‘.
Read more about protocals here:
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/h/f/what-is-a-computer-protocol-http.htm
The most popular protocols are the World Wide Web, FTP, Telnet, Gopherspace,
instant messaging, and email.
The World Wide Web ,
or ‘Web’ for short,
is the most popular portion of the Internet.
Read more at this link.
What is the World Wide Web?
http://websearch.about.com/od/w/g/World-Wide-Web.htm
The Web is viewed through web browser
software.
Grammar and spelling note: Use capitalized ‘Internet’ and ‘Web’ when using
either word as a noun. Use lowercase ‘internet’ or ‘web’ when using either
word as an adjective. e.g. ‘We were browsing the Internet on our television
last night.’ e.g. ‘We found a really good web page about global warming.’
2. http and https
http is a technical acronym that means ‘hypertext transfer protocol
‘, the
language of web pages. When a web page has this prefix, then your links,
text, and pictures should work in your web browser.
https is ‘hypertext transfer protocol SECURED’. This means that the web
page has a special layer of encryption added to hide your personal
information and passwords. Whenever you log into your online bank
or your web email account, you should see https at the front of the
page address.
:// is the strange expression for ‘this is a computer protocol
‘. We add
these 3 characters in a Web address to denote which set of computer
lanaguage rules affect the document you are viewing.
Read more about http and https here
…
http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0513.htm
3. Browser
A browser is a free software package that lets you view web pages, graphics,
and most online content. Browser software is specifically designed to
convert HTML and XML into readable documents.
The most popular web browsers in 2013 are: Google Chrome
, Firefox, Internet
Explorer
, and
Safari.
Read more about web browsers here
…
2011 About.com Readers’ Choice Awards Winners – Best Web Browsers
http://browsers.about.com/od/allaboutwebbrowsers/ss/2011-Readers-Choice-Awar
ds-Winners-Web-Browsers.htm#step2
4. HTML and XML
Hypertext Markup Language is the programmatic language that web pages are
based on. HTML commands your web browser to display text and graphics in
orderly fashion. HTML uses commands called ‘HTML tags’ that look like the
following:
*
*
*
XML is eXtensible Markup Language, a cousin to HTML. XML focuses on
cataloging and databasing the text content of a web page. XML commands look
like the following:
*
*
*
XHTML is a combination of HTML and XML.
Read more about HTML here
…
http://webdesign.about.com/od/html5/qt/what_is_html5.htm
Read more about XML here
…
5. URL
URL’s, or ‘uniform resource locators’, are the web browser addresses of
internet pages and files. A URL works together with IP addresses to help us
name, locate, and bookmark specific pages and files for our web browsers.
URL’s commonly use three parts to address a page or file: the protocol
(which is the portion ending in ‘//:’); the host computer (which sometimes
ends in .com); and the filename/pagename itself. For example:
* https://personal.bankofamerica.com/login/password.htm
* http://forums.about.com/ab-guitar/?msg61989.1
* ftp://files.microsoft.com/public/eBookreader.msi
* telnet://freenet.edmonton.ca/main
Read more about URL’s here
…
Understanding URL’s: How Internet URL Addresses Work
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/understandyourbrowser/a/urls.htm
6. IP Address
Your computer’s ‘internet protocol’ address is a four-part or eight-part
electronic serial number. An IP address can look something like
‘202.3.104.55’ or like ’21DA:D3:0:2F3B:2AA:FF:FE28:9C5A’, complete with dot
or colon separators. Every computer, cell phone, and device that accesses
the Internet is assigned at least one IP address
for tracking purposes. Wherever you browse, whenever you send an
email or instant message, and whenever you download a file, your IP address
acts like a type of automobile licence plate to enforce accountability and
traceability.
Read more about IP addresses here
…
What Is an ‘IP Address’? Is It the Same as ‘Domain Name’?
