Internet Glossary
Attachments
Multimedia files that are 'attached' to an E-mail; can be text, graphics,
sound, video, spreadsheet, database, or even an entire application. Often
symbolized by the image of a paper clip.
BCC (short for Blind Carbon Copy)
Blind carbon copying is a useful way to let others see an e-mail you sent
without the main recipient knowing. It is faster than sending the original
message and then forwarding the sent message to the other recipients. It is
also good netiquette to use Bcc when copying a message to many people. This
prevents the e-mail addresses from being captured by someone in the list who
might use them for spamming purposes. However, if it is important that each
recipient knows who your message was sent to, use carbon copy (CC) instead.
Bookmarks (also called Favorites)
Important links can be saved in the bookmarks file so they can be found
immediately without having to look up the URL and type it in; to mark a
document or a specific place in a document for later retrieval. Nearly all Web
browsers support a book marking feature that lets you save the address (URL)
of a Web page so that you can easily re-visit the page at a later time.
Browser (short for web browser)
Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display
Web pages. Term used to describe the client program for the World Wide Web
that allows users to read hypertext documents and navigate between them.
Browsers can be text-based or graphic. The two most popular browsers are
Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of these are graphical
browsers, which mean that they can display graphics as well as text. In
addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information,
including sound and video, though they require plug-ins for some formats.
CC (short for Carbon Copy)
The term comes from carbon copying, in which a piece of carbon paper
copies writing from one paper to another (often used when filling out forms).
However, the term is now commonly used in reference to e-mail. When you
send an e-mail message, you typically type the recipient's address in the "To:"
field. If you want to send the message to one or more other recipients, you can
use the "Cc:" field to add additional addresses. This will send the e-mail to the
address in the "To:" field and to each address listed in the "Cc:" field as well.
.Doc
Document; Microsoft Word Files
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Domain name
A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the
domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain
names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the
URL http://www.pcwebopedia.com/index.html, the domain name is
pcwebopedia.com.
Download
To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral
device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an
online service to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a
file from a network file server to a computer on the network. To download
means to receive; to upload means to transmit.
Email (short for electronic mail)
Short for electronic mail, the transmission of messages over
communications networks. Email can be limited to a single computer system
or network, or can allow much broader connectivity. Most email systems allow
you to send the same message to one or many people.
ESP (Email Service Provider)
An ESP is a company or organization that provides Email access to
individuals and institutions. The service provider lets you choose an email
name and password, and designates an account to manage your email
messages.
.Exe
Document; Microsoft Word Files
Favorites (also called Bookmarks)
A feature in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser that enables the user
to record URLs that will be frequently used by adding them to a special menu.
The equivalent in Netscape Navigator is Bookmarks. Once an URL is on the list,
it is easy to return to that web page simply by clicking on the link in the list,
rather than retyping the entire URL.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP works in the same way as HTTP for transferring Web pages from a
server to a user's browser in that FTP uses the Internet's TCP/IP protocols to
enable data transfer. FTP is most commonly used to download a file from a
server using the Internet or to upload a file to a server (e.g., uploading a Web
page file to a server).
Home Page
The first page on a World Wide Web site, to which supporting pages are
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linked. Typically, the home page serves as an index or table of contents to
other documents stored at the site. The home page can also be the Web page
that your browser is set to use when it starts up, or the main Web page for a
business, organization, person, or simply the main page out of a collection of
Web pages.
Hot Links (or hyperlinks or links)
In hypertext systems, such as the World Wide Web, a link is a reference
to another document. Such links are sometimes called hot links because they
take you to other document when you click on them
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The language used to create a Web document. The universal code used
for the World Wide Web that instructs a web browser (like Internet Explorer)
how to display the information on the web site. The language used to create
World Wide Web pages, with hyperlinks and markup for text formatting
(different heading styles, bold, italic, numbered lists, insertion of images, etc.).
HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web client program,
such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. The "source" file for
what you see on a web page is written in HTML. Also written as Htm.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
Short for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the underlying protocol used by
the World Wide Web. An agreed upon format (protocol) used on the World Wide
Web to retrieve HTML documents. Also the first part of many URLs. The
protocol most often used to transfer information from World Wide Web servers
to browsers, which is why Web addresses begin with http://. HTTP defines
how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers
and browsers should take in response to various commands. For example,
when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command
to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page.
Hyperlink (or hotlink or link)
An element in an electronic document that links to another place in the
same document or to an entirely different document. Typically, you click on the
hyperlink to follow the link. Hyperlinks are the most essential ingredient of all
hypertext systems, including the World Wide Web. Hyperlinks are usually
underlined or shown in a different color.
Internet
The Internet is not synonymous with World Wide Web.
The Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a
host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use
and which local services to make available to the global Internet community.
Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. A network of
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networks; a group of networks interconnected via routers. The Internet (with a
capital I) is the world's largest internet. This worldwide information highway is
comprised of thousands of interconnected computer networks, and reaches
millions of people in many different countries. The Internet was originally
developed for the United States military, and then became used for
government, academic and commercial research and communications. The
Internet is made up of large backbone networks, and smaller networks that
link to them. The Internet functions as a gateway for electronic mail between
various networks and online services. The World Wide Web facility on the
Internet makes possible almost instantaneous exchange of information by
linking documents around the world. Internet computers use the TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). There are over six million
hosts on the Internet: mainframes, minicomputers or workstations that
support the Internet Protocol.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
An ISP is a company or organization that provides Internet access to
individuals and institutions, usually for a fee. The service provider gives you a
software package, user name, password, and access phone number. With a
modem, a user can log on, browse the World Wide Web, and communicate with
others through chat and email. A company that provides individuals and
companies access to the Internet at varying speeds and other related services
such as email.
.Jpg (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
One of the two most common image file formats on the Internet today.
JPEG, or JPG, is a graphics file format (similar to GIF) which is used more for
photographs and other images containing many colors and shading. Also
known as Jpeg.
Junk Mail
Internet slang for unsolicited bulk email, primarily unsolicited
commercial email (UCE). Recipients of junk mail often consider it an unwanted
intrusion. Also known as Spam.
Metasearch Engine
A search engine that queries other search engines and then combines
the results that are received from all. In effect, the user is not using just one
search engine but a combination of many search engines at once to optimize
Web searching. For example, Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com) is a
metasearch engine.
Modem (short for Modulator-Demodulator)
A simple analog data communications device for transmitting data over a
POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line. Digital signals are converted to analog
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signals and vice versa. Modems are used to send data signals (digital) over the
telephone network, which is usually analog. The modem modulates the digital
data of computers into analog signals to send over the telephone lines, then
demodulates back into digital signals to be read by the computer on the other
end; thus the name "modem" for MOdulator/DEModulator.
Netiquette
Refers to etiquette on the Internet. Good netiquette involves respecting
others' privacy and not doing anything online that will annoy or frustrate other
people. Three areas where good netiquette is highly stressed are e-mail, online
chat, and newsgroups. Also known as Net Etiquette.
Online Service
Online services provide a variety of information and services and an
infrastructure in which subscribers can communicate with one another, either
by exchanging e-mail messages or by participating in online conferences
(forums). In addition, the service can connect users with an almost unlimited
number of third-party information providers. Subscribers can get up-to-date
stock quotes, news stories hot off the wire, articles from many magazines and
journals, in fact, almost any information that has been put in electronic form.
Of course, accessing all this data carries a price.
.PDF (Portable Document Format)
Portable Document Format. An electronic document that must be read
with the Adobe Acrobat computer program.
Pop-up
A pop-up is a small window that appears over a visual interface (your
screen). A pop-up can be initiated by clicking a link or a mouse rollover. Pop-
up ads are advertisements that work in the same way, but are not welcome or
expected by the user.
Plug-in
A (usually small) piece of software that adds features to or enhances a
larger piece of software. The idea behind plug-ins is that a small piece of
software is loaded into memory by the larger program, adding a new feature,
and that users need only install the few plug-ins that they need, out of a much
larger pool of possibilities. An example is the set of additional tools and effects
available to Photoshop image editor in the Plug-ins folder. There are many
plug-ins for Netscape Navigator such as Shockwave player that give the
browser special capabilities, especially for multimedia websites.
