Many networks-both the larger transit and regional networks, as well as company networks and public BBSs-have policies that restrict the uses to which the network or computing facility may be put. A well-known example was NSFNET's AUP which did not allow commercial usage. Enforcement of AUP's varies with the network and systems administrator.

An expansion card, especially one that communicates with peripherals.

The unique identifier for a specific location on a network. There are three types of addresses in common use within the Internet: e-mail addresses; IP or Internet address; and hardware or MAC addresses

Anything whose behavior corresponds with the behavior of something else, especially if the correspondence varies continuously rather than in steps. For example, the height of the liquid in a thermometer is an analog of the temperature. The signals that go from a computer to a composite monitor are analog voltages.

An FTP site which does not require you to have a logon ID. Not all FTP servers make their file archives available to all Internet users. If they do, you can access the site by logging in using the ID "anonymous." It allows a user to retrieve (and sometimes deposit) documents, files, programs, and other archived data from archives in the Internet without having to establish a user ID and password on the computer that contains the archive. Many, but not all, computers used as FTP archive sites allow anonymous access. By using the special user ID "anonymous" and the password "guest" you can have limited access to publicly accessible files on the remote system. Many systems now request the user's e-mail address as a password to ensure better tracking.

Any of a class of "programs" or "software", which causes a computer to perform some useful function (like type text or add numbers or communcate over telephone lines).

An Apple network protocol that provides a way to share printers, file servers, and groupware services

A system that automatically gathers, indexes, and serves archived information on the Internet.The initial implementation of Archie provided an indexed directory of filenames from anonymous FTP archives on the Internet. Later versions provide other collections of information.

A general term for the design and construction of computer systems, particularly hardware, but also operating systems and networks. The circuitry within a chip is called its architecture; for example, Intel architecture refers to a computer based on the Intel 80x86 CPU chip.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard code or protocol for displaying characters and transferring data between computers and associated equipment. ASCII codes are numbers from 0 to 255. The first 32 numbers are nonprinting control codes (such as line feed, carriage return, and bell); the numbers 33 to 127 are for letters and punctuation; and the remaining 128 numbers called extended characters, can vary. They are usually used for accented letters, graphic, and other special characters.

The top level in a hierarchical network. Stub networks and transit networks that connect to the same backbone are guaranteed to be interconnected. Backbone networks usually run at a higher speed, and with a larger bandwidth, than the networks that branch off of them.

Making a copy of software and files/documents on another storage device so that it can be restored if the computer loses that information.

Technically; the difference, in Hertz (Hz), between the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission channel. However, as typically used, the amount of data, usually measured in bits per second, that can be sent through a given communications circuit.

a measure of the rate of transmission of a modem, see bps

"It's all ones and zeros." Computers store information in the form of oni off electrical impulses, which correspond to the binary (base 2) digits, 0 and 1. Files can be transferred over the Internet in either binary or ASCII (text) format. A binary file is one that contains any non-printable characters, such as compiled programs, graphics files, word-processing and spreadsheet files, audio files, and so on.

Binary digit. A bit is the primary unit of digital data. Written in binary language as a "1" or a "0". There are eight bits in a byte. There are eight bits in one ASCII character

bits per second, see baud

An application that displays HTML and other information found on the Internet. Netscape, Lynx, Internet Explorer, and Mosaic are examples of browsers.This client software accesses the World Wide Web and Gopher services and lets you drift from link to link without having to have a purposeful search. Browsers encourage discovery by serendipity, hence the name.

A computer (with associated software), that typically provides electronic messaging services, archives of files, and any other services or activities of interest to the bulletin board system's operator.

Unit of measurement for computer memory roughly equal to one character (i.e. the letter "A") 1000 Bytes=1 Kilobyte (K, KB) 1000 Kilobytes=1 Megabyte (MB) 1000 Megabytes=1 Gigabyte (GB)

Compact Disk-Read Only Memory - a disk that stores information (commonly about 650MB) that can be read or copied from the disk Read only means you can not save information to the disk.

Company that makes modem hardware currently used by ITC's modem pool.

A computer system or process that requests a service of another computer system or process (e.g., a computer requesting the contents of a file from a file server )In client-server computing, the "front-end" program that the user runs to connect with, and request information from, the server program. For most of the common Internet tools, many different client programs are designed to work in DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX environments.

