| A B
C D E F
G H I J K
L M N O
P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z
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| 56K Modem |
A modem is a device that converts digital
signals, from a computer, into analog signals for transmission over telephone
lines. A modem also converts incoming analog signals into digital signals.
56K means that this type of modem has the ability to transmit at up to 56,600
bps. |
| ADSL |
ADSL is a type of high-speed Internet access for consumers.
ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. This is a technology
that allows for digital transmission over existing telephone lines. The
term 'asymmetric' refers to the fact that the speed that you send data can
be different than the speed that you can receive data. Therefore, a typical
user will have a faster download speed than upload speed through ADSL. ADSL
service is typically many times faster than a 56k modem while allowing for
regular phone/voice usage simultaneously on the same telephone line. ADSL
service is an "always-on" type of connection, which is especially
vulnerable to hacker attacks. Users can prevent unauthorized access with
a software firewall product. |
| Address |
See email address and host address. |
| Agent |
The commercial version of the Free Agent newsreader. |
| Alias |
A short name used to represent a more complicated one.
Often used for e-mail addresses or host domain names. |
| Analog |
A form of electronic communication using a continuous
electromagnetic wave, such as television or radio. Any continuous wave form,
as opposed to digital on/off transmissions. |
| Archive |
A repository of files available for access at an Internet
site. Also, a collection of files, often a back-up of a disk or files saved
to tape to allow them to be transferred. |
| Article |
Message submitted to a UseNet newsgroup. Unlike an e-mail
message that goes to a specific person or group of persons, a newsgroup
message goes to directories (on many machines) that can be read by any number
of people. |
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| ASCII |
Data that is limited to letters, numbers, and punctuation. |
| Attribute |
A form of command line switch as applied to tags in
the HTML language. HTML commands or tags can be more specific when attributes
are used. Not all HTML tags utilize attributes. |
| Acceptable Use Policy
(AUP) |
The restrictions that a network segment places on the
traffic it carries. (These polices used to be more prevalent when the government
was running the Internet backbone.) |
| Backbone |
The major communication lines of a network. |
| Bandwidth |
Bandwidth refers to how much data is transmitted over
a given period of time. For digital devices, bandwidth is measured in bits
per second (bps). For analog devices, bandwidth is measured in Hertz (Hz). |
| Bulletin Board System
(BBS) |
A system that allows you to connect to a computer to
upload and download files and leave messages for other users. |
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| Binary |
Data that may contain nonprintable characters, including
graphics files, programs, and sound files. |
| BING |
Bing (formerly Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search) is the current web search engine (advertised as a "decision engine") from Microsoft. Bing was unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on May 28, 2009 at the All Things Digital conference in San Diego. It went fully online on June 3, 2009, with a preview version released on June 1, 2009. |
| BinHex |
A program that is used to encode binary files as ASCII
so that they can be sent through e-mail. |
| Bit |
The basic unit of digital communications. There are
eight bits in a byte. |
| Bookmarks |
Term used by some World Wide Web browsers for marking
URL's you access frequently. |
| Bounce |
An e-mail message you receive that tells you that an
e-mail you sent wasn't delivered. Usually contains an error code and the
contents of the message that wasn't delivered. |
| Bits per Second (BPS) |
bps stands for 'bits per second'. bps is the standard
measure of data speed or data transmission. This is measured by how many
bits of data are transmitted or received over a one second period. |
| Broadband |
This term is loosely used to describe high-speed Internet
access. |
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| Browser |
A utility that lets you look through collections of
things. For example, a file browser lets you look through a file system.
