A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q S T U V W

Address: The location of an Internet resource, such as a Web page or an e-mail box.

ADSL: The Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a means of moving data over regular phone lines that is faster than a regular phone connection.

AFIWC: Air Force Information Warfare Center.

Anchor: The starting point or destination of a WWW link.

Anonymous FTP: An anonymous FTP site lets users download files from the computer without having a private user ID and password.

Applet: A small Java program that can be downloaded over a network and launched on the user's computer.

Application: A computer program designed for a specific task or use.

Archie: Software for finding files stored on anonymous FTP sites.

ARPANet: The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, developed in the late 1960's by the Department of Defense, was the precursor to the Internet.

Bandwidth: The amount of information one can send through a connection.

Baud: The number of bits a modem can send or receive per second.

BBS: Bulletin Board Systems are dial-up services generally operated for an extremely small population and maintained by hobbyists. They are frequently used for file transfers.

Binary Code: Base Two mathematics, consisting solely of 0 and 1. Computers are based on binary code.

Bit: A single digit number in binary, "Bit" stands for "Binary DigIT." The smallest unit of computerized data.

BITNET: "Because It's Time NETwork" or "Because It's There NETwork," it is a network of educational sites technically separate from the Internet. Listserv, a type of e-mail discussion group, originated on BITNET.

Bookmark: A user-chosen pointer to a Web site saved within a browser program to make return to a favorite location simple.

Boolean Search: Search engines that use And, Or, Not, But Not, and so on as a means of searching.

Browser: Software for reading and viewing WWW pages.

Buffer: A small amount of memory that briefly retains currently pertinent information.

Bundling: The selling of hardware or software, with additional items included, such as preloaded programs. Bundling is a marketing strategy to promote products by shipping them with a popular or essential product.

Byte: A set of Bits, usually eight, that represent a single character.

C2W: Command-and-control warfare is combat in which command systems are the chief target.

Cache: A small block of memory where frequently accessed data can be stored for quick access.

CGI: The Common Gateway Interface is a set of protocols that describe how a server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine.

cgi-bin: The name for most directories on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.

Chat: Real-time online communication between Internet users.

Client: A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a server on another computer.

Clones: Computers that essentially replicate IBM PCs, and are compatible with IBM PC software, that generally sell for less than the cost of an actual IBM machine.

Cookie: An information morsel sent by a server to a browser to save and send back when needed in the future. Cookies contain personal information such as login or registration information, online shopping cart information, user preferences, and so forth.

Copernicus: The Navy plan to reformulate its command and control structures to defend against information warfare.

Cyberspace: The complete universe of information resources available through computer networks. Term created by novelist William Gibson in Neuromancer.

Database: Data sets that can be updated, indexed, and used as sources of information.

DES: Data Encryption Standard.

Desktop: A computer screen display that arranges icons and menus in a Graphical User Interface format.

Dial-up Connection: A connection to an Internet server or other electronic resource using a telephone, modem, and regular telephone lines.

DISA: The Defense Information Systems Agency is the organization charged with providing information systems support to fighting units.

Direct Connection: A connection made directly to the Internet, which is obviously much faster than a dial-up connection.

DOD: Department of Defense.

DOJ: Department of Justice.

Domain Name: The Internet is divided into smaller sets known as domains, chiefly .com (commercial), .gov (governmental), .org (organizational), and .edu (educational). The domain name is the unique name of an individual Internet site.

DOS: Disk Operating System.

Download: The process of copying data files from a remote computer to a local computer.

DSL: Digital Subscriber Line is a means of moving data over regular phone lines that is faster than a regular phone connection. It is essentially a "direct line" to the Internet from one's home.

E-commerce: The developing realm of commercial activity, sales, and trade in cyberspace.

E-mail: Electronic mail consists of messages sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail may also be used to send files, visual images, etc.

E-rate: A proposed policy, somewhat unpopular among netizens, which would attach a fee to telephone rates that would be used to support building Internet infrastructure into public schools in the United States. Vice President Al Gore is a chief proponent, and e-rate opponents and Gore rivals sometimes call the plan the "Gore Tax."

Encryption: Hardware or software designed to keep data transfers private by encoding them.

Ethernet: A common method of networking computers in a local area network (LAN).

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. FAQs exist to prevent the need for new users to ask the same questions again and again, and can be found on Web sites, in newsgroups, in chat rooms, and many other places online.

Firewall: A hardware or software that separates a LAN into two or more parts for security purposes, to prevent unauthorized use of some materials while still making others accessible.

Flame: Any kind of derogatory comment made online.

Frames: WWW pages wherein the server takes the user to other Web pages within a smaller box, or "frame," on a home page.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol is a common method of moving files between two Internet sites.

GIF: Graphic Interchange Format is a common format for image files.

Gopher: A method of making menus of material available over the Internet, Gopher has been largely supplanted by the rise of the World Wide Web.

GUI: Graphical User Interface. The "point-and-click" style of interaction introduced in Apple computers and later in Microsoft Windows.

HDTV: High Definition Television, which has been in use in Japan and Europe for some time, is gradually being introduced in the United States.

Hit: A single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server. Often used as a very rough measure of load on a server.

Home Page: The web page that your browser is set to use when it starts up, or the main Web page for a business, organization, person, etc. Sometimes incorrectly used to refer to absolutely any Web page.

Host: Any computer on a network that is home to services available to other computers on the network.

HTML: HyperText Markup Language is the simple coding language used to create documents for the World Wide Web.

HTTP: HyperText Transport Protocol. The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet.