The model or scheme underlying practically all programs running on the Internet (as well asother network and database software). In this design, the work of an application (such as FTP orGopher) is divided up between two programs-the client (or "front end") and the server (or "back end"). The client program handles the work of connecting to the server and requesting files or information, and the server handles the work of finding and "serving up" the information (or of providing some other service, such as directing print jobs to a printer).

A temporary storing area for cut or copied information. The clipboard holds the information until you cut or copy another selection to it or you exit from Windows.

An Interface that allows a program,or application called a CGIscript usually written in a computer language such as "PERL" or "C++" to perform some useful task based on a users input. Typical CGI scripts do things like:read an Image Map, count the number hits to your page, or accept and filter data from a forms page.

A program that takes instructions written in a high level language (e.g., C, Fortran), and converts it into something the computer can understand.

What occurs when the load exceeds the capacity of a data communication path. You may be experiencing congestion when any of the following happens: you get a busy signal when you dial into a modem pool, the response from the server or host you are trying to reach is slow, or you get an error message telling you that no ports are available for the service or host you want to use.

Central Processing Unit or circuitry of the computer that controls storage and processing of data. CPU's have a clock speed measured in Megahertz (Mhz). Higher numbers usually mean faster computers.

An unexpected interuption of the proper functioning of a computer; disk drive or software.

Information put into the computer for processing and storage as contrasted with "code" the programs that make the computer work.

A collection of related information (data) that can be sorted, searched and calculated. Also the application that manipulates the data.

A temporary, as opposed to dedicated, connection between computers established over a standard phone line.

Any Internet connection in which you have your own IP address and connect physically and directly to the Internet on a permanent basis via a dedicated phone line or network.

On a hard drive, a file which acts as a folder or drawer and contains other file or directories. On the internet a Listing of web sites, email addresses or other data.

A named collection of network hosts. Some important domains are: .com (commercial),.edu (educational), net (network operations), .gov (U.S. government), and.mil (U.S. military). Most countries also have a domain. For example,.us (United States),.uk (United Kingdom), .au (Australia). The portion of a URL address that identifies a host system or a part of the system dedicated to a specific user group.

The human language name of a computer on the Internet, as opposed to its more computer-friendly numeric IP address. For example, hermes.merit.edu is a domain address and 42.1.1.6 is an IP address.

Domain Name Server, UNIX software to keep track of Internet host systems and domain addresses. It translates domain names into IP addresses so internet applications can find the host machines translates the domain name of another computer into an IP address, and vice versa, upon request. Most DNS servers maintain a large database of such correspondences, which is refreshed on a regular (at most daily) basis. Usually the request for translation comes from another computer which needs the IP address for routing purposes.

A printer that uses a rectangular array of small wires striking the paper through an inked ribbon to form the desired shapes.

To transfer files from a network to a local computer,usually from a website or FTP site. Also, as a noun,the files downloaded.

A system whereby a computer user can exchange messages with other computer users (or groups of users) via a communications network. Electronic mail is one of the most popular uses of the Internet.>/P>

The domain-based or UUCP address that is used to send electronic mail to a specified destination. For example, Bill Clinton's address is [email protected].

The manipulation of a packet's data in order to prevent any but the intended recipient from reading that data. There are many types of data encryption, which make up the basis of network security.

A local area network (LAN) transport protocol (TP), initially developed by Xerox and later refined by Digital, Intel, and Xerox IX.. It is very common in computer networks. It's bandwidth is 10 megabit (10,000,000 bits per second). All hosts are connected to a coaxial cable where they contend for network access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/C paradigm).

sequence of numbers that is coded into the hardware of the Ethernet device, as opposed to the IP address which is assigned by the bootp server or other methods.

a cable capable of transmitting Ethernet signals most frequently 10baseT (looks like telephone wiring) and 10base2 (also called Thin Coax and looks like TV cable wiring).

a piece of computer hardware that allows computers to exchange information by sending electrical signals through Ethernet cable.

A high-speed (100Mb/sec.) LAN standard. The underlying medium is fiber optics. See also Local Area Network.

a computer which is mainly used to store and distribute files or programs.