Search Engine
A tool to find documents on the Web. At great speeds, the search engine
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will search through millions of Web pages and select those with specific words
and phrases as chosen by the user.
Spam
Internet slang for unsolicited bulk email, primarily unsolicited
commercial email (UCE). Recipients of spam often consider it an unwanted
intrusion. Not all bulk email is spam. Also known as Junk Mail.
Surfing
By analogy with riding waves in the ocean, traveling from place to place
on the Internet. The idea "Internet surfing" may come from "channel surfing" on
the television, which means switching from channel to channel looking for
something interesting. By that example, surfing the internet is traveling from
site to site, exploring the Internet for fun.
Upload
To transmit data from a computer to a bulletin board service, mainframe,
or network. For example, if you use a personal computer to log on to a network
and you want to send files across the network, you must upload the files from
your PC to the network. To upload means to transmit, to download means to
receive.
URL (Universal Resource Locator)
Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of
documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. Universal Resource
Locator is a means of identifying an exact location on the Internet. A URL is
comprised of four parts: Protocol Type (HTTP), Machine Name (webtrends.com),
Directory Path (/html/info/), and File Name (default.htm). A resource identifier
that describes its target by presenting a pathway for retrieving it. URL may
include a protocol, a host computer, and how to find the target resource on
that computer.
Usenet (Users’ Network)
A giant public bulletin board system on the Internet for news and
electronic mail. Usenet was started in 1979 by graduate students at Duke
University and the University of North Carolina, using the UUCP
communications protocol. It now has over 12,000 discussion areas which cover
every imaginable topic are read by millions of people all over the world.
Messages and news articles are posted and users respond by email. In hot
discussion areas, hundreds of messages a day may be posted. Types of Usenet
groups are comp (about computers), news (about newsgroups), rec (on sports
and hobbies), sci (science), soc (social), talk (discussions), misc
(miscellaneous), and alt (alternative newsgroups).
.Wmv (Windows Media Video)
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A Microsoft file format used for delivering digital video and audio.
Web Browser
A software application used to make navigating the Internet easy for the
user by providing a graphical user interface so the user can click menus, icons,
or buttons rather than learning difficult computer commands. Also called a
web client because the browser application resides on the client, or the
computer of the individual using it, rather than residing on a web server. Two
widely used web browsers are Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape
Navigator.
Web Page
One page of a document on the World Wide Web. A web page is usually a
file written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), stored on a server. A web
page usually has links to other web pages. Each web page has its own address
called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), in the form
http://www.currents.com.
Web Site
A site (location) on the World Wide Web. A group of similar web pages
linked by hyperlinks and managed by a single company, organization, or
individual. A web site may include text, graphics, audio and video files, and
hyperlinks to other web pages. Each Web site contains a home page, which is
the first document users see when they enter the site. The site might also
contain additional documents and files. Each site is owned and managed by an
individual, company or organization.
Window
A division of a computer display screen, which has boundaries and is
usually a rectangular area. In a full-featured graphical interface, windows can
be opened, closed, and moved around on the screen. Windows are particularly
valuable in multitasking environments, which allow you to execute several
programs at once. By dividing your display into windows, you can see the
output from all the programs at the same time. To enter input into a program,
you simply click on the desired window to make it the foreground process.
World Wide Web
World Wide Web is not synonymous with the Internet.
A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents.
The documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (HyperText
Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics,
audio, and video files. This means you can jump from one document to another
simply by clicking on hot spots. Not all Internet servers are part of the World
Wide Web. The World Wide Web (WWW or simply Web) is all the resources and
users on the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP).
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The Web gives universal access to a vast collection of documents. The Web's
protocols are a superset of many of the most common Internet application
services. Web servers exist for libraries, corporations, and a wide variety of
other sites. An easy (but powerful) global-information system based on a
combination of information retrieval and hypertext techniques. The Web is a
hypertext-based, distributed system developed to provide Internet users an
easy, intuitive means of accessing information.
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