Access Provider The
entity that connects you to the Internet. Access providers, also known as Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), provide your link to the Internet.
Application Sometimes
known as a client or an "app", it is a program that performs a
specific function. FTP, Mail, Gopher, Mosaic, and Telnet clients are the most
common examples of Internet applications.
Article A
posting in a newsgroup.
ASCII American
Standards for Computer Information Interchange. This is the organization that
sets the standard for the codes used to create characters in computers.
Bandwidth This
refers to the difference (measured in Hz), between the highest and lowest
frequencies of a transmission. Most people loosely refer to band width as the
amount of data that can be transferred over a network connection.
BCC Blind
Carbon Copy. A field in an email package that is used to address a message to
another person. The original recipient of the message will not see that it was
also sent to a BCC.
Bookmark A stored location of information. Setting a bookmark allows
you to go directly to the location rather than typing it.
Boolean Search Boolean searching allows you to use the AND, OR, AND NOT, or BUT NOT
Strategy operators
to produce sophisticated searches. In order to do this effectively you should
use parentheses to group like terms together.
Browser A
program used to access locations on the World Wide Web. Examples of such
programs are Netscape, Internet Explorer and Mosaic.
CC Carbon
Copy. A text field in an email program that allows you to send a copy of the
message to another person. The original recipient of the message will see that
you sent the Carbon Copy.
Data Encryption Much like an actual key used for
locking and re-opening doors, DEK's are
Key (DEK) used for the encryption and decoding of message text,
sometimes in the form of a digital signature.
Dedicated Line A communications line that is used solely for computer
connections. If you buy an additional phone line for your modem, that is a
dedicated line. There other types of dedicated lines (such as T3s and T1s) that
are used for larger network entities.
Dialup A
widely-used method of accessing the Internet. A dialup connection uses regular
phone lines to connect one computer to another via modem.
Domain Name The DNS is a static, hierarchical name service used with
TCP/IP hosts, and is
Service (DNS) housed on a number of servers on the Internet. Basically, it
maintains a database for figuring out and finding (or resolving) host names and
IP addresses on the Internet. This allows users to specify remote computers by
host names rather than numerical IP addresses.
Download The
process of transferring computer files from another location to your own
location.
Electronic Mail A
method used by which computer users can exchange messages with each
(Email) other over a network. Email is probably the most
widely-used communications tool on the Internet. One of email's advantages is
its ability to be forwarded and replied to easily. If an email is badly
received by a group or a user, the sender is likely to get "flamed".
Email Electronic
Mail allows you to write letters or notes on your computer and send them
electronically. Many different organizations have been using different
electronic mail programs internally for years, and the many online services
such as CompuServe were originally designed to provide email connection to
anyone else subscribing to that service. Internet email allows you to send mail
to anyone in the world on the Internet.
Email Address Your
email address is made up of several parts. By convention, addresses use
lowercase letters with no spaces. The first part of the address, the username,
identifies a unique user on a server. The "@" (pronounced
"at") separates the username from the host name.
FAQ Acronym
for "Frequently Asked Questions". FAQ's are widely available on the
Internet and usually take the form of large, instructional text files. They are
written on a wide variety of topics, and are usually the most up-to-date source
for specialized information.
File Transfer The most widely-used way of downloading and uploading
(getting and putting)
Protocol (FTP) files across an Internet connection. The File Transfer
Protocol is a standardized way to connect computers so that files can be shared
between them easily. There is a set of commands in FTP for making and changing
directories, transferring, copying, moving, and deleting files. Formerly, all
FTP connections were text based, but graphical applications are now available
that make FTP commands as easy as dragging and dropping. Numerous FTP clients
exist for a number of platforms.
Freenet: A network system made up of community-based bulletin
board systems with email information, services, interactive communications, and
conferencing. They are usually funded and operated by individuals or
organizations much like public television. Freenet providers are part of the
National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN), a Cleveland-based organization
that works to make computer services as freely available as public libraries.