A protocol that allows a user on one host to access, and transfer files to and from, another host over a network. Also, FTP is usually the name of the program the user invokes to execute the protocol.

A program that will check to see if someone is currently logged on to a system and displays information about a particular user, or all users, logged on to the local system or on a remote system. It typically shows the full name, last login time, idle time, terminal line, and terminal location (where applicable). It may also display plan and project files left by the user.

A hardware device (or collection of devices) that is placed between two networks. One network is considered inside the company (safe) and one is considered outside the company (not safe). All traffic, both from the inside and outside, must pass through this device. The firewall limits access to authorized users and systems by filtering packets as they come in based on the source or destination address, as well as an application's TCP/IP port. On the Internet, firewall, bastion host, and secure Internet Connection are synonymous.

A storage device that stores files/documents. Originally 8" in diameter it has been periodically replaced by smaller packages. They are curently almost exclusively 3.5". It's storage has progressively increased from.72MB to 1.44 MB and they now can hold 2.88MB of data.

a piece of computer hardware used to store and retrieve information from floppy disks.

A document containing answers to a set of such questions. Many newsgroups put out these FAQ documents so that each new person does not ask the same questions; many computer product companies, as well as organizations that distribute information or do business over the Internet, have begun creating FAQs for their product, service, or information.

File Transfer Protocol, which defines the communications standards used to upload and download files to and from an FTP server.

The term "router" is now used in place of the original definition of "gateway." Currently, a gateway is a communications device/program that passes data between networks having similar functions but dissimilar implementations. This should not be confused with a protocol converter, which allows dissimilar protocols (for example, DEC, net and AppleTalk) to pass data between them.

Graphic Interchange Format, a highly compressed format for storing and transferring graphic images. The GIF format was created by CompuServe to speed the time required to download graphics, and has since become most widely used graphic format on the Internet and the Web.

pproximately one billion bytes or 1,000 MB

A simple, menu-based system (named after the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was created) for searching and retrieving information from resources across the Internet. Gopher uses a simple protocol that allows a single Gopher client to access information from any accessible Gopher server, providing the user with a single menu of information.

A GUI is a software "front end" which lets the user use pictures and "point-and-click" technology to access the software application. It allows a computer user to interact with the computer by manipulating graphic representations (icons) witha mouse or other pointing device instead of typing text commands. Many modern Internet clients are based on GUI principles and technology.

A disk inside the computer which stores data and code, sometimes used incorrectly to refer to a 3.5" floppy disk, but differs from a floppy in that it can store more information, and is generally not removable.(You can take a floppy disk out of the floppy drive).

Physical components of a computer such as monitor, mouse, printer, system unit, disk drive, modem, and keyboard.

The portion of a packet, preceding the actual data, containing source and destination addresses, and error checking and other fields. A header is also the part of an e-mail message that precedes the body of a message and contains, among other things, the message originator, date, and time.

A computer that provides a physical link to the Internet and allows users to communicate with other host computers on a network.

The domain name given to a computer. The following are all domain names: nic.ddn.mil, eff.org, and terminator.um.cc.umich.eau.

Hyper Text Markup Language, a subset of SGML which is a standardized method for defining formatting, links, and other special handling of text, images, and objects. The World Wide Web can be thought of as a single VERY large HTML document.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol: the protocol used to transfer World Wide Web pages throughout the Internet and is a bona fide resource type used to locate a Web server.

Graphic or symbol on the computer monitor that represents a computer task or file.

Printer that prints hard copies by spraying ink from a matrix of tiny jets.

Any data or instructions entered into a computer with any jof a variety of devices including keyboard, light pen, graphics tablet, or mouse.

The IEEE is one of the bodies that creates and distributes standards for network protocols, interoperability, and hardware compliance, which allows for smooth operation of networks. In addition, many computer professionals belong to the IEEE and subscribe to their standards of professional behavior and ethics.

An emerging technology that is beginning to be offered by the telephone carriers of the world.ISDN combines voice and digital network services in a single medium, making it possible to offer customers digital data services as well as voice connections through a single "wire."

a means by which the two systems interact.

aNetworks which can exchange information and services and which are physically or logically connected by phone lines or other wires can be said to interconnect.

