Computers:

Hardware:
motherboard, CPU, microchip, EPROM, RAM, hard disk, floppy disk, CD ROM,
modem, NIC, sound card, graphics accelerator, mouse, monitor, keyboard, printer,
peripheral, port, node, client, server, router, network, cam, DVD, scanner
Software:
application, utility, firmware, OS, BIOS, binary, driver, plugin, patch, database, GUI,
bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, disk defragmenter, virus, multimedia, MP3,
beta, desktop, shortcut, icon, default, code, batch, demo, freeware, shareware

Internet:
ISP, WWW, browser, URL, HTTP & FTP, HTML, PPP, TCP/IP, Packet Switching,
IP Address, DNS, protocol, cookies, dialer, hyperlink, port probe, search engine,
CGI, bandwidth, cache

Email and Newsgroups:

POP, IMAP, SMTP, NNTP, MIME, spam, alias, @ , attachment, UseNet, flaming,
cross post, e-card

Chat Forums:
chat, avatar, whisper, emoticon, flooding, BRB, BTW, LOL, LMAO, ROTF, WB, BM,
bot, boot, ban

Question: What is a browser anyway?

Answer: A Browser is just the vehicle that you are using to navigate around the web.
Most folks use either Internet Explorer, or Netscape Communicator. There aren't many
differences between the two, as they're both designed to accomplish the same task. A
Ford Truck might have a slightly different look and feel than that of a Chevy truck, but
they're both going to get you around just fine. Any standard browser provides you with
a main window for viewing web pages and a location bar for typing in various

Question: What is a URL?

Answer: URL stands for Universal Resource Location. This is just a fancy way of
saying "Internet Address". The following is just one example of a standard URL :
http://www.google.com/
Question: Sometimes I see http at the beginning of a web address, but other
times I see ftp. What is the difference?
Answer: File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is a protocol used to upload files from a workstation to an FTP
server or download files from an FTP server to a workstation. It is the way that files get transferred from
one device to another in order for the files to be available on the Internet. When ftp appears in a URL, it
means the user is connecting to a file server and not a Web server and that some form of file transfer is
going to take place. Most FTP servers require the user to log on to the server in order to transfer files.
In contrast, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, is a protocol used to transfer files from a Web server
onto a browser in order to view a Web page that is on the Internet. Unlike FTP, where entire files are
transferred from one device to another and copied into memory, HTTP only transfers the contents of a web
page into a browser for viewing. FTP is a two-way system as files are transferred back and forth between
server and workstation. HTTP is a one-way system as files are transported only from the server onto the
workstation's browser. When http appears in a URL it means that the user is connecting to a Web server
and not a file server. The files are transferred but not downloaded, therefore not copied into the memory
of the receiving device.
Question: What exactly is a computer virus?
Answer: A computer virus is a lot like a biological virus. It must piggyback itself on top
of some other document or program in order to get executed. For example, most often
you'll receive a virus in the form of an email attachment. The letter will probably be from
a friend or relative. That's how these things spread so effectively. As soon as you execute
an email virus, it will send a copy of itself to everyone in your address book. All recipients
will see a letter from you, with some generic subject like, "Just thought you might like
this." The body of the letter might have a simple note like, "Saw this and thought of you,"

or "Here's that file you asked for." Coming from a friend, this will probably look innocent
enough to open. So you click on the attachment, and bang... the infection process begins
on your machine. During this process the virus will replicate itself, and attach itself to any
number of working files and documents on your computer. This is how the computer virus
got its name. A biological virus will infect a healthy cell, then use the cell's machinery to
replicate itself and infect other healthy cells within the host body. It wouldn't be so bad if
the computer virus stopped right there. Unfortunately, the infection process is generally
followed by an attack phase, or payload of some sort. There will be some sort of trigger
that activates this phase. It could be a predetermined date, the next time you reboot your
computer, or it might happen after the virus has replicated itself a certain number of times.
The payload could just be a silly little annoyance, like having strange messages pop up on
your screen that don't seem to make any sense. It could also be catastrophic, rendering
your machine completely inoperable.

Question: Why do computers like to eat cookies?

Answer: No, that's not the beginning of some joke you'd find inside a Bazooka bubble gum
wrapper, nor are we talking about the yummy cookies grandma makes. When one refers to
a cookie in Internet related terms, we're talking about a piece of information that is sent from
a Web Server to a Web Browser that the Browser software is expected to save. Depending
on both the type of cookie used and the settings on your Browser, it will either be stored
briefly or until it is deleted manually. Data stored in the cookie is sent back to the server
it was sent from any time you request additional information. The server can then use this
information to customize what is sent back to the browser. For example, various websites
(like yahoo.com) provide users the ability to save passwords and other login information
you would use to access various features such as web mail or games. Some also provide
a means of customizing own start page (i.e.- http://my.yahoo.com). Every time you login
there, your browser will send a cookie that Yahoo originally sent over to your machine
which contains all of the profile information needed to display your start page correctly.
Shopping cart or registration information might also be sent to a remote machine via the
cookie express. Are cookies ever a bad thing? Well, yes and no. In an annoying way, yes.
In an evil, send your deepest darkest secrets to some FBI file way... uhm no. Worse case
scenario, one or more cookies might be on your machine just to tell some remote server to
send pop-ups to your browser every few minutes whenever you're online.
Question: What is a bit?
Answer: Basically, either a one or a zero. It is the smallest unit of computerized data.
It usually takes around 8 bits to make a byte.