Freeware Software
created by programmers where no payment is expected.
FTP File
Transfer Protocol. The communication program used to access files in a
directory on remote computers.
HTML Hypertext
Mark-up Language which is used to create pages on the World Wide Web.
HTTP Hypertext
Transfer Protocol. The methodology by which links are created on the World Wide
Web.
Hyperlinks Phrases
or text on an WWW home page that are linked to other pages of information.
Hypertext A
type of text that allows embedded “links” to other documents. Clicking on or
selecting a hypertext link displays another document or section of a document.
Most World Wide Web documents contain hypertext.
Internet A
large, uncontrolled, unadministered, anarchic cyberstate that will soon take
over the world. Basically it is just everyone’s computers hooked together. It
is not a corporation, organization, or entity in itself. When you connect to
the Internet, you actually become part of it. Always capitalized, the word
Internet can also be referred colloquially as the “Net”.
Internet Service An
ISP is a company that maintains a network that is linked to the Internet via
Provider (ISP) a dedicated communication line, usually a high speed link
known as a T1. An ISP offers use of its dedicated communication lines to
companies or individuals that cannot afford the $1,300 a month for a direct
connection. Using a modem, you can dial up to a service provider who’s
computers will connect you to the Internet, typically for a fee.
JPEG File format, Joint Photographers
Expert Group.
LAN Acronym
for “Local Area Network”. LANs are now commonplace in most businesses, allowing
users to send email and share resources such as files, printers, modems, etc.
Currently most larger companies are connection their LANs to the Internet,
allowing users to connect to resources within or outside the LAN.
Listserve An
automated mailing list distribution system. Listservs exist for a multitude or
professional, educational, and special interest groups.
Nettiquette The
combination of the words “Net” and “etiquette”, this refers to the proper
behaviour on a network, and more generally the Internet. The key element in
ettiquette is remembering that actual people are on the other end of a computer
connection, and offensive comments or actions are just as offensive even if you
cannot see your recipient.
News Reader The
software package that can access the newsgroup feature. For example, Trumpet
News is a news reader package.
NewsGroup A
discussion group on the Internet.
Search Engine A
program built into a database to search for terms or words contained within
that database.
Shareware Software
created by programmers that is offered for testing. Payment is expected if you
continue to use the software longer than a specified period of time.
Signature An
ASCII text file that can be automatically attached to the bottom of a piece of
email or newsgroup posting that identifies the sender. Many signatures (or
“sigs”) use symbols and characters to create images or words to make the sig
more interesting.
Undeliverable Mail Mail
that has been returned due to incorrect addressing in the To:
section of an email message.
Universal Resource More commonly referred as URL, the Universal Resource
Locator refers to
Locator (URL) the entire address that is recognized “universally” as the
address for an Internet resource. Each resource on the Internet has a unique
URL. URL’s begin with letters that identify the resource type, such as http,
ftp, gopher, etc. These types are followed by a colon and two slashes. Next,
the computer’s name is listed, followed by the directory and filename of the
remote resource.
UnZip The process of decompressing a file
to make it ready for installation on your computer.
Web Browser Software
needed to navigate through the web. For example, Netscape and Mosaic are Web
Browsers.
World Wide Web The
“Web” is a collection of online documents houses on Internet servers
(WWW or W3) around the world. The concept of the Web was created by
researchers at CERN in Switzerland. Web documents are written or “coded” in
HTML. To access these documents, you have to use a Web browser, such as
Netscape or Mosaic. When these browsers access (or hit) a page, the server uses
the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to send the document to your computer.
Zipped File A
file that has been subject to the process of compression in the .zip format. It
makes the file smaller so that you spend less time online transferring. There
are a number of other compression formats, such as the .tar format which stands
for tape archive, for different platforms.
Zipping The
process of compressing, in the .zip compression format, a file or files for
storage or transmission to another site.
Source: MasterTrak™, Exploring the Internet Courseware 7100. © CCI Computer Courseware International Inc. February 1997. _