Glossary | Jargon

A collection of acronyms, terms and words compiled for businesses, enthusiasts, family, students, teachers and technicians alike. If you have any acronyms and/or explanation or correction of terms that you consider may be suitable for inclusion within the glossary, please email: admin@pcworkspace.org.uk

802.11

A group of specifications for wireless networks developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): These are: 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11i and 802.11n… used by the WiFi Alliance (See also: WAN, WEP, WPA).

ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line – ADSL technology turns a conventional copper-pair analogue telephone line into an always-on digital connection with a data speed operating in the region of 160, possibly as much as 480, times faster than the now redundant 56K modem (See also: PSTN, STD).

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ADWARE

Advertising supported software (Ad-ware) conceivably installed to your computer by mistake or without consent, causing pop-ups and the like, quite possibly taking unauthorised control of your Internet Browser.

Adware is usually seen by the developer as a way to recover development costs, and in some cases may allow the software to be provided free of charge or at a reduced price. Some types of Adware are invasive, may collect information to pass or sell on to third-parties, and may in turn further impact on limited resource and compound existing issue with your operating system, leading or contributing to instability (Must see also: MALWARE).

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AFFECTORS'

Invisible characters – For example a 'Paragraph mark'  . Show/Hide on the Standard Toolbar in Word; Show Special Characters in Publisher (View menu (Some versions)).

AI

Artificial Intelligence.

ALIGNED

Text that is aligned to one side (See also: FLUSH, JUSTIFY and/or RANGE).

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ANPR (Transport)

Automatic Number-Plate Recognition.

APPLET (Smart Card)

An application written in the Java™ programming language – The current Visa Smart Credit/Debit (VSDC) applications, as well as increasingly more value-added applications such as loyalty are written in Java™ (See also: JAVA, VSDC).

APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Software application tool specific to the needs of the user – Packages might be, for example, Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Works, Publisher, Word Perfect etc.

ARQC (Smart Card)

Authorisation Request Cryptogram – A cryptogram used for a process called Online Card Authentication. This cryptogram is generated by the card for transactions requiring online authorisation.

It is the result of card, terminal, and transaction data encrypted by a DES key. It is sent to the issuer in the authorisation or full financial request. The issuer validates the ARQC to ensure that the card is authentic and card data was not copied from a skimmed card (See also: DES).

ASCENDER (typography)

The vertical stem above the x-height in a lower case character set, e.g. b, d and h (See also: DESCENDER).

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange [1963] (See also: BINARY (digit)).

ATA

Advanced Technology Attachment – P(Parallel)ATA; S(Serial)ATA (See also: IDE).

AUP

Acceptable Use Policy – An organisation's management of employee IT use.

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BASE 10

Method – see: DENARY (See also: BINARY (digit)).

BASELINE (typography)

An invisible line that string of characters rest on (See also: LINE SPACING).

BASELINE (configuration management)

A system restore-point created following a new installation, conceivably allowing the system administrator/user to restore their computer to a pre-configured stable platform.

BCD

Binary-coded decimal (See also: BINARY (digit)).

BINARY (digit)

The minimum number of digits (old Latin digita meaning fingers) needed to transmit data. Base 10 (0-9) is the numbering system most common to us. Binary is illustrated by a 0 (zero) representing OFF and a 1 (one) representing ON.

Individually these are called BITs – the B from BINARY and the IT from DIGIT making up the word BIT. Observe the table (Figure 1) below ilustrating 4-BIT (1,2,4,8), the numbering system from right to left across the top doubling from 1 to 2, from 2 to 4 and from 4 to 8.

Combinations of four (4) BITs are known as nibbles; eight (8) BITs a byte (approxmately one character of data); sixteen (16) a word; thirty-two (32) BITs, a long word or dword (double word also used as a term for sixty-four (64) BITs)) and; (one-two-eight) 128 BITs a dqword (double quadruple word (Intel)) / oword (octuple word (Microsoft)).

The diagrams above and below illustrate how Binary is converted to Base 10 (Figure 1 (above)) and vice-versa (Figures 2 and 3 (below)).

An ASCII character table (widely published to the web) will give corresponding characters… The ASCII code corresponding with Denary '65' (Base 10 (Decimal)) is 'A' (65=A).

See: Figure 4 below (8-BIT (1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128)), observe that there is a one (1) beneath the Decimal 1 top right, and a one (1) beneath the 64 giving a total of 65 (1+64=65 (the remainder all zero's)).

Figure 5 below: (1+32+64=97 (a)).

Summary

Eight BIT: 01000001 = Base ten '65'.
Base ten '65' = ASCII character 'A'.

Eight BIT: 01100001 = Base ten '97'.
Base ten '97' = ASCII character 'a'.

