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247 items available in this category A Better Internet Known spyware or adware. A/UX Pronounced ox, Apples version of UNIX, which runs on Macintoshes and PowerPCs. A20 Address line 20. The 80286 and higher CPUs allow addresses in real mode to extend slightly beyond the one megabyte mark, which causes an incompatibility with some older programs which expect such addresses to wrap back to the beginning of the address space. For complete compatibility with the 8088, newer machines thus contain circuitry which permits the twenty-first address line to be disabled. The CPU then effectively has only twenty address lines in real mode, just as the 8088 does, and addresses which would extend beyond the one megabyte mark wrap to the beginning of the address space. See also HMA. abort To stop a program or function before it has finished naturally. The term abort refers to both requested and unexpected terminations. For example, many applications let you abort a search or a print job by pressing a specified abort key. On the other hand, programs can abort unexpectedly for any of the following reasons: · bugs in the software. · unexpected input that the program cannot handle. · hardware malfunction. When a program aborts, you are usually returned to the operating system shell level. Contrast abort with crash, which makes the entire system, including the operating system, unusable. ABS ABSolute. absolute address A fixed address in memory. The term absolute distinguishes it from a relative address, which indicates a location by specifying a distance from another location. Absolute addresses are also called real addresses and machine addresses. AbsoluteKey Known spyware or adware. AC Alternating Current. Electrical current found in a standard wall outlet. Called alternating current because its direction is reversed 60 times per second in the US; 50 times in Europe. ACC ACCumulator. Accelerated Graphics Port See AGP. accelerator board A type of expansion board that makes a computer faster by adding a faster CPU or FPU. Accelerator boards provide a relatively inexpensive way to increase the performance of a computer. There are many accelerator boards for Macintoshes and PCs. For example, a 486 accelerator board contains an Intel 80486 microprocessor. By adding it to an older PC with a 286 or 386 processor, you can effectively turn the computer into a 486 PC. Note, however, that adding an accelerator board to a computer affects only the speed of the CPU (and sometimes main memory). This may not have a large effect on your applications if the limiting factors are the speed of the disk drive or the bus. If you want to increase performance of an old computer, you are probably better off buying a modern disk drive or adding extra memory. Most modern computers are designed to accept simpler upgrades. Built into the motherboard is a socket in which the CPU sits. It is usually possible simply to remove the CPU and replace it with a faster model. This is particularly easy if the socket is a zero insertion force socket (ZIF socket). access (v) (1) To use. For example, programs can access memory, which means they read data from or write data to main memory. A user can access files, directories, computers, or peripheral devices. (2) More specifically, access often means to read data from or write data to a mass storage device. The time it takes to locate a single byte of information on a mass-storage device is called the access time. (3) In respect to privacy, an individual´s ability to view, modify, and contest the accuracy and completeness of personally identifiable information collected about him or her. (n) (1) The act of reading data from or writing data to a storage device. (2) A privilege to use computer information in some manner. For example, a user might be granted read access to a file, meaning that the user can read the file but cannot modify or delete it. Most operating systems have several different types of access privileges that can be granted or denied to specific users or groups of users. You can have access via a modem and telephone connection to a remote computer or server of a network. 3) A computer software program. Microsoft Access is a database management program. access code Same as password, a series of characters and numbers that enables a user to access a computer. Access Control List ACL is a listing that tells a computer operating system or other network device what rights a users has to each item on a computer or network device. access point An usually wireless (central) entry point to a network. access provider An access provider gives paying customers access to its network computer which is connected to the Internet. access time The time a program or device takes to locate a single piece of information and make it available to the computer for processing. DRAM ( dynamic random access memory) chips for personal computers have access times of 50 to 150 nanoseconds (billionths of a second). Static RAM (SRAM) has access times as low as 10 nanoseconds. The access time of memory should be fast enough to keep up with the CPU. If not, the CPU will waste a certain number of clock cycles, which makes it slower. Note, however, that reported access times can be misleading because most memory chips, especially DRAM chips, require a pause between back-to-back accesses. This is one reason why SRAM is so much faster than DRAM, even when the reported access times are equivalent; SRAM requires fewer refreshes, so the pause between back-to-back accesses is smaller. A more important measurement of a chips speed, therefore, is its cycle time, which measures how quickly two back-to-back accesses can be made. Access time is also frequently used to describe the speed of diskdrives. Disk access times are measured in milliseconds (thousandths of a second), often abbreviated as ms. Fast hard disk drives for personal computers boast access times of about 9 to 15 milliseconds. This means that the drive can make about 500 data accesses per second. Note that this is about 200 times slower than average DRAM. The access time for disk drives (also called the seek time) refers to the time it actually takes for the read/write head to locate