Active desktop

Microsoft's ltest user interface for PCs with full integration of the Internet using "push" technologies and the Windows operating environment included in Internet Explorer 4.0.

ADN

Advanced Digital Network -- Refers to a 56Kbps leased-line.

ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line -- A method for moving data over regular phone lines. An ADSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber’s premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service.

Applet

A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page. Applets differ from full-fledged Java applications in that they are not allowed to access certain resources on the local computer, such as files and serial devices (modems, printers, etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other computers across a network. The current rule is that an applet can only make an Internet connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.

ARPA Net

Advanced Projects Administration Network. The precursor to the Internet. Developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the U.S. Department of Defense as an experiment in wide-area networking that could survive nuclear warfare.

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange -- This is the de facto world-wide standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111.

Authentication

A software security verification procedure to acknowledge or validate an Internet user.

Backbone

A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. The term is relative: a backbone in a small network will be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.

Bandwidth

Terminology used to indicate the transmission or processing capacity of a system. Bandwidth is usually defined in bits per second but also is usually described as either large or small.

Baud

In common usage the baud rate of a modem is how many bits it can send or receive per second.

BBS

Bulletin Board System -- A computerized announcement system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer at the same time.

Bit

Binary Digit -- A single digit number either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.

Bps

Bits per second -- A measurement of how fast data are moved form one place to another. A 56kbp modem can move 56,000 bits per second.

Browsers

Software used to view, retrieve, and print information and HTML documents from the Internet.

BTW

“By The Way” -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online chat forum.

Byte

A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 Bits in a Byte.

Caching

Storing or buffering data in a temporary location, so that the information can be retrieved quickly by an application. On the Internet, ISPs cache Web page data on their networks for use by their subscribers to speed up access to commonly accessed Web content.

CDF

Channel Definition Format. An extension of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 browser designed to allow web sites to broadcast ("push") information to individuals.

CGI

Common Gateway Interface -- A set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software (the “CGI program”) talks to the web server. Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database query.

Click-throughs

Also known as ad clicks and click rate. How often a viewer will respond to an ad by clicking on it and following the link.

Client

A software program used to contact and obtain data from a server software program on another computer, often across a great distance. Each client program is designed to work with one or more specific kinds of server programs, and each server requires a specific kind of client. A web browser is an example of a specific type of client.

Cyberspace

Term used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.

Digital certificates

An encoded document that verifies connection between a server's public key (known to anyone) and the server's identification. Cryptographic checks, including a digital signature, ensure that the information within the certificate can be trusted and has not been altered.

Domain name

The unique name that identifies an Internet site, such as "painewebber.com" The domain name is tied to the numerical addresses (like a street addresss) that represents the actual identity of that machine.

EC

Electronic Commerce. Business environment integrating electronic transfer and automated business systems.

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange -- Computer-to-computer electronic exchange of structured transactional information.

E-mail

Electronic Mail Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses.

Encrypt

To scramble the contents of a file or message in such a way as to make it unreadable to everyone except those with a software "key", which makes it possible to unscramble the encrypted file or message.

Encryption

Making a file unreadable by everyone not in possession of a special key, with which an encrypted file can be appropriately deciphered.

Ethernet

A very common method of networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer.

Extranet

A business-to-business network of computer leveraging Internet standards and protocols designed to simplify information sharing and transactions.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject to assist the newly initiated.

Fire Wall

A combination of hardware and software that separates a Network into two or more parts for security purposes.

Flame

A heated exchange.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. An Internet utility program to obtain files from another system or to move files between systems. These files may contain information or software programs.

Gateway

The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols, for example Prodigy has a gateway that translates between its internal, proprietary e-mail format and Internet e-mail format. Another, sloppier meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing access to another system, e.g. AOL might be called a gateway to the Internet.

GIF

Graphic Interchange Format -- A common format for image files, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color. GIF format files of simple images are often smaller than the same file would be if stored in JPEG format, but GIF format does not store photographic images as well as JPEG.

Gigabyte

1,000 Megabytes

Gopher

An ‘ancient’ method of making information available over the Internet. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a couple of years, it has been largely supplanted by HTML.

Hacker

A person who breaks into a computer network and tampers with the system.