Question: What is a byte?

Answer: A set of bits that represent a single character. For a visible example, open up
Notepad and type these words, "big black bugs bleed red blood", without the quotes.
Save it to your desktop as test.txt, then right-click on it and choose Properties from
from the pop-up menu. There are 30 characters in this document, spaces included, so
the file size should be around 30 bytes.

Question: What is a kilobyte?

Answer: Well, this would be a thousand bytes. Actually, this would be 1024 bytes if the
person measuring happens to be a total dork.
Question: What is a megabyte?
Answer: A million bytes. Once again, the total dork would insist that the actual number
is 1024 kilobytes.
Question: What is a gigabyte?
Answer: 1000 or 1024 megabytes, depending on who is measuring.
Question: What is a plugin?
Answer: Generally, a plugin will be a small piece of software that adds a new feature or

capability to a larger piece of software. For example, your browser will require a flash plugin
to correctly view a web page with flash animation running on it.

Question: What is a modem?

Answer: Short for modulator demodulator, a modem is basically your computer's phone.
It allows your computer to talk to other computers through the phone system.

Question: What does ISP stand for?

Answer: ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. Somebody who provides Internet access of
some sort... usually for a fee.
Question: What does PPP mean?
Answer: Point to Point Protocol. This is used when trying to make a TCP/IP connection with
your computer via phone line and modem. PPP is the most common protocol used to connect
computers to the Internet via dialup access.
Question: What is TCP/IP?
Answer: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP is what binds the vast collection
of inter-connected networks that is the Internet. In the physical world, you might send a parcel via
FedEx. On the Internet, you send packages via TCP/IP.
Question: What is an IP Address?
Answer: An IP Address, or Internet Protocol Address, is a unique number consisting of four sets of
up to three digits. (Example: 199.96.34.33) Any machine that is connected to the Internet will have
its own IP address. Some machines, usually servers, have a domain name which corresponds with
its IP address. For example, typing 64.58.76.177 in your browser's location bar will take you to the
Yahoo home page, but you can also get there using www.yahoo.com. We came up with the ability
to use domain names for obvious reasons... they're much easier to remember than IP addresses.
Question: What is a Server?
Answer: A server is a computer, or software package, that provides a specific kind of service
to client software running on other computers. Though the term often refers to the actual machine,
a single server often has several different server software packages running on it, thus providing
several different servers to clients on the network. (examples: web server, ftp server)

Question: What is a Router?

Answer: A purpose-specific computer (or software package) that handles the connection between
two or more packet-switched networks. A router's job is to look at the source and destination
addresses of a packet passing through it, then decide where to send it on.
Question: What is Packet Switching?
Answer: This is the method used to move data around on the Internet. When you try to look up a
web page, your browser requests data from the remote server hosting the page. To hurry things up
data sent from the server is broken up into chunks known as packets. Each chunk has the address
of where it came from and the address it needs to reach. This way, routers can correctly direct
information even when many machines are using the same lines at the same time.
Question: What does POP mean?
Answer: POP has two meanings actually. Point of Presence would be the first. This refers to
a city or location where a network can be connected to. For instance, if your ISP says they
will soon have a POP in Phoenix, that basically means there will soon be a local dialup access
number there, or a place where leased lines can connect to their network. Another meaning you
might hear is Post Office Protocol, which would be the type of mail account you're likely to
obtain from a local ISP. You would use software such as Eudora Pro or Outlook Express to
download mail from a POP account.
Question: What does IMAP mean?
Answer: IMAP, an alternative to POP, is just another protocol used in client/mail server
communication. With IMAP, messages can be manipulated on the server without actually

having to retrieve them. You never actually download the messages onto your machine unless
you specifically choose to do so. When working with a POP server, you must download your
mail to view it, unless you're accessing the server via telnet. Refer to the configuration page
for instructions on using telnet to access your POP account.
Question: What does SMTP mean?
Answer: SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is pretty self explanatory. It is the
main protocol used to send electronic mail from server to server via the Internet.

Question: What does NNTP mean?

Answer: NNTP, or Network News Transport Protocol, is used by both client and server software
to carry USENET postings back and forth over a TCP/IP connection. If you are participating in
any newsgroups, then you're benefiting from an NNTP connection.
Question: What is USENET?
Answer: USENET is a world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed back and forth
between hundreds of thousands of machines. USENET is made up of over 50,000 discussion areas called
newsgroups. Some USENET machines are on private networks, and can only be accessed by individuals
on that particular network. Others may be viewed by anyone with Internet access, but your ISP may filter
certain groups based on content.
Question: What does Binary mean?
Answer: Normally, this term is used to describe non-text files like images or programs.
Your ISP might filter binary newsgroups to save bandwidth. Technically, Binary refers to
information consisting entirely of ones and zeros.
Question: What does MIME mean?
Answer: For some time, Internet mail messages were in plain text US-ASCII character set,
and no particular structure needed to be defined for message bodies. A total multimedia
explosion brought about this need. MIME defines such a body structure, specifying how a
Content-Type header can be used to describe a character set, or other non-text data in a
message. For instance, a multipart message with some text and an image attached might
contain the following Content-Type headers...
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
(some text here... "Hi. How are you?"....stuff like that)
Content-Type: IMAGE/gif; SizeOnDisk=450; name="MYSON.GIF"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: BASE64
Content-Description: MYSON.GIF
(a whole bunch of image source code here)
If the mail client you're using supports MIME (which is pretty much a given today), then
you will see a pretty, well organized message which includes a note from your friend and
a cute picture of his kid. If not, you'll just be looking at miles of source code. Some of the
text might make a little sense... the rest will just look like random garbage.
Question: What does HTML mean?
Answer: HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is a coding language used to create documents
for use on the World Wide Web. It's kind of like old fashioned typesetting code, where one would
surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. In HTML, one can stretch
this concept much further, including wrapping a block of text or an image in code to specify that
it is linked to yet another file on the Internet.

