Cohen | Lockey

Here you will find a selectionof terms, so common and others not so common. Hopefully this will help to demistify the complex world of the Internet. Feel free to browse this sections and if you have any fuirther question please call or email Cohen | Lockey.

- A -
Active Directory (AD)
An Active Directory structure is a hierarchical framework of objects. The objects fall into three broad categories: resources (e.g., printers), services (e.g., email), and users (user accounts and groups). The AD provides information on the objects, organises the objects, controls access and sets security.

Active Server Page (ASP)
A type of HTML page that includes one or more scripts, (small embedded programs written in VBScript or JScript), that are processed on a Microsoft web server to tailor a page before it is sent to the user. ASP pages are referred to as dynamic pages, since the content will change according to the user’s request.

Address
A unique name or number used to specify the location of a computer, website or person’s mailbox on the Internet. Computers are identified by an “IP address” (e.g. 192.168.100.1), websites are identified by a “URL” (e.g. www.microsoft.com), and mailboxes are identified by an “email address” (e.g. bill@microsoft.com).

ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line – one of the most popular forms of internet connection currently available, using regular copper telephone lines for broadband internet connectivity.

Adware
Any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running. The authors of these applications include additional code that delivers the ads, which can be viewed through pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen. The justification for adware is that it helps recover programming development cost and helps to hold down the cost for the user. Adware has been criticised because it usually includes code that tracks a user’s personal information and passes it on to third parties, without the user’s authorisation or knowledge.

Antivirus Software
Antivirus software is used to protect computers against known or potential viruses, and other malicious software.

Application
A program used to accomplish a specific task, i.e. a word processing program, a spreadsheet program or an FTP client.

Authentication
Verifying the identity of a person or computer when it attempts to access a resource on a network.

- B -
Bandwidth
Also referred to as data transfer, bandwidth is a measurement of the amount of information that can be transmitted over a network at a given time. Bandwidth is often measured in kilobits per second (Kb/s) or megabits per second (Mb/s).

Bookmark
Used to save the address of a website so it can be quickly and easily returned to in future. Customers might save your URL as a bookmark or ‘favourite’ to save typing the URL each time they visit.

Browser
The program that allows you to view web pages. Examples of widely used browsers are Internet Explorer, Netscape or Firefox.

- C -
Cache
Pronounced ‘cash’ – a file store used to temporarily store copies of files locally on a computer to enable quicker access when the file is next required.

CGI Script
A CGI script allows a program to be run on your server to output dynamic information and add interactivity to your site. Some examples of CGI scripts are: hit counters, mail forms, search pages and guest books. Although Perl is the predominant language because of its worldwide acceptance, CGI can be written in any number of programming languages such as, Unix SH, KSH, CSH, and C.

Client
A client is the requesting program or user in a client/server relationship. For example, the user of a Web browser makes client requests for pages from servers all over the Web. The browser itself is a client in its relationship with the server that is getting and returning the requested page. Another example of a client would be Outlook.

Cookie
A cookie is information that a web site puts on your hard disk so that it can remember something about you at a later time. Typically, a cookie records your preferences when using a particular site. They can be used to rotate the banner ads that a site sends so that it doesn’t keep sending the same ad as browse the site. They can also be used to customise pages for you based on your browser type or other information you may have provided the Web site. Web users must agree to let cookies be saved for them, but, in general, they help Web sites to serve users better.

Call To Action (CTA)
A CTA is used in a marketing message (i.e. on a website or e-mail) to highlight to the end target how you wish them to respond i.e. Email Us, Call Us or complete a form.

CRM
CRM is a Customer Relationship Management software package.

- D -
Data Transfer
See Bandwidth

Data Transfer Rate
The speed at which data is transferred. Measured in kilobytes per second for a CD-ROM drive, in bits per second for a modem, and in megabytes per second for a hard drive.

Dedicated
Belonging to only one user. For example, a dedicated server is a computer in a network that is reserved to manage communications between all other computers in the network. A dedicated line is a phone line used only to connect to the Internet, rather than one shared by a modem and a phone.

Dial Up
Dial-up is a form of Internet access via telephone lines. The user’s computer or uses an attached modem connected to a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider’s (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then used to route data between the user’s equipment and hosts on the Internet.

