Glossary

Updated November 07, 2023

The address bar is found at the top or bottom of your Web browser (e.g., Apple Safari or Google Chrome). It's where a web page's address (or URL) appears. You can type a web address directly into the address bar; for example, typing www.tieriun.com into the address bar will take you to our website.

The software that some phones and tablets use to run. It's a type of 'operating system'. Android devices include phones and tablets from many different brands, such as Google, Samsung, among others.

Software that detects and prevents known computer viruses from affecting your device.

A type of computer program that you can download for your computer, tablet, or smartphone. There are thousands of different apps available for many different purposes, from games and puzzles to online shopping and banking. You can download apps from the Google Play Store if you have an Android phone or tablet, or from the App Store if you have an Apple device.

Files, such as photos, documents, or programs, that are sent along with an email.

A search tool for finding files and programs located on FTP servers. The Archie system consists of a series of Archie servers located in the United States and around the world. Each Archie server indexes the files available on FTP servers in its area. The Archie servers share their indexes with each other; therefore, the complete index is accessible from any of the servers. Archie servers can be accessed via Telnet, email, or an Archie program.

The predecessor to the Internet. Developed by the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency in the late 1960s, ARPAnet was an experimental network that initially connected scientists involved in defense research. ARPAnet was intended to link different computers in geographically dispersed locations. The network was designed to survive failures in any of its connections by sending information in the form of packets. If a connection was broken, the packets could be automatically rerouted.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Although now widely used to denote plain text, i.e., text without formatting and not dependent on any type of font, ASCII is actually a data code universally used in communication applications by minicomputers and personal computers to represent 128 possible character combinations, including uppercase and lowercase letters of the Roman alphabet, the space character, digits 0 through 9, punctuation marks, and other non-alphanumeric characters found on a standard keyboard, in addition to several "control codes" that denote invisible characters like carriage return and tab. ASCII is also sometimes known as TTY, denoting its legacy in the typewriter industry.

• ASCII Value
  The number, expressed in various forms in decimal, octal, or hexadecimal notation, that defines a combination of eight bits: seven bits that define a character and an eighth that can be used for a rudimentary form of error correction known as "parity checking."


• ASCII Table
  A table that lists the ASCII value for any character, in decimal, octal, or hexadecimal notation, sometimes in all three.

Avatar

A word adopted by computer users to denote the digital manifestation that humans assume when entering virtual worlds. The word is Sanskrit and refers to the earthly embodiment a god assumes on Earth. Vishnu, the Hindu god responsible for maintaining the existence of the universe, has 10 major avatars, including Krishna, the philosopher king, and Varaha, the boar who rescues the planet after it is flooded by the oceans. Vishnu's tenth avatar, Kalki, will arrive in the future to destroy the world with fire and begin a new era of purity on the planet.

A video compression standard developed for use with Microsoft Windows. Video clips on the World Wide Web are generally available in AVI and QuickTime formats.

The amount of information that can be transmitted across a network connection. Data travels through bandwidth in bits per second. A full page of English text consists of approximately 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 28,800 bits per second.

A unit commonly used to describe the speed of modems. The baud rate is technically the number of times a modem signal changes per second. In the old days of 300-baud modems, each signal change represented one bit of information. Therefore, the baud rate and a modem's transfer rates, measured in bits per second (bps), were equal. Modern modems transfer up to 12 bits of information for each signal change. A 28.8 modem actually operates at 2400 baud, but each signal change carries 12 bits of information. Therefore, the data transfer rate is 28,800 bits per second. Over the years, baud and bits per second have been used interchangeably, although that is technically incorrect.

A dial-up computer service that allows users to post messages and files. BBSs often serve specific interests or geographic areas. Some BBSs are connected and provide access to the Internet.

An abbreviation for "binary digit." It is typically represented as a 0 or a 1, denoting off and on, respectively. Bits are the basic language of computers. A group of eight bits forms a byte.

Short for "Because It's Time" or "Because It's There NETwork." An international network of computers dedicated to research and education. BITNET is connected to the Internet, and email is freely exchanged between the systems.