Question: What's an Operating System?

Answer: Any computer that you plan on putting to practical use must have an operating system
to run other programs. Your computer's OS handles most of the ground level tasks like sending
input from the keyboard as output to the monitor, keeping track of files and directories stored on
the hard drive, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives, scanners, and printers. A
couple of the more popular operating systems one might choose to run on a general purpose

computer would be Windows 95/98/ME/XP or Mac OS 8/9/X.

Question: Must I follow protocol?
Answer: Protocol is an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. Getting right
down to it, it's a standard which sets rules on data compression methods, error checking, and how
both delivery and receipt are to be acknowledged. Bascially, speaking to the end user, you will not
be able to get your computer to communicate with other computers unless you have first installed
the necessary protocols to do so. For instance, navigating around the World Wide Web using a
dialup connection to the Internet is not going to happen without TCP/IP installed.
Question: Is software snuggly?
Answer: Software is basically any data or instructions that can be stored electronically. One can
break the various types of software available out there into two categories: systems software, and
applications software. Systems software would include operating systems and any of the utilities
that enable your computer to function. Applications software includes the stuff we all play with on
a daily basis. Word processors, spreadsheets, games, database management systems, graphics
editors and media players would all fall under this category. The devices that store, display and
print software data are all known as hardware. To have one without the other is useless.
Question: Is hardware hard to wear?
Answer: Hardware refers to tangible objects such as disks, keyboards, printers, chips, boards,
monitors and so on. Software is only an idea without some sort of hardware to store it on. In direct
relation, a computer without software is like a book without pages. It might be made out of the best
material you can find, but it certainly won't be very interesting.
Question: What is a Network?
Answer: A network, in computer related terms, consists of two or more computer systems that have
been linked together using peer to peer or client/server architecture. A few different types of networks
would include the following...
Local Area Network (LAN): The computers are geographically close together (usually in the same building).
Wide Area Network (WAN): The computers are far apart, and connected via phone lines or radio waves.
Campus Area Network (CAN): Network access may only be gained from within a specific geographical
location, such as a college campus or military base.
Home Area Network (HAN): Contained within a person's home, connecting said person's devices.

Question: What is a dialer?

Answer: The ability to build a PPP dialer is a component you'll find included with most operating systems.
One reason why a person might wish to build a PPP dialer would be to connect to an ISP via some local
access number. There are a variety of options you may customize on a dialer according to the ISP you're
trying to connect to. Some of these options might include the dialup number, login information, and maybe
the option to specify an IP address or DNS addresses.
Question: What is spyware?
Answer: Despite having become a rather hot topic lately, there's still a lot of argument over exactly what
characteristics would categorize a program as spyware. Here's my two cents: Spyware is a term which
describes ANY program or application that, once installed, sends information about your system back
"home" to the creator or publisher of said software. Why is this bad? Because the average person who
might install such software isn't likely to realize that this particular form of information gathering will be
taking place. Nowhere during the installation process is this made obvious. At best, there might just be
a small, ambiguous note about this buried somewhere in the license agreement that nobody ever reads.
Such programs are never advertised as spyware. The information gathering process is merely a "behind
the scenes" function bundled with one of a variety of programs that the average Internet user is likely to
find appealing, like download assistants or media players. This brings up a good question. What kind of
information might your machine be sending to some remote host without your awareness? This will vary
depending on the company. One of the more common practices is to keep a log of web browsing habits.
Based on the sites you're visiting, your mailbox will be filled with spam and your browser screen plagued
with constant pop-ups.
Question: What does BIOS do? (Basic Input/Output System)
Answer: When you hit the power button on your computer, the processor passes control to the BIOS
program, which is always located at the same place on the EPROM chip. BIOS will first verify that all
attachments are in place and fully operational. These include your hard disk, your video card, keyboard,
mouse, printer, and so on. Having done so, BIOS will then load the operating system (or key parts of it)
from floppy disk, hard disk or CD ROM to the computers random access memory (or RAM).

Question: What is my computer's EPROM?

