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RYA-Online.net Jargon Buster
ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) ADSL is the most widely deployed form of DSL technology. Most homes and small businesses currently using DSL technology use ADSL.
Attachments
Multimedia files that are 'attached' to an E-mail; can be text, graphics, sound, video, spreadsheet, database etc.
AntiVirus
A utility searches viruses and removes any that are found. Most antivirus programs include an auto-update feature that enables the program to download profiles of new viruses so that it can check for the new viruses as soon as they are discovered.
Bandwidth
In simplistic terms, bandwidth is the amount of information traveling through a single channel at any one moment in time.
bps
(Bits Per Second) speed at which data transfer is measured.
Browser
(Often called a 'Web Browser') allows the user to search the World Wide Web and other Internet facilities using a Graphical User Interface. Examples are Mosaic and Netscape.
Byte
A unit of data, generally formed from 8 bits. Example: 01101010
CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) an interface-creation scripting program that allows you to make WWW pages on the fly based on information from fill-in forms, checkboxes, text input etc.
Cookie
A Cookie is a piece of software which records information about you. It holds this information until such time that the server requests it. For example, if you are browsing around a virtual shop, each time you place an item in your basket the information is stored by the cookie until you decide to buy and the server requests the purchase information.
Dialup
'Dialup Access' or a 'Dialup Account' is when a modem is used to gain access to the Internet via a network.
Domain Name
Unique address identifying each site on the Internet, usually of two or more segments separated by full stops.
Domain Name Server
Computers connected to the Internet whose job it is to keep track of the IP Addresses and Domain Names of other machines. When called upon, they take the ASCII Domain Name and convert it to the relevant numeric IP Address.
Download
When you transfer information off a remote machine connected to the Internet onto your local machine, you are downloading data.
E-mail
Method of communication whereby an electronic message is sent to a remote location and received by another user at a specific E-mail Address.
Ethernet
A type of network cabling allowing theoretical data transfers of up to 100Mb per second.
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Question) Lists of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) covering all manner of topics can be found across the World Wide Web, allowing the user to search for a query that somebody has already found the answer to.
Firewall
Secures a home, company or organisation's internal network from unauthorised external access (most commonly in the form of Internet hackers).
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) one of the main ways files are transferred across the Internet. An FTP Site is that which is provided by a company or organisation as a depository for all kinds of files which users may download.
Gigabyte (GB)
A thousand Megabytes.
Home Page
On the World Wide Web, this is the main navigation page owned by a company, organisation, University, individual, etc, from which hyperlinks are made to other pages on the site (or other sites).
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) the tagging language used to format Web pages. Allows pictures and text to be combined to create Web documents, and the most important feature - hypertext - making it possible for links to be made between different documents.
HTTP
(HyperText Transport Protocol) used on the World Wide Web since 1990, this application-level protocol is essential for the distribution of information throughout the Web.
Hyperlink
In World Wide Web pages, hyperlinks are highlighted text or images which, when selected (usually by clicking the mouse button), follow a link to another page. Hyperlinks can also be used to automatically download other files as well as sounds and video clips.
internet
When spelt with a lower case i, it is a group of two or more networks connected together.
Internet
With a capital I, it is the collection of all the interconnected networks in the world, and is often simply referred to as the 'net'.
IP
(Internet Protocol) the main protocol used on the Internet.
IP Address
Unique 4-number code designated to every Domain on the Internet. Each Domain also has a Domain Name as well as an IP address to make site addresses easier to remember.
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) Digital telephone line allowing faster data transfer rates than existing analog lines. Allows simultaneous transfer of voice, data and video information.
ISP
(Internet Service Provider) A Company or Organisation, such as Legend Internet, dedicated to providing businesses or home users access to the Internet, usually for a fee.
JPEG
(Joint Photographic Experts Group) a standard of image compression developed especially for use on the Internet. Most photographic images can be highly compressed using this method, without greatly diminishing image quality.
.jpg or .jpeg
Filename extensions given to JPEG graphics files.
Kilobyte
1024 bytes, usually rounded down to a thousand bytes for simplicity.
Leased Line
A dedicated high-speed, very reliable data connection for private use, available 24 hours a day.
Local Area Network (LAN)
Usually referred to as a LAN, this describes a group of computers commonly in the same building, connected by network cables.
Mailserver
The computer (and software running on it) that allows sorting and retrieval of E-mail messages.
Megabyte (MB)
The unit of measurement for a thousand Kilobytes; a million bytes.
Modem
(MODulator-DEModulator) allows the transmission of digital information over an analog phone line.
MPEG
(Motion Picture Experts Group) video compression format used for movie or animation clips on the World Wide Web.
.mpg or .mpeg
Filename extension for MPEG movies.
Network
Two or more computers linked together and able to share resources constitutes a network.
Newsgroup
Thousands of Newsgroups exist, distributing information on different subjects using Usenet.
POP
(Post Office Protocol) provides a store-and-forward service, intended to move E-mail on demand from an intermediate server to a single destination machine, usually a PC or Macintosh.
Router
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between 2 or more networks. Routers concentrate on looking at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.
Server
Within a network, a server makes files available to client programs located on other computers when requested.
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol) often referred to as sendmail, is designed to allow the delivery of mail messages to Internet users.
SPAM
Unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in bulk)
TCP
(Transmission Control Protocol) works in conjunction with IP to ensure that packets reach their intended destinations.
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) the two fundamental protocols which form the basis of the Internet.
Telnet
Terminal emulation program allowing an authorised user to access another computer on the Internet and use that computer as if it were local (when in reality it could be several thousand miles away).
Unix
An Operating System typically written in C, and designed for multi-user environments. It has TCP/IP built in, and is therefore one of the most popular operating systems for servers on the Internet.
Upload
Transfer of files off a local computer up to a specified remote computer (as opposed to download where files are pulled off a remote machine).
URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) resource addressing scheme of the World Wide Web. Assists in locating and identification of multimedia resources or multiple copies of resources.
Usenet
Specialised network linking thousands of newsgroups covering every subject under the sun.
Virus
A virus is virtual evil. It can hide anywhere where a computer stores information. They have the ability to transfer from computer to computer with the use of the Internet and various other networks. A virus can do a number of things to a recipient such as reformatting hard drives (destroying data).
Wide Area Network (WAN)
Group of computers located geographically apart, usually belonging to a single company or organisation, connected together using dedicated lines or by satellite to simulate a local network.
World Wide Web ('WWW' or 'Web')
Specialised Internet Service allowing users to connect to remote sites, with information presented as text with hypertext links. These links can be used to refer to almost all other resources on the Internet. Graphics can be embedded into Web pages, but can only be viewed using a graphical Web browser. Other applications supported are sound files and movie files.
Worm
A search utility on the World Wide Web that locates resources following user-determined guidelines.
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