Bluetooth is a type of wireless technology used to connect one device to another, for example, connecting your phone to a speaker to play music.

A query strategy for searching databases. Boolean searches use connectors like "and" or "or" to expand or narrow a search. For example, to retrieve information about cats and dogs, searchers type the word "and" to ensure they receive information about both groups.

Short for "robot." It describes programs, usually running on a server, that automate tasks such as forwarding or sorting emails.

Broadband is a generic term for the Internet connection that allows you to access the network. To get broadband in your home, you will need to set up a contract with a broadband provider (such as BT, TalkTalk, or Virgin Media). The provider will charge you for the necessary equipment to connect your smartphone, tablet, or computer to the Internet.

Software that examines various types of resources on the Internet. Browsers can search for documents and retrieve them from other sources.

Bits per second. See Baud.

An acronym frequently used in email messages.

A group of eight bits.

Catfishing is when someone creates a fake online profile to deceive people looking for love, usually with the goal of getting money from them.

The Web was created in 1991 at CERN, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.

This allows you to save photos, videos, and files in an internet storage space, rather than taking up space on your device. Examples of cloud storage include Google Drive, iCloud, and Dropbox.

A cookie is a small piece of data that is stored on your computer, smartphone, or tablet when you visit a website. Most websites display a message asking you to 'accept cookies'. Cookies allow the website to track information about your activity on the site, such as how many times you have visited and how much time you spent on the site. You do not have to accept cookies, but it might mean you cannot access some websites.

A domain name suffix that denotes commercial entities like corporations.

The entire universe of information that is available through computer networks.

If you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, using the internet on your smartphone or tablet uses mobile data, which is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). Most phone and tablet contracts have monthly allowances for data usage. Once you use up your allowance, you may be charged for additional use or you may not be able to use mobile data until your allowance renews next month.

This is a general term for smartphones, tablets, or computers.

A digital version of the word "literati," digerati refers to people who consider themselves the modern, knowledgeable elite at the forefront of the digital revolution.

A program that runs without human intervention. A daemon (pronounced "DEE-man") waits quietly, springing into action when some condition occurs (for example, when a file lands in a specific directory or when a web request is made through a particular communication line). Most server software runs as a daemon, which is why you'll see references to a web server as an "HTTPD" program, which stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon."

Transferring files or data stored on the internet to your smartphone, tablet, or computer. For example, you might download an image a friend has sent you via email, download a document to read from a trusted website, or download an app from the online app store.

A domain name suffix that denotes educational institutions.

Messages sent from one person to another via computer networks.

Short form of "emotion icons." "Smiley face" symbols created with ASCII characters to express emotions and physical characteristics. Emoticons, also known as smilies, are often used in email messages and newsgroup posts. For example, the characters :-) form an emoticon that means "what I just said is tongue-in-cheek." Other examples of emoticons include: 8-) (a happy person with glasses), B-)~ (a happy person with horn-rimmed glasses who is drooling), B*)~ (a happy drooling person with horn-rimmed glasses who just went to a bar), :-@ (a screaming person), (%-@ a screaming person who has been staring at a computer screen for 15 hours), etc.

If an app or website is encrypted, this means that all communication between you and the website is secure and cannot be read by anyone else. Encrypted websites have web addresses that start with 'https,' where the 's' stands for secure.

A common way of connecting computers in a local area network or LAN (like the same building or floor).

A software tool for finding people on the Internet.

An online insult usually delivered via email or a newsgroup post. Flame exchanges often escalate into long flame wars, which can then degenerate into holy wars.

File Transfer Protocol. The standard rules governing the transfer of files and programs across the Internet. FTP allows moving files from one computer to another, regardless of the types of computers or operating systems involved in the exchange. FTP is also used as a general name for programs that use the File Transfer Protocol to move files.

An acronym frequently used in email messages.

