The On-line Users Guide Internet Glossary

If you're new to the Internet world, Internet terminology can be confusing and overwhelming, especially since lots of similar acronyms are used. This glossary should be used as a starting point to get you on the right track with your Internet lingo. You'll be chatting like an expert in no time!

If you encounter an Internet term that you are not familiar with while you are using the On-line Users Guide, just click on the word or term to view its definition.

Access Number -- The number your dialer uses to connect to the Internet. Whenever you move to a new location, you should change the access number to an appropriate access number for that region.

Address -- The unique code assigned to the location of a file in storage on the Internet.

Alt -- Type of newsgroup that discusses alternative-type topics.

Anonymous FTP -- Method for using FTP to log on to another computer and copy files.

Archie -- A system that assists you in finding files located anywhere on the Internet. Archie finds the file, then the user must FTP to retrieve the file.

ARPANET -- (Advanced Research Projects Administration Network) -- The precursor to the Internet. Developed in 1969 by the US Department of Defense as an experiment in wide-area networking that would survive a nuclear war.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) -- The 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

Backbone -- A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network.

Bandwidth -- How much "stuff" you can send through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits.

Baud -- In common usage the "baud rate" of a modem is how many bits it can send or receive per second. Technically "baud" is the number of times per second that the carrier signal shifts value.

Binary File -- A file that contains information which does not only text-based.

Bit (Binary DigIT) -- A single digit number, either a 1 or a zero. This is smallest unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.

Bitmap -- A picture comprised of lots of tiny dots, each of which can be turned off. These tiny bits are combined to create graphics. GIF and JPG files are the most popular kinds of bitmap files on the Internet.

Bps -- Bits Per Second. A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A "28.8 modem" can move 28,800 bits per second.

Browser -- A client program (software) that is used to view various kinds of information on the Internet and World Wide Web.

Byte -- A series of bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 bits in a Byte. Computer storage is often measured in bytes.

Chat -- To talk in real-time to other network users from any part of the world. Microsoft NetMeeting offers chat functionality.

Client -- A software program that is located on the user's computer. The client software interacts with Server software programs on other computers to share information.

Cyberspace -- Term originated by author William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer", the word Cyberspace is currently used to describe computer-aided communication.

Directory -- A structure similar to a file folder which is used to organize other files.

Disk Space -- The amount of space on a disk used to store programs and information.

Domain Name -- The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general. (internetwork.net is a domain name.)

Download -- The transfer of programs or data from one computer to another - usually from a server to a personal computer.

Drag and Drop -- A graphic interface that allows an object on the screen to be physically moved by the user.

E-mail -- Electronic mail messages that can be sent from one person to another via the Internet. Microsoft Internet Mail allows you superb e-mail access.

Emoticon -- Also known as a 'smiley'. A combination of ASCII characters that suggests an emotion when read sideways.

FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject.

Flame -- A violent, sarcastic, or unnecessary expression of disapproval.

FTP -- File Transfer Protocol - A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files.

Finger -- An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site.

Firewall -- A security system around Internet sites that protects the site or only allows certain types of messages in or out.

Gateway -- This is a hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols and allows them to communicate.

Gopher -- A method of making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher is a text based Client and Server style program.

Hardware -- The physical components of a computer or computer accessories.

Home Page -- The central, primary Web page for an organization, person, etc. from which other pertinent pages are linked. WWW.INTERNETWORK.NET is by far the coolest!

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

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) -- The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. With HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word, is "linked" to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web Client program, such as Internet Explorer.

HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) -- The method by which documents are transferred from the host computer or server to browsers.

Hypertext -- Generally, any text that contains "links" to other documents on the Web.

Icon -- A small picture used to represent a program, object, or action.

Internet Explorer -- Microsoft's awesome Web browser, included as part of your Network Internet software.

IP Address -- The Internet protocol (IP) address is the address assigned to a server or host. This is a unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 165.113.245.2. Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP address.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) -- A way to move more data at faster rates over existing regular phone lines.

Internet -- The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from ARPANET.

Kilobyte -- A thousand bytes. Actually, usually, 1024 (2^10) bytes.

LAN -- Local Area Network - A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of the building.

Link -- A connection. Or, link can refer to a hypertext link in a Web page that connects one page to another.

Microsoft(R) Internet Mail List (or Microsoft(R) Internet Mailing List) -- An automated system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the mail list.

Memory (RAM) -- The computer's temporary memory. This is erased when the user turns off the computer.

Message -- A piece of e-mail or a posting to a newsgroup.

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.

Network -- Two or more computers that are linked together so that they can share resources.

Newsgroups -- The name for discussion groups located on Usenet, or, a distributed bulletin-board system about a specific subject.

Newsreader -- Microsoft Internet News - An application that lets you read the messages in Usenet newsgroups and respond (post).

Node -- Any single computer connected to a network .

Page -- A document available via the Web. All information on the web is organized by pages.

Password -- A secret code used to gain access to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as "virtue7".

POP Point of Presence -- A 'POP' is an Internet service provider's dial-up connection.

Port -- First and most generally, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. E.g. the "serial port" on a personal computer is where a modem would be connected.

Second, the Internet "port" often 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 number on that server. Most services have standard port number, e.g. Web servers normally listen on port 80.

PPP -- Point to Point Protocol - a Dial-up Internet connection speaking in TCP/IP protocol, or a scheme for connecting computers over a phone line or network.

Search Engine -- An application used to find information on the Web.

Serial Port -- The outlet on your computer into which you can plug a serial line.

Server (see Client) -- A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers.

Service Provider -- An organization such as Network that provides access to the Internet.

Shareware -- Computer programs that can be easily downloaded that are available for you to use on a free trial basis. After the trial period, you can choose to pay for the services or the software will expire.

SLIP -- Serial Line Internet Protocol - A software scheme for connecting a computer to the Internet via a serial line. -

Software -- Computer programs/applications that you load on a computer.

Spam -- An inappropriate message that you send to multiple newsgroups or e-mail addresses.

TCP/IP -- Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - The standard network communications protocol used to connect computers across the Internet.

Telnet -- The command and program used to login from one Internet site to another.

URL -- Uniform Resource Locator - The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like this:

Usenet -- A world-wide system of discussion groups with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Usenet is composed of discussion groups, called newsgroups .

WWW World Wide Web -- An Internet system for world-wide hypertext linking of multimedia documents, making the relationship of information easily accessible and independent of physical location.