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/i/f/ip_address.htm
Read more about IP Version 6 addresses here
…
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/navigatingthenet/f/what-is-IPV6-internet
-protocol.htm
7. Email
Email (formerly spelled e-mail with a hyphen) is electronic mail
. It is the
sending and receiving of typewritten messages from one screen to another.
Email is usually handled by a webmail service (e.g. Gmail or Yahoomail), or
an installed software package (e.g. Microsoft Outlook).
Email has many cousins: text messaging, instant messaging, live chat,
videomail (v-mail), Google Waving
.
Read more about email here …
http://awards.about.com/od/Computing/Computing.htm
8. Blogs and Blogging
A blog (‘web log’) is a modern online writer’s column. Amateur and
professional writers publish their blogs on most every kind of topic: their
hobby interest in paintball and tennis, their opinions on health care, their
commentaries on celebrity gossip, photo blogs of favorite pictures, tech
tips on using Microsoft Office. Absolutely anyone can start a blog, and some
people actually make reasonable incomes by selling advertising on their blog
pages.
Web logs are usually arranged chronologically, and with less formality than
a full website. Blogs vary in quality from very amateurish to very
professional. It costs nothing to start your own personal blog.
Read more on web logs here
…
What Is a Blog for Beginning Bloggers?
http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/p/WhatIsABlog.htm
9. Social Media and Social Bookmarking
Social media
is
the broad term for any online tool that enables users to interact with
thousands of other users. Instant messaging and chatting are common forms of
social media, as are blogs with comments, discussion forums, video-sharing
and photo-sharing websites. Facebook.com and MySpace.com are very large
social media sites, as are YouTube.com and Digg.com.
Social bookmarking is a the specific form of social media. Social
bookmarking
is
where users interact by recommending websites to each other (‘tagging
sites’).
Read more about social media and social bookmarking here
What Is Social Media? – Definition and Examples
http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm
10. ISP
ISP is Internet Service Provider. That is the private company or government
organization that plugs you into the vast Internet around the world. Your
ISP will offer varying services for varying prices: web page access, email,
hosting your own web page, hosting your own blog, and so on. ISP’s will
also offer various Internet connection speeds for a monthly fee. (e.g. ultra
high speed Internet vs economy Internet).
Today, you will also hear about WISP’s, which are Wireless Internet Service
Providers
. They
cater to laptop users
who travel regularly.
Read more on
ISP’s and WISP’s here…
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – Role and Function
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/internetaccessbestuses/g/bldef_isp.htm
Below is the second set of the 30 terms for beginners on the internet 2015.
Link for second ten ie terms
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/internetlanguage/tp/the-top-internet-ter
ms-for-beginners.01.htm
11. Download
Downloading is a broad term that describes when you make a personal copy of
something you find on the Internet or World Wide Web. Commonly, downloading
is associated with songs, music, and software files (e.g. “I want to
download a new musical ringtone for my cell phone”, “I want to download a
trial copy of Microsoft Office 2010”). The larger the file you are copying,
the longer the download will take to transfer to your computer. Some
downloads will take 12 to 15 hours, depending on your Internet speed
.
Be warned: downloading itself is fully legal, as long as you are careful not
to download pirated movies and music.
12. Malware
Malware is the broad term to describe any malicious software designed by
hackers. Malware includes: viruses, trojans, ratware, keyloggers, zombie
programs, and any other software that seeks to do one of four things:
1. vandalize your computer in some way
2. steal your private information
3. take remote control of your computer (‘zombie’ your computer) for other
ends
4. manipulate you into purchasing something
Malware programs are the time bombs and wicked minions of dishonest
programmers.
Read more about malware here
…
Understanding Spyware and Malware 101
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/antivirusantispyware/a/malware101.htm
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/antivirusantispyware/a/malware101.htm
13. Router (aka ‘Network Router’)
A router, or in many cases, a router-modem combination, is the hardware
device that acts as the traffic cop for network signals into your home. A
router can be wired or wireless or both. Your router provides both a defense
against hackers, and the redirection service of deciding which specific
computer or printer should get which signals in your home. If your router or
router-modem is configured correctly, your Internet speed will be fast, and
hackers will be locked out. If your router is poorly configured, you will
experience network sluggishness and possible hacker intrusions.