a sector on the disk. This is an average time since it depends on how far away the head is from the desired data. The performance of diskdrives can be improved through special techniques such as caching and interleaving. accessory slot Same as expansion slot. AccessPlugin Known spyware or adware. account The administrative right to use a particular network or Internet connection, normally with an associated username and password. On a commercial system, this also includes paying for use of that connection. AceSpy Known spyware or adware. Acext Known spyware or adware. ACL Acronym for Access Control List Aconti Known spyware or adware. acoustic coupler A device onto which a telephone handset is placed to connect a computer with a network. The acoustic coupler might also contain a modem, or the modem could be a separate device. Popular in the 1970s, acoustic couplers are no longer widely used. Nowadays, telephones connect directly to a modem via modular telephone connectors. This produces better connections than acoustic couplers and avoids the problems produced by irregularly shaped telephones. Still, acoustic coupler modems are useful in some situations, such as in hotel rooms where the telephone cable is anchored to the wall. Modems that do not use an acoustic coupler are sometimes called direct-connect modems. ACRONYM Any Compressed Representation Of Nomenclature Yielding Minimization. active Refers to objects currently being displayed or used. For example, in graphical user interfaces, the active window is the window currently receiving mouse and keyboard input. In spreadsheet applications, the active cell is the cell, usually highlighted, in which data can be entered or modified. The active program is the program currently running. When you enter a command, it usually applies only to the active elements. active matrix display A type of flat-panel display in which the screen is refreshed more frequently than in conventional passive-matrix displays. The most common type of active-matrix display is based on a technology known as TFT (thin film transistor). The two terms, active matrix and TFT , are often used interchangeably. ActiveKeylog Known spyware or adware. ActiveX A technology developed by Microsoft for sharing information among different applications. ActiveX is an outgrowth of two other Microsoft technologies called OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) and COM (Component Object Model). ActiveX supports new features that enable it to take advantage of the internet. For example, an ActiveX control can be automatically downloaded and executed by a Web browser. ActiveX is not a programming language, but rather a set of rules for how applications should share information. Programmers can develop ActiveX controls in a variety of languages, including C , C++, Visual Basic, and Java. An ActiveX control is similar to a Java applet. Unlike Java applets, however, ActiveX controls have full access to the Windows operating system. This gives them much more power than Java applets, but with this power comes a certain risk that the applet may damage software on your machine. To control this risk, Microsoft developed a registration system so that browsers can identify and authenticate an ActiveX control before downloading it. Another difference between Java applets and ActiveX controls is that Java applets run on all platforms, whereas ActiveX controls are currently limited to Windows environments. Related to ActiveX is a scripting language called VBScript that enables Web authors to embed interactive elements in HTML documents. Just as JavaScript is similar to Java, so VBScript is similar to Visual Basic. Currently, Microsofts Web browser, Internet Explorer, supports Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX, whereas Netscapes Navigator browsers support only Java and JavaScript. ActivMonAgent Known spyware or adware. ActualNames Known spyware or adware. ACXInstall Known spyware or adware. ad-hoc Situation in which the communication between to or more wireless devices occurs without an access point. Ada Acronym for Automatic Data Acquisitions. A high-level programming language developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s for the United States Defense Department. Ada was designed to be a general-purpose language for everything from business applications to rocket guidance systems. One of its principal features is that it supports real-time applications. In addition, Ada incorporates modular techniques that make it easier to build and maintain large systems. Since 1986, Ada has been the mandatory development language for most U.S. military applications. In addition, Ada is often the language of choice for large systems that require real-time processing, such as banking and air traffic control systems. Ada is named after Augusta Ada Byron (1815-52), daughter of Lord Byron, and Countess of Lovelace. She helped Charles Babbage develop programs for the analytic engine, the first mechanical computer. She is considered by many to be the world´s first programmer. adapter or adapter board (1) The circuitry required to support a particular device. For example, video adapters enable the computer to support graphics monitors, and network adapters enable a computer to attach to a network. Adapters can be built into the main circuitry of a computer or they can be separate add-ons that come in the form of expansion boards that plug into the slots on a personal computer for such functions as networking, video output, disk control, and communication with modems or printers. (2) Short for video adapter. AdBars Known spyware or adware. Adblaster Known spyware or adware. AdBreak Known spyware or adware. ADC Analog to Digital Converter. The ADC scans or samples the analog signal at predetermined intervals and converts the results of these samples into numeric values. ADCLICKER Known spyware or adware. add-in (1) A component you can add to a computer or other device to increase its capabilities. Add-ins can increase memory or add graphics or communications capabilities to a computer. They can come in the form of expansion boards, cartridges, or chips. The term add-in is often used instead of add-on for chips you add to a board that is