Glossary of Internet Terminology
acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is special software for displaying Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files.
activeX
ActiveX is a proprietary scripting language created by Microsoft intended to give more functionality to their Internet Explorer web-browser. Unfortunately, this "enhanced functionality" has led to many security vulnerabilities between Internet Explorer and the Windows operating system. For a more in-depth look at Standards Issues I offer this article.
bits and bytes
Bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes... without going into too much detail, this is the way to measure computer (binary) information. Be it the size of your internal hard disk, the size of a document, the size of your computers internal memory, etcetera. If you'd like to get a better understanding read my advanced article explaining Binary Computation.
blog
Blog is short for web-log. Very popular these days, blogs are used by millions of people to maintain an online journal. Some are private, others may require some type of site membership to view and/or post comments.
browser or web browser
The web browser, sometimes shortened to browser, is the software which is designed to work with the HTTP protocol (that stands for hyper-text transfer protocol). Sometimes referred to as the first "killer-app" for the internet, the idea was to create a simple way to share documents between disparate computer systems.
client / server / host
In computing terminology, a host can be any computer. A server is a host that provides services available for client applications (or hosts). The term client denotes the application (or host) that relies upon a connection to a server. An example would be that the host which stores and serves my website is a server (more specifically, it runs a web-server) while your computer is the client-host running the web browser application (a client application). Clear as mud? Great! next...
download / upload
To download means to fetch a document or other data from a remote server. To upload means to send a local file to a remote server.
DNS - domain name service
DNS is the protocol (and infrastructure of servers) which converts internet addresses between gobble-de-guk (such as: 236.72.13.252) and the more familiar form, such as: www.example.com -- it's a massive index that cross-references the numerical addresses computers use to talk to each other on the internet with the more easily remembered addresses that we use to tell our computers where we want to go or who we want to receive the email we just wrote.
ecommerce
Ecommerce is simply the buying and selling of goods or services via the internet -- email seems to have set a linguistic precedent for distinguishing activities that have been adapted for the internet from their ancestors, with the prefix of 'e'.
Email is a truncation of electronic-mail. Rather than using paper and stamps, email is digital from start to finish, and the postage is bundled into your subscriber fees if you rent an internet connection.
FAQ - frequently asked questions
A FAQ is a common type of document to find on the internet. As the name implies, it's a set of common questions (and answers too!) so it can be a good first-step to understanding a new topic or learning about a new product that you've purchased.
file
A computer file is simply a chunk of data, that when parsed with the appropriate software can be used for a specific purpose. For example, a JPEG file (on Windows, that's a file with the extension .jpg if you have your system setup to display file extensions) is a data file that contains information a computer can use to display a picture. All the data on your computer (from the operating system, to the applications, to the unique personal data such as spreadsheets or email) is stored in individual files so the computer can distinguish one type of data from an other.
flash
Macromedia Flash is a special way to display animations.
forum
An internet forum is a (public or private) meeting area, or more accurately, bulletin-board. One person will post a message that everyone can read, and if the others want to start a discussion they too make a post to the "thread". The thread ties all posts on the same topic together, and there is a different thread for each topic -- many forums even allow for new threads to be tied within other threads while some forums keep all posts after the first one in the same thread (even if the topic wanders far afield).
FTP - file transfer protocol
FTP is a protocol which defines how computers can establish a special connection to copy files from one to the other.
host
see client.
HTML - hyper-text markup language
HTML is the specification for data files that are intended to be parsed by a web browser. Along with the pictures and text that you see on your web browser are additional pieces of information that specify (for the web browser application) where to place the items, how big to make them, what color, etcetera...
HTTP(S) - hyper-text transfer protocol (secure)
HTTP is the protocol which allows web browser client applications to request documents from web servers (as well as specifying the way in which the server returns to requested information to the client). HTTPS is the form of the protocol which uses SSL (secure socket layer) to encrypt the information that your client sends to the server, as well as the information that the server sends back to your client.
