Glossary
Access Provider ActiveX Backbone Bit Bits per second (bps) Browser Byte Cookies Cookies contain information about your last visit to a web site. For example, a record of which pages within the site you visited, to help the site customize the view for you the next time you visit. Other settings and choices you make may also be recorded in a cookie. Only the information that you provide, or the choices that you make while visiting a Web site, can be stored in a cookie. Allowing a Web site to create a cookie does not give that or any other site access to the rest of your computer, and only the site that created the cookie can read it.
Client Channels Dial-up networking DNS Domain name Download E-mail FAQs Firewall FTP FTP site GIF Gopher Home Page Host Hot link HTML HTTP Hypertext Internet Internet Access Provider (IAP) Internet Explorer Internet Service Provider (ISP) Intranet IP address ISDN Java JPEG Kbps Kilostream Leased line Mail gateway Microsoft Internet Explorer MIME Modem Name server Netscape Navigator Newsgroups Online Service Provider (OSP) PNG PoP POP PPP Protocol Server SMTP TCP/IP Telnet URL Usenet Uuencoding V.32bis, V.34, etc. Web page Web server Web site Winsock Workstation World Wide Web (WWW)
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A company that sells Internet connections. Also known as Internet Access Provider (IAP) or Internet Service Provider (ISP).
ActiveX controls are programs that can perform some actions from within a web browser program.
The high-speed data connections that link access providers.
Binary digit - the basic unit for storing data, 0 or 1. Eight bits make up one byte.
Speed of data transfer - 14,400 bps, 28,800 bps, 33,600 bps are common speeds nowadays. The higher the figure, the better.
Special program for viewing Internet web pages.
One byte of information represents one character of data.
Some Web sites store information in a small text file, called a "cookie," on your hard disk.
A computer that is connected to a server.
A channel automates the delivery of information from your favourite web sites directly to your computer. This allows you to keep up-to-date with information supplied by the channel provider without you having to connect to their web site.
The use of standard phone lines, or ISDN lines, to connect to the Internet.
Domain Name System - a program that converts alphanumeric domain names such as pcproductions.com into numerical Internet addresses.
The system of names used to identify computers on the Internet, e.g., pcproductions.com.
Fetch a file stored on another computer and save a copy of it on your computer.
Electronic mail - sending messages and files via the Internet.
Frequently Asked Questions - often found on web sites and in newsgroups.
A computer that sits between an internal network and a connection to an external network to control access and prevent intruders from breaking into the network.
File Transfer Protocol - a set of rules for transferring files across the Internet. Web browsers often use this without you knowing about it!
Special area where files are stored ready to be downloaded.
Graphics Interchange Format - common file format for graphics on the Internet.
A menu system for navigating the Internet, now being replaced by the World Wide Web.
The opening page on a web site.
The computer to which you connect to get on the Internet.
Text or graphics that, when clicked, link you to another web page.
HyperText Mark-up Language - the standard codes used when writing documents to be published on the Internet.
HyperText Transfer Protocol - a set of rules used for displaying Internet documents in your web browser program. http://www forms part of the address of a web site.
A cornerstone of the web - text and graphics can be highlighted and when clicked link to another part of a document, or a different document altogether. Windows help files work in the same way.
Millions of computers connected in a global network.
A company that sells Internet connections. Also known as Access Provider or Internet Service Provider (ISP).
A widely used Internet browser program from Microsoft that also has e-mail and newsgroup modules.
A company that sells Internet connections. Also known as Internet Access Provider (IAP) or Access Provider.
An internal company web site accessible by authorised users only.
A number that indentifies a computer on the Internet, e.g., 195.107.45.201
Integrated Services Digital Network - a digital telephone line for fast access to the Internet. Typical connection speed is 64 Kbps (64,000 bps).
Programming environment that lets you perform some actions from within a web browser program.
Joint Photographic Expert Group - common file format for graphics on the Internet.
Data transfer speed. 1 Kbps equals 1,000 bps.
The BT term for a 64 Kbit leased line.
A phone line permanently connected between two points. Used by large companies and Internet Service Providers.
A computer that translates e-mail between different e-mail systems.
A widely used Internet browser program that also has e-mail and newsgroup modules.
Multipurpose Internet Multimedia Extensions - allows e-mail messages to include audio and video files. Also used by web servers and web browser programs.
Modulator/Demodulator - hardware that connects a computer to a telephone line and translates the communications between them.
A computer that supplies a DNS service to translate between domain names and IP addresses.
A widely used Internet browser program that also has e-mail and newsgroup modules.
Discussion groups on the Internet with over 20,000 topics, also called Usenet.
A company that sells Internet connections, but also provides other services, e.g., CompuServe and AOL.
Portable Network Graphics - pronounced 'ping' - an emerging graphics file format for the Internet.
Point of Presence - the number you dial into when you want to access the Internet.
Post Office protocol - set of rules for e-mail servers that allows users to ask for their mail.
Point-to-Point Protocol - connects two computers together, commonly used by home Internet subscribers with a dial-up connection.
A set of rules agreed upon for two computers to connect and understand each other.
A central computer which makes data and programs available to other computers connected to it (clients, or workstations).
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - the set of rules used for transferring mail.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - the set of rules used for transferring data between computers connected to the Internet.
A system that lets you connect to another computer and run a program on it.
Universal Resource Locator - the address that identifies an Internet resource and its location, such as a web site.
Collection of discussion groups on the Internet, also called Newsgroups.
A common method of encoding data files that are sent over the Internet. E-mail does this.
A series of standards that define modem operations. For example, V.32bis is the standard for 14.4 Kbps modems.
A single document on the web - it can be longer than one screen full of information.
A program that accepts requests for information using HTTP.
A computer connected to the Internet providing information.
Sockets for Windows - Winsock.dll is a program extension needed to connect to the Internet when using Windows 3.11.
A computer that is connected to a server.
The generic term for the collection of web servers that span the world.