Answer: EPROM, or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a reusable chip that stores
simple programming information (like BIOS programming) which will be accessed by the computer's
processor at startup.
Question: How does RAM work?
Answer: Put simply, the number of tasks your computer can handle all at once is determined by
RAM, and how much of it you've got. Your computer stores information about the operating system,
and any other data that is currently in use on its RAM chip, because your computer's processor is
able to access information there much faster than it can access data on other storage devices like
hard disks, floppy disks, or CDs. Unlike these other storage devices, however, RAM only deals with
the tasks at hand. When you turn your computer off, all of RAMs data is lost. When you turn your
computer back on, operating system data and information related to any tasks you're performing
are loaded back into RAM. Technically RAM never runs out of memory, meaning that it will never
reach a point where it can't accept any new data. However, your computer can reach a point where
every last byte of RAM is in use. In order to perform new tasks, the computer must overwrite old
data in RAM with new data from the hard disk, slowing down overall performance. Adding additional
RAM chips to the computer, which most PCs are designed to allow, will reduce the amount of times
your processor must read from the hard disk.
Question: How does a processor work?
Answer: Your computer's processor, or central processing unit (CPU), acts as the computer's brain.
It is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the instructions any given program sends to
it to create the desired output. We could go deeper into this, touching on how number-holding areas
called registers store data (or links to data) that the processor can use to carry out instructions, but
that sort of stuff makes my head hurt!

Question: What is a microchip?

Answer: A microchip, often just referred to as a chip, is a unit of packaged computer circuitry
that is manufactured from material such as silicon at a very small scale. Some fairly common
uses include processor chips and RAM chips.
Question: What is a Hard Disk?
Answer: A hard disk is really a stacked set of "disks", each capable of electromagnetically
recording data in concentric circles or "tracks", much like an old vinyl record. Your computer's
hard disk is part of a unit, often referred to as the "hard drive", which stores and provides quick
access to large amounts of data. Today's computers usually come standard with a hard disk
that has several gigabytes of storage capacity.
Question: What is a Floppy Disk?
Answer: In today's terms, floppy disk usually refers to a rigid plastic cartridge measuring
3.5 inches square and about 2 millimeters thick, which houses a magnetic disk capable
of storing up to 1.44 megabytes of data. The "floppy" part comes from the earlier version,
which was 5.25 inches square and more flexible. The newer 3.5" diskettes aren't flexible,
but most folks still use the term "floppy" to refer to these.

Question: What is a CD ROM?

Answer: A CD, or compact disc (sometimes spelled disk), is little more than a small, portable,
round medium made of molded polymer. Today, CDs can be used to electronically record, store,
and play back audio, video, text, or any other data in digital form. The average recordabe CD can
store 700 megabytes of data. This far exceeds the storage capacity of floppy diskettes, which is
up to 1.44 megs.
Question: What is a DVD?
Answer: A DVD, or digital versatile disc, is a high density CD format used to store
music, video or software content. The DVD specification supports disks with capacities
ranging from 4.7 to 17 gigabytes. The cool thing about newer DVD drives is they're
backward compatible with older CD-ROMS.
Question: What is an optical scanner?

Answer: A scanner is a peripheral device that connects to your computer and is used to read text
or illustrations printed on paper, then translate the information into a form the computer can use.
The most common of these is a flatbed scanner, which works kind of like a photocopier. It consists
of a board upon which you may lay any documents you wish to scan, face down. Once you close
the cover and initiate the scan, tightly packed rows of light called CCD arrays will pass over the
document. The CCD (charged coupled device) arrays detect any variations in light intensity and
frequency, sending its findings to your computer in digital format. The resulting matrix of bits,
known as a bitmap, can be stored in a file, displayed on screen, manipulated by a program, or
sent to a printer.
Question: What is an alias?
Answer: The word "alias" has the same definition in Internet terms as it does in the physical
world. An alias is just an alternate word to used to refer to someone or something. One example
would be an email alias. Let's say that anytime somebody sends an email to info@somedomain.com,
it automatically gets forwarded to joeschmoe@somedomain.com. This means that "info" is just
an alias for "joeschmoe".
Question: What is an e-card?
Answer: An e-card is the electronic version of a greeting card, and is generally sent to
a person via email. In most cases, the card is not directly attached to the message.
Instead, the message will contain a clickable hyperlink which directs you to a web
page where the card may be viewed.
Question: What's an application?
Answer: In technological terms, an application (shortened from program application) is a
program that has been designed to perform a specific function for the user or, in other
cases, another application. Word Processors, Web Browsers, Image Editors... these are
all application programs.
Question: What is a utility?
Answer: A utility is much like an application program, only more specialized or limited
in capability. Put simply, it is usually a small program that adds one or more additional
cababilities to a larger program, such as your operating system. It might not be critical
in getting the program to function properly, but cool to have anyway. The print utility is
just one example.
Question: What does default mean?
Answer: In computer related terms, the "noun" definition of default would be a predetermined
value or setting to be used by a computer program if said value or setting is not specified
by the user. For example, your word processing program's default font setting may be Arial,
unless you specify something different.
Question: Where is my desktop?
Answer: When speaking to the Microsoft Windows user, your desktop is the main screen that
is displayed to you once your computer finishes booting after turning it on. A real desktop would
hold all your useful items such as a stapler, pens and pencils, notepads, phone book, and so on.
Your Windows desktop serves the same purpose. There, you can arrange multiple icons, known
as shortcuts, which point to the programs you most often use. Other desktop applications, such
as gnome or kde (which come with most Linux distributions), offer multiple desktop environments.
All of your games and other fun stuff can be running on one desktop while work related stuff is
running on another. "Desktop" can also refer to the type of computer you are operating. Palm or
Laptop would be included amongst other examples.
Question: What is a shortcut?
Answer: In computer (especially Windows) related terms, a shortcut is a path or method of
operation that is shorter than normal. An icon on your desktop labeled "Internet Explorer" is
actually just a shortcut to the file which launches this program (iexplore.exe). Without this icon,
you would have to find Internet Explorer from your "Start Menu" under "Programs" to launch it.
If it isn't listed there either, you would then have to click on "Run" from your Start Menu, then
type in "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" at the command line. As you can see,
a shortcut can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to accomplish a desired task.
Question: What is an icon?