already installed in a computer. In contrast, add-on almost always refers to an entire circuit board. (2) A software program that extends the capabilities of larger programs. For example, there are many Excel add-ins designed to complement the basic functionality offered by Excel. In the Windows environment, add-ins are becoming increasingly common thanks to OLE 2.0. add-on Refers to a product designed to complement another product. For example, there are numerous add-on boards available that you can plug into a personal computer to give it additional capabilities. Another term for add-on board is expansion board. Add-on products are also available for software applications. For example, there are add-on report generation programs that attach to popular database products such as dBASE, giving them additional report-generation and graphics capabilities. The terms add-on and add-in are often, but not always, used synonymously. The term add-in can refer to individual chips you can insert into boards that are already installed in your computer. Add-on, on the other hand, almost always refers to an entire circuit board, cartridge, or program. See also device. add-on board Same as expansion board. AdDestroyer Known spyware or adware. address (1) A location of data, usually in main memory or on a disk. You can think of computer memory as an array of storage boxes, each of which is one byte in length. Each box has an address (a unique combination of letters, numbers, and/or symbols) assigned to it. By specifying a memory address, programmers can access a particular byte of data. Disks are divided into tracks and sectors, each of which has a unique address. Usually, you do not need to worry about addresses unless you are a programmer. (2) A name or token that identifies a network component. In local area networks (LANs), for example, every node has a unique address. On the internet, every file has a unique address called a URL. It also applies to an E-mail address or another place where you can access information, bulletin boards, chat lines, or newsgroups. address bus A collection of wires connecting the CPU with main memory that is used to identify particular locations (addresses) in main memory. The width of the address bus (that is, the number of wires) determines how many unique memory locations can be addressed. Modern PCs and Macintoshes have 24 address lines, which enables them to access 16MB (megabytes) of main memory. address resolution On the Internet, the translation of a symbolic address in the domain-name-system format, such as "you@yourdomain.com," to the actual IP address, such as 127.1.2.3., used to route the messages. It´s done automatically on your behalf by nameserver computers. address space The set of all legal addresses in memory for a given application. The address space represents the amount of memory available to a program. Interestingly, the address space can be larger than physical memory through a technique called virtual memory. Adgoblin Known spyware or adware. Adlogix Known spyware or adware. administrative domain A section of the Internet or a local network under the control of one administrator or authority. Also called an "administrative management domain." A single AD may include more than one server (computer or system that acts as a host or provides other resources on the Net) and may be addressed by one or more domain names. It might also have multiple administrators. Adobe Acrobat See under Acrobat. Adobe PostScript. See PostScript. ADPCM Adaptive Digital Pulse Code Modulation. A compression technique used on the Sony minidisc. ADR See address AdRoar Known spyware or adware. AdShooter Known spyware or adware. AdsInContext Known spyware or adware. ADSL Short for asymmetric digital subscriber line, a new digital telecommunications protocol that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines ( POTS). ADSL supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem. Unlike ISDN, ADSL does not provide any voice lines; it is for data only. ADSR Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. A generator with four separate stages in the envelop it generates. AdsStore Known spyware or adware. Adtomi Known spyware or adware. ADUENT Known spyware or adware. Adult Chat Dialer Known spyware or adware. AdultLinks Known spyware or adware. Adultoweb Dialer Known spyware or adware. AdultSearch.QaBar Known spyware or adware. Advertisingvision Known spyware or adware. advisory A document that contains detailed information about a potential security risk. Advisories enable companies to keep their customers informed about the latest threats and what to do about them. adware Also known as malware, sneakware, or spyware, adware is a type of software program that is installed without a users consent or knowledge while another program is being installed on the computer. Much like spyware, an adware program is used to track an individuals Internet activities and/or habits to help companies advertise more efficiently. Adware is commonly installed on a computer with free programs to help support the development of that program. Like spyware, adware can be located and removed from a computer using software utilities available on the Internet. Adware web downloader Known spyware or adware. Adware.Admess Known spyware or adware. Adware.Adtest Known spyware or adware. Adware.Envolo Known spyware or adware. Adware.IAGold Known spyware or adware. Adware.IEPageHelper Known spyware or adware. Adware.OleHelp Known spyware or adware. Adware.PortalScan Known spyware or adware. Adware.Searchdot Known spyware or adware. Adware.SearchMall Known spyware or adware. Adware.StopPopupAdsNow Known spyware or adware. Adware.WindowEnhancer Known spyware or adware. Adware.Winlogon Known spyware or adware. Adware.Winy Known spyware or adware. AdwareRemoverGold Known spyware or adware. AES Acronym for Advanced Encryption Standard, AES is the standard encryption algorithm used by the US government to protect sensitive documents. AES was designed to be a replacement for DES and is supported in many encryption programs such as PGP. AFTP Anonymous file Transfer Protocol. agent A program that performs some information gathering or processing task in the background. Typically, an