1 to 128 right to left, figures 4 and 5 above, total 255. To achieve decimal 256 to 511, 9-BIT is needed (doubling from 128 to 256). 10-BIT = 512 to 1023; 11-BIT = 1024 to 2047; 12-BIT = 2048 to 4095; 13-BIT = 4096 to 8191; 14-BIT = 8192 to 16383 and so on…

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BIOS

Basic Input / Output System – A microchip containing computer configuration (Initial Setup) data. The BIOS firstly unpacks compressed data from the on-board chip to Random Access Memory (RAM) enabling hard-drive system files to then be loaded into RAM (See also: CMOS).

BIT

See: BINARY (digit).

BIT MAP

Method of displaying on a computer screen, such that each pixel (picture element) corresponds to one or more bits in memory.

BLEED

A printing term, where an illustration or artwork extends beyond/to the edge of a page.

BOLD

Bold or Boldface – Emphasis in typography, enhancement to text, increasing the weight of the font, making it stand out more.

BUS

A data connections between two or more devices, a data pathway… The data path on the computer's main board (motherboard) that interconnects the microprocessor and other components. The bus connects the CPU, memory and expansion slots.

BYTE

A byte (8 bits) roughly equates to a character of information. One thousand and twenty-four (1024) bytes corresponding to one kilobyte (See also: BINARY (digit), KILOBYTE, MEGABYTE and KILO).

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CAD (Design)

Computer Aided Design.

CAD (Smart Card)

Card Acceptance Device – A device (usually a point-of-sale terminal) that is capable of reading and processing data from magnetic stripe and chip cards (See also: EMV).

CACHE

Short-term storage – A cache is used to speed up certain computer operations by temporarily placing data, or a copy of it, in a location where it can be accessed more rapidly than normal…

…For example, data from a storage disk may be cached temporarily in high-speed memory so that it can be read and written more quickly than if it had to come directly from the disk itself; or a microprocessor may use an on-board memory cache to store temporary data for use during operations. 'Cache' is derived from the French word for a hiding place, is pronounced like 'cash'.

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CARRIAGE RETURN KEY

Key on the right of a standard keyboard and lower right of the numeric keypad (Enter) returning the cursor down a line. For example, having completed paragraph of text (returning twice to leave a line space).

CHARACTER

A, b, c, or numerical-character for example: 1, 2, 3…

CLAIT

Computer Literacy and Information Technology.

CMOS

Complimentary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor (See also: BIOS).

CMS

Call Management System.

COLOSSUS

The first Electronic Programmable Digital Computer, developed for use during WWII (2).

COM

Computer Output Microfilm – Computer generated microfilm images.

COMPUTER SPACE

The first video game arcade machine (an arcade version of Space-wars) built by Nolan Bushnell in 1971…

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CPE

Customer Premises Equipment.

CPU

The Central Processing Unit, a processor that decodes instructions and converts binary, calculates and governs the speed at which data is transferred; measured in Megahertz (MHz) approximately 1,000,000 bits per second, consisting of the control unit, arithmetic unit, program counter and register (See also: MIPs).

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CRT

Cathode Ray Tube (Tv) – More recently replaced with Flat Panel (Not Flat Screen) Monitors – Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD); (Laptop (See also: FSP)).

The first real electronic game on a digital computer with a CRT was called Space-wars and it was programmed in 1961 by Steve Russell at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…

CURSOR

The edit point within a document generally flashing on screen, indicating the position where the data is entered (See also: I BEAM).

CVS

Computer Vision Syndrome – Computer Induced Eye Strain. One is likely to suffer from CVS if they sit continuously for more than two hours in front of a computer.

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DATABASE

Data-management program.

DDR

Double Data Rate – A memory type supporting data transfer on both edges of the clock cycle; working twice as fast as conventional, but now redundant SD-RAM. DDR (184 pin) operates at 266, 333, and 400MHz bus speed; DDR2 (240 pin) at 400, 533, 667, 800, 1066MHz; DDR3 (240 pin (Not identical to DDR2)) at 1066, 1333, 1600MHz (See also: BUS).

DEFAULT

Pre-selected, preferred option, e.g. where two or more printers are installed – when printing, the default printer is the pre-selected/preferred device. A default website might be for example: http://pcworkspace.net/
To change a default website (Home page) in Internet Explorer (IE): Open the Internet Browser (IE); Select Tools from the Menu Bar [if not visible by default, select Menu Bar from the Tools drop down menu, top right]; Select Internet Options; Enter your preferred Home page in the text area [General tab] at the head of the Internet Options dialog box.

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DEL

Distributed Electronic Learning (Formerly Distance Learning).

DENARY

Base ten (10), Decimal (See also: BINARY (digit)).