Answer: On your Windows desktop, or any other graphical user interface (GUI), an icon is
an image that represents an application or file of some sort. An icon is usually selectable,
meaning that clicking on it will launch whatever file or application it represents.
Question: What is a hyperlink?
Answer: A hyperlink, often just called a "link", is a selectable connection from one file,
word, picture or information object to another. Most often, you will encounter hyperlinks
on web pages. A link can appear in the form of text, an image, or even an animation of
some sort. Clicking on it might take you to a different spot on the same page. It could
also take you to an entirely different page, or display an image in a separate window.
Question: What is a GUI?
Answer: A GUI, or graphical user interface (usually pronounced as "gooey"), is exactly what
it sounds like. Back in the day, we only had text based interfaces to work with. Just a basic
command line where a user could type in commands to make things happen. DOS is just
one example of the various textual interfaces we had to work with before GUIs hit the scene.
Nowadays, most of the programs we use come complete with an easy-to-navigate work space,
and plenty of pretty icons and buttons to click on which will perform various tasks.
Question: What is port probing?
Answer: Exactly what is sounds like. Port scanning (or port probing) is the act of systematically
scanning one or more ports on one or more computers. A port is a place where information may
travel in or out of a computer. Port scanning has legitimate uses in managing networks, but can
also be malicious in nature.
TCP Port Probe
This is the most common intrusion detected on the Internet. There's an insane amount of so-called
hackers on the web who do frequent wide-spread scans looking for one specific exploit they can use
to break into systems. The typical hacker will scan thousands or even millions of machines at once.
This means hacker's aren't usually targeting you, personally. It just might seem that way because
there are so many goofy little cyber-dorks performing these wide-spread scans that your firewall is
likely to pick up at least one malicious port probe every time you hop online. Now known as "script
kiddies", these wannabe hackers are usually pre-pubescent star trek groupies with no social skills.
They manage to figure out that proper use of a search engine will find you just about anything,
including sites maintained by slightly more advanced hackers (older dorks with no social skills.)
A kid can log on to pages like these to find cracks, serial numbers, warez, and sometimes you'll
nifty little scripts known as attack programs. One example would be a script which scans port
80 for a vulnerable web server. Once one is found, it searches all directories for an index.html file,
and replaces it with another page. The dork who maintains the site gets to show off his weak script
writing ability, and the bigger dork who downloads one of these scripts just to run it against 1000
machines gets to feel like some sort of Internet rebel when he actually manages to screw somebody's
day up. Anyone who participates in such activity is pretty much making the same statement that would
be achieved by mooning someone from the passenger window of a moving car... "Look at me everyone!
Have you ever seen a bigger jackass?!"
Question: What is bandwidth?
Answer: Bandwidth refers to the range of frequencies, or measured amount of information,
that can be transmitted over a connection. In higher frequencies, a channel's capacity to
carry information is greater. With a digital connection, bandwidth is measured in BPS, or
"bits per second". If you've got DSL service, you might be paying for either a 56kbps or
128kbps connection. Let us be clear about one thing... bandwidth does not refer to the
speed at which you are currently transmitting data. Instead, it refers to the maximum
amount of data that can be transmitted through a channel at once.
Question: What is a port?
Answer: 1. Designated spot on a computer for connecting a device. Internal ports may include
ports for the modem, LAN card, or disk drives. Externally, your computer might have
USB or serial ports for peripheral devices such as printers, scanners or mice.
2. In a network, a port refers to an endpoint to a logical connection. For example,
port 80 is used for HTTP traffic.
3. Verb definition: To move a program from one type of computer to another, which
requires rewriting any sections of the program that are machine dependent, then
recompiling them on the new machine.

Question: What is a database?

Answer: A database is a collection of information that is organized to allow one or more specific
computer programs to quickly view, input or remove desired pieces of data. In other words, it's an
electronic filing system made up of fields, records and files which can be accessed or modified by
any user with the appropriate permissions/software. A field is a single piece of information, a record
is one complete set of fields, and a file is a collection of records.
Question: How does DNS work?
Answer: DNS, or Domain Name System, identifies each computer on the Internet as a network node,
using an Internet Protocol address system to translate from domain names to IP numbers, or viceversa. Let me break it down fo-ya. When you sit down on your computer and try using your browser
to navigate to www.somegoofydomain.com, your ISP's DNS server will point you in the right direction.
Let's go over exactly what the communication might be like... in ebonics.....
Your Computer: Hey baby, what's happenin'?
DNS Server: Yeah, I've got your hey baby right here punk! What'chu want scrub?
Your Computer: Yo, I just wanna kick it with my peeps over at chat.yahoo.com.
DNS Server: Why don't you try to learn somethin' instead of hangin' with them clowns for once?
Your Computer: Why you always gotta be like that yo?
DNS Server: A'ight, fine you little gameless chump. You'll find chat.yahoo.com over at 216.136.226.32.
Your Computer: Thanks baby, you know I love you.
DNS Server: Yeah right, whatever.
Question: What is a node?
Answer: A node, in a network, is a single processing location. This could be a
computer or another device, such as a printer. Each node on a network has its
own unique address, sometimes called a Data Link Control (DLC) address, or
Media Access Control (MAC) address.
Question: What is multimedia?
Answer: Multimedia, put simply, is the use of computers to present any number of the
following... text, graphics, sound, video and animation ...in an integrated manner. In other
words, to combine multiple forms of media into one application.

