One of the world's leading online service providers. Users can log on to share information and e-mail, or connect with the internet
Authentication
The process of identifying an individual, usually based on a username and password.
B-ISDN (Broadband integrated services digital network)
A standard for transmitting voice, video and data at the same time over fiber optic telephone lines.
Blog
A Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.
Bookmark
In a word processer document, you can mark an area in the document by creating an electronic bookmark. Later, you can select the bookmark to jump to the area in the document. In Netscape Navigator's Web Browser, you can create a bookmark to note the address for a favorite Web page. You can then select the bookmark rather than typing the full web address when you want to display the Web page.
Bridge
A device that connects two local-area networks (LANs), or two segments of the same LAN that use the same protocol.
Broadband
A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once.
Browser
a software application used to locate and display Web pages.
Cable Modem
A modem designed to operate over cable TV lines. Because the coaxial cable used by cable TV provides much greater bandwidth than telephone lines, a cable modem can be used to achieve extremely fast access to the World Wide Web.
Coaxial Cable
A type of wire that consists of a center wire surrounded by insulation and then a grounded shield of braided wire. The shield minimizes electrical and radio frequency interference.
Drive
An internal or external device that reads data from and writes data onto a disk. A disk drive rotates the disk very fast and has one or more heads that read and write data.
Dumb Terminal
A display monitor that has no processing capabilities.
E-Commerce
The use of the Internet for buying and selling goods and or services.
Extranet
A buzzword that refers to an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders through the use of a ID and password.
Favorites
A list of web pages or websites bookmarked by the user and provided in a quick link on the toolbar that connects the user directly to the site without having to search for the location.
Fiber Optic Cables
A technology that uses glass (or plastic) threads (fibers) to transmit data. A fiber optic cable consists of a bundle of glass threads, each of which is capable of transmitting messages modulated onto light waves.
File Server
A computer or device on a network that manages network resources.
firewall
A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network.
folder
In graphical user interfaces such as Windows and the Macintosh environment, a folder is an object that can contain multiple documents.
FTP
the protocol for exchanging files over the Internet.
hub
A common connection point for devices in a network.
Internet
A global network connecting millions of computers.
intranet
A network based on TCP/IP protocols (an internet) belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization.
IP address
An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network.
ISDN
Abbreviation of integrated services digital network, an international communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital telephone lines or normal telephone wires.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
A company that provides access to the Internet.
LAN (Local Area Network)
A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings.
Login
To make a computer system or network recognize you so that you can begin a computer session.
Mainframe
A very large and expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of users simultaneously.
Modem
A modem is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over, for example, telephone or cable lines.
MSN (Microsoft Network)
Microsoft's online service
Network
A group of two or more computer systems linked together.
NIC (Network Interface Cards)
An expansion card inserted into the computer’s bus slot so the computer can connect to the Internet by enabling the computer to convert binary data from the computer into signals that can be transmitted over cables to and from other computers.
Node
each device that connects to the network, it is also known as the processing location.
Password
A secret series of characters that enables a user to access a file, computer, or program.
Patch Panel
A panel of network ports contained together, usually within a telecommunications closet, that connects incoming and outgoing lines of a LAN or other communication, electronic or electrical system.
Peer-to-Peer
A type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities.
Point of Sale System (POS)
A variety of devices which include computers, cash registers, optical and bar code scanners, magnetic card readers, or any combination of these devices that capture data and customer payment information at a physical location when goods or services are bought and sold.
Proxy Server
A server that sits between a client application, such as a Web browser, and a real server.
Router
A device that forwards data packets along networks
Search Engine
A system like google that searches the web for specified keywords and returns a list of the websites where the keywords were found.
Server
A computer or device on a network that manages network resources.
Switch
In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments
T1 Line
A dedicated phone connection supporting data rates of 1.544Mbits per second.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
The suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet.
Telnet
A terminal emulation program for TCP/IP networks such as the Internet. The Telnet program runs on your computer and connects your PC to a server on the network.
URL
The global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
Usenet
A worldwide bulletin board system that can be accessed through the Internet or through many online services.
User Name
A name that a computer user uses to gain access to a computer system.
VPN (Vitrual private network)
A network that is connected to the Internet but requires the users log-in to the VPN server of an organization.
Volume
A fixed amount of storage on a disk or tape.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
A computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area.
WWW (World Wide Web)
A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents that are 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.
Sneaker Net
The first solution that refers to the method of users coping files from one computer and carrying them to another.
Twisted Pair Cable
Category 5 or Category 6 cables that consist of pairs of wires twisted together.
Network Administrator
An individual responsible for maintaining a multi-user computer system, including a local-area network (LAN).
Information Superhighway
A popular buzzword to describe the Internet, bulletin board services, online services, and other services that enable people to obtain information from telecommunications networks.
Client Workstation
Computer that request files or services from servers.
Dial-up Networking
A component in Windows 95 and Windows that enables you to connect your computer to a network using a modem.
DSL (digital subscriber lines)
A technology that uses sophisticated modulation schemes to pack data onto copper wires, that provides connections from a telephone switching station to connects home or office computers to the Internet.
E-mail Server
a computer within your network that works as your virtual post office.