IM - instant messaging / chat
Instant messaging (or chat) is different from email and forums because (as the name implies) it is instant. Where with email and forums there is a short lag-time before your message goes out to others, and they are free to respond at their leisure. With chat, however, you're communicating in real-time with others (individuals or groups).
internet
The internet is the collection of computers and infrastructure from around the globe which are interconnected to each other via the use of standardized protocols. Note that this does not preclude the use of the internet to carry proprietary protocols, but they must be wrapped inside TCP in order to be transported from one host to another over the internet.
machine-language / human-readable (parsed)
Machine language consists of 1's and 0's. It is the raw binary data which computers use as instructions and is specific to any given type of architecture -- for example, you couldn't take machine language from an Apple computer and expect it to execute on a computer designed to run Microsoft Windows.
Human-readable implies that instead of 1's and 0's the information is composed of words or other symbols that can be understood with the proper knowledge. For example, HTML is a parsed format which contains formatting codes hidden to the end-user but available to the web developer -- the codes take the form of <code_name> (the beginning tag) and </code_name> (the ending tag) which define the document layout.
Additionally, some human-readable codes are not parsed by the computer at the time of execution, such as the C language, which must first be compiled into machine language to be used.
malware :trojans, worms, viruses, and other exploits
Malware is software that is malignant (i.e. Mal-Ware, MALignant softWARE). Oftentimes it is a type of parasite that gets installed in your computer, and then uses it's resources to send bulk email, other times it might be purely malicious and attempt to destroy your data. Commonly it is somewhere in-between -- where it takes data from your computer and sends it to the perpetrators (with a key-stroke logger or other mechanism), then uses your computer to spread the infection to other vulnerable computers.
Exploit / vulnerabilityThe result of a bug in an operating system or software application that can be specifically exploited to create a denial of service condition or even execute arbitrary code on your computer. TrojanA trojan is like a stowaway, hidden within some other software. Just like the fabled Trojan Horse, once it gets inside your computer, the attacker pops out of the trojan to assault your computer. Many trojans are intentionally packaged into software by commercial entities in order to track user data and return it to a master database. VirusA computer virus is spread through unsafe contact, if you will. If someone emails you a program that's infected with a virus you're completely safe unless you use the file (run it, or execute it). Then the virus has the chance to replicate and attach itself to files that you send to other people, so that the process continues. WormA worm is an automated program that exploits known vulnerabilities to spread without human intervention. Root-KitA root-kit can be packaged as a trojan, virus, or a worm -- it uses exploit or user attack vectors to position itself where it can effectively take over complete control of your computer. Basically, it's like any other malware, but on steroids. |
Any of these vectors can lead to any number of outcomes, from playful vandalism to completely destroying all of your data, and even your operating system. Probably the most common occurrence, is that your computer is hijacked into either sending bulk email or tracking user data to be collected for nefarious purposes, such as identity-theft.
memory / virtual memory
Memory is where your computer holds the instructions and data of your work. For example, if you're working on a spreadsheet then the application will be loaded into memory, as well as the data within your spreadsheet. Virtual memory is stored on a storage device such as your hard disk, while main memory is stored on a hardware component inside your computer which is called RAM (random-access memory).
mp3
MP3 (or, MPEG-1 audio layer-3) is an encoding algorithm for compressing audio streams. Other facets of the MPEG set of algorithms are also designed for use with video streams.
network
A computer network is two or more computers configured to speak to each other, be it via infrared, wireless, or more traditional methods. Unlike the internet a network may not be connected to other networks.
online
Online is a verb meaning that you (well, your computer) is hooked in to the internet. In the early days home users were only able to connect to the internet via modem (this would tie-up their telephone line) and so they would have to purposefully establish a connection, or "go online". Growing in distribution and popularity now are DSL, ISDN, cable, and even leased-line connections which are often left "up" at all times, meaning that they are continuously online.