Question: Isn't Spam an edible meat product that comes in a can?

Answer: Well, yes. In Internet terms, however, Spam is one or more unsolicited messages
sent as part of a larger group, all having substantially identical content. Junk mail, bulk
mail, unwanted mail... however you want to define it, spam basically refers to any items that
are delivered to your email address without your permission. The bad news is, this isn't going
away any time soon. Most forms of spam are not yet considered illegal in most states in the
United States. Even if it were, individuals could simply arrange to have their messages sent
from an overseas server. Your local ISP might have filters in place to intercept obvious junk
mail. This might help a little, but it definitely won't filter out all unwanted messages because
spammers are constantly thinking of new ways to get around some of the blocking methods
your ISP might be using.
Question: How does one chat?
Answer: Chatting is real time communication between two or more computer users. You can
find a variety of topic specific chat rooms on the web by using a search engine. For example,
go to google.com and enter the following search phrase: music chat. The results should be
packed with tons of page listings for various music discussion forums. You can also engage
in a live chat with friends or family members in your own private room by using one of the free
instant messengers available for download on the web. Some names that come to mind include
Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ.
Back to top

Question: What are search engines?

Answer: A search engine is a program designed to search a database. On the Internet,
the term "search engine" most commonly refers to a web site that maintains a database
of information about other web sites, which can be searched by key words or phrases.
Here's a list of some of the more popular search engines on the web...
AltaVista: One of the oldest crawler based search engines and in
the top ten list for search engines still.
www.altavista.com
Ask Jeeves: A directory that is human edited that directs you to
a link for the question that you ask.
www.ask.com
Direct Hit: A popularity engine, utilizing a method of ranking
based on click popularity.
www.directhit.com
Excite: Search results provided by FindWhat, Inktomi, Overture,
and WebCrawler. Owned by InfoSpace.
www.excite.com
Google: A meta search engine, including the ability to search for
various file types, phone books, catalogs, and more. Now that a
a person can also search UseNet through Google, this one has
become my personal favorite.
www.google.com
GoTo: Now known as Overture, it is the oldest paid listings engine
on the web, providing results to AOL, MSN, InfoSeek, Google, Yahoo,
HotBot, Netscape and several more.
www.go.com
HotBot: A search engine with results provided by DirectHit (same
owners), Open Directory and Inktomi.
www.hotbot.com
iWon: A search engine and gaming portal with results provided
by Overture and Inktomi.
www.iwon.com
Lycos: A directory with results from AllTheWeb.com and Open
Directory. Was originally a stand alone search engine.
www.lycos.com
Yahoo: Yahoo search is one of the most popular worldwide with
the largest human edited directory, displaying results from Google
and Overture.
www.yahoo.com

Question: What does beta mean?

Answer: Beta is the considered to be the "testing" stage of any
commercial software/hardware product. Many software developers

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often allow users to download a free beta version of some new

product they've come up with, encouraging people to report any
bugs they encounter. Based on the feedback that pours in, the
developer can then fine-tune the product before full release.
Question: What does defrag mean?
Answer: Short for defragmentation, it means to optimize or "clean up" your
hard drive to make it run as smoothly as possible. Here's a basic explanation
of what is happening during a hard disk defrag...
1. Entire directory structure is scanned and all data is identified and marked
as either used or unused.
2. Unused information is shoved aside, where it will eventually be overwritten
should the space become needed.
3. Used information is shoved to the front, and organized in a manner that will
help your programs to respond quicker.
Question: What is an MP3?
Answer: a.k.a: MPEG-1, Audio Layer-3, it is a standard for storing and
transmitting music in digital format across the Net. MP3 was developed
by Leonardo Chiariglione and other members of the University of Erlangen
in January 1988. It didn't take long for this method of digital audio
compression to become quite popular, as it can compress file sizes at a
ratio of 12:1 without sacrificing sound quality.

Question: What is firmware?