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DES (Smart Card)

Data Encryption Standard – A cryptographic algorithm in which two users share the same secret key. This algorithm is used in VSDC transactions for various functions, such as Online Card Authentication (See also: ARQC, VSDC).

DESCENDER (typography)

The vertical stem below the baseline in a lower case character set, e.g. g, p, and y (See also: ASCENDER).

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DESKTOP PUBLISHING (DTP)

Software package for creating documents, illustrating text and/or graphics (in-house publication), creating brochures, flyers, posters etc.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a protocol used by networked devices (clients) to obtain various parameters necessary for the clients to operate in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. By using this protocol, system administration workload greatly decreases, and devices can be added to the network with minimal or no manual configurations.

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DIMM

Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) – Perhaps better known as SD-RAM. DIMMs supporting 168 pins replaced SIMMs which originally had 30 and later 72 pins (See also: DDR, SIMM).

DMA

Direct Memory Access – When large amounts of information need to be transferred between a disk drive and a computer's memory, a dedicated (special-purpose) chip called a DMA controller, or DMac, takes charge. This has direct access to the system memory and can perform the transfer much faster than the system micro-processor (CPU).

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DMac

See: DMA.

DNS

Domain Name System (The) associates various information with domain names – Most importantly, it serves as the 'phone book' for the Internet by translating human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. www.example.com, into the IP addresses, e.g. 208.77.188.166, that networking equipment needs to deliver information [1983].

It also stores other information such as the list of mail exchange servers that accept email for a given domain. In providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is an essential component of contemporary Internet use.

DOS

Disk Operating System, written for IBM PC-compatible computers. Often shorthand for MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), originally developed by Microsoft for IBM [1981] (See also: IBM).

DRM

Digital Rights Management – Media ownership…

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line (See also: ADSL).

DSLAM

Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer.

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ECDL

European Computer Driving Licence.

ECP

Extended Capabilities Port – Providing support for CD-ROM and scanner connection to PC's, bidirectional operation and DMA support to increase transfer speed in addition to a number of other features.

EDO

Extended Data Out – Slightly faster than earlier 'Fast Page' memory types (See also: RAM).

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EMP

Electromagnetic pulse – A broadband, high-intensity, short-duration burst of electromagnetic energy, potentially coupling with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges. Albeit common to a nuclear explosion, the possible effects on computing within a blast radius nonetheless all too clear.

EMV (Smart Card)

Europay, MasterCard, Visa Specifications – Technical specifications developed jointly by Europay International, MasterCard International and Visa International outlining the interaction between chip cards and terminals/CADs to ensure global interoperability (See also: CAD).

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ENIAC

Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer – Incorporating 18,000 valves.

EPG

Electronic Programme Guide – TV programme guide on the Internet… BBC, ITV or BT Vision, Sky perhaps!

EPP

Enhanced Parallel Port – An effort by Intel, Xircom, and Zenith Data Systems to define faster and bidirectional data transfer through a PC's parallel port. Mitchell Shnier, Computer Dictionary. www.quecorp.com.

EPS

Encapsulated PostScript – A PostScript file intended to be embedded in another document rather than printed directly. Mitchell Shnier, Computer Dictionary. www.quecorp.com.

ERNIE

Electronic Random Number Indicating Equipment – Computer designed in mid 20th Century to randomly select Premium Bond winning numbers.

EULA

End User Licensing Agreement.

EVP

Enhanced Virus Protection – A significant number of viruses exploit flaws located in the code of operating systems and applications using a technique called “Buffer Overflow” that forces computers to execute instructions from malicious code stored in data memory.

In order to prevent the execution of these viruses, AMD has provided a hardware memory protection mechanism on all AMD64 processors that is enabled by Windows® Service Pack 2 (SP2). Once activated by the operating system, this feature can protect desktop, notebooks, workstations and servers all using 8th-generation AMD CPUs.

While it does not protect computers from all kind of viruses, it prevents buffer overflow infections, and is available in both 32 and 64 bit execution mode environments. Clearly the advantages of Broadband out-way any disadvantages, Fast Internet nonetheless opens the floodgates to our systems and therefore ongoing (prescription) Internet Security is considered essential, a pre-requisite (See also: TROJAN and VIRUS).

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FCU

Forensic Computing Unit – The National Health Service (NHS) Counter Fraud & Security Management Service (CFSMS) Forensic Computing Unit (FCU) provides a comprehensive and professional forensic computing service to recover digital evidence for use in criminal, civil and disciplinary proceedings.

FEPS

Front-end Processors.

FLOPPY DISK

A removable 'now redundant' disk, generally with a formatted capacity of 1.44Mb [IBM 1971] [Sony 1981] (See also: Mb and REMOVABLE MEDIA).

FLUFF

Facility for the Upload of Large File Format/Files.

