In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
and
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
, the payload is the part of
transmitted data that is the actual intended message.
Headers and
metadata are sent only to enable payload delivery.
In the context of a
computer virus or
worm, the payload is the portion of the malware which performs malicious action.
The term is borrowed from
transportation, where ''
payload'' refers to the part of the load that ''pays'' for transportation.
Networking
In
computer networking
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
, data to be transmitted is the payload. It is almost always
encapsulated in some type of
frame format, composed of
framing bits and a
frame check sequence. Examples are
Ethernet frame
In computer networking, an Ethernet frame is a data link layer protocol data unit and uses the underlying Ethernet physical layer transport mechanisms. In other words, a data unit on an Ethernet link transports an Ethernet frame as its payload ...
s,
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frames,
Fibre Channel frame
In computer networking, a Fibre Channel frame is the frame of the Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed data transfer protocol providing in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data. Fibre Channel is primarily used to connect compute ...
s, and
V.42 modem frames.
Programming
In
computer programming, the most common usage of the term is in the context of message protocols, to differentiate the
protocol overhead from the actual data. For example, a
JSON web service response might be:
The string ''Hello, world!'' is the payload of JSON message, while the rest is protocol overhead.
Security
In
computer security
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
, the payload is the part of the private user text which could also contain
malware such as
worms or
viruses which performs the malicious action; deleting data, sending spam or encrypting data.
In addition to the payload, such malware also typically has overhead code aimed at simply spreading itself, or avoiding detection.
See also
*
*
References
{{Reflist
Data transmission
Computer security exploits