Internet safety and awareness

A glossary of online terms

A-G

Attachment
Browser (or web browser)
Chat
Connection speed
Cookie
Cracker
Encryption
Email (electronic mail)
Emoticon
FAQ

H-N

Hacker
Identity theft
Instant messaging (IM) see chat
Internet
Internet fraud (or online fraud)
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
JavaScript
Keyword
Link (hypertext link)
Macro
Netiquette

O-Z

Online/offline
Phishing
Privacy policy
Spam
Spyware
Trojan
URL (universal resource locator)
User name
Virus
World Wide Web (Web or WWW)

A-G

Attachment. A file included along with an e-mail message. Attachments can be virtually any kind of file, including pictures, documents, sounds, or even video. Attachments can also be misused, as in the case of someone sending you an offensive image, or a harmful macro.

Browser (or web browser). Computer software that allows you to read and navigate pages on the World Wide Web.

Chat. A place or program where users can communicate in real time through text, or sometimes, through voice. Many chat rooms are found on web pages, but there is another common form of chat on the Internet called "Live Support," which allows support teams to chat with visitors and answer questions in real-time.

Connection speed. Tells you how fast your modem is able to talk to other computers and to get information from them. The higher the number, the faster it talks.

Cookie. A small file stored on your computer by a website to keep track of information about you, such as what page you are on, what options you have selected, or what items you are going to purchase. (It also can be a delicious treat served in most of our branches on teacher payday!)

Cracker. A hacker who explicitly intends to do harm.

Encryption. The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text.

E-mail (electronic mail). Any message sent electronically, most predominantly via the Internet.

Emoticon. A little face or other picture made up of text. For example, the original emoticon, the smiley, is made with a colon, a hyphen, and a closed parenthesis, like so :-)

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). These act as mini help pages (like SFCU Help) on all sorts of topics.

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H-N

Hacker. Someone who exploits security holes in technology for any purpose.

Identity theft. This occurs when an unscrupulous person gathers enough information about you to successfully impersonate you online, by mail, over the telephone, or in person.

Internet. An international, mostly public network of computers attached together through a combination of public, government, commercial, and educational connections. The Internet was begun in 1968 as a collaboration between the U.S. government and U.S. educational institutions.

Internet fraud (or online fraud). Any kind of crime involving fraudulent business practices carried out primarily on the Internet.

ISP (Internet Service Provider). ISPs sell access to the Internet to individuals and companies. For example, if you access the Internet through AT&T Broadband, AT&T Broadband is your ISP.

JavaScript. In spite of its name, JavaScript has nothing whatsoever to do with coffee. Rather, it is a scripting language used to create interactive websites.

Keyword. A word or phrase that a user enters into a search engine to find information they are looking for. Keywords are also descriptive phrases and words separated by commas attached to html pages (meta tags).

Link (hypertext link). A clickable element on a web page that takes you to another resource on the web.

Macro. A saved set of instructions for a program such as a word processor or e-mail reader. Originally, macros were intended to allow a computer user to save time by programming time-consuming tasks into reusable sets of instructions. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous programmers send documents via e-mail containing harmful macros that perform unwanted tasks such as deleting your files, or sending obscene messages to everyone in your address book. Most programs allow you to disable macros to prevent these harmful tasks from being carried out.

Netiquette. Etiquette on the Internet.

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O-Z

Online/offline When someone is online, he or she is connected to the Internet. People communicate online by sending and receiving information via e-mail, instant messaging or a chat room. Offline is another term for the real world (i.e. outside the Internet).

Phishing. A fraudster pretends to be from a legitimate organization, and sends misleading e-mails requesting personal and financial details from unsuspecting people.

Privacy policy. Most reputable websites that collect personal information have a prominently displayed privacy policy. This policy should outline the company's policies for use of your personal information, including whether or not they intend to resell it, or use it for other marketing purposes.

Spam. Not to be confused with the meat(!?) product of the same name, spam online refers to unsolicited commercial e-mail.

Spyware. A type of software that gets onto computers without their users' knowledge. The resource-hungry programs often render machines unusable, causing your Internet experience to be very frustrating. It is strongly encouraged that you download and run anti-spyware programs often.

Trojan. A computer program that appears desirable or legitimate but actually contains something damaging.

URL (universal resource locator). A string of text used by a web browser to identify the precise location of a web resource, including the server that hosts it, the directory in which it resides, and in many cases, the name of the file itself.

User name. A name that lets you get into certain places on the web.

Virus. A program or piece of code that is secretly loaded onto your computer, usually through an e-mail attachment, and run without your knowledge. All computer viruses are man-made, and many can easily replicate themselves.

World Wide Web (Web or WWW). The phrase "World Wide Web" refers collectively to all of the linked pages available for browsing on the public Internet.

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