FLUSH

Text that is aligned to one side (See also: ALIGNED, JUSTIFY, and RANGE).

FORMAT

a) Process used to initialise magnetic media – Writing tracks to and preparing a disk for storage. The layout and arrangement of tracks and sectors on magnetic media.
b) The layout of text and/or graphics on a page or screen.

FSP

Flat Screen Panel (See also: LCD).

FTP

File Transfer Protocol – A protocol, means to transfer files (creations, documents etc.) via the Internet, uploading files to server space ready to be viewed or downloaded.

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GEM

Graphic Environmental Manager – Early user interface (See also: GUI).

GIF

Graphics Interchange Format – A format developed by CompuServe. Those who have Microsoft Office installed to their workstation may find that their software encompasses an option to custom install Microsoft Photo Editor, supporting this file type, additionally featuring an option to apply transparency to an image (See also: JPEG).

GUI

Graphical User Interface – Virtual Desktop, Windows for example (See also: PLATFORM). Environment first developed by Zerox, used for the Apple Macintosh.

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HARD DISK

Also referred to as a Hard Drive, a sealed unit that stores magnetic data measured in bytes. This form of storage is more convenient, faster and more secure than that say of floppy media. However, data files of an important nature might be backed-up to a partition (on the hard drive) or subject to the value placed on data, perhaps an external drive.

Hard-drive capacity is often wrongly referred to as, or mistaken for memory… See instead: DDR, DIMM, EDO, RAM, SDRAM, SIMM.

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HARD DRIVE

See: HARD DISK, IDE.

HTML

Hypertext Mark-up Language.

Example

<html>

  <head>
      <title>Document Title Here</title>
  </head>

  <body>
      <p>Paragraph text goes here…</p>
  </body>

</html>

A file such as the one illustrated above can be written in Windows Notepad (Programs/ Accessories); adapted and/or developed to your own liking, saved as an html file (add .htm to the file name when saving, e.g. file.htm). Launch the web file by opening (double-clicking on) the resulting document shortcut (icon)…

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I BEAM

An shaped pointer replacing the usual symbol (arrowhead pointer) in text processing applications, facilitating improved accuracy when placing between two characters for editing.

IBM

International Business Machines – The deep blue. In 1943, IBM chief Thomas Watson said that there would only ever be enough demand for five computers in the world…

IBT

Integrated Business Technology – Programme following on from Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT).

ICDL

International Computer Driving Licence.

ICT

Information and Communication Technology – The convergence of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Data Networking Technologies into a single technology.

IDE

Integrated Drive Electronics – A Hard disk drive with built-in electronics necessary for use on a computer. Also refers to the PC INTERFACE to which disk drives connect.

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IEE

Institute of Electrical Engineers.

IET

Information Education Technology – A development of Information Technology.

INPUT DEVICE

Keyboard, Scanner for example (See also: SELECTION DEVICE).

INTER-LINE SPACING

Space between paragraph lines (See also: LEADING and LINE SPACING).

INTERNET

The Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers (See also: LAN, WAN, WWW).

IPS

Instructions per second… See: MIPs

ISA

Industry Standard Architecture – The original specification for the EXPANSION SLOTS used on the first IBM PC; replaced by its successor – the PCI SLOT. Also: Instruction-Set Architecture, Internet Security and Acceleration, Internet Server Application.

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network or Isolated Subscriber Digital Network – An international communications standard that allows ordinary telephone lines to transmit digital instead of analogue signals, allowing data to be transmitted at a faster rate than with a traditional 56K (now redundant) modem (See also: ADSL).

ISO

International Standards Organisation – An international organisation responsible for setting international standards, such as the ISO Latin-1 character set.

ISP

Internet Service Provider – A company that provides access to the Internet.

IT

Short form meaning Information Technology – Concerned with all aspects of managing and processing information.

ITIL

Information Technology Infrastructure Library – ITIL is best practice in IT Service Management, developed by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and supported by publications, qualifications and an international user group.

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JAVA

A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, initially for embedded controllers in consumer electronics – now of course applied to applications widely used across the Internet.

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group – An image (jpg) format giving the user control over the quality and therefore the size (in bytes) of an image. Widely used on the Internet, however not supporting transparency (See also: GIF).

JUSTIFY

Text that is aligned to one side – Fully justified: Text that is aligned to both margins within a document (See also: ALIGNED, FLUSH or RANGE).

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KEYBOARD

Input device for entering text… into a word processing application for example.

KILO (Symbol: K)

A prefix indicating a multiple of one thousand (10³), as in kilogram. When the binary system is used as in computing, it indicates a multiple of 2¹⁰, i.e. 1 024, as in kilobyte.

KILOBYTE, Kb or KBYTE

1,024 bytes (See also: BINARY (digit), BYTE, MEGABYTE and KILO).

