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Internet Glossary
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | M | N | P | Q | S | T | U | V | W | Z |
A
Acrobat Reader
Browser plug-in that lets you view a PDF file in its original format and appearance. The Acrobat Reader is free and can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) Technology that allows data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines. ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.
Adware
Any software that serves banner ads or pop-up ads to you while in use. Further Information
B
Bandwidth
The range of transmission frequencies a network can use. The greater the bandwidth the more information that can be transferred at one time. The term bandwidth also broadly includes throughput, meaning the amount of data sent.
BBS
Bulletin Board System. Computerised meeting and announcement system that allows people to hold discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer at the same time.
Blog
A "blog", or Web Log, is a journal that is available on the web. Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain them.
Bluetooth
Short-range radio technology that enables communication among between devices and the internet. Bluetooth also simplifies data synchronization between internet devices and other computers.
Bookmark
A way for web browser users to mark a web page they want to return to later.
Broadband
A transmission method in which the network's range of transmission frequencies is divided into separate channels and each channel is used to send a different signal. Broadband is often used to send different types of signals simultaneously.
Browser
A program that enables you to connect to the internet and view web pages. Microsoft Internet Explorer is the most frequently used web browser.
Bulletin Board
Online places where you can exchange information with others by typing and posting messages. Also called Forums and Discussion Groups.
C
Cache
The cache in a web browser keeps recently viewed web pages handy on your hard drive. You can access a cached page much more quickly than if you downloaded it from the server again.
Client
Any program that uses the service of another program. On the web, a web client is a program, such as a browser, or e-mail editor that reads or writes information on the web.
Cookie
Information sent by a web server to a browser that the browser software is expected to save and to send back to the server whenever the browser returns to the server.
Cookies contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc.
D
Dial-up Connection
The most common form of internet connection for the home user, now being replaced by broadband connections. Connects your computer to the internet over standard telephone lines.
DNS
Domain Name Service. An internet service that allows us to use symbolic names (e.g. www.ukorbit.com) instead of a numerical IP address when contacting computers connected to the internet.
Domain Name
Domain name addresses (e.g. www.ukorbit.com), together with IP addresses, are the two forms of internet addresses in common use.
dot-com
Nickname for the many commercial businesses that have registered names in the .com domain.
Download
Transferring files or data from another computer to the computer you are are using. The opposite of upload.
E
e-commerce
(Electronic commerce) Conducting business online, including product display, online ordering, secure transactions and inventory management.
e-mail
(Electronic mail) A means of sending text or files to other computers via an internet connection.
F
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) FAQs are files of answers to commonly asked questions. Always read FAQs before asking obvious questions.
Favorites
In the Internet Explorer browser, a way of listing your favourite files, folders or websites so that you can easily find them.
Firewall
Hardware and/or software used to prevent computer hackers from getting into a computer system. Further Information
Flash
Technology developed by Macromedia to create animated graphics and games which can be viewed using a web browser plug-in.
Forum
An online discussion group in which members use a message board to post their own messages and respond to the messages of others.
Freeware
Software that is made available for download and to use completely free of charge.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) A protocol that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another over the internet.
G
GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format) A graphics format frequently used on websites.
H
Hijack (Browser hijack)
Extreme form of spyware in which a browser is modified to force a user to visit various websites. Further information
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) A code used in the constructiuon of web pages.
HTTP
(HyperText Transfer Protocol) The protocol for moving hypertext files across the internet which allows you to view webpages in a browser.
Hyperlink
A word, button, or graphic on a web page that opens a different page in a web browser when clicked with a mouse.
I
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network). A telecommunications standard that uses digital technology to support voice, video and data communications over regular telephone lines.
ISP
(Internet Service Provider) A company or organization that lets users connect to the internet by dialing into its computers using a modem.
Internet
The global network through which computers communicate. The internet includes the World Wide Web, Usenet user groups and newsgroups.
IRC
(Internet Relay Chat). An Internet protocol that allows people to meet in conference groups (called "channels") and chat with each other by typing.
Internet Explorer
A graphical web browser developed and distributed by Microsoft.
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network). Communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital telephone lines or normal telephone wires. ISDN supports data transfer rates of 64 Kbps (64,000 bits per second).
J
JavaScript
A programming language mostly used on websites to add features that make the web page more interactive.
JPEG
(Joint Photographic Experts Group). A format for image files on websites. JPEG is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images, as opposed to line art or simple logo art.
M
Mailbomb
Maliciously floods a single e-mail address with a high volume of mail. The practice violates all ISP user agreements and wastes bandwidth and resources.