Developed by CompuServe, GIF is a widely used method for compressing image files like photographs and graphics. Image files often take up large amounts of computer memory and hard drive space, and take a long time to download. Various groups have found ways to alleviate some of these problems by compressing image data into smaller files. JPEG is a competing image compression format. GIF can also refer to an image compressed with the Graphics Interchange Format.

A menu-based system used to organize and retrieve files and programs on the Internet. Gopher allows access to files located on FTP servers, as well as files normally accessed through Telnet, Archie, or WAIS programs. Each Gopher server has its own unique menu of files and programs. Gopher servers and menus can be accessed through Gopher programs and some World Wide Web browsers.

A domain name suffix that denotes government. In Internet addresses, gov denotes non-military government sites.

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

Integers greater than 9 are expressed as sequential letters from A to F. In hexadecimal, the number ten is written as A. The number sixteen is expressed as 10, that is, one sixteen and no ones, in the same way that 10 in the standard decimal system represents one ten and no ones. Why would anyone want to express numbers in base sixteen? Because it is the number of bits in a 16-bit word, so using hexadecimal allows programmers to denote a specific bit in any word as a single digit, from 0 to F. In the days of eight-bit machines, programmers used octal numbers, or base eight.

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

Text that links one document to another.

The coding language of the World Wide Web.

The set of rules that govern the transfer of most documents that travel across the Web. It is also the beginning of URL addresses on the World Wide Web. For example, http://www.domain.com

The virtual folder in your email account where emails you receive are stored.

The international network of networks. The Internet emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the development and adoption of TCP/IP. TCP/IP allowed ARPAnet to join with other networks. Although often mistakenly thought of as synonymous with the World Wide Web, the Internet encompasses much more than just web servers and hypertext documents. The Internet includes all the computers that are connected to it on its various networks and all the systems used to exchange information between those computers, including Gopher, Telnet, FTP, and WAIS.

Internet Protocol Address. Every machine on the Internet has a unique IP address consisting of four parts separated by dots (e.g., 8.8.8.8). If a machine does not have an IP address, it is not officially on the Internet.

A multi-user chat program. Around the world, many IRC servers are connected to each other. Anyone using these servers can create a "channel," an area for text messages that can be seen by users with access to that channel.

A network that transfers more data faster over telephone lines. ISDN is readily available in most of the United States. It can transfer data at speeds of up to 128,000 bits per second.

iOS is the software that Apple phones and tablets (iPhones and iPads) use to run. It is a type of operating system.

A programming language that allows users to add animation, moving text, and interactive games to a website. Designed by Sun Microsystems, Java works on a variety of computer systems like Windows, Macintosh, and Unix. Netscape Navigator incorporated Java into the latest version of its web browser.

A standardized method for compressing image files created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG images are widely used on the World Wide Web. JPEG can also refer to images compressed with the JPEG format.

A computer network that is in a concentrated area, such as a building or a floor.

A link can be text, an image, or a button; you can click or tap on it to access a website. The link may be blue and underlined, and may include words like "click here for more information" or "discover more."

An ID or name used to access a computer system.

An automated topic-specific email system that is also known as a listproc, listserve, or majordomo. Users subscribe to it and, through email, receive information on the list's topic and posts on the topic from other list subscribers.

Malware is short for 'malicious software.' A general term that describes software that can cause harm to your computer by spreading computer viruses or accessing your personal information.

A domain name suffix that denotes an abbreviation for military. In Internet addresses, mil indicates a site belonging to a military branch or organization.

Mobile data allows your phone to connect to the internet when you are not connected to Wi-Fi. It is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), and there is usually a limit on how much mobile data you can use.

Short for "modulator-demodulator." A device that allows computers to communicate with each other over telephone lines, cellular signals, or television cables. To send information from one computer to another, a modem converts a computer's digital signals into analog signals that can be sent over phone lines. At the receiving end, the modem converts the analog signals back into digital signals that can be understood by the computer.

A standard for video image compression developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. Video clips on the World Wide Web are sometimes available in MPEG format; however, video clips are more frequently found in AVI and QuickTime formats.