Applications that let you access the World Wide Web are called browsers. |
| Byte |
A digital storage unit large enough to contain one ASCII
character. Compare to bit. |
| Cable Modem |
Cable modem service is a type of high-speed
Internet access offered by local cable companies for consumers. Using the
same coaxial cable used for TV signals, the speed of downloading data is
typically many times faster than a 56K modem. Since cable TV was designed
as a broadcast system, the cable is shared amongst many people in a small
area, so download speeds can vary greatly throughout the day or week. Typically,
upload speed is restricted to only 56Kbps, more than enough for normal,
fast "surfing" of the Internet. Cable modem service is an "always-on"
type of connection, which is especially vulnerable to hacker attacks. Users
can prevent unauthorized access with a software firewall product. |
| Channel |
An Internet Relay Chat term that refers to a group of
people discussing a particular topic. |
| Client |
User of a service. Also often refers to a piece of software
that gets information from a server. |
| Cloud computing |
Is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand. |
| Coaxial |
A type of wiring where the signal wire is in the center
of a shielded cable. |
| Command Line |
Line on a terminal based interface where you can enter
commands to the operating system. Some Internet accounts are command line
based. |
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| Compress |
A program that compacts a file so it fits into a smaller
space. This term can also refer to the technique of reducing the amount
of space a file takes up. |
| CSS |
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics (the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can also be applied to any kind of XML document, including SVG and XUL. |
| Cyberspace |
A term used to refer to the entire collection of sites
accessible electronically. If your computer is attached to the Internet
or another large network, it exists in cyberspace. |
| Dedicated Line |
See leased line. |
| Dial-up |
A type of connection where you use a modem to connect
to another computer or an Internet provider via telephone lines. |
| Digest |
A form of mailing list where a number of messages are
concatenated, or linked, and sent out as single messages. |
| Digital |
A type of communication used by computers, consisting
of individual on and off pulses. |
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| Domain |
Highest subdivision of the Internet, for the most part
by country (except in the U.S., where it's by type of organization, such
as educational, commercial, and government). Usually the last part of a
host name; for example, the domain part of ibm.com is .com, which represents
the domain of commercial sites in the U.S. |
| DNS |
Domain Name System (DNS) The system that translates between Internet IP addresses
and Internet host names. |
| Dot Address |
See host address. |
| Download |
From an Internet user's point of view, to download a
file is to receive it from another computer. In typical "surfing"
of the Internet, the amount of data downloaded is many times greater than
the amount of data uploaded. |
| DSL |
DSL is a type of high-speed Internet access for consumers.
DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. This is a technology that allows
for digital transmission over existing telephone lines. DSL service is typically
many times faster than a 56K modem while allowing for regular phone/voice
usage simultaneously on the same telephone line. Although DSL service does
not exist in all areas, it is currently more available than cable modem
service. DSL service is an "always-on" type of connection, which
is especially vulnerable to hacker attacks. Users can prevent unauthorized
access with a software firewall product. |
| E-mail |
An electronic message delivered from one computer to
another. Short for electronic mail. |
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| E-mail Address |
An address used to send e-mail to a user on the Internet,
consisting of the user name and host name (and any other necessary information,
such as a gateway machine). An Internet e-mail address is usually of the
form username@hostname. |
| Encryption |
The process of scrambling a message so that it can be
read only by someone who knows how to unscramble it. |
| Ethernet |
A type of local area network hardware. Many TCP/IP networks
are ethernet based. |
| Expire |
Remove an article from a UseNet newsgroup after a special
interval. |
| Extension |
An enhancement or addition to an existing HTML standard.
Extensions are usually referred to in the context of the HTML language.
Netscape and Microsoft utilize extensions to the HTML standards that are
proprietary to their own browser products. See also browser. |
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| Facebook |
Facebook is a social networking website launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc., with more than 500 million active users in July 2010, which is about one person for every fourteen in the world. Users can add people as friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by workplace, school, or college. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be aged 13 or older to become a member of the website. |
| Frequently Asked Question
(FAQ) |
Contains a list of commonly asked questions on a topic.
Most UseNet newsgroups have a FAQ to introduce new readers to popular topics
in the newsgroup. |
| Finger |
A program that provides information about users on an
Internet host (possibly may include a user's personal information, such
as project affiliation and schedule). |
| Firewall |
a device placed on a network to prevent unauthorized
traffic from entering the network. |
| Flame |
Communicate in an abusive or absurd manner. Often occurs
in newsgroup posts and e-mail messages. |
| Forms |
On-line data entry sheets supported by some World Wide
Web browsers. |
| Frame Relay |
A type of digital data communications protocol. |
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| Freeware |
Software that is made available by the author at no
cost to anyone who wants it (although the author retains rights to the software). |
| File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) |
An Internet communications protocol that enables you
to transfer files between hosts on the Internet. |
| For Your Information (FYI) |
An abbreviation used often in on-line conversations.