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LAN

Local Area Network – A computer network that spans a local area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a Wide Area Network (WAN (See also: 802.11, INTERNET, WAN, WEP)).

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display (Laptop (See also: FSP)).

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LEADING

The distance in points (72 points to an inch) between lines of text, believed taken from character sets arranged in lead blocks prior to setting for printing (See also: INTER-LINE SPACING).

LED

Light Emitting Diode.

LINE LENGTH

The span across the width of a page less the margins, e.g. Width – Margins = Line length.

LINE SPACING

The horizontal space between paragraphs of text, or space allocated to a string of text (See also: INTER-LINE SPACING and LEADING).

LMS

Learning Management System.

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MAGNETIC MEDIA

Media with a surface made from magnetic material used for data storage – such as a hard drive or floppy disk.

MALVERTISING

One, now common, method of implementing malware. This involves hackers posting malicious adverts on websites.

MALWARE

Miscellaneous threats include applications that do not fit into other categories, or they fall into multiple categories. These typically include some form of potentially abhorrent functionality that may pose privacy or security risks.

Malicious software (Mal-ware) is designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent – a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, annoying software or program code.

A Rogue Security Program is software that claims to scan and detect malware or other problems on the computer, but attempts to trick users into purchasing the program by presenting the user with intrusive, deceptive warnings and/or false, misleading scan results.

Such programs may use aggressive, deceptive advertising likely installed without notice or consent, often through exploits.

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Example of a Malware Trojan or Trojan-based Malware:

TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad

Technical Analysis
TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad, for example, is a detection for malicious Windows media files that are used in order to encourage users to download and execute arbitrary files on an affected machine. When opened with Windows Media Player, these malicious files open a particular URL in a web browser.

What does this mean?

Simple Analysis

•	The Trojan (TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad (in this example)) exploits, likely installs to your computer through a flaw in the system.
•	The installed Trojan then by way of malicious media files, often received through or associated with peer to peer software, such as Limewire for example, encourages the download of Malware to your PC on a whim (without thought) from what may simply look like a known or credible website.
•	The installed Malware will then use aggressive and possible misleading scan results to further encourage the user to pay for software to resolve the problem.

PrivacyCenter is one example of a fake anti-virus 'rogue' programme that hijacks and blocks computers; SecurityTool another, not necessarily triggered by a Trojan, possibly gaining access by way of a flaw in a poorly maintained or unstable system; Desktop Security 2010, TotalSecurity and Vista Security are others (See: ADWARE, TROJAN, WORM and VIRUS (See also: VIRUS CLEANING)).

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MEGA (Symbol: M)

A prefix indicating a multiple of one million (10⁶ (Base 10)), as in megawatt. When the binary system is used as in computing, it indicates a multiple of 2²⁰ (Binary (See also: BINARY (digit), MEGABYTE)).

MEGABYTE, Mb or MBYTE

1,024 Kilobyte (See also: BINARY (digit), BYTE and KILOBYTE).

MEMORY

See: RAM (Random Access Memory), DDR, SDRAM.

MCA

Micro Channel Architecture.

MIPs

Millions of Instructions per Second…

Clock pulse = Cycle.
Speed = Cycle time.
CPU = 1 operation per cycle.
1000MHz = 1000 million cycles per second.
1024MHz = 1GHz (1024 million cycles per second).

(See also: CPU and MEGA).

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NETWORK (Computer)

A group of two or more computers linked by cables or wireless signals or both, which can communicate with one another using network protocols. Networks can also include other devices, including printers, routers, and network hubs (See also: LAN).

NETWORK FIREWALL

A hardware or software device (or combination of the two), that prevents unauthorised Internet users from gaining access to private networks.

NETWORK HUB

Hardware that connects computers to one another on a local network.

NONE PROPORTIONAL SPACING

Character spacing that does not vary in width – perhaps only used for tables and text processing where work might be illustrated as if produced on a typewriter (See also: PITCH).

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OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer – OEM Licence relating to Software and/or Hardware used in pre-built systems, made available for, or restricted to the Manufacturing or Service Sector.

OEM System Software (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7) for example, is installed to newly commissioned workstations – OEM Application Software (Internet Security) perhaps if a hardware component such as a hard-drive is replaced.

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OGC

Office of Government Commerce (See also: ITIL).

OLAs

Operational Level Agreements (See also: SLAs).

OLED

Organic Light Emitting Diode – Used in thin-screen technology, no back-light required but limited lifespan in the region of 50% that of a normal flat-panel display.

OS

Operating System.

OUTPUT DEVICE

A printer or monitor for example (See also: INPUT DEVICE).

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PATA

Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment.