A collection of networks interconnected with routers. When lowercased, "internet" often refers to collections of LANs, metropolitan or campus networks, or other regional networks. The uppercase "Internet" is the conglomeration of all the "small-i" internets connected together in the world. The Internet uses either the TCP/IP or OSI protocol suite (gateways exist to translate between the two protocols)to ensure that all of its parts work together.

An IP address that uniquely identifies a node on an internet. An Internet address (capital "I") uniquely identifies a node on the Internet.

The network layer for the TCP/IP protocol suite. It is a connectionless, best-effort packet- switching protocol. ("Best-effort" means each packet is separately evaluated to find the best route available at that moment for sending the packet. Routes have formulas assigned to determine which is the most efficient for any given packet.)

A world-wide "party line" protocol that allows users to converse with each other in real time. IRC is structured as a network of servers, each of which accepts connections from client programs, one per user.

An internet service provider charges startup and monthly fees to users and provides them with the initial host connection to the rest of the Internet usually via a dialup connection.

The 32-bit address defined by the Internet Protocol that is usually represented in decimal notation. For example, an IP address looks like this:127.0.0.1, while a domain name looks like this: nic.cicnet.net.

A platform independent programming language, developed by Sun Microsystems. Java Applications are compiled and stored on a server and downloaded to be run on local "Java Virtual Machines" embedded into the client software.

A special purpose Java-like language especially adept at interacting with user input and used extensively to make web pages interactive.

Joint Photographic Experts Group, which defined a standard compression format for high-resolution color images.

A popular file transfer protocol developed by Columbia University. Because Kermit runs in most operating environments, it provides an easy method of file transfer. Kermit is not the same as FTP.

An automatically processed database of names, user IDs, topics, and so on, from whom or about which you do not wish to see e-mail or news postings. Kill files are useful to trim your information processing time down to something manageable, or to prevent you from seeing mail or postings from people who persist in behavior with which you do not agree.

One thousand bits. The kilobit is a convenient unit of data for talking about transmission speeds over computer networks. A 56-kilobit line, for example, can transmit 56,000 bits per second. A T1 line, by comparison, can transmit 1,544,000 bits per second. Kilobit is abbreviated Kb (i.e., 56Kb).

Approximately one thousand bytes (1,024)..

Local Area Network is a linking of many computers so that they may exchange files and share hardware (like printers and disk drives). A data network intended to serve an area of only a few square kilometers or less. LANs usually serve either a single building or a group of closely located buildings. Because the network is known to cover only a small area, optimizations can be made in the network signal protocols that permit data rates up to 100Mb/s.

Any dedicated phone line but usually refers to a 56 kilobit (56,000 bits per second) leased line, It is also roughly the bandwidth needed for a voice phone call.

In World Wide Web or Gopher sessions, a page or menu is loaded into your browser when you access that page and the images and text appear on your screen. If for some reason you need to update the image or information, you can reload the page or menu.

A computer that provides a physical link to the Internet and allows users to communicate with other host computers on a network.

On a mailing list or Usenet newsgroup, listening without responding publicly. As the name implies, this activity is considered somewhat antisocial, but lurking allows beginners to get a feel for the flavor and response patterns of the participants of the group, and also lets them get up to speed on the history of the group.

a file organized in a standard format where one or more e-mail messages are stored.

A computer that connects two or more (possibly dissimilar) electronic mail systems and transfers messages between them. Sometimes the mapping and translation can be quite complex, and it generally requires a store-and-forward scheme whereby the message is received from one system completely before it is transmitted to the next system, after suitable translations. Some mail gateways also have the capability of selecting which messages will be allowed through, either on political or technical grounds.

A list of e-mail addresses, used by a mail exploder, to forward messages to groups of people. Generally, a mailing list is used to discuss a particular set of topics. If a mailing list is moderated, messages sent to the list are actually sent to a moderator who determines whether to send the messages on to everyone else. Requests to subscribe to, or leave, a mailing list should always be sent to the list's "-request" address.

A type of computer suited for processing vast quanities of information.

One million bits.

Approximately one million bytes (1,048,576).

One million cycles per second. A unit of measurement to compare clock speed of computers. The higher the number, the faster the computer.