Hypertext: Any text that contains links to other documents.

IBW: Intelligence-based warfare.

Icon: A small image that represents a file or program. Used in GUI interaction as the means of accessing the file.

Imaging: The use of computers to work with graphics, as well as conversion of documents to computer usable graphics formats.

Infobahn: A nickname for the "information superhighway" or Internet, named for the high-speed German highway.

Information Superhighway: Term for an as-yet-unrealized upgrade to the existing Internet through the use of fiber optic cable. While it does not yet exist, the term is often used colloquially to refer to the existing Internet.

INFOSEC: The military name for the protection of classified information that is stored on computers or transmitted by any means.

Internet: The interconnected networks using TCP/IP protocols that evolved from the ARPANet. Can refer to the WWW, e-mail, Usenet, and other resources.

Intranet: A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software used on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use.

IP Number: An Internet Protocol Number, or dotted quad, is a unique number consisting of 4 parts, such as 192.33.12.137. Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number.

IRC: Internet Relay Chat is a large series of live chat rooms.

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network is a means to move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN can provide speeds of approximately 128,000 bits per second over regular phone lines.

ISP: An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet, usually for profit.

Java: A Web-oriented programming language created by Sun Microsystems that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be downloaded through the Internet and run without fear of viruses. Java is often used to create animation, calculators, and other interactive features on Web sites.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group is a format for image files.

Kilobyte: 1024 bytes.

LAN: A Local Area Network is a computer network limited a very small area, usually a single building at most.

Leased-line: A phone line that is rented for perpetual use from your location to another location to create a high-speed data connection.

Lurking: Reading through newsgroups without posting any messages.

Mailing List: A means of sending the same e-mail message to more than one address simultaneously, without having to copy it. Sometimes nefariously used for spamming.

Megabyte: 1024 kilobytes; that is, 1,048,576 bytes.

Microprocessor: An integrated circuit inscribed on layers of silicon.

Microsoft: A software company based in Redmond WA, best known for its Windows GUI.

MIDI: The Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a means of reproducing music with a computer.

MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions are the standard for attaching non-text files to e-mail messages.

Mirror Sites: Mirrors are Web sites that maintain exact copies of material originated at another location in order to provide more widespread access to the information.

Mosaic: The first WWW browser, now supplanted by Netscape and Internet Explorer.

Netizen: A user "citizen" of the Internet.

Netscape: A browser, and the name of the company that created it.

Newbie: A generally derogatory term for any new Internet user, especially one who asks questions that can be answered by an available FAQ.

Newsgroup: A discussion group on Usenet.

NNTP: Network News Transport Protocol is used by client and server software to move newsgroup messages, or "posts," to and from users and Usenet.

Node: A single computer connected to a network.

Online: The state of being "on" the Internet, whether referring to a computer going online, a user being online, or information being found online.

Online Service: Services that provide content, and usually connections to the Internet, to subscribers.

POP: Post Office Protocol is a method of storing and returning e-mail.

PGP: Pretty Good Privacy. PGP is a method of encryption which encrypts information using the publicly available key, but which can be deciphered only with the private key.

Platform: A fundamental layer of software required to make other programs run, or simply the operating system itself, which is the most common type of platform.

PPP: A protocol that lets a computer use a regular telephone line and a modem to make a TCP/IP connection.

Queue: A list of e-mail messages waiting to be sent the next time one logs onto the Internet.

QuickTime: A multifeatured program produced by Apple that plays sounds, animation, and video files. It was originally found only in Apple products but is now more universal.

Search Engine: A Web site, usually free and paid for by advertising, that lets search the entire Internet by keyword or topic.

Server: A computer or software package that provides a service to client software running on other computers.

Shareware: Software that is available on a free limited trial basis.

SIGINT: The interception and analysis of electromagnetic signals for military purposes.

Slamming: The term for changing a consumer's telephone service and/or carrier without said consumer's consent.

Spam/Spamming: An inappropriate attempt to use mass e-mailing or newsgroups to send a message, usually an advertisement, to a large number of people who did not request it. Spamming is being criminalized in some states. The term is said to originate from a Monty Python skit in which the word "spam" is repeated over and over.

T-1: A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits per second. The standard of many office connections.

T-3: A leased-line connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits per second.

TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is the protocol that makes the Internet possible.

Telnet: A command used to login to a host from one's own computer.

TEMPEST: The military code-name for activities related to Van Eck monitoring, and the technology to defend against such monitoring.

Terminal: A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else.

Thread: An ongoing Usenet conversation on a single subject.

TIFF: Tag Image File Format is a popular graphic image file format.

UNIX: The most common operating system for servers on the Internet. UNIX was invented at Bell Labs in 1969.

URL: A Uniform Resource Locator is the address of any resource on the World Wide Web. In short form, pronounced "earl."

Usenet: A worldwide set of discussion groups, of which there are thousands, on every imaginable topic.

Van Eck Monitoring: Monitoring the activity of computer/electronic equipment by detecting low levels of electromagnetic emissions from the device.

WAIS: Wide Area Information Servers are a network of searchable databases.

WAV: Waveform Audio files are the standard audio file format for DOS computers. It is a file suffix, i.e. music.wav. (The link goes to a page with examples of WAVs.)

Web: The short form term for the World Wide Web.

Wintel: A somewhat derogatory term for the long history of collaboration between Microsoft, which produces Windows, and Intel.

World Wide Web: A vast network of data and information resources on the Internet, connected to one another via hyperlinks and usually using a graphical format. Most e-commerce takes place on the Web.

WWW: World Wide Web.