Disk Space
Disk space describes the storage capacity of a disk. It is usually expressed in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB).

Domain Name System (DNS)
The Domain Name System serves as the “phone book” for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.

Domain Name
A naming system for computers, services, or any resource participating in the Internet. E.g. http://www.example.com/ is a domain name.

Domain Name Registration
Domain Name Registration is the process of registering your domain name (i.e. www.example.com) with an official Internet registrar. This then prevents anybody else from using the same domain name as you.

Denial Of Service (DOS)
A method of attacking a server by sending an abnormally high volume of requests over a network; this slows down the performance of a server, making it unavailable to users.

DOS Attack
Denial of Service attack. A method of attacking a server by sending an abnormally high volume of requests over a network; this slows down the performance of a server, making it unavailable to any users.

Download
To retrieve a copy of a file from a host server onto your local computer

- E -
Electronic Commerce
Commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. 

Email Forwarding
Forwards email sent to one email address to another specified email address.

- F -
Firewall
A protective mechanism, usually a combination of hardware and software, designed to act as a barrier, keeping external networks, such as the Internet, completely separate from an internal network. Firewalls forbid access to anyone but individuals authorized to use the network.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
A method for transferring files between two computers over the Internet. An FTP client is required to make the connection to a FTP server. It is commonly used to upload files to a web server or download files from a web site.

- G -
Gigabyte (GB)
Gigabyte = 1,024 megabytes = 1,073,741,824 (2 to the 30th power) bytes, or characters of information.

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) (.gif)
A bit-mapped file format that is a standard for displaying images on the Web, it allows upto 256 specific colours to be referenced in an image. It is also possible to create GIF animations. The file extension is .gif

- H -
Hardware
The physical components of a computer system.

HE or Hosted Exchange
Hosted Exchange – A hosted version of Microsoft’s Exchange platform.

Hits
Hits are a record of how many items are retrieved from a web server. For example, a visit to a web page with two graphics would record 3 hits-1 hit for the page, and 2 hits for the graphics. Hits are frequently mistaken for the number of visits to a given site, but as one visit is likely to generate a number of hits page views are a more accurate measure of traffic.

Homepage
The introductory page for a website.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
Code used to describe the layout of a page for use on the World Wide Web. Common extensions are .htm or .html

HyperText Transport Protocol HTTP
The transmission standard used to send HTML documents across the Web.

Hyperlink
A hyperlink is a graphic or a piece of text in an Internet document that can connect readers to another website, another page within the same website, or allows you to download a file. Also known as a ‘link.’

- I -
IP
Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet or on the same private network.

IP Address
An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.

ISO
International Standards Organization – is the International Standards Organizations. They do not create standards but (as with ANSI) provide a means of verifying that a proposed standard has met certain requirements for due process, consensus, and other criteria by those developing the standard.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A company that provides access to the Internet.

- J -
Java
An object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.

Javascript
A scripting language developed by Netscape to allow designers to add interactivity to their websites. JavaScript can interact with HTML code to enable dynamic content. For more information, go to: http://javascript.com/.

JPEG (.jpg)
An acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, a JPEG is the most commonly used type of digital image format. By eliminating very subtle color distinctions that the human eye usually cannot detect, JPEG images are compressed so that they can save faster and use less space. Because JPEG format actually alters an image, meaning that a certain amount of data is lost every time a JPEG is edited, saved, and compressed again.

- L -
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 that data can be passed among them.

Link
A pointer in an HTML document that leads to another World Wide website, or to another place within the same site; also called a hyperlink. A link is activated by clicking on it.

- M -
MB
Megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes. A unit of computer memory, data storage capacity, or data

Modem
Modulator, DEModulator. A device you connect to your computer and phone line that enables your computer to communicate with other computers through the phone system. Modems convert the computer’s digital signals into analog waves that can be transmitted over standard voice telephone lines. Modem speeds are measured in bits per second (bps) or Kilobits (Kbps), or thousands of bits, per second.

- N -
Network
Two or more computers that are connected together to share resources such as hardware, data, and software. Most common are the local area network (LAN) and the wide area network (WAN).

