List of technology terms —

Blacklist
A basic access control mechanism that allows access except for the members of the black list (i.e. list of denied accesses).

Broadband
Broadband refers to high-speed data transmission in which a single cable can carry a large amount of data at once. The most common types of Internet broadband connections are DSL modems (which use your existing phone line) and cable modems (which use the same connection as cable TV).

Cat 5
A twisted pair (4 pairs) cable type designed for high signal integrity. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet and is also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services.

Cat 6
A cable standard for Gigabit Ethernet and other network protocols that is backward compatible with the Cat 5 and Cat 3 cable standards. Cat-6 features more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise.

DSL
A family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. Digital subscriber line has been widely adopted as a more marketing-friendly term for ADSL which is the most popular version of consumer-ready DSL. DSL can be used at the same time and on the same telephone line with regular telephone, as it uses high frequency, while regular telephone uses low frequency.

Ethernet
Ethernet is a standard communications protocol embedded in software and hardware devices, intended for building a local area network (LAN). Ethernet was designed by Bob Metcalfe in 1973, and through the efforts of Digital, Intel and Xerox (for which Metcalfe worked), “DIX” Ethernet became the standard model for LANs worldwide.

Firewall
A security device designed to prevent unauthorized electronic access to a computer system.

Firewire
FireWire is Apple’s name for the IEEE 1394 High Speed Serial Bus and has been adopted as the standard connection interface for audio visual component communication and control.

Gigabit
A unit of digital information storage with the symbol Gbit (or Gb).

Greylisting
A method of defending email users against spam. A mail transfer agent using greylisting will “temporarily reject” any email from a sender it does not recognize. If the mail is legitimate, the originating server will try again and the email is accepted.

Local area network (LAN)
A computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings. The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to wide area networks (WANs) include their usually higher data-transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines.

Malware
Software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, etc.

Network
A group of interconnected computers.

Open Source
An approach to design, development and distribution offering practical accessibility to a product’s source (goods and knowledge). The term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet, which provided access to diverse production models, communication paths and interactive communities.

Operating System (commonly abbreviated to OS and O/S)
The operating system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine. It is responsible for the management and co-ordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer.

Proxy Server
A server that forwards requests of its users to other servers. A user connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource, available from a different server. The proxy server provides the resource by connecting to the specified server and requesting the service on behalf of the user.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Discs)
A technology that employs the simultaneous use of two or more hard disc drives to achieve greater levels of performance, reliability, and/or larger data volume sizes.”RAID” is now used as an umbrella term for computer data storage schemes that can divide and replicate data among multiple hard disc drives.

RAM
An acronym for Random Access Memory. It is also known as volatile memory, because the data it holds is lost when the computer using it is switched off. RAM is used by the system to store data in the form of files for processing by a computer’s central processing unit. The amount of RAM memory used in modern computers is expressed in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB).

ROM
Read only memory is a type of data storage which cannot be (at least not quickly or easily) modified. This makes it really only suitable for storing data which is not expected to need modification for the life of the device. In modern PCs, ROM is used to store the basic program which enables the computer to load the operating system.

Router
A router allows inter-network connectivity to one or more computers, helping create a network. For home users, these are particularly useful for taking a single broadband internet account, and spreading it to at least two or more computers. Wireless routers have become more common. A wireless router does exactly the same job in the home as a regular router, with the difference that a computer can be connected to it without needing to run Ethernet cable between the computer and the router.

Search Engine
A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. Although search engine is really a general class of programs, the term is often used to specifically describe systems like Google, Yahoo and Alta Vista that enable users to search for documents on the internet.

Server
A server supplies information to computers that connect to it. When users connect to a server, they can access programs, files, and other information from the server. Common servers are Web servers, mail servers, and LAN servers. A single computer can have several different server programs running.

Spam
The abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. While the most widely recognized form of spam is email spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media.

Spyware
Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, and redirecting web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet functionality. Spyware programs are usually installed without the computer users’ consent and are often difficult to uninstall.

Trojan horse
A form of malware that appears to perform a desirable function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions that allow unauthorized access to the host machine. Therefore, a computer worm or virus may be a Trojan horse as they open access up to intruders.

UPS (Uninterrupted power supply)
Also known as a battery back-up, provides emergency power and, depending on the topology, line regulation as well to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available. It differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system or standby generator, which does not provide instant protection from a momentary power interruption. A UPS, however, can be used to provide uninterrupted power to equipment, typically for 5-15 minutes until an auxiliary power supply can be turned on, utility power is restored or until affected equipment is shut down in an orderly fashion.

USB Flash Drive
A portable memory device which consists of flash memory data storage system integrated with a USB (universal serial bus) interface. USB flash drives offer potential advantages over other portable storage devices. They have a more compact shape, operate faster, hold much more data, have a more durable design, and operate more reliably due to their lack of moving parts.

Virtual Private Network
A collection of technologies that allow a connection to be encrypted, typically across the Internet.

Virus
A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.

VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
A general term for delivery of voice communications over the Internet.

Whitelist
A control mechanism which allows access to nobody, except members of the list. Typically used as a tool in the fight against spam.

Wide Area Network (WAN)
A computer network that covers a broad area such as across metropolitan, regional or national boundaries. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet.

Worm
A self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers on the network and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.