Hits

Access to a file on a Web page. Often used to attempt to compare popularity in the context of getting so many "hits" during a given period. Not directly correlated with page views. A single page view is usually comprised of several hits, because each file accessed is recorded as a hit.

Home page

A World Wide Web document. Home page often refers to a person or organization's main Web page that provides links to other pages within the person or organization's Web site.

Host

Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language. A simple coding system used to format documents for viewing by World Wide Web clients. HTML can be compared to early word processing software, in which all special characters, like bold or underline, need to be marked or "tagged" to let the printer know that the character requires special consideration during output. Web pages are written in this standard specification. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web Client Program, such as Netscape.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol. An Internet computer communication encoding standard for the exchange of documents on the Web. The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW).

Hyperlink/Hypertext

The path between two documents, which allow the user to point and click on specific words on the screen and thereby follow the thought to the requested location, wherever it is on the Internet. Any text that contains links to other documents - words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader and which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed.

IMHO

“In My Humble Opinion” -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online chat forum, IMHO indicates that the writer is aware that they are expressing a debatable point of view.

Impressions

The gross sum of all media exposures (number of people or homes) without duplication. The total number of times an ad is seen on a Web page.

InterNIC

A collaborative project of three organizations to offer the Internet community a full scope of network information services, such as providing information about accessing and using the Internet, assistance in locating resources on the network, and registering network components for Internet connectivity.

Internet

The international network of networks. The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the same protocols. The Internet came into being between the late 1970s and early 1980s with the development and adoption of TCP/IP. TCP/IP allowed ARPAnet to join with other networks.

Intranet

An internal enterprise-wide network of computers on TCP/IP or similar standards. A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use.

IP address

Internet protocol address. Every machine on the Internet has a unique IP address which consists of four parts separated by dots. (For example: 178.24.79.374). This can be tied to a domain name for easier identification. Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not on the Internet.

IRC

(Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically a huge multi-user live chat facility. Anyone can create a channel and anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel. Private channels can created for multi-person conference calls.

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network -- A way to move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is rapidly becoming available to much of the USA and in most markets it is priced very comparably to standard analog phone circuits. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited to 56,000 or 64,000 bits-per-second.

ISP

Internet Service Provider -- A business that allows companies and individuals to connect to the Internet by providing the interface (either direct or dial-up) to the Internet backbone.

Java

Java is a network programming language invented by Sun Microsystems that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations and calculators.

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group -- JPEG is most common format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.

Kilobyte

1,000 bytes.

LAN

Local Area Network -- A computer network limited to the immediate building.

Login

The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Or, the act of entering into a computer system.

Megabyte

A million bytes or a thousand kilobytes.

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions -- The standard for attaching non-text files to standard Internet mail messages. Non-text files include graphics, word-processor documents, sound files, jpegs, etc.

Mirror

Generally speaking, “to mirror” is to maintain an exact copy of something. The most common use of the term on the Internet refers to “mirror sites” which are web sites, or FTP sites that maintain exact copies of material originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread access to the resource. Another common use of the term “mirror” refers to when information is written to more than one hard disk simultaneously, so that if one disk fails, the computer keeps on working without losing anything.

Modem

MOdulator, DEModulator -- A device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line, that allows the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.

Netiquette

The etiquette on the Internet.

Netizen

Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet.

Netscape

A WWW Browser and the name of a company. The Netscape browser was originally based on the Mosaic program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Network

Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can share resources, you have a computer network. Connect 2 or more networks together and you have an internet.

Newsgroup

The name for discussion groups on USENET.

NIC

Networked Information Center -- Generally, any office that handles information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet is the InterNIC, which is where new domain names are registered.

NNTP

Network News Transport Protocol -- The protocol used by client and server software to carry USENET postings back and forth over a TCP/IP network.

Node

Any single computer connected to a network.

Packet Switching

The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet switching, all the data coming out of a machine is broken up into chunks, each chunk has the address of where it came from and where it is going. This enables chunks of data from many different sources to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed to different routes by special machines along the way. This way many people can use the same lines at the same time. This ‘invention’ made the Internet possible.

Page view

The number of time a page was downloaded by users, often measured as a function of time ("page views per day"). The actual number of times the page was seen by users may be higher because of "caching."