agent is a given a very small and well-defined task. Although the theory behind agents has been around for some time, agents have become more prominent with the recent growth of the internet. Many companies now sell software that enables you to configure an agent to search the internet for certain types of information. In computer science, there is a school of thought that believes that the human mind essentially consists of thousands or millions of agents all working in parallel. To produce real artificial intelligence, this school holds, we should build computer systems that also contain many agents and systems for arbitrating among the agents' competing results. An intelligent agent, which can make certain judgment calls about the information it finds, is known as a softbot or knowbot. An agent designed to leave havoc in its wake as it penetrates systems is called a virus. Agobot Known spyware or adware. Agobot-DX Known spyware or adware. Agobot-FV Known spyware or adware. Agobot-LM Known spyware or adware. AGOBOT.3.GEN Known spyware or adware. AGOBOT.BD Known spyware or adware. AGOBOT.BQ Known spyware or adware. AGOBOT.CW Known spyware or adware. AGP Short for Accelerated Graphics Port, a new interface specification developed by Intel Corporation. AGP is based on PCI, but is designed especially for the throughput demands of 3-D animation. AI Abbreviation of artificial intelligence. AIFF Audio Interchange file Format. A format developed by Apple Computer Inc. for storing high-quality sampled audio and musical instrument information. It is also used by SGI and several professional audio packages. AIMVISION Known spyware or adware. AInst Known spyware or adware. AIX Acronym for Advanced Interactive eXecutive, a version of UNIX produced by IBM. AIX runs on a variety of computers, including PCs and workstations. AL Artificial Life. The study of synthetic systems which behave like natural living systems in some way. Artificial Life complements the traditional biological sciences concerned with the analysis of living organisms by attempting to create lifelike behaviors within computers and other artificial media. Artificial Life can contribute to theoretical biology by modeling forms of life other than those which exist in nature. It has applications in environmental and financial modeling and network communications. ALADINZ.G Known spyware or adware. ALADINZ.M Known spyware or adware. ALC Automatic Level Control. alert box A small box that appears on the display screen to give you information or to warn you about a potentially damaging operation. For example, it might warn you that the system is deleting one or more files. Unlike dialog boxes, alert boxes do not require any user input. However, you need to acknowledge the alert box by pressing the Enter key or clicking a mouse button to make it go away. Alert boxes are also called message boxes. Alets Known spyware or adware. Alexa Known spyware or adware. algorithm A formula or set of steps for solving a particular problem. To be an algorithm, a set of rules must be unambiguous and have a clear stopping point. Algorithms can be expressed in any language, from natural languages like English or French to programming languages like FORTRAN. We use algorithms every day. For example, a recipe for baking a cake is an algorithm. Most programs, with the exception of some artificial intelligence applications, consist of algorithms. Inventing elegant algorithms (algorithms that are simple and require the fewest steps possible) is one of the principal challenges in programming. alias 1) An alternative name for an object, such as a variable, file, or device. On Macintoshes, you can assign aliases for files, which allows you to have icons for the same file in different folders. Windows provides the same functionality but does not use the term alias instead it is called a shortcut. 2) A nickname or stand-in name for a username, file, address, or other resource. On the Net, you might use an alias to hide your true identity in online chats, bulletin boards, or newsgroups. Many e-mail programs also let you specify your choice of memorable nickname aliases instead of remembering the full address of each person you write to. aliasing (1) In computer graphics, the process by which smooth curves and other lines become jagged because the resolution of the graphics device or file is reduced. (2) In digital sound, aliasing is a static distortion resulting from a low sampling rate below 40 kilohertz (Khz). alignment (1) When used to describe text, alignment is the arrangement of text or graphics relative to a margin. For example: flush left alignment means that text is lined up along the left margin. flush right alignment lines up text along the right margin. centered alignment means that text is aligned around a midpoint. justified alignment means that text lines up along both margins. (2) In reference to graphical objects, alignment describes their relative positions. Most draw programs support an align command that allows you to align two or more objects so that their tops, bottoms, sides, or middles are aligned. ALIWEB Archie Like Indexing in the Web. AllInOne Known spyware or adware. Alpha channel An alpha channel describes an area of transparency in a picture. This area of transparency allows a background to show through. An alpha channel allows more than 64,000 levels of transparency, which makes it possible to use semitransparent effects and blended effects. Alpha Processor A RISC processor developed by Digital Equipment Corporation used in their line of workstations. alphanumeric Describes the combined set of all letters in the alphabet and the numbers 0 through 9 . It is useful to group letters and numbers together because many programs treat them identically, and differently from punctuation characters. For example, most operating systems allow you to use any letters or numbers in filenames but prohibit many punctuation characters. Your computer manual would express this rule by stating: Filenames may be composed of alphanumeric characters. Sometimes additional characters are considered alphanumeric. For example, on IBM mainframes the characters @, #, and $ are considered alphanumeric characters. Alset Known spyware