Read more about network routers here
…
Broadband and Wireless Router Networking
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/homenetworking/a/routernetworks.htm
14. Keywords and Tags/Labels
Keywords are search terms used to locate documents. Keywords are anywhere
from one to five words long, separated by spaces or commas: e.g. “horseback
riding calgary” e.g. “ipad purchasing advice” e.g. “ebay tips selling”.
Keywords are the foundation for cataloging the Web, and the primary means by
which you and I will find anything on the Web.
Tags (sometimes called ‘labels’) are recommendation keywords. Tags and
labels focus on crosslinking you to related content… they are the modern
evolution of ‘suggestions for further reading’.
Read more about keywords
and tags/labels
here…
Learn Where and How to Put Keywords on Your Web Site
http://websearch.about.com/od/seononos/a/spooky.htm
What is Tagging?
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/a/tagging.htm
15. Texting/Chatting
Texting is the short way to say ‘text messaging’, the sending of short
electronic notes usually from a cell phone or handheld electronic device.
Texting is popular with people who are mobile and away from their desk
computers. Texting is something like the pagers of old, but has the file
attachment
ability of email.
Read more about file attachments here:
“Attachment” or “File Attachment” Definition
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/a/g/def_attachment.htm
To send a text message, you will usually need a keyboard-enabled cellphone
and a text message service through your cellphone provider. You address
your text messages using the recipient’s phone number.
In 2010, texting has spawned a controversial habit called ‘sexting’
, which is when young people send sexual photos of themselves to other
cell phone users.
Read more about ‘sexting’
here:
What Is Sexting and Why Is It a Problem?
http://familyinternet.about.com/od/computingsafetyprivacy/a/sexting_what.htm
16. I.M.
I.M. (usually spelled ‘IM’ without the periods) is instant messaging
, a form of modern online chatting. IM is somewhat like texting,
somewhat like email, and very much like sending notes in a classroom. IM
uses specialized no-cost software that you install on your computer. That
IM software in turn connects you to potentially thousands of other IM users
through the Internet. You locate existing friends and make new friends by
searching for their IM nicknames.
Once the software and your friends list is in place, you can send
instantaneous short messages to each other, with the option of including
file attachments and links. While the recipient sees your message
instantly, they can choose to reply at their leisure.
Read more on IM here
…
What is IM? Learn More About Instant Messaging
http://im.about.com/od/imfornewusers/a/whatisim.htm
17. P2P
P2P file sharing
(‘peer-to-peer’) is the most voluminous Internet activity today. P2P is the
cooperative trading of files amongst thousands of individual users. P2P
participants install special software on their computers, and then
voluntarily share their music, movies, ebooks, and software files with each
other.
Through ‘uploading’ and ‘downloading’, users trade files that are anywhere
from 1 megabyte to 5 gigabytes large. This activity, while in itself a fully
legal pasttime, is very controversial because thousands of copyrighted songs
and movies trade hands through P2P.
Read more about the controversial world of P2P file sharing
…
Understanding Music Downloading: How P2P File Sharing Works
http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/peersharing/a/aap2p.htm
18. E-commerce
E-commerce is ‘electronic commerce’: the transacting of business selling and
buying online. Every day, billions of dollars exchange hands through the
Internet and World Wide Web
. Sometimes, the e-commerce is your company buying
office products from another company (business-to-business ‘B2B’
e-commerce). Sometimes, the e-ecommerce is when you make a private purchase
as a retail customer from an online vendor (business-to-consumer ‘B2C’
e-commerce).
E-commerce works because reasonable privacy can be assured through technical
means (e.g. https secure web pages), and because modern business values the
Internet as a transaction medium.