Computer hardware (usually chips) used to store information, not to be comfused with hard drive.

A personal desktop or portable computer; usually refers to either a IBM or compatible PC or Macintosh.

Chip that contains the arithmetic-logic unit and control unit of a CPU.

Abbr. for MOdulate-DEModulate hardware device that allows computers to communicate (exchange information) over a telephone line. A modem converts digital signals to analog and back again to digital.

Motion Pictures Experts Group, which defined a standard compression format for video and sound. It is used to display and hear online movies.

Microsoft's Disk Operating System, the operating system used by most personal computer.

The process of mapping a name into its corresponding IP address.

A pun on "etiquette" referring to proper behavior on a network. There currently is no "Miss Manners" of the Internet.

The operating system used by Novell fileservers.

A data communications system that interconnects several computer systems for the purpose of sharing files and hardware resources such as printers or disk drives. It may be composed of any combination of LANs, MANs, or WANs.

The network portion of an IP address. For a Class A network, the network address is the first byte of the IP address. For a Class B network, the first two bytes of the IP address. For a Class C network, the first three bytes of the IP address. In each case, the remainder is the host address. On the Internet, assigned network addresses are globally unique.

A machine, usually a computer, on the Internet. Routers, workstations, and modems are all nodes. While some nodes are at endpoints of a piece of the network, others are waystations or entry points.

A printer that is attached to a network and (generally) accessible by other machines on that network.

Eight bits. In networking, this term is sometimes used instead of "byte," because some systems have bytes that are not 8 bits long.

Connected to or part of a network especially the Internet.

Software that allows a computer to accept input and generate output to various peripheral devices.(DOS and Windows 95 are operating systems).

A sevenlayer structure designed to describe computer network architectures and the way that data passes through them. The lowest levels handle the physical media and transmission characteristics of the network. The highest levels handle the user applications and data transmission. This model (sometimes referred to as the "seven-layer model") was developed by the ISO in 1978 to clearly define the interfaces in multivendor networks, and to provide users of those networks with conceptual guidelines in the construction of such networks.

Data that is displayed on the computer monitor or printed.

an extra bit added to a byte or word to reveal errors in a transmission.

Text that uses only the standard ASCII character set. Also used to describe text that is not encrypted using a security program.

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standard which provides a method for transmitting packets over serial point-to-point links. PPP is the successor protocol to SLIP and like SLIP allows dialup users to connect their home computers to the Internet as peer hosts. Like SLIP, PPP establishes the initial connection between your computer and your service provider's host system, but includes a more robust set of protocols than SLIP. PPP is more efficient than SLIP when using a high-speed modem (14.4 kbps or higher). PPP can also be more difficult to configure than SLIP.

Although your computer has a physical port in the back into which you plug things, TCP/IP ports are also values defined in the protocol. For example, most computers which accept Telnet sessions create a port "23" to accept Telnet transmissions. When a packet comes in with the Telnet request, it carries a request for port 23. Each application has a unique port number associated with it.

A formal description of message formats and the rules two or morecomputers must follow to exchange those messages. Protocols can describe lowlevel details of computer-to-computer interfaces (for example, the order in which the bits from a byte are sent across a wire), or high- level exchanges between application programs (for example, the way in which two programs transfer a file across the Internet).

A backup of packets awaiting processing.

A video format for making movies available on the World Wide Web.

(Redundant Array of Independent Disks) A disk subsystem that provides increased performance and/or fault tolerance. Performance is improved by disk striping, which interleaves bytes or groups of bytes across multiple drives, so more than one disk is reading and writing simultaneously.

Random Access Memory temporarily stores current application software and data for quick access.

a computer that you are connecting to in different location from your local computer.

A device that propagates electrical signals from one cable to another.

A UNIX command that allows users to remotely log onto a server in the network as if they were at a terminal directly connected to that computer. Rlogin is similar to the Telnet command, except that rlogin also passes information to the server about the type of client machine, or terminal, used.

Read Only Memory stores permanently essential system programs and start-up instructions for the PC.

The path that network traffic takes from its source to its destination. Also, a possible path from a given host to another host or destination.

