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
Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always).
Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wo ...
, the payload is the portion of the malware which performs malicious action.
The term is borrowed from
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
, 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
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
format, composed of
framing bits and a
frame check sequence
A frame check sequence (FCS) is an error-detecting code added to a frame in a communication protocol. Frames are used to send payload data from a source to a destination.
Purpose
All frames and the bits, bytes, and fields contained within ...
. 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
Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as anal ...
, the most common usage of the term is in the context of message protocols, to differentiate the
protocol overhead
In computer science, overhead is any combination of excess or indirect computation time, memory, bandwidth, or other resources that are required to perform a specific task. It is a special case of engineering overhead. Overhead can be a decidi ...
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 Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
or
viruses
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...
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