19. Bookmark
A bookmark (aka “favorite”) is a marker that you can place on web pages and
files. You would bookmark something because:
1. You want to return to the page or file later
2. You want to recommend the page or file to someone else
Bookmarks/Favorites can be made using your right mouse click menu, or the
menus/toolbars at the top of your web browser. Bookmarks/Favorites can also
be made on your Mac or Windows computer files.
20. Social Engineering
Social engineering is the conman art of talking directly to people to trick
them into divulging passwords and their private information. All social
engineering attacks
are some form of a masquerade or
phishing attack, designed to convince you that the attacker is trustworthy
as a friend or as a legitimate authority figure. The attacker might use an
email, phone call, or even face-time interview to deceive you. Common social
engineering attacks include greeting cards
, bogus
lottery winnings, stock investment scams, warnings from an alleged banker
that you’ve been hacked, credit card companies pretending to protect you.
Read more about social engineering here
…
Social Engineering Attacks
http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/tp/socialengineeringattacks.htm
Below start the third and last set of internet terms for beginners in 2015.
*Link to thurd set of ie terms
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/internetlanguage/tp/the-top-internet-ter
ms-for-beginners.02.htm
21. Phishing and Whaling
‘Phishing’ is what modern-day con men do to defraud you of your personal
accounts. Phishing is the use of convincing-looking emails and web pages to
lure you into typing your account numbers and passwords/PINs. Often in the
form of fake eBay web pages, fake PayPal warning messages, and fake bank
login screens, phishing attacks
can be
very convincing to anyone who is not trained to watch for the subtle clues.
As a rule, smart users distrust any email link that says “you should login
and confirm this”.
Read more about phishing
and whaling
here…
Internet Phishing and Email Scams – What Phishing and Email Scams Look Like
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ig/Phishing-Scams-
and-Email-Cons/
22. Addons and Plugins
Addons are custom software modifications. User optionally install addons to
improve the power of their Web browsers or office software. Examples
include: a custom eBay toolbar for your Firefox browser, a new search
feature for your Outlook email. Most addons are free, and can be found and
downloaded from the Web.
Plugins are a special kind of web browser addon. Plugins are essentially
required addons, if you wish to view very specialized web pages. Examples
include: Adobe Flash or Shockwave player, Microsoft Silverlight player,
Adobe Acrobat pdf reader.
Read more about addons here
…
Best Overall Add-On (Non-Security)
http://browsers.about.com/library/bl-best-overall-addon.htm
Read more about plugins here
…
Basic Web Browser Plug-Ins and Extensions
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/p/a/The-Best-Internet-Plugins.htm
23. Trojan
A trojan is a special kind of hacker program that relies on the user to
welcome it and activate it. Named after the famous Trojan horse tale, a
trojan program masquerades as a legitimate file or software program.
Sometimes it will be an innocent-looking movie file, or an installer that
pretends to be actual anti-hacker software. The power of the trojan attack
comes
from users naively downloading and running the trojan file.
Read more about trojan malicious programs here
…
Trojan – What Is a Trojan
http://antivirus.about.com/od/whatisavirus/g/trojan.htm
24. Spamming and Filtering
‘Spam’ has two meanings. 1) Spam can mean ‘the rapid reptition of a keyboard
command’. But more commonly, 2) spam is the jargon name of
‘unwanted/unsolicited email’. Spam email
is usually comprised of two sub-categories: high-volume
advertising, and hackers attempting to lure you into divulging your
passwords.
Filtering is the popular-but-imperfect defense against spam. Filtering uses
software that reads your incoming email for keyword combinations, andthen
either deletes or quarantines messages that appear to be spam. Look for a
‘spam’ or ‘junk’ folder in your mailbox to see your quarantine of filtered
email.
More on spam and filtering here
…
Spam and How to Get Rid of It – About Email
http://email.about.com/od/spamandgettingridofit/
25. Cloud Computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Cloud computing
is a fancy term to describe that your software is online and
‘borrowed’, instead of purchased and actually installed on your computer.