A device that forwards traffic between networks, using information from then network layer and from routing tables. Some routers are "dedicated," meaning that they do nothing but shuffle traffic; some are used for other purposes, including file storage.

A table or database of routing paths and decision variables that allows a router to send packets on to the correct destination. Routing tables are maintained both by humans and computers.

Read the Flippin' Manual (or some such similar thing). This is a mild flame in response to a user's question when the answer is immediately available in a README, STD, FAQ, or FYI file. Read first, ask questions later.

Hardware device that digitizes hard copy (converts into a series of dots) and stores it as a graphics file.

(Small Computer System Interface) Pronounced "scuzzy." SCSI is a hardware interface that allows for the connection of up to seven or 15 peripheral devices to a single expansion board that plugs into the computer called a SCSI host adapter or SCSI controller. Single boards are also available with two controllers and support up to 30 peripherals. SCSI is widely used from personal computers to mainframes.

A search engine is a computer program or group of programs which can take a search string (usually a word or words) and rapidly compare that string with the information in its database, keyword index, or the text of many documents.

A server,sometimes called a Secure Commerce Server, that encrypts the transfer of data to and from a user to protect their identity or sensitive data such as credit card numbers that may otherwise be intercepted.

A protocol used to run IP over serial lines, such as telephone circuits or RS-232 cables, interconnecting two systems. SLIP, along with PPP, is one of two popular protocols which allow home computer users to connect their computers to the Internet as peer hosts. SLIP and PPP encapsulate TCP/IP packets for transmission over phone lines.

In client-server computing, the "back-end" program from which a client program requests information or other resources. The server handles the work of locating and extracting the information. The term is also often used to refer to the computer running a server program, particularly if it is used only for that purpose (as, for example, a "print server" in a LAN).

An internet service provider charges startup and monthly fees to users and provides them with the initial host connection to the rest of the Internet usually via a dialup connection.

Software which the creator or author stores on the network for access by anyone to try out. Once you decide you want to continue using the software, it is ethically correct to pay the shareware fee. Once you do, you will receive update software and manuals.

(Single In-line Memory Module) A narrow printed circuit board that holds memory chips. It plugs into a SIMM socket on the motherboard or memory board. The first SIMM format that became popular on personal computers was 3.5" long and used a 30-pin connector. A larger 4.25" format uses 72-pins and contains from one to 64 megabytes of RAM.

A protocol used to transfer electronic mail between computers. It is a server-to-server protocol, so other protocols are used to access the messages.

A portion of a network (which may be a physically independent network segment) that shares a network address with other portions of the network and is distinguished by a subnet address. A subnet is to a network what a network is to the Internet.

An AT&T term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit signals at 1.544Mb/sec. The fiber links between many network nodes run at T1 speed; in some areas, you can get T1 service into your local home or office.

A type of leased phone line. A T-3 Circuit (45,000,000 bits per second) is the backbone speed of all major national Internet Service Providers in the US. and roughly equivilent to 30 T-1 lines.

Permanent storage of files on magnetic tape, usually used for backup of files, from a computer.

A common shorthand that refers to the suite of transport and application protocols that runs over the Internet. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol) is the set of rules which defines the communications standards for passing information back and forth across the Internet. TCP/IP is actually a collection of more than 100 transmission protocols. It is the common language that controls all communications hardware linked to the Internet,thereby helping to avoid communications conflicts and misunderstandings when data is shuttled among computers linked to the Internet.

A text based networking utility that allows your computer to emulate a terminal connected to a particular network. Unlike FTP, which only allows you to access files from a remote computer, Telnet actually allows you to log into a network and run programs and other services available on the network.Telnet is the Internet standard protocol for remote terminal connection service.

A program that allows a computer to emulate a particular type of terminal in order to communicate with a remote host computer that is programmed to work with terminals of that type. Return to Index WWWebfx Home Page terminal server A device that connects many terminals to a LAN through one network connection. A terminal server can also connect many network users to its asynchronous ports for dial-out capabilities and printer access.

ethernet cable that looks like a normal RJ11 telephone wire.

Uniform Resource Locator (originally called Universal Resource Locator). A URL is essentially the address and path that internet client software uses to find a particular site on the net.

an operating system; many manufacturers have their own version of Unix (e.g. SunOS, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX, IRIX, MACH, Linux).