Answer: Firmware is system software written onto read only memory (ROM),
making it a hardware/software combination . ROMs, and EPROMs are
considered to be firmware if data or programs recorded on them.
Question: What is a patch?
Answer: A patch is a piece of software source code that, when installed to the
original source code, fixes one or more known problems. Some programs you are
using might be scheduled to download patches automatically on a regular basis.
With others, once you register the product, you might receive notifications via
email regarding new patches that are available on the product vendor website.
Question: What does code or coding mean?
Answer: Coding is the act of creating computer programs, websites, and other
applications. Code refers to the typed program instructions that are interpreted
into a language that a system can read and execute accordingly. For example,
html code is used to generate files that, when uploaded to a server, will be
displayed as web pages.
Question: What is a batch file?
Answer: Batch is a method of organizing several files into one group for transmitting
or printing. A batch file, when executed, will perform any number of tasks that you
specify, including opening or closing programs, managing or deleting files and so on.
Question: What is a driver?
Answer: A driver is a program that interacts with a certain device or
software application. The driver file, itself, contains the information
needed to operate a peripheral device, such as a mouse or scanner.
A driver disk usually comes packaged with such items at the time of
purchase. If this ever becomes lost for some reason, you can usually
download a driver for your device from the manufacturer website.

Question: Where is the ANY key?

Answer: Just in case anyone out there is still confused about this, here's what
to do if you are asked to strike "any key" by a prompt on your screen, a tech
support person, or computer manual: Choose any one key on your keyboard,
and strike it once. This could be the "A" key, the "F" key, the "Tab" key, the

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"Shift" key, the spacebar or whatever. You probably won't find a key that is
actually labeled "any". Think of "any" as "whatever you want".
Back to top

Question:What is a motherboard?
Answer: The motherboard is the main circuit board of a computer. It houses the processor,
EPROM, RAM, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and
the controllers needed to operate standard peripheral devices, such as the monitor, the
keyboard, disk drives and so on.
Question: What is a mouse?
Answer: A mouse is a peripheral device you can connect to your computer, usually via
the serial, bus, or usb ports, which is used mainly for item selection. There are several
different version of the mouse available today, including the rollerball, nipple & touchpad.
The standard mouse fits conveniently into the palm of your hand and sits upon a mouse
pad. It is usually equipped with a "left" and "right" mouse button and has a track ball
positioned at the bottom which causes the pointer to move on your screen any time
you slide the mouse in any given direction on the mousepad.
Question: What is a monitor?
Answer: Your monitor is the video display unit (VDU) which connects to the computer, usually
via a serial port, and provides us with graphic representation of the files and programs we work
with. It is also known as your "display screen".

Question: What is a keyboard?

Answer: Your keyboard is the peripheral device which provides you with a complete set of
alphabetic, numeric, punctuation, symbol and control keys to send input to your computer.
The coded input that is sent to your machine when a character is pressed will generate the
desired result, whether this is to display said character on-screen or to perform another
action of some sort.
Question: What does NIC mean?
Answer: On your computer, the NIC (pronounced nick and usually referred to as your nic card),
is an internal circuit board you can plug into the computer to provide it with the ability to connect
to a network. Depending on the type of computer you're using, this could also be referred to as
your LAN, Ethernet, or Network card. On a laptop, your NIC might be installed in the form of a
removable PC card.
Question: What is a sound card?
Answer: Your computer's sound card refers to the circuit card or expansion board that is
providing the computer with audio capability by translating an analog sound into a digital
format that the computer can understand.
Question: What's a graphics accelerator?
Answer: A graphics accelerator is a video adapter board with it's own on-board processor
that is installed specifically to handle graphics, which takes a substantial load off of the
computer's CPU and improves overall performance in terms of speed.

Question: What is a printer?

Answer: A printer is a peripheral device that prints text graphics sent from a computer. There are
several types of printers, but the two most common types that are used with a personal computer
are Laser printers and InkJet printers.
Laser: Uses the same technology as a copy machine, producing very high quality text and graphics.
InkJet: Sprays ink at a sheet of paper, producing high quality text and graphics.
Being the only two non-impact printers, meaning they do not work by striking an ink ribbon, lasers and
inkjets tend to rate best when it comes to print quality and speed.

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Question: What is a cam?

Answer: Short for camera (aka webcam), a cam is an inexpensive video camera that
connects to your computer and is designed to send live or recorded video, (or stills),
to one or more users over the Internet. Cam can also refer to a more expensive digital
camera that can be set up to send streaming video content to a website, so that users
may log on to said site and view live footage of a certain event.

Question: What does @ mean?

Answer: In Internet related terms, the "@" symbol is used to separate the domain name from
the username in an email address. It stands for "at". When you send an outbound message
to jp893@hotmail.com, this tells any machines that happen to take part in relaying this
message that it needs to be sent to the following user: jp893, over at the following domain:
hotmail.com.
Question: What is an attachment?
Answer: An attachment refers to a file (or group of files) that is included (or attached)
with a message. You can attach just about any type of file you want to an outbound
message using one of the popular mail clients, such as Outlook Express or Eudora.
When composing a message, the option to attach a file might be in the form of a
button somewhere on the toolbar, or else you'll find it under one of the menu items
at the top of the screen, like insert, tools or options. Choosing to attach a file should
open up a dialog window which allows you to browse to the appropriate directory and
select the item you'd like to attach. This could be an image, a text document, or
whatever. Just keep in mind that unless you're on some form of high speed Internet
access, you might experience trouble when trying to send or receive anything larger
than around 500 kilobytes or so.
Question: What does flaming mean?
Answer: To flame is to send nasty or insulting messages via email, or to post
such messages to a newsgroup. A person sending such messages is called
a flamer. A heated exchange of insults between two or more individuals in a
discussion forum is referred to as a flame war.

Question: What is cross posting?