Web-based email is the most prevalent example of cloud computing: the users’
email is all stored and accessed ‘in the cloud’ of the Internet, and not
actually on their own computers. This is the modern version of the 1970’s
mainframe computing model. As part of the cloud computing model, ‘Software
as a Service’ is the business model that claims people would rather rent
software than actually own it. With their web browsers, users access the
cloud of the Internet, and log into their online rented copies of their SaaS
software
.
Read more about cloud computing and SaaS here
…
What Is ‘Cloud Computing’?
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/c/f/cloudcomputing.htm
26. Apps and Applets
Apps and applets are small software applications. They are designed to be
much smaller than regular computer software, but still provide very useful
functions. Lately, apps are very popular with cellphone and mobile
platforms; specifically: with the Apple iPhone and the Google Android
phone.
Examples of apps: rangefinder GPS for golfing, song identification
software, restaurant reviews, pocket video games, language translators for
traveling.
Read about popular apps here
…
What is the Best Free iPhone App – Readers Pick the Best Free iPhone App
According to about.com
http://cellphones.about.com/od/softwarereviews/f/readers-choice-awards-best-
free-iphone-app.htm
27. Encryption and Authentication
Encryption is the mathematical scrambling of data so that it is hidden from
eavesdroppers. Encryption uses complex math formulas (‘ciphers’) to turn
private data into meaningless gobbledygook that only trusted readers can
unscramble. Encryption is the basis for how we use the public Internet as a
pipeline to conduct trusted business, like online banking and online credit
card purchasing. On the provision that reliable encryption is in place,
your banking information and credit card numbers are kept private.
Authentication is directly related to encryption. Authentication is the
complex way that computer systems verify that you are who you say you are.
More on encryption and authenticating
…
Encryption – 40-bit vs 128-bit Encryption – What is the Difference?
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/networksecurityprivacy/l/aa011303a.htm
28. Ports and Port Forwarding
‘Network ports’ are thousands of tiny electronic ‘lanes’ that comprise your
network connection. Every computer has 65,536 tiny ports, through which
Internetworking data travels in and out. By using port management tools
like a hardware router, users can control port access to better safeguard
themselves against hackers.
‘Port forwarding
‘ is
the semi-complex technique of opening specific network ports. You would
port-forward to speed up your downloading and speed up your online
connections for gaming and teleconferencing.
Read more about ports and port forwarding here
…
What Is “Port Forwarding”? How Do I Set My Own?
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/p/f/What-Is-Port-Forwarding.htm
29. Firewall
Firewall is a generic term to describe ‘a barrier against destruction’. It
comes from the building term of a protective wall to prevent the spreading
of housefires or engine compartment fires. In the case of computing,
‘firewall’ means to have software and/or hardware protecting you from
hackers and viruses.
Computing firewalls range from small antivirus software packages, to very
complex and expensive software + hardware solutions. All the many kinds of
computer firewalls
offer some kind
of safeguard against hackers vandalizing or taking over your computer
system.
Read more about computer
firewalls for personal use…
Top Free Personal Firewalls and Firewall
Software Downloads
According to about.com
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/firewalls/tp/homefirewalls.htm
30. Archives and Archiving
A computer ‘archive’ is one of two things: a compressed container of
multiple smaller data files, or a purposeful long-term storage of files that
are not going to be used often. In some cases, an archive can be both.
The act of ‘archiving’, similarly, is one of two things: to combine and
squeeze multiple files into a larger single file (for easier emailing); or,
archiving is when you will retire data and documents to be put into
long-term storage (e.g. your thousands of old emails in your inbox).
Read about popular archiving software, WinZip
…
What Is ‘Zip’ and ‘WinZip’? How Do Zip Files Work?
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/downloadingfiles/f/how-zip-files-work.ht
m
Read about archiving your old email here
…
Archiving Old Mail in Outlook – Keep the PST File Small
http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/et_archive_mail.htm
]]>
Related