Page

An HTML (hypertext markup language) document that may contain text, images, another on-line elements, such as Java applets and multimedia files.

Password

A code used to gain access to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters.

Plug-in

A small piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. They are often downloaded over the Internet directly to an existing program. Plug-ins are usually created by firms other than the publishers of the original software the plug-in works with.

POP -- Point of Presence

A Point of Presence usually means a city where a network can be connected to, often with dial up phone lines. A term used by Internet service providers to indicate the number or geographical locations of their access to the Internet.

POP -- Post Office Protocol

Post Office Protocol refers to the way e-mail software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP, or shell account you almost always get a POP account with it, and it is this POP account that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your mail.

Port

1.) A place where information goes into or out of a computer. 2.) An Internet port refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port. 3.) Finally, port also refers to translating a piece of software to bring it from one type of computer system to another, e.g. to translate a PC program so that is will run on a Macintosh.

PPP

Point to Point Protocol -- A protocol that allows a computer to use a telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections and thus be on the Internet.

Protocol

A common language between computers over a network, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), used by the Web, or file transfer protocol (FTP), a quick software method of sending or receiving files over the Internet.

PSTN

Public Switched Telephone Network -- The regular telephone system.

Router

A special-purpose computer, black box or software package that handles the connection between 2 or more networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.

Search engine

A mechanism for finding documents on the Internet. For example, Yahoo and Alta Vista are search engines.

Security Certificate

A block of information, usually stored as a text file, that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection.

Server

A computer that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can also refer to a single server machine that could have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network.

SET

Secure Electronic Transaction. A protocol designed by Visa and MasterCard as well as technology partners such as Microsoft and IBM for securing credit card transaction on the Internet.

SLIP

Serial Line Internet Protocol -- A standard for using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is being replaced by PPP.

SMTP

Simple Mail Transport Protocol -- The main protocol used to send electronic mail on the Internet consisting of a set of rules for how a program sending mail and a program receiving mail should interact.

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol -- A set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches.

Spam / Spamming

An inappropriate use an e-mail list, usually to advertise a product or sevice -- The Internet version of junk mail. The term probably comes from a famous Monty Python skit which featured the word spam repeated over and over. Spam is also a registered trademark of Hormel Corporation, for its processed meat product. They tried stop their name from being used in such a derogatory manner but soon gave up due to the negative publicity generated by their silly campaign.

SQL

Structured Query Language -- A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases. Most large database applications can be addressed using SQL.

SSL

Secure Socket Layer. Many commerce transaction web sites that request credit card or personal information use SSL. A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL provides privacy, authentication, and message integrity.

T-1

A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. A T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds.

T-3

A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second.

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol -- This is the group of protocols that defines the Internet. To be on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software.

Terminal

A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry.

Unique users

The number of unique individuals who visit a site within a specific time period.

URL

Uniform (or universal) Resource Locator -- The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). The URL provides information on the protocol, the system, and the file name, so that the user's system can find a particular document on the Internet. An example of a URL is http://excaliburfilms.com/, which indicated that "hypertext transfer protocol" is the protocol and that the information is located on a system named "excaliburfilms.com," which is the Excalibur Films Web server. This example does not need a particular file name, since the Web server is set up to point to the company's home page if no file name is used.

USENET

A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. USENET is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.

UUENCODE

Unix to Unix Encoding -- A method for converting files from Binary to ASCII (text) so that they can be sent across the Internet via e-mail.

WAIS

Wide Area Information Servers -- A commercial software package that allows the indexing of huge quantities of information, and then making those indices searchable across networks such as the Internet. The search results are ranked according to how relevant the hits are. Subsequent searches can find more information like the last batch and thus refine the search process.

WAN

Wide Area Network -- Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building.

Web site

The virtual location for an organization's presence on the Worldwide Web, usually made up of several Web pages and a single home page designated by a unique URL.

WebCrawler

A search engine that searches the Web by document title and content, archiving the information for searching purposes.

Web server

A system capable of continuous access to the Internet (or an internal network) through retrieving and displaying document and files via hypertext transfer protocol (http).

Webzine

A magazine on the World Wide Web.

Web / WWW

Generally accepted shorthand for the World Wide Web. Also calledW3. The world’s universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be displayed together.