or adware. Alt key Short for Alternate key, the Alt key is like a second Control key. Not all computer keyboards have an Alt key, but it is standard on all PCs. You use it in the same fashion as the Control key, holding it down while you press another key. For example, an instruction to use the Alt+P combination means that you should hold the Alt key down while pressing and then releasing the P key. The meaning of any Alt key combination depends on which application is running. On Macintoshes, the equivalent key is called the Option key. alt. Prefix that indicates an "alternative" site on the Internet. Altair 8800 One of the first personal computers, introduced in kit form in 1974 by Micro Instrumentation and Technology Systems (MITS); used an Intel 8080 microprocessor. ALU Abbreviation of arithmetic logic unit, the part of a computer that performs all arithmetic computations, such as addition and multiplication, and all comparison operations. The ALU is one component of the CPU (central processing unit). The CPU´s instruction decode logic determines which particular operation the ALU should perform, the source the operands and the destination of the result. The width in bits of the words which the ALU handles is usually the same as that quoted for the processor as a whole whereas its external busses may be narrower. Floating-point operations are usually done be a separate "floating-point unit". Some processors use the ALU for address calculations (eg. incrementing the program counter), others have separate logic for this. AM Amplitude Modulation. A modulation technique used to allow data to be transmitted across an analogue network, such as a switched telephone network. The amplitude of a single (carrier) frequency is varied (modulated) between two levels- one for binary 0 and the other for binary 1. see FM. American National Standards Institute See ANSI. American Standard Code for Information Interchange See ASCII. Americlicks Known spyware or adware. AML Known spyware or adware. ampersand This symbol: *&*. ANAKHA Known spyware or adware. analog Almost everything in the world can be described or represented in one of two forms: analog or digital. The principal feature of analog representations is that they are continuous. In contrast, digital representations consist of values measured at discrete intervals. Digital watches are called digital because they go from one value to the next without displaying all intermediate values. Consequently, they can display only a finite number of times of the day. In contrast, watches with hands are analog, because the hands move continuously around the clock face. As the minute hand goes around, it not only touches the numbers 1 through 12, but also the infinite number of points in between. Early attempts at building computers used analog techniques, but accuracy and reliability were not good enough. Today, almost all computers are digital. analog monitor The traditional type of color display screen that has been used for years in televisions. In reality, all monitors based on CRT technology (that is, all monitors except flat-panel displays) are analog. Some monitors, however, are called digital monitors because they accept digital signals from the video adapter. EGA monitors, for example, must be digital because the EGA standard specifies digital signals. Digital monitors must nevertheless translate the signals into an analog form before displaying images. Some monitors can accept both digital and analog signals. Most analog monitors are designed to accept signals at a precise frequency. They are therefore called fixed-frequency monitors. However, a special type of monitor, called a multiscanning or multisync monitor, automatically adjusts itself to the frequency of the signals being sent to it. A third type of monitor, called a multifrequency monitor, is designed to accept signals at two or more preset frequency levels. ANALOGX Known spyware or adware. ANARCH Known spyware or adware. anchor 1) In desktop publishing, to fix a graphical object so that its position relative to some other object remains the same during repagination. Frequently, for example, you may want to anchor a picture next to a piece of text so that they always appear together. 2) The starting point for a hypertext link. You activate the link by clicking on the anchor, or in a text-based system, by selecting the anchor with the tab or arrow keys and then hitting the enter key. Same as hyperlink. AND operator A Boolean operator that returns a value of TRUE if both its operands are TRUE, and FALSE otherwise. ANDROV Known spyware or adware. ANI Automatic Number Identification. ANIG Known spyware or adware. animation A simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or frames (dynamic graphical image). Cartoons on television, for example, is one example of animation. Animation on computers is one of the chief ingredients of multimedia presentations. There are many software applications that enable you to create animations that you can display on a computer monitor. Note the difference between animation and video. Whereas video takes continuous motion and breaks it up into discrete frames, animation starts with independent pictures and puts them together to form the illusion of continuous motion. annotation A comment attached to a particular section of a document. Many computer applications enable you to enter annotations on text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other objects. This is a particularly effective way to use computers in a workgroup environment to edit and review work. The creator of a document sends it to reviewers who then mark it up electronically with annotations and return it. The documents creator then reads the annotations and adjusts the document appropriately. Many modern applications support voice annotations. If the computer is equipped with a microphone, the reviewer can voice his comments orally instead of writing them. These voice annotations are digitized and stored with the document. When a reader of the document selects the annotation icon, the spoken message is played back through the computers speakers. anonymous FTP A method for downloading public files using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Anonymous