To transfer files from a local computer onto a remote computer,usually to a networked website or FTP site.

Uninterruptable Power Supply, usually refers to a device that sits between the power supply (wall outlet) and a computer to prevent outages, surges, etc. to adversely affect performance.

A massive (really massive) networked collection of thousands of topically named newsgroups, which in turn refers to special-interest forums where Internet users gather to discuss a staggering variety of subjects. Also, the computers that run the protocols, and the people who read and submit Usenet news. Not all Internet hosts subscribe to Usenet and not all Usenet hosts are on the Internet. To access Usenet newsgroups from a browser, simply begin the URL with news:// followed by the domain of the newsgroup.

the environment that allows a human to interact with a computer (Windows, DOS prompt, Unix prompt, X Window system, Machintosh environment, etc.).

a program that converts a binary file into a form suitable for sendingover a network.

(Universal Naming Convention) A standard for identifying servers, printers and other resources in a network, which originated in the UNIX community. A UNC path uses double slashes or backslashes to precede the name of the computer. The path (disk and directories) within the computer are separated with a single slash or backslash, as in the following examples (note that the drive letter is no longer used in the DOS/Windows example)://servername/path UNIX
\\servername\path DOS/Windows

An ITU standard (1998) for a modem that communicates at 56 Kbps downstream and 33.6 Kbps upstream. It is intended for use only with ISPs and online services that are digitally attached to the telephone system. Most service providers are typically connected with high-speed digital T1 or T3 circuits.

A domain that exists as a software entity on a server as contrasted with a domain that actually is comrised of a dedicated hardware location. A virtual domain has a numeric IP address and can include websites, mailservers, FTP sites or any other resource type.

A program that replicates itself by incorporating itself into other programs that are shared among computer systems. See also Trojan Horse, worm.

The "standard" ASCII text terminal for which applications are designed. Originally manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), this terminal has a monochrome screen and attached keyboard. As you connect to services across the Internet via Telnet, you will frequently be asked what terminal your client is emulating. Choose VT1OO.

Simulating more memory than actually exists, allowing the computer to run larger programs or more programs concurrently. It breaks up the program into small segments, called pages, and brings as many pages into memory that fit into a reserved area for that program. When additional pages are required, it makes room for them by swapping them to disk. It keeps track of pages that have been modified, so that they can be retrieved when needed again.

An Internet program that allows users to query a database of people and other Internet entities, such as domains, networks, and hosts kept at the NIC. The information for people shows a person's company name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. See white pages. Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS) A distributed information service that offers simple natural language input, indexed searching for fast retrieval, and a "relevance feedback" mechanism that allows the results of initial searches to influence future searches. Public domain implementations are available.

Wide Area Network is connection of PC's over a wide geographical area using high speed long distance communications hardware such as long-distance phone line and satellites.

One of several Windows implementations of the Berkeley Sockets TCP/IP stack for UNIX. Trumpet WinSock is the most common of these.

Method used to create, edit, proof-read, format and print documents on a computer.

A hypertext-based distributed information system for linking databases, servers, and pages of information available across the Internet. Created by researchers at CERN in Switzerland it allows users to create, edit, or browse hypertext documents.

A computer program that replicates itself and is self-propagating. Worms, as opposed to viruses, are meant to spawn in network environments.

Formally "X Window System," also called "X Windows" and "X," it is a windowing system developed at MIT, which runs under UNIX and all major operating systems. X lets users run applications on other computers in the network and view the output on their own screen.

Refers to the Intel 8086 CPU family used in PCs, which includes the 8086, 8088, 80186, 80286, 386, 486, Pentium and Pentium Pro. This is the largest installed base of computers worldwide.

A popular search engine on the Internet.

The year 2000 presents a problem for many legacy systems whose databases were designed with two-byte year fields. Years ago, saving two bytes in a record meant a lot more than it does today. A "00" in the year field is assumed to mean the year 1900, and financial calculations that deal with aging will be incorrect.

A 3.5" removable disk drive from Iomega. It uses design concepts from Iomega's Bernoulli technology as well as hard disks to provide 100MB removable cartridges that cost about $15. The drive is bundled with software that can catalog the disks and lock the files for security.