An FYI is also a type of Internet reference document that contains answers
to basic questions about the Internet. |
| Gateway |
A device that interfaces two networks that use different
protocols. |
| Gigabit |
Very high speed (1 billion bits per second) data communications. |
| Gigabyte |
A unit of data storage approximately equal to 1 billion
bytes of data. |
| GOOGLE |
Largest search engine in the world |
| Gzip |
A file compression program originally designed to replace
the UNIX "compress" utility. |
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| Hacking |
Originally referred to playing around with computer
systems; now often used to indicate destructive computer activity. |
| Headers |
Lines at the beginning of an e-mail message or newsgroup
post that contain information about the message: its source, destination,
subject, and route it took to get there, among other things. |
| Home Page |
The primary document for a Web site. All other Web documents
at that site are linked to the home page. |
| Host Address |
A unique number assigned to identify a host on the Internet
(also called IP address or dot address). This is usually represented as
four numbers between 1 and 254, and separated by periods; for example, 192.58.107.230. |
| Host Name |
A unique name for a host that corresponds to the host
address. |
| Hosts |
Individual computers connected to the Internet; see
also nodes. |
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| Hotlist |
A list of your favorite World Wide Web sites that can
be accessed quickly by your browser. |
| HyperText Mark-Up Language
(HTML) |
The formatting language that is used to create World
Wide Web documents. |
| HyperText Transport Protocol
(HTTP) |
The communications protocol that enables WWW hypertext
documents to be retrieved quickly. |
| Hyperlinks |
See links. |
| Hypertext |
An on-line document that has words or graphics containing
links to other documents. Usually, selecting the link area on screen (with
a mouse or keyboard command) activates these links. |
| Internet |
The term used to describe all the worldwide interconnected
TCP/IP networks. |
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| InterNIC |
The NSFNET manager sites on the Internet that provide
information about the Internet. |
| Internet Protocol (IP) |
The communications protocol used by computers connected
to the Internet. |
| IP Address |
See host address. |
| Internet Relay Chat (IRC) |
A live conference facility available on the Internet. |
| Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN) |
ISDN: ISDN is a type of high-speed Internet access typically
for businesses. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN
is conceptually the integration of both analog or voice data together with
digital data over the same network |
| ISP |
An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is a company that
provides users access to the Internet. |
| Kbps |
Kbps stands for kilobit per second (thousands of bits
per second, or bps) and is a common measure of bandwidth. |
| Kill File |
A file used by some newsreader software that allows
you to automatically skip posts with certain attributes (specific subject,
author, and so on). |
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| LAN |
A local area network, or LAN, is a group
of computers and/or devices that share a common communications line within
a small geographic area such as within an office building. A typical LAN
can provide extremely high-speed Internet access with just one high-bandwidth
connection to an ISP. |
| Leased Line |
A dedicated phone line used for network communications. |
| Links |
The areas (words or graphics) in an HTML document that
cause another document to be loaded when the user clicks on them. |
| Local |
Pertaining to the computer you are now using. |
| Local Host |
The computer you are currently using. |
| Logon |
Provides a user ID and password to allow you to use
the resources of a computer. |
| Lurking |
Observing but not participating in an activity, usually
a UseNet newsgroup. |
| Mailers |
Applications that let you read and send e-mail messages. |
| Mailing List |
A service that forwards an e-mail message sent to it
to everyone on a list, enabling a group of people to discuss a particular
topic. |
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| Mbps |
Mbps represents millions of bits per second and is a
measure of bandwidth on a medium such as a telephone line, cable line, or
optical fiber. Depending on the medium and the transmission method, bandwidth
may also be in the Kbps range or the Gbps (billions of bits or gigabits
per second) range. |
| Multi-Purpose Internet
Mail Extensions (MIME) |
An extension to Internet mail that allows for the inclusion
of nontextual data such as video and audio in e-mail. |
| Modem |
An electronic device that enables digital computer data
to be transmitted via analog phone lines. |
| Moderator |
A person who examines all submissions to a newsgroup
or mailing list and allows only those that meet certain criteria to be posted.
Usually, the moderator makes sure that the topic is pertinent to the group
and that the submissions aren't flames. |
| Multimedia |
Presenting information using more than one type of media;
for example, sound, text, and graphics. |
| Network |
A number of computers physically connected to enable
communication with one another. |
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| Newsgroups |
The electronic discussion groups of UseNet. |
| Newsreaders |
Applications that let you read (and usually post) articles
in UseNet newsgroups. |
| Nodes |
Individual computers connected to a network. See also
hosts. |
| Online |
Existing in electronic form (for example, on-line documentation).
Also, connected to a network. |
| Packet |
The unit of data transmission on the Internet. A packet
consists of the data being transferred with additional overhead information,
such as the transmitting and receiving of addresses. |
| Packet Switching |
The communications technology that the Internet is based
on, where data being sent between computers is transmitted in packets. |
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| Parallel |
A means of communication in which digital data is sent
multiple bits at a time, with each simultaneous bit being sent over a separate
line. |
| Peer-to-Peer |
Internet services that can be offered and accessed by
anyone, without requiring a special server. |
| Phishing |
Is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. |
| Ping |
A utility that sends out a packet to an Internet host
and waits for a response (used to check if a host is up). |
| Pipeline |
A computer Internet service package. |
| Point of Presence (POP) |
Indicates availability of a local access number to a
public data network. |
| Port1 |
A physical channel on a computer that allows you to
communicate with other devices (printers, modems, disk drives, and so on). |
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| Port2 |
An address to which incoming data packets are sent.
