Glossary

SECURITY TERMINOLOGY

ADWARE

Adware are programs that secretly gather information while you browse the Internet and transfer that data to another computer. This information is then used for advertisements and can generate pop ups. Adware can usually be found in shareware or freeware and is installed during the installation process.

DIALLERS

Diallers are programs that divert your connection to the Internet so that expensive telephone calls can be charged to your account.

HACK TOOLS

Hack Tools are programs used by a hacker to gain unauthorized access to your computer.

REMOTE ACCESS PROGRAMS

Remote access programs allow another computer to gain information or to attack or alter your computer, usually over the Internet. 

SPYWARE

Spyware are programs that secretly monitor your system and may detect passwords or other confidential material and communicate it to another computer. Spyware can usually be found in shareware or freeware and is installed during the installation process.

WORMS

A computer program, which replicates itself and is self-propagating. Worms, as opposed to viruses, are meant to spawn in network environments. Worms usually are designed to slow down a network or even crash it.

HARDWARE TERMINOLOGY

MOTHERBOARD

A motherboard is a printed circuit board that fits inside your computer; it houses your CPU, RAM and is also where all connections from devices go to. The connections on the back of your computer (mouse, keyboard etc) are physically connected to your motherboard.

RAM

Random Access Memory is a chip that connects to your motherboard. It loads and stores instructions from the operating system, Software, Games etc until the processor has the time to execute its next set of instructions. RAM is volatile and can only store information inside its self whilst there is power running through it. When talking about ram these common words come up 64MB 128MB 256MB 512MB these are storage capabilities 512MB being the industry standard at the present time.

ROM

Read Only Memory is a chip usually built into the motherboard, which can also store information and instructions but it is Non volatile which means it doesn’t need power to store information.

CPU

Central Processing Unit  - Is where all the instructions and commands are executed. The CPU is the brains of the computer. All instructions are executed as mathematical equations. There are different types of CPU. AMD (Athlon, Duron etc) or Intel (Celeron and  Pentium 4) are the main competitors. There are different models which run at different speeds.

Hard Drive

A hard drive is where all your files, programs and even your operating system are stored. The hard drive connects directly to the motherboard. When talking about hard drive the term gigabyte (GB) often comes up, that is because GB is the standard size for a hard drives at the moment. 60-100 GB hard drives are the latest standard size sold with PC's today, But larger size drives are also available depending on needs.

CD

Compact Disk - A medium that can hold 700 MB (Megabytes) of data.

DVD

Digital Versatile Disk  A medium that can hold 4.7GB of data if layered singularly or 8.5 if dual layered. 

CD-RW/DVD-RW

CD Re-Writable/DVD Re-Writable is a medium that allows repeated recording on data onto a disc (Up to 1000 times). 

MODEM/ROUTER

Modems enable a user to connect to the internet, send faxes or even make connections to another network. A router however enables multiple users and computers to connect to the internet through one internet connection, saving money and effort.

IDE

Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics, depending on who you ask. An IDE interface is an interface for mass storage devices (hard drive or CD-ROM), in which the controller is integrated into the disk or CD-ROM drive

SATA

Serial ATA is a serial link - a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150 MBps One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a computer and also allow for smaller chassis designs. In contrast, IDE cables used in parallel ATA systems are bulkier than Serial ATA cables and can only extend to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter.

DATA TERMINOLOGY

BIT

Binary Digit - A unit for measuring data size. It is either a 1 or a 0.

BYTE

A unit for measuring data size.  Eight BITS = 1 Byte

KB

KiloByte -A unit for measuring data size. 1024 bytes =1 KB

MB

MegaByte -A unit for measuring data size. 1024 KB = 1 MB

GB

GigaByte - A unit for measuring data size. 1024 MB = 1 GIG

TB

TeraByte - A unit for measuring data size. 1024 GB = 1 TB

PB

PettaByte - A unit for measuring data size. 1024 TB = 1 PB

NETWORKING TERMINOLOGY

LAN

A Local Area Network is a collection of computers located in the same geographical location, communicating together in order to share resources i.e. Printers, Faxes, Files and even the internet.

Advantages of using a LAN

1) You only need to buy one printer which can be shared by multiple users, instead of buying a printer for each user.

2) You only need to purchase one internet connection that is shared, instead of purchasing a connection for each user

3) Share files in your Home/Office without using floppies or even leaving your seat

WAN

Wide Area Network- This is a collection of computers located in many geographical locations, communicating together in order to share resources i.e. files. WAN's can be used for many purpose's i.e. Connecting 2 or more business which could be located at different sides of the world together using a VPN.

VPN

Virtual Private Network - This is a secure connection that enables two or more separate sites/offices to be part of the same network. This is achieved by establishing a 128bit encrypted tunnel which enables all connected offices to send and receive information to each other through the internet securely. After set up costs this is a very cheep and effective way to communicate and collaborate between businesses.

HUB/SWITCH

A Hub allows all computers and devices on your network to connect to a centralised location in order for communications to take place .A Switch will also recognise where the data is going to and remember it thus speeding up the networking process. 

DNS

Domain Name System (or Service or Server), an internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they're easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4.

The DNS system is, in fact, its own network. If one DNS server doesn't know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.

IP ADDRESS

Internet Protocol Address - This a set of four numbers separated by periods (e.g. 192.168.42.0) which defines a computer or server on the internet. The maximum each number can be is 255 (e.g. 255.255.255.255).

VOIP

Voice Over Internet Protocol - Using your PC or specialised hardware to use broadband to make telephone calls. The voice is converted to data and then transferred to the person you want to talk to, at their end it is converted back to voice. The advantage of this idea is that it could be a lot cheaper to make calls.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - This is a protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network.. With dynamic addressing, a device can have a different IP address every time it connects to the network. In some systems, the device's IP address can even change while it is still connected. DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses.

SERVER TERMINOLOGY

A server is a high performance computer, with a specialist operating system and software for managing a network in a centralised location. A server is a must have for any network with 10 or more computers.

Features:

1) Enables all users on a network to log onto any computer on that network and to have there normal settings and files located on that computer, instead of being located on one stationary computer.

2) Enables customised settings for each user or group of users on the network i.e. backgrounds, settings, options,

3) Enables customised security for each user or group of users i.e. you can allow an accountant and a managing director  to have access to the accounts files, but a sales person wouldn’t be able to see or access them.

4) Enables hosting of a website without having to pay an Internet Service Provider for web space.

5) Enables you to use a Virtual Private Network

6) Enables auditing of all computers and users on the network.

7) Centralised management of the network

8) Extremely advanced security compared to standard operating systems.

9) Increases network data transfer speeds by reducing bottlenecks, this is achieved by having only one centralised DNS and DHCP server transmitting data, compared to a workgroup where all computers have DNS and DHCP transmitting data and slowing each other down and creating unnecessary network traffic.

For more information on the benefits of Server based networks contact info@milfordsolutions.co.uk

INTERNET TERMINOLOGY

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol  - This is used by the world wide web. HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web page.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language - This is the authoring language used to create documents on the world wide web. HTML defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes.

JAVA

Java is a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Java is a general purpose programming language with a number of features that make the language well suited for use on the World Wide Web. Small Java applications are called Java applets and can be downloaded from a web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible web browser.

COOKIES

Cookies are message given to a web browser by a web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized web pages for them. When you enter a website using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will transfer the cookie data to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.