MIME
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). The standard for attaching binary files to e-mail messages, allowing audio, video, graphics, word-processor documents etc. to be attached to e-mails
Modem
(MOdulator, DEModulator) A device that connects a computer to a phone line and allows the computer to communicate with other computers through the phone system.
MP3
(MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) Audio compression format that creates music and sound files that can be easily sent or downloaded across the Internet. CD tracks can be converted to MP3 and reduced in size by a factor of 12.
MPEG
Moving Pictures Expert Group). An international standard for video compression and desktop movie presentation. A special viewing application is needed to run MPEG files on your computer.
Multimedia
The use of text, pictures, audio, and or video to communicate information.
N
Netiquette
The etiquette of the Internet.
Netscape Navigator
A graphical web browser that was once as popular as Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Newbie
A new user of a technology, such as a computer, a certain computer program, or the internet.
Newsgroups
Electronic discussion groups consisting of collections of related postings (also called articles) on a particular topic. There are thousands of newsgroups covering a wide range of subjects. You must subscribe to a newsgroup in order to participate in it or to track the discussions (usually free).
P
PDF
(Portable Document Format)
File format that allows printing and viewing of documents with all formatting appearing the same, regardless of what operating system is used.
Plug-in
A piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. Acrobat Reader and Flash Player are popular plug-ins for web browsers.
Portal
A website that is intended to be a point of entry, or the first place people see when using the web.
Popup (or pop-up)
An advertising message which appears in a new, smaller browser window superimposed over the original browser window.
PNG
(Portable Network Graphics) A format for web graphics format designed to be the successor to the GIF format.
Proxy Server
Server software that runs in place on a given internet server. Proxies are used as a safe replacement for the original server software. Telnet, FTP, HTTP and SMTP are the most popular proxy services.
Q
QuickTime
A common video file format created by Apple Computers. Video files found on the internet are often stored in this format, and require a browser plug-in to be viewed.
S
Search Engine
A system for searching the information available on the internet.
Security Certificate
Information stored as a text file that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection.
Server
A computer or software package that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. An ISP's servers allow users to connect to the Internet.
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) The main protocol used to send e-mail from server to server on the internet.
Spam
Common name for UCE (unsolicited commercial e-mail). Further Information
Scumware
Software that secretly installs itself on a user's computer then launches pop-up or pop-under ads when the user visits certain websites in an attempt to redirect the user to another website.
Shareware
Software which can be used free of charge for a trial period, after which a registration fee must be paid in order to continue to use it.
Snail Mail
The normal overland postal delivery service, which is much slower than e-mail.
Spyware
A software program that transmits information from a computer over the Internet to another computer without the user's knowledge. Further Information
Streaming
A method of allowing multimedia files to be played back without being completely downloaded, so that you can watch a video or listen to a sound file whilst still being downloaded.
Surfing
Browsing the Internet without a specific goal or topic.
T
Trojan Horse
A computer program hidden inside another program. Further Information
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) The protocols which enable the transfer of files to and from servers and computers over the internet.
Telnet
An internet protocol allowing a PC to connect to a host computer and use that computer as if you were locally connected. This often provides the ability to use all the software and capabilities of the host computer.
Thread
A series of related newsgroup, bulletin board or e-mail messages on a given subject, including the original message and the subsequent replies.
Timeout
A program or connection closes after a certain amount of idle time. When this happens it is said to have timed out.
U
UCE
(Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) Bulk advertising e-mails sent to individuals who have not indicated their willingness to receive them. Further Information
URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) The address of a website (e.g. www.ukorbit.com) or other internet resource.
Upload
Transferring files and data from the computer you are using to another computer. The opposite of download.
Usenet
A world-wide, decentralized system of discussion groups, with articles passed among thousands of areas, called newsgroups.
V
Virus
Destructive computer program spread between computers. Further information
W
W3C
Abbreviation for the World Wide Web Consortium, the organization that develops standards for the web community.
Web Ring
A group of linked websites sites that deal with similar topics
Web Site
A set of linked web pages connected by hyperlinks and managed by a single company, organization, or individual. A web site may include text, graphics, audio and video files, and hyperlinks to other websites.
WebTV
A system that allows access to the internet from a tv set, using a webtv terminal and a phone line.
Webzine
A regularly updated online magazine (as opposed to an e-zine, which is sent out to subscribers by e-mail).
whois
An internet utility where you can look up information about an internet site.
World Wide Web
Also known as WWW or W3, the World Wide Web is a hypertext-based Internet service used for browsing Internet resources.
Worm
A virus that does not infect other programs. Further information
Z
ZIP
A compressed file format (.zip). Many files available on the Internet are compressed or "zipped" in order to reduce storage space and transfer times.
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