A domain name suffix that denotes an abbreviation for network. In Internet addresses, "net" indicates a computer network service. When capitalized, "Net" is used as a colloquial term to refer to the Internet.

The unofficial standards that govern behavior on the Internet. The rules of netiquette are sometimes obscure and generally learned only through experience.

A hardware/software system that allows two or more computers to be connected to share resources.

When used by more experienced Internet users, "newbie" often has derogatory connotations. Newbies are often criticized for not knowing netiquette.

A domain name suffix that denotes an abbreviation for organization. Internet sites that do not fit into any other category are given the org domain name. Org usually indicates that the site belongs to a non-profit and non-governmental organization.

An identity theft attempt in which criminals direct users to a fake website to trick them into providing private information, such as usernames or passwords.

A small window that suddenly appears (or 'pops up') on a web page, usually an advertisement or an alert.

A protocol that allows a computer to use a telephone line and a modem to connect to the Internet. It is an alternative to a SLIP connection.

A video compression standard developed by Apple. The QuickTime standard is one of the most popular formats for video clips on the World Wide Web.

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

A computer system that manages and delivers information to users. A server can have several different software programs running on it.

A footer added at the bottom of email messages.

A protocol that allows a computer to use a telephone line and a modem to connect to the Internet. It is an alternative to a PPP connection.

The act of sending large quantities of electronic messages via email or newsgroups to people who do not wish to receive them. Spam is considered a serious violation of netiquette. The term is believed to be derived from a Monty Python sketch in which the word "spam" is repeated over and over. Its relationship to Spam, the reviled pork luncheon meat, is uncertain.

An unwanted program that runs on your computer, which can make it slow and unreliable or make you a target for online criminals. Anti-spyware software helps protect your computer against security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software.

Tabs are located at the top of your internet browser. You can click the '+' symbol to open a new tab, where you can visit a different website without losing access to the page you are currently on. Some apps may also have tabs at the top or bottom of the screen, which you can click to switch between different parts of the app."

A standard set of rules that allows computers on different networks to communicate with each other. The creation of the Internet came about with the development and adoption of TCP/IP.

The Internet protocol that allows a computer in one location to connect to and act as a terminal of a computer in a different location. Unlike FTP, which involves the transfer of files between computers, Telnet primarily involves the transfer of commands from the terminal emulator to the host computer and the responses to those commands from the host computer to the terminal. Telnet also refers to terminal emulation programs that use the Telnet protocol.

A telephone line connection that can transfer data at 1.5 million bits per second. It is frequently used to connect LANs to the Internet.

A telephone line connection that can carry data at 45 million bits per second. This is more than enough to do full-screen video.

A Telnet program and protocol used to log in to IBM mainframe computers.

A computer operating system designed to be used by many people at the same time. UNIX is the most widely used operating system for servers on the Internet.

This is the protocol for identifying documents on the Web. All web addresses have a URL. For example, http://www.domain.com

A worldwide system of thousands of discussion areas, called newsgroups, with comments from hundreds of thousands of users. Most Usenet machines are on the Internet.

An application for playing MPEG video files.

It is a computer language that allows users to create three-dimensional programs. In a VRML application, a user can click on any object to travel to another part of the program or visit another web page. It is pronounced VER-mull.

A search engine that indexes large amounts of information and makes the indexes searchable.

An audio file format.

A program used to browse and access information on the World Wide Web. Web browsers convert raw HTML code into a graphical display. Some browsers can also navigate Gopher sites, connect to FTP servers, and display different types of image files. The most popular Web browsers are: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, among others.

The person in charge of maintaining the content found on a website or keeping the site running.

A collection of World Wide Web pages, usually consisting of a home page and several linked pages.

A group of bits used to designate various information within a computer. An 8-bit word is called a byte.

A system for finding and accessing Internet files and programs using hypertext. The World Wide Web allows users to browse the Internet by following links from documents on one computer to documents on others. The Web uses HTML, which allows files to be viewed in a graphical format. The World Wide Web was developed by CERN in the early 1990s and quickly became one of the most popular Internet applications.