Special ports can be assigned to send the data directly to a server (FTP,
Gopher, WWW, telnet, and e-mail) or another specific program. |
| Post |
Send a message to a UseNet newsgroup. |
| Postmaster |
An address to which you can send questions about a site
(asking if a user has an account there, or if they sell a particular product. |
| Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP) |
A drive that allows you to use a network communications
protocol over a phone line, used with TCP/IP to allow you to have a dial-in
Internet host. |
| Provider |
Someone who sells (or gives away, in some cases) access
to the Internet. |
| Public Domain Software |
Software that is made available by the author to anyone
who wants it (in this case, the author gives up all rights to the software). |
| Remote Host |
A host on the network other than the computer you currently
are using. |
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| Router |
Equipment that receives an Internet packet and sends
it to the next machine in its destination path. |
| Serial |
A means of communication in which digital data is sent
one bit at a time over a single physical line. |
| Server |
Provider of service. Also often refers to a piece of
hardware or software that provides access to information requested from
it. See also client. |
| Server Side Include (SSI) |
An SSI is a command that directs the server to run a
program, usually in the PERL programming language. SSI's are server specific. |
| Shareware |
Software that is made available by the author to anyone
who wants it, with the request to send the author a nominal fee if the software
is used on a regular basis. |
| Signature |
A personal sign-off used in e-mail and newsgroup posts,
often contained in a file and automatically appended to the mail or post.
Often contains organization affiliation and pertinent personal information. |
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| SEO |
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) target paid listings. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence. |
| Site |
A group of computers under a single administrative control. |
| Serial Line Internet Protocol
(SLIP) |
A way of running TCP/IP via the phone lines to enable
you to have dial-in Internet host. |
| Simple Mail Transport
Protocol (SMTP) |
The accepted communication protocol standard for exchange
of e-mail between Internet hosts. |
| Spam |
1. Sending UBE (Unsolicited Bulk Email) email messages.
2. Posting messages to inappropriate newsgroups. |
| Subscribe |
Become a member of a mailing list or newsgroup; also
refers to obtaining Internet provider services. |
| Surfing |
Jumping from host to host on the Internet to get an
idea of what can be found. Also used to refer to briefly examining a number
of different UseNet newsgroups. |
| Syntax |
A statement that contains programming code. |
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| T1 |
Communication lines operating at 1.544M/second. |
| T3 |
Communication lines operating at 45M/second. |
| Tag |
A slang reference for commands that are part of HTML.
See also HTML. |
| Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP) |
The network protocol used by hosts on the Internet. |
| Thread |
All messages in a newsgroup or mailing list pertaining
to a particular topic. |
| Traffic |
The information flowing through a network. |
| Twitter |
Twitter is a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service which enables its users to send and read other users' messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user's profile page. Tweets are publicly visible by default, however senders can restrict message delivery to their friends list. Users may subscribe to other author tweets—this is known as following and subscribers are known as followers. As of late 2009, users can follow lists of authors instead of following individual authors |
| Unsolicited Bulk Email
(UBE) |
Sending message(s) to email addresses that did not request
the messages. |
| UNIX |
An operating system used on many Internet hosts. |
| Upload |
From an Internet user's point of view, to upload a file
is to send it to another computer. In typical "surfing" of the
Internet, the amount of data downloaded is many times greater than the amount
of data uploaded. |
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| Universal Resource Locator
(URL) |
Used to specify the name and location of a World Wide
Web document. Can also specify other Internet services available from WWW
browsers. For example, http://www.comprotex.com. |
| UseNet |
A collection of computer discussion groups that are
read all over the world. |
| User Name |
The ID used to log on to a computer. |
| Viewers |
Applications that are used to display non-text files,
such as graphics, sound, and animation. |
| Virus |
a computer program that covertly enters a system by
means of a legitimate program, usually doing damage to the system; compare
to worm. |
| Virtual Reality Modeling
Language (VRML) |
An experimental language that lets you display 3-D objects
in Web documents. |
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| Web Chat |
An application that enables you to carry on live conversations
over the World Wide Web. |
| Worm |
A computer program that invades other computers over
a network, usually nondestructive; compare to virus. |
| World Wide Web (WWW) |
A hypertext based system that allows browsing of available
Internet resources. Also, called the Web. |
| Zip |
Probably the single most popular file compression and
archive program for PCs. |
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