operating system
An operating system is the software that provides a usable interface to your computer hardware. MS Windows and MacOS are examples of operating systems, but there are many other options as well. Without an O.S. (or OS) you'd need to have a PhD in computer science just to check your email, and it would be more efficient to go back to postal mail. The OS takes care of reading and writing files to storage devices, outputting images to the screen, and all the other details that make the pile of hardware work in harmony to accomplish anything useful.
packet
In reference to networking or the internet, a packet is a small data payload wrapped inside specific protocols which instruct networking equipment to determine what to do with said packet. There are actually several layers of wrappers, which is an advanced topic, but to name the theoretical structure, you have:
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patch
A patch is an update for your programs or operating system. Just about any software release (or operating system) has flaws. Sometimes these flaws are harmless, but other times they can be exploited to cause inconvenience, loss of data, or even allow your computer to be hijacked (giving someone else control over your computer from across the internet).
peer-to-peer networking
It's possible you have already heard about peer-to-peer networking (sometimes called p2p) and that you don't even realize it. Do you remember the big brouhaha about some software called Napster? P2p file-sharing has continued to grow, despite the legal problems with the original versions of Napster. Essentially, p2p uses a central server to help hosts decide which other hosts they need to connect to to request a given resource, because the actual resource is not on the server itself -- it only directs traffic between the users of the service.
plugins (or extensions)
A plugin is a software module designed to extend the functionality of applications. Not all software can use plugins, but they're a great way to allow users to customize their experience without forcing a bloated software package onto everyone that they only use 10% of. A common software that uses plugins are certain web browsers.
post
A post is when a person uses a forum to post their own comments to the virtual "bulletin board".
protocol
A protocol is a set of standards (standard operating procedures, if you will), just like the pre-computer version of the word. For example, the SMTP (simple mail transport protocol) defines how two hosts establish a connection and share information with each other so that anybody can make software that is interoperable with any other standards-compliant software.
search engine
A search engine is a massive database that indexes websites according to keywords and cross-linking. Each search engine has a different method for categorizing and searching its database, so while it might seem that they are all roughly equal, your results may vary from engine to engine. Since the details of how to produce a productive query differ from one to an other, most people tend to settle on a single search engine that they can feel comfortable using. Here are a few (in no particular order) that you can try if you haven't already got a favorite:
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www.lycos.com |
server
see client.
ssl
see HTTPS.
upload
see download.
URL - uniform resource locator
A URL is what you would type into your web browser to access a remote website, but it could be used for other purposes as well. Since you've already used URLs in your web browser, lets look at the guts of a web URL:
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http://www.example.com:80/index.html/ http: - this specifies the naming scheme, basically it describes the type and format of the information that follows it. // - this demarks the beginning of the content of the URL. (optional data) - this is where a username might go, as well as an optional password (as used by some FTP URLs) followed by an @ symbol (i.e. ftp://username:password@example.com:21/folder/) www.example.com - this is the domain name (or it could be an IP address as well) of the host that serves the resource. :80/ (optional) - this is the TCP/IP port number to connect to, with an HTTP URL it defaults to port 80, but sometimes a host will only accept connections on other specific ports, in which case the port would need to be specified in the URL. if no port number is needed, the / would follow the domain name and the : would be dropped (i.e. http://www.example.com/index.html/) index.html/ (optional) - this is the path to the resource on the server. If left unspecified the server will usually offer up a default resource. The path may also contain additional data to be interpreted by the server. |
When you click a link in a web page, the link contains a URL that tells your browser where to go to get the next requested resource.
user
The person using a host is called a user.
web
The web (or WWW, world wide web) consists of the millions of web servers that use the HTTP protocol to honor requests for information from client hosts. The web is not the internet; the web does however use the internet to communicate between servers and clients.
windows media
Windows Media is a specific codec for encoding and decoding audio and video data.