PATH

The path followed to arrive at any given file stored to magnetic media (hard disk for example). Where C:\ is the ROOT (start), and a file is archived in a sub-directory within a directory (folder) on the root – then the path would be: C:\Directory\Sub-directory\file.doc. Where the directory is Office and the sub-directory is Word – then the path would be: C:\Office\Word\file.doc (See also: BUS).

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect.

PDA

Personal Digital Assistant – A pocket-sized computer typically operated via a touch-screen stylus rather than a keyboard.

PHARMING

Pharming is an attempt to obtain personal or private information (most often financial-related) from Internet surfers by hijacking a domain name or URL, then redirecting users to an imposter website, where fraudulent requests for private information are made (Source: Symantec).

PHISHING

A means to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. by way of 'spoofed' e-mails and 'fraudulent' websites. Hijacking trusted brands of well-known banks, credit card, money holding companies and online retailers, phishers are able to convince perhaps as many as 5% of recipients to respond.

Email may take the form of advice, and such emails are likely to include a fake link possibly adding to its apparent authenticity – Note the address behind the link – Also be warned, this is not banking practice – Do not divulge confidential information of this nature through any online system, your bank will not ask you to input a complete password or direct you to a site where they ask you to input passwords to update their records. If in doubt you might contact your money managers more directly (Must see also: PHARMING, WORM).

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PITCH

The measure of horizontal character spacing taken from PER INCH – Where the horizontal width is the same regardless of character, e.g. an ' M ' or an ' I '  (See also: NONE PROPORTIONAL SPACING).

PLATFORM

System software – Windows for example, the launch pad (interface) for application software such as Microsoft Word (See also: WINDOWS).

PNRP

PeerName Resolution Protocol – Peer to Peer Network Protocol.

POP3

Post Office Protocol 3 – A protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over an Internet connection.

POST

Power-on Self Test – A test sequence that runs when a computer is switched on.

POST Probe – A means to probe (Test) hardware by running a series of tests when a computer is switched on.

PPC

Pay Per Click…

PROPORTIONAL SPACING

Horizontal character spacing in proportion to size, e.g. an M would be allocated more space than an I – Not un-typical of all modern applications. Good reason to use the tab key perhaps, not the space bar (See also: NONE PROPORTIONAL SPACING and TAB (TAB KEY)).

PROTECTED SPACE

Replacing a normal space between two related words, to ensure that they word wrap together. This can be achieved in Ms Word and Publisher by holding both the Shift and Ctrl key when pressing the space bar. And is written as: &nbsp; in HTML, e.g. word &nbsp; wrap (See also: WRAP TEXT).

PSTN

Public Switched Telephone Network (See also: ADSL, STD).

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QWERTY

The six alphabetical characters upper left of a standard keyboard giving name to the 'QWERTY' Keyboard.

RAM

Random Access Memory (See: DDR, DIMM, EDO, SDRAM, SIMM).

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RANGE

Text that is aligned to one side (See also: ALIGNED, FLUSH and/or JUSTIFY).

REMOVABLE MEDIA

Such as a floppy or zip disk, compact disc (R/RW), DVD (R/RW (DL (Dual-Layer))) or external hard-drive facilitating backing-up (safeguarding), or convenient transfer of data (CV, Music, Photogrpahs etc.) from one workstation to another (See also: FLOPPY DISK).

REN

Ring Equivalent Number – You should see this on the underside of your telephone, e.g. REN=1. A telephone/broadband line typically has a maximum REN of four (4), i.e. the line can operate up to four telephone accessories (e.g. answer phone, fax, modem), each with a REN of one (1).

A telephone line needing to support a REN greater than four may need to be *boosted, however this might lead to unwanted interference if the line is also supporting broadband, and one therefore should perhaps consider a dedicated filtered broadband master socket (BT ADSL V10 or equivalent (No filter required)). Otherwise, all sockets on the ADSL broadband line accommodating equipment must be filtered, and no device should pass through more than one ADSL filter.

*Broadband: In tests the BT I-Plate (iPlate) however, has been shown to boost line speeds – typically by 1.5Mbps, though this may not be worthwhile where internal wiring is low frequency, i.e. telephone extensions, old telecom cable initially intended only for telephone, not broadband.

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ROGUE SECURITY

Rogue Security – PrivacyCenter is one example of a fake anti-virus 'rogue' programme that hijacks and blocks computers; SecurityTool another, not necessarily triggered by a Trojan, possibly gaining access by way of a flaw in a poorly maintained or unstable system; Desktop Security 2010, TotalSecurity and Vista Security are others (Must see: MALWARE, WORM).

More misleading/rogue applications
Antivirus2009
AntiVirusXP2008
SpySheriff
WiniGuard
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ROM

Read Only Memory (See also: CMOS).