FTP is called anonymous because you don't need to identify yourself before accessing files. In general, you enter the word anonymous when the host prompts you for a username; you can enter anything for the password, such as your e-mail address or simply the word guest. In many cases, when you access an anonymous FTP site, you wont even be prompted for your name and password. You can use the Archie system to obtain a list of anonymous FTP sites and files available on each site. Many FTP sites are protected. Unlike anonymous FTP sites, these restricted FTP sites can only be accessed by individuals who enter a valid username and password. anonymous remailer An Internet server that strips the identifying information off e-mail messages and then forwards them to the requested designation. Some remailers also provide a two-way service using keycodes or aliases. ANOVA ANalysis Of VAriance. ANSI Acronym for the American National Standards Institute. Founded in 1918, ANSI is a voluntary organization composed of over 1,300 members from computer manufacturers and users (including all the large computer companies) that creates standards not only for the computer industry, but at all levels in the ISO Reference Model. For example, ANSI C is a version of the C language that has been approved by the ANSI committee. To a large degree, all ANSI C compilers, regardless of which company produces them, should behave similarly. In addition to programming languages, ANSI sets standards for a wide range of technical areas, from electrical specifications to communications protocols. For example, FDDI, the main set of protocols for sending data over fiber optic cables, is an ANSI standard. ANSI is also the US member body of ISO. ANSI Character Set A collection of special characters and associated codes adopted by the ANSI standards organization . The ANSI character set includes many foreign characters, special punctuation, and business symbols. In Windows environments, you can enter ANSI characters by holding down the Alt key and typing the ANSI code with the numeric keypad. On Macintoshes, you can enter ANSI characters by holding down the Option key and typing a character. answer-only modem A modem that can receive messages but cannot send them. Only the most inexpensive modems are answer-only. antialiasing In computer graphics, antialiasing is a software technique for diminishing jaggies, stairsteplike lines that should be smooth. Jaggies occur because the output device, the monitor or printer, doesn't have a high enough resolution to represent a smooth line. Antialiasing reduces the prominence of jaggies by surrounding the stairsteps with intermediate shades of gray (for gray-scaling devices) or color (for color devices). Although this reduces the jagged appearance of the lines, it also makes them fuzzier. Another method for reducing jaggies is called smoothing, in which the printer changes the size and horizontal alignment of dots to make curves smoother. Antialiasing is sometimes called oversampling. ANTILAM.20.Q Known spyware or adware. antistatic mat A mat on which you can stand while repairing a computer or adding expansion cards. The mat absorbs static electricity which might otherwise damage electronic components. Another way to eliminate damage caused by static electricity is to wear an antistatic wristband. antivirus program A utility that searches a hard disk for viruses and removes any that are found. AOK Known spyware or adware. Aornum Known spyware or adware. API Abbreviation of application program interface, a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. It is a defined set of calls which a program may make to interact with or request services of the operating system or environment under which it is running. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer puts the blocks together. Most operating environments, such as MS-Windows, provide an API so that programmers can write applications consistent with the operating environment. Because the inputs and outputs of the calls are well-defined, a program using the API can continue using the identical calls even if the internal organization of the program providing the API changes. Although APIs are designed for programmers, they are ultimately good for users because they guarantee that all programs using a common API will have similar interfaces. This makes it easier for users to learn new programs. APL Acronym for A Programming Language, is a general-purpose, third-generation (3GL) programming language that allows certain data manipulations to be expressed with a special non-ASCII set of symbols, resulting in programs that are shorter than would be possible using most other languages. APL´s notation allows matrix manipulation as well as recursion functions to be built into simple expressions rather than requiring multiple language statements. APL is more frequently thought of as a language for scientific computation, but it can be used for other purposes as well. Programs can be developed interactively and are usually interpreted rather than compiled. The special symbols require keyboard support and specific editors so that the symbols can be displayed and printed. APM Advanced Power Management. A system specification that reduces power consumption of the computer by turning off the microprocessor and other components when applications are idle and between keystrokes. app Short for application. A killer app, for example, is an application that surpasses (i.e., kills) its competitors. append To add something at the end. For example, you can append one file to another or you can append a field to a record. Do not confuse append with insert. Append always means to add at the end. Insert means to add in between. applet A (small) program designed to be executed from within another application that performs a limited function on your computer. Unlike an application, applets cannot be executed directly from the operating system. With the growing popularity of OLE (object linking and embedding), applets are becoming more prevalent. A well-designed applet can be invoked from many different applications. Particularly a program of this type can be automatically downloaded from a host computer to