Answer: To cross post is to post a message to several newsgroups simultaneously. Such
activity is frowned upon by most group regulars. If you cross post a request of some sort to
five differnt groups, there's a good chance that 2 or more of those groups are hosted on the
same box. Needless to say, simultaneously posting to more than one group on the same
box is a senseless waste of bandwidth.

Question: What is a client?

Answer: Put simply, a client is any computer, or application on a computer, that can
request information from a remote server. Your computer is a client when it connects
to the Internet. Your browser is a client when it requests a web page.
Question: What does peripheral mean?
Answer: Peripheral describes an device that is attached to, or works as part of your
computer. This inlcudes the CD-ROM drive, floppy disk drive, external drives, mice,
printers, scanners, monitors, keyboards and so on.

Question: What is an avatar?

Answer: An avatar is an icon of some sort that is used to represent who you
are in a virtual world, such as a 3D chat room. This can be anything you want,
like a cartoon character or a symbol of some sort. Just remember that this will
reflect on the way others perceive you as a person.
Question: What does BRB mean?
Answer: BRB is chat lingo for "Be right back".

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Question: What does BTW mean?

Answer: BTW is chat lingo for "By the way".
Question: What does LOL mean?
Answer: LOL is chat lingo for "Laughing out loud".

Question: What does LMAO mean?

Answer: LMAO is chat lingo for "Laughing my ass off".

Question: What does ROTF mean?

Answer: ROTF is chat lingo for "Rolling on the floor".

Question: What does WB mean?

Answer: WB is chat lingo for "Welcome Back".
Question: What does BM mean?
Answer: BM is chat lingo for "Byte Me".
Question: What does it mean to get "banned" from a chat room?
Answer: Banning a user is an action that would be performed by the host of a
particular chat room. It is a means of permanently revoking a user's ability to
access a certain room, and generally only occurs after repeatedly warning a
user about some form of inappropriate behavior. You are likely to get the boot
several times before actually being banned from a room.
Question: What is an emoticon?
Answer: An emoticon is little more than a series of characters that
are typed in a certain manner to form a rough picture, like a facial
expression. The following is an emoticon... :-). If you tilt your head
to the left, you'll see that it looks sort of like a smiley face. Some
instant messengers, like Yahoo messenger, provide you with real
graphics that you can use as emoticons, which include a variety of
goofy faces.

Question: What is flooding?

Answer: In email, to flood is to send an extremely large amount of
mail to one recipient. In a chat forum, to flood is to repeatedly fill
the chat window with senseless garbage. An ISP will disconnect
a user's service if he/she is caught email flooding. Chat flooding will
most likely get you banned from whatever chat room you frequent.
Question: What does it mean to be "booted" or "kicked" from a chat room?
Answer: To "boot" is an action that would be performed by the host of a particular
chat room. A user who's behavior is inappropriate is likely to get the boot. A host
might also choose to boot someone who's been logged in to a chat room for an
extremely long time, in order to make room for other users.

Question: What does WWW stand for?

Answer: WWW stands for World Wide Web, which exists as a global system of servers
hosting specially formatted files known as web pages. While connected to the Internet,
one can navigate the web using a browser by typing in specific page addresses (URLs),
or by clicking on hyperlinks which cause the browser to jump from one page to another.
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Question: What is cache?

Answer: Your browser's cache directory (sometimes called Temporary Internet
Files), is where previously viewed web files are stored for later reuse. Page code,
graphics, and multimedia objects are kept here so your computer won't have to
download these items again when you return to a page that you've visited recently.
Question: What is a whisper?
Answer: A whisper, otherwise known as a pm (private message), is used to address a
specific user in a chat room without the other users seeing your comments. This may
come in handy if the nature of a conversation you plan on engaging in with somebody
isn't necessarily suitable for public discussion. Sending a whisper to someone you
don't know without asking is considered bad etiquette.
Question: What is a chat bot?
Answer: A bot is a program that runs on a computer 24/7, performing any
number of routine tasks for the owner. Bots can be used on the Internet in
a variety of ways. In chat rooms, bots are usually quite annoying. A chat
bot is usually programmed to log into certain rooms as a certain user, spit
out some generic message (usually an advertisement), then log out.
Question: What is CGI?
Answer: CGI is a scripting language used to run a program on a server that would
interact with a web page. The most common example of a CGI script is a program
that processes the information that a user submits via an online form. For example,
if you wish to make an online purchase of some sort, you might find yourself filling
out a form with your billing information. Once you hit "submit" a CGI program takes
over from there, forwarding all of your information to a specified email address and
redirecting you to a thank you page of some sort.
Question: What is a demo?
Answer: Demo is a term that refers to a short display of a product's features and
capabilities. For instance, you can download game demos, which provide you with
just a couple minutes of game play on one or more levels. It is a means of getting
a feel for a product before you buy it.
Question: What is freeware?
Answer: Freeware is software that is available on the Internet for downloading at
absolutely no cost to the user. Most software designers will release both a free
version and a pay version of their products. The free version is usually bundled
with banner and pop-up generators which will cause various forms of advertising
to appear on your screen while using the product.
Question: What is shareware?
Answer: Shareware is software that is made available on the Internet to download
and use on a trial basis. Some features included with the program may be locked,
and your ability to use the program will usually expire after around 30 days or so
unless you pay a registration fee.

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