- O -
ODBC Support
Object Database Connectivity (ODBC) support allows ODBC compliant applications to connect to an ODBC database and extract data without requiring that the user have programming skills. For example, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and mySQL are ODBC compliant applications. Using ODBC and mySQL a user can import data directly into an Excel spreadsheet once mySQL ODBC drivers have been installed on the user’s computer.

- P -
Packet
Data is generally transmitted within networks in the form of data packets. These packets contain the Header, the actual data (user data) and redundant data (CRC) for error correction on the receiving end.

Page
A document, or collection of information, available by way of the World Wide Web. To make information available over the WWW, you organize it into pages. A page may contain text, graphics, video, and/or sound files.

PC
Personal Computer. In recent years, the term ‘PC’ is used most often to describe personal computers based on an Intel or Intel-compatible microprocessor.

PERL
Practical Extraction and Report Language. Perl is a server-side, interpreted language that provides much of the web’s interactivity.

PGP
Pretty Good Privacy. An encryption program that allows users to exchange files and messages, with both privacy and authentication, over all types of networks. The messages are unreadable unless the receiver has an encryption key.

PHP
A server-side, HTML-embedded, open source scripting language used to create dynamic webpages. For more information: http://php.net/.

PING
A TCP/IP service that lets you check that you can reach another network node from your local host.

PPC
Pay Per Click. – This is a marketing campaign that is specific to search engines where you pay to advertise on the right hand side of the search for key terms. e.g. When a customer types in a key word then our ad appears in the search. If the customer clicks the ad then we pay the search engine for ‘referring’ the customers to our site.

Propagation
The process of disseminating information throughout a system. Example 1 – After you register a new Internet domain name, the information is propagated across the Internet when local DNS servers update their databases from a central file. Note: Not all local DNS databases are updated with the same frequency (hourly, daily, every other day, etc.). Example 2 – Password changes often must be made on several different servers and will not complete propagation until all affected servers update their databases. Updating (rehashing) a given server’s database is usually an automated process that is performed at specific intervals.

Protocol
A set of rules that regulate the way data is transmitted between computers over a network.

- S -
Screen Resolution
The pixel width and height a computer’s screen supports. Typical values for this are 1024×768 and 800×600

Search Engine
On the Internet, an information-finding program used to find and retrieve information based on keywords indexed in databases.

SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO also search optimization) is the process of editing and organizing the content on a webpage or across a website to increase its potential relevance to specific keywords on specific search engines and importantly ensuring that external links to the site are correctly titled and in abundance

Server
A computer that handles requests for data, e-mail, file transfers and other network services from other computers both locally and remotely.

Service Provider
A service provider is a company that supplies Internet access or other hosted products to personal users or businesses. See ISP.

Site
A site is the term given to a place where information can be found on the World Wide Web. (i.e. A website)

SPAM
The electronic equivalent of junk mail.

Spyware
The term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer’s operation without the informed consent of that machine’s owner or legitimate user. Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate.

SQL
Structured Query Language (pronounced SQL or Sequel). A language used to create, maintain and query databases. SQL uses common English words for many of its commands, which makes it easy to use. It is often embedded within other programming languages.

Streaming Media
A technique for transferring data so that it can be downloaded and processed in a continuous stream rather than waiting until the entire file is downloaded. This technique is increasing in importance for audio and multimedia, as users are increasingly impatient to have to wait until a file is completely downloaded in order to view it.

- T -
TCP/IP
The Internet Protocol Suite (commonly TCP/IP) is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks

Telnet
A protocol in the TCP/IP suite that enables individuals to log on to and use a remote computer as if they were sitting at a terminal directly connected to the machine.

Terminal
In terms of networking, a device with a keyboard and a monitor that is connected to a computer, such as a mainframe, through a communications link or cable and that relies on the larger machine for processing and data. 

- U -
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Stands for Uniform Resource Locator or, sometimes, Universal Resource Locator, the address for a resource (document) on the Internet.

- W -
Webmail
The term refers to a method of accessing your email via a webpage rather than an email client (e.g. Microsoft Outlook).

Worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. A worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers and it does so without any intervention. In general, worms harm the network whereas viruses infect or corrupt files on a targeted computer.

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