accomplish some task you have requested. The current rule is that an applet can only access the computer from which it came from. AppleTalk A networkprotocol used in older versions of the Mac computer. Nowadays Mac also uses TCP/IP protocols. application A program or group of programs designed for end users. For example, a spreadsheet application or an Internet browser. Sometimes, the term is used more loosely to mean any program at all, including both user programs and system programs. In other contexts, it may mean a serious program for getting work done rather than a game or utility routine. Application Program Interface See API. AproposMedia Known spyware or adware. Arau Known spyware or adware. ARC To compress a file using the ARC format. The ARC data compression format, created by Systems Enhancement Associates, is particularly popular among bulletin board systems (BBSs). Another common format is ZIP. Files that have been compressed with an ARC utility end with a .ARC extension. To decompress them, you need a utility called ARC-E (stands for arc-extract). architecture A design. The term architecture can refer to either hardware or software, or to a combination of hardware and software. The architecture of a system always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well. An open architecture allows the system to be connected easily to devices and programs made by other manufacturers. Open architectures use off-the-shelf components and conform to approved standards. A system with a closed architecture, on the other hand, is one whose design is proprietary, making it difficult to connect the system to other systems. archival backup A type of backup in which only files modified since the last backup are copied. Archival backups are much faster than full backups because fewer files are copied. Typically, users make a full backup of all data once a week and an archival backup each day between the full backups. Archival backups are also called incremental backups. archive (v) (1) To copy files to a long-term storage medium for backup. Large computer systems often have two layers of backup, the first of which is a disk drive. Periodically, the computer operator will archive files on the disk to a second storage device, usually a tape drive. On smaller systems, archiving is synonymous with backing up. (2) To compress a file. (n) (1) A disk, tape, or directory that contains files that have been backed up. (2) A file that contains one or more files in a compressed format. (adj) In DOS systems, the archive attribute marks files that have been modified since the last backup. ARCnet Short for Attached Resource Computer network, ARCnet is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive types of local-area network (LAN). ARCnet was introduced by Datapoint Corporation in 1968. It uses a token-ring architecture, supports data rates of 2.5 megabits per second, and connects up to 255 computers. A special advantage of ARCnet is that it permits various types of transmission media; twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber optic cable;to be mixed on the same network. Although it has less capacity than other networks such as Ethernet and IBM Token Ring, it is nevertheless extremely popular because of its simplicity. A new specification, called ARCnet Plus, will support data rates of 20 megabits per second. area chart A type of presentation graphic that emphasizes a change in values by filling in the portion of the graph beneath the line connecting various data points. argument In programming, a value that you pass to a routine. For example, if SQRT is a routine that returns the square root of a value, then SQRT(25) would return the value 5. The value 25 is the argument. Argument is often used synonymously with parameter, although parameter can also mean any value that can be changed. In addition, some programming languages make a distinction between arguments, which are passed in only one direction, and parameters, which can be passed back and forth, but this distinction is by no means universal. An argument can also be an option to a command, in which case it is often called a command-line argument. arithmetic expression An expression that represents a numeric value. Other types of expressions can represent character or Boolean values. arithmetic operator See under operator. ARITIMA Known spyware or adware. AroundWeb Toolbar Known spyware or adware. ARP Address Resolution Protocol. The protocol that translates IP addresses (for example, 128.10.3.42) into physical network addresses. One of the many members of the TCP/IP protocol suite, ARP is a key player in the process that allows a packet of data addressed to a particular Internet host to find its destination. See also DNS, RARP, TCP/IP. ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency. The former name of the US government agency that funded the creation of the ARPANET and later the Internet; now DARPA. ARPANET The precursor to the internet, ARPANET was a large wide-area network created by the United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). Established in 1969, ARPANET served as a testbed for new networking technologies, linking many universities and research centers. It was also the central backbone during the development of the Internet. The first two nodes that formed the ARPANET were UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute, followed shortly thereafter by the University of Utah. The ARPANET consisted of individual packet switching computers interconnected by leased lines. Protocols used include FTP and telnet. It has now been replaced by NSFnet. array A series of objects all of which are the same size and type. Each object in an array is called an array element. For example, you could have an array of integers or an array of characters or an array of anything that has a defined data type. The important characteristics of an array are: - Each element has the same data type (although they may have different values). - The entire array is stored contiguously in memory (that is, there are no gaps between elements). Arrays can have more than one dimension. A one-dimensional array is called a vector; a two-dimensional array is called a matrix. To access