in order to achieve unforeseen (by the original designer) result but useful for the attacker . Software used to for logical attacks on computers is called malware . </P> <P> The following is a partial short list of attacks: </P> <Ul> <Li> Passive <Ul> <Li> Network <Ul> <Li> Wiretapping </Li> <Li> Port scan </Li> <Li> Idle scan </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Active <Ul> <Li> Denial - of - service attack </Li> <Li> Spoofing </Li> <Li> Network <Ul> <Li> Man in the middle </Li> <Li> ARP poisoning </Li> <Li> Ping flood </Li> <Li> Ping of death </Li> <Li> Smurf attack </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Host <Ul> <Li> Buffer overflow </Li> <Li> Heap overflow </Li> <Li> Stack overflow </Li> <Li> Format string attack </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul>

Examples of active attacks on a network system