RSS (file format)

Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary, several similar forms of web syndication used by news websites and weblogs.

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SATA

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.

SELECTION DEVICE

Mouse, trackball for example (See also: INPUT DEVICE).

SDRAM

Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory – SDRAM is a redundant memory type replaced by DDR but still found in many computers. SDRAM operates at 66, 100 or 133 MHz bandwidth (See also: DDR, DIMM, RAM).

SEDs

Self-encrypting drives.

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sIFR

Scalable Inman Flash Replacement is a technology that allows you to replace text elements on screen with Flash equivalents. sIFR allows website headings, pull-quotes and other elements to be styled in whatever font the designer chooses without the user having it installed on their machine.

SIMM

Single Inline Memory Module – An obsolete memory standard, no longer widely available and rarely found in older PCs. SIMMs had 30 and later 72 pin connectors, and unlike more recent memory types, had to be fitted in pairs (See also: DIMM).

SLAs

Service Level Agreements – An agreement between Customer and their Supplier, part of the IT culture but not universally accepted (See also: CMS, ITIL, OLAs).

SOHO

Small Office Home Office.

SPYWARE

Computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the users' informed consent. Must see: ADWARE and MALWARE (See also: EVP, PHISHING, TROJAN, VIRUS and WORM).

SSID

Service Set IDentifier – The SSID enables communication between users and the Access Point. The Service Set Identifier is in essence an identity, a unique label given to a Wireless Gateway, the Broadband Router (Access Point). The SSID does not provide any security, can be viewed by anyone within the signal area, is merely the default or chosen tag, e.g. virgin boadband; my place; my router (Must see also: WEP).

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer – An SSL certificate proves your identity and scrambles information sent across the internet, so nobody else can see it.

SSVC

The Services Sound and Vision Corporation, formerly the Services Kinema Corporation (SKC).

STD

Subscriber Trunk Dialling [Dial-up] (See also: ADSL, PSTN).

STRING

Two or more words – together they form a string.

SVGA

Super Video Graphics Array – A graphics standard for PC's providing a resolution of 800 x 600 or higher (See also: VGA).

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TAB

Tab, as in filing – A, B, C… etc. A folder/selection option in a Windows environment dialogue box, usually across the top (See also: TAB KEY).

TAB KEY

Key above the Caps Lock on the left hand side of a standard keyboard which places the cursor at a default or pre-defined position, usually every 1.27cm or half an Inch from the left margin, perhaps where text is to be inset, or requires arranging in a column format, numerical data for example.

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TEXT-WRAP

A desktop and word processing feature facilitating text flow around an image (See also: WRAP TEXT).

TKIP

Temporal Key Integrity Protocol – An encryption protocol included as part of the IEEE 802.11i standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). Now superseded, it was designed to provide more secure encryption than the weaker Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), the original WLAN security protocol. TKIP was the encryption method used in WiFi Protected Access (WPA), which replaced WEP in WLAN products (See also: 802.11, WiFi, WPA).

TROJAN

The impact of a Trojan may vary from simply a nuisance factor, theft of confidential information, to the more destructive, leading to instability, reinforcing a need for essential ongoing (subscribed) preventative solutions such as a comprehensive Internet Security package. Trojans are also found linked to Rogue Security (Must see also: MALWARE, ROGUE SECURITY, VIRUS and WORM).

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UMA

Unified Memory Architecture.

UN/SPSC

United Nations Standard Product and Service Code – A single global classification system; A standard set by the United Nations for fixing and optimising large volumes of company data, allowing that company to classify the products and services they buy and sell.

Wiki

URL

Uniform Resource Locator, or Unique Resource Locator – The addressing format used by web browsers, e.g. http://www.computerspace.co.uk

USB

Universal Serial Bus – A relatively new and widely accepted standard for connecting up to 127 physical devices to a PC.

USB2

Universal Serial Bus 2 – As for USB, but 40 times faster.

USB3

Universal Serial Bus 3 – As for USB2, but 4 times faster.

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VDU

Visual Display Unit.

VGA

Video Graphics Array – A graphics standard for PC's providing a resolution of 640 x 480 (See also: SVGA).

VIN (Transport)

The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique number to identify a vehicle, regardless of number plate changes. If not matched to the VIN on the database, the number should be verified online before one purchases the vehicle in order to invoke Data Insurance cover. The VIN is normally a mixture of 17 letters and numbers, and does not contain letters I or O, but does contain the numbers one (1) and zero (0) (See: AA CHECK, DVLA ADVICE).

VIRUS

A self-replicating 'malicious' program. A term often used, misused to describe all types of threats, but nonetheless requires interaction from (is triggered by) the user (Must see also: ADWARE, MALWARE, PHISHING, TROJAN and WORM.