a particular element in an array, you need to specify the array's name with one or more subscripts. For example: A[5] specifies the fifth element in a one-dimensional array named A. arrow keys Most computer keyboards contain four arrow keys for moving the cursor or insertion point right, left, up, or down. When combined with the Shift, Function, Control, or Alt keys (on PCs), the arrow keys can have different meanings. For example, pressing Shift+Up-arrow might move the cursor or pointer up an entire page. On Macintoshes, the arrow keys can be combined with the Shift, Option, and Command keys. The exact manner in which the arrow keys function depends on which program is running. Some programs ignore them. The arrow keys are also called cursor control keys. artifacts "undesirable" side effects of digitization and/or compression. Typical artifacts from compression include a "blockiness" in elements of the video. artificial intelligence The branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Artificial intelligence includes games playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers expert systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations (for example, some expert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms) natural language: programming computers to understand natural human languages neural networks: Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of physical connections that occur in animal brains robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory stimuli Currently, no computers exhibit full artificial intelligence (that is, are able to simulate human behavior). The greatest advances have occurred in the field of games playing. The best computer chess programs are now capable of beating most humans, although they still lose to grand masters. In the area of robotics, computers are now widely used in assembly plants, but they are capable only of very limited tasks. Robots have great difficulty identifying objects based on appearance or feel, and they still move and handle objects clumsily. Natural-language processing offers the greatest potential rewards because it would allow people to interact with computers without needing any specialized knowledge. You could simply walk up to a computer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to understand natural languages has proved to be more difficult than originally thought. Some rudimentary translation systems that translate from one human language to another are in existence, but they are not nearly as good as human translators. There are also voice recognition systems that can convert spoken sounds into written words, but they do not understand what they are writing; they simply take dictation. Even these systems are quite limited; you must speak slowly and distinctly. In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed to represent the future of artificial intelligence and of computers in general. To date, however, they have not lived up to expectations. Many expert systems help human experts in such fields as medicine and engineering, but they are very expensive to produce and are helpful only in special situations. Today, the hottest area of artificial intelligence is neural networks, which are proving successful in a number of disciplines such as voice recognition and natural-language processing. There are several programming languages that are known as AI languages because they are used almost exclusively for AI applications. The two most common are LISP and Prolog. ASASSIN Known spyware or adware. ASCII Acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Pronounced ask-ee, ASCII is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another. Text files stored in ASCII format are sometimes called ASCII files. Text editors and word processors are usually capable of storing data in ASCII format, although ASCII format is not always the default storage format. Most data files, particularly if they contain numeric data, are not stored in ASCII format. Executable programs are never stored in ASCII format. The standard ASCII character set uses just 7 bits for each character. A larger character set, known as extended ASCII or high ASCII, uses 8 bits, which gives it 128 additional characters. The extra characters are used to represent non-English characters, graphics symbols, and mathematical symbols. The extended characters and their ASCII codes have been defined by IBM, but they have not been officially standardized. The ANSI standards organization has defined a character set that overlaps the extended character set, but uses different codes (see under ANSI character set). Another set of codes that is used on large IBM computers is EBCDIC. ASCII file A text file in which each byte represents one character according to the ASCII code. Contrast with a binary file, in which there is no one-to-one mapping between bytes and characters. files that have been formatted with a word processor must be stored and transmitted as binary files to preserve the formatting. ASCII files are sometimes called plain text files. ASN Known spyware or adware. ASP 1) Association of Shareware Professionals. 2) Active Server Pages; a language designed by Microsoft which can be used to program websites and which is comparable to PHP. ASpam Known spyware or adware. ASpam.Trojan/Drvman Variant Known spyware or adware. aspect ratio In computer graphics, the relative horizontal and vertical sizes. For example, if a graphic has an aspect ratio of 2:1, it means that the width is twice as large as the height. When resizing graphics, it is important to maintain the aspect ratio to avoid stretching the graphic out of proportion. ASPI Acronym for Advanced SCSI Programming Interface. Interface standard of SCSI-cards used by programmers. ASSASIN.F Known spyware or adware. assembler A program that translates programs from assembly language to machine language. assembly language A programming language that is once removed from a computer's machine language. Machine languages consist entirely of numbers and are almost impossible to read and write. Assembly languages have the same structure and set of commands as machine languages , but they enable a programmer to use names instead of numbers. