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Tutorials - Common Terms K-Z |
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Common Terms
Keywords
Keywords are terms used in search engines to find specific information.
Kbps
Kbps stands for kilobits per second and is a measure of bandwidth
Kilobyte
Commonly thought of as a thousand bytes. (Actually 1024 bytes.)
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LAN
Local Area Network. A group of connected computers, usually located in close proximity (such as the same building or floor of the building) so data can be passed between them
Login
The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Unlike a Password, the login name is not a secret.
Linux
A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. This has resulted in thousands of people working on various aspects of Linux and adaptation of Linux for a huge variety of purposes, from servers to TV-recording boxes.
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Message
A piece of e-mail or a posting to a newsgroup.
META Tags
META tags always go in the <HEAD> section of the document. META NAME tags include descriptions and keywords. This HTML code helps some search engines classify and rank a web page. META HTTP-EQUIV tags can indicate to the web browser how to display the page.
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
A method of attaching multimedia files (images, audio, video) or an application to an email message, which would otherwise only be capable of transmitting ASCII characters. Most servers and email clients are now MIME compliant.
Mirror
An FTP server that provides copies of the same files as another server. Some FTP servers are so popular that other servers have been set up to mirror them and spread the FTP load to more than one site.
Modem
MOdulator, DEModulator. A device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line to allow the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Modems convert the computer's digital signals into analogue waves that can be transmitted over standard voice telephone lines. Modem speeds are measured in bits per second (bps) - also sometimes expressed as KILObits (thousands of bits) per second. As an example,56Kbps and 56000bps are the same thing, 56000 bits per second.
Mbps
Mbps stands for megabits per second and is a measure of bandwidth
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Netscape Navigator
A Windows-based browser that lets you access information on the World Wide Web.
Network
Any time you connect two or more computers together so that they can share resources you have a computer network.
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
A protocol defined for distribution, inquiry, retrieval and posting of news articles.
Newsgroup
A distributed bulletin board system about a particular topic. Usenet news is a system that distributes thousands of newsgroups to all parts of the Internet.
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Open Source Software
Open Source Software is software for which the underlying programming code is available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes. There are many types of Open Source Software, mainly differing in the licensing term under which (altered) copies of the source code may (or must be) redistributed.
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Packet
A chunk of information sent over a network. Each packet contains the destination address, the sender's address, error-control information, and data.
Page
A document, or collection of information, available by way of the World Wide Web. To make information available over the WWW, it is organised into pages. A page may contain text, graphics files, video, and/or sound files.
Password
A code used to gain access (login) to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as virtue7. A good password might be:
93%vs(29) ( But don't use that one! )
Ping
A network management tool that checks to see whether you can communicate with another computer on the Internet. It sends a short message to which the other computer automatically responds. If the other computer does not respond to the ping, you usually cannot establish communications.
Plug-ins
Small applications that add new functionality, multimedia, or audio-video capability to a program.
POP3
Post Office Protocol. A system by which a mail server on the Internet lets you grab your mail and download it to your computer.
PPP
Point-to-Point Protocol. A scheme for connecting two computers over a phone line.
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QuickTime
A multi-platform standard for multimedia applications. Developed by Apple, QuickTime is a software program that handles video, sound, animation, graphics, text and music
Router
A device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP's network. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect.
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Search Engine
A search engine is a web site that allows you to search for specific information on the Internet eg: Google.com , Yahoo.com
Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
The SSL specification is a software technology designed to provide a secure method for handling credit card transactions across electronic networks.
SERPs (search engine result page).
Search Engine Results Pages - These are the pages that are generated by search engines in response to a search query. Usually the search engines display 10 results per page. SERPs page
Server
A computer that provides a service to other computers on a network. Shareware
Copyrighted software that is distributed over the Internet or from one satisfied user to another user. No fee is charged for trying the program, but the user is expected to pay a donation to the owner and tell others about the program if he or she continues to use it. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
A protocol used to transfer e-mail between computers. Site
One or more web pages that combine to present information relating to people, companies, services or products. Spam (or Spamming)
An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list, or Usenet or other networked communications facility as if it was a broadcast medium (which it is not) by sending the same message to a large number of people who didn?t ask for it. The term probably comes from a famous Monty Python sketch which featured the word spam repeated over and over Style Sheets (Also known as Cascading Syile Sheets - CSS)
Extensions to standard HTML that allow designers to control multiple web page styles from a single file. Used to predefine page elements such as font size, color, and style; image placement; and background images, and have the same style applied to a series of web pages.. Top TCP/IP
Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The system networks use to communicate with each other on the Internet. Trojan Horse
A computer program that is either hidden inside another program or that masquerades as something it is not in order to trick potential users into running it. For example a program that appears to be a game or image file but in reality performs some other function. The term "Trojan Horse" comes from a possibly mythical ruse of war used by the Greeks sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C.
A Trojan Horse computer program may spread itself by sending copies of itself from the host computer to other computers, but unlike a virus it will (usually) not infect other programs. Top
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like this: http://www.ddjem.com. The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a Web browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Upload
To send a copy of a file from a client to a server using a modem.
Usenet
A system of thousands of distributed bulletin boards called newsgroups. You read the messages by using a program called a news reader. Top Virus
A chunk of computer programming code that makes copies of itself without any conscious human intervention. Some viruses do more than simply replicate themselves, they might display messages, install other software or files, delete software of files, etc.
A virus requires the presence of some other program to replicate itself. Typically viruses spread by attaching themselves to programs, especially email attachments. VPN -- (Virtual Private Network)
Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. Top WAN
Wide Area Network. Any Internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus. Web Page
A single document on the World Wide Web that is specified by a unique address or URL and that contains text, hyperlinks, and graphics. Web Server
Computer hardware where web pages are stored and accessed by others using web client software, or the computer software that allows the user to access the web pages. See also server. Web Site
A group of similar web pages linked 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 web pages. Wireless Network
A technology that allows 2 or more computers to be connected without wire - typically running at 11 mbps, but the newer equipment allows up to 54mbps. Known as 802.11b and 802.11g. Worm
A worm is a virus that does not infect other programs. It makes copies of itself, and infects additional computers (typically by making use of network connections) but does not attach itself to additional programs; however a worm might alter, install, or destroy files and programs WWW
World Wide Web. A hypertext-based system for accessing information on the Internet. WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get. To display a document being edited exactly the same way it will be displayed on the web or in print. Top XML -- (eXtensible Markup Language)
A widely used system for defining data formats. XML provides a very rich system to define complex documents and data structures such as invoices, molecular data, news feeds, glossaries, inventory descriptions, real estate properties, etc. Top
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