VIS (Smart Card)

Visa Integrated Circuit Card Specification – Visa's implementation of the EMV specifications to aid vendors in developing VSDC cards and terminals (See also: EMV, VSDC).

VSDC (Smart Card)

Visa Smart Debit/Credit – The Visa service offerings for chip-based debit and credit programs. These services, based on EMV and VIS specifications, are supported by VisaNet processing, as well as by Visa rules and regulations. The term VSDC is also used to refer to the actual payment application/applet that resides on the card (See also: APPLET, EMV, VIS).

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WAN

A computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area – Typically, a WAN consists of two or more Local Area Networks (LANs (See also: 802.11, INTERNET, LAN, WWW)).

WEEED

WEEE Directive (2007) – Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive (WEEED) was to be enforced in the UK and throughout the EC circa 13 August 04, was finally rolled out in January 2007. The directive was written to reduce the waste arising from electrical and electronic equipment, and to improve the environmental performance of those involved in the lifecycle of electrical and electronic equipment.

WEP

Wired Equivalent Privacy – A security protocol for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) defined in the 802.11b standard. WEP is designed to provide the same level of security as a wired LAN.

However, a much older protocol than WPA, the default setting of some devices may nonetheless be WEP because older wireless devices are not compatible with stronger encryption types, such as WPA (See also: 802.11, LAN, WiFi, WPA).

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WHITESPACE

Area left blank in a publication, common in DTP models – Too much white space may be unacceptable, however a frame of white around text can enhance appearance.

WHITESPACE (typography)

In computer science, whitespace is any single character or series of characters that represents horizontal or vertical space in typography…

WiFi

Wireless Fidelity – The WiFi (Wi-Fi) Alliance is an industry alliance to promote wireless networking arrangements based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Products approved by the Alliance receive the WiFi certified seal of interoperability (See also: 802.11, WPA).

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WINDOWS

Microsoft Windows Operating System:

Windows 3.1; Windows '95; Windows '98 (FE (First Edition), SE (Second Edition)), sometimes referred to as 9X; Windows NT4 and 2000 developed for networks; Windows ME (Millennium Edition); Windows XP (Home), and XP (Professional), Windows Vista (Basic, Premium, Professional and Ultimate (32 and 64bit)).

Windows 7 (Seventh generation Windows) from October 2009. 1) 3.11, 2) 95, 3) 98, 4) ME, 5) XP, 6) Vista, 7) Windows 7.

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WIP

Work In Progress…

WORM

Write Once Read Many – A virus-like threat likely to trigger a chain reaction, chain mail leading to server overload. This may be automated or might simply encourage an excessive spread of electronic mail using scare tactics, ironic false warning of malicious threats for example, perhaps claiming to be from a known source such as an Internet Security Software House.

Currency

The name, adapted from 'The Shockwave Rider', a science fiction novel, has come to refer to a malicious program that can copy and propagate itself over the Internet using email programs or other transport tools. A worm may also compromise the security of an infected computer or cause system and data damage (Source: Symantec (Must see also: MALWARE, PHARMING, PHISHING, TROJAN and VIRUS)).

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WPA

WiFi Protected Access – Encryption by default to protect the data that moves across the radio waves from it to other wireless devices (Must see also: WEP).

WPA-PSK

WiFi Protected Access-Pre-Shared Key – A simplified but nonetheless powerful form of WPA, most suitable for home wireless networking (See also: SSID, TKIP, WEP, WPA).

WRAP TEXT

Where transcript automatically wraps at the end of a line of text omitting the need to press the return key until the end of a paragraph – a feature of word processors unlike a manual typewriter (See also: PROTECTED SPACE and TEXT-WRAP).

WWW

The World Wide Web is a collection of documents, e.g. web pages, published to the Internet – conceived by Sir Timothy (Tim) John Berners-Lee (British Scientist (1989)) – the Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers (See also: WAN).

WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get – Effect, or screen display…

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XGA

Extended Graphics Adapter – Rarely used term for resolution of 1024 x 768 (See also: VGA and SVGA).

YAHOO

Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle – A widely popular search engine established in 1994 by two students from Stanford University.

ZIF

Zero Insertion Force – A socket used for fitting a processor to a printed circuit (main-board) board, utilising a lever to lock the pins into place. A ZIF 7 socket, for example, would support an IBM, Cyrix or AMD K6 2 processor.

ZIGBEE

A low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh networking standard, based upon the IEEE 802.15.4 – 2006 standard for personal area networks (WPAN). The technology is intended to be simpler and cheaper than other WPANs such as Bluetooth with much lower power requirements.

The cost advantage allows Zigbee to be widely deployed in wireless control, monitoring and tracking applications, where its low power-usage allows longer life with smaller batteries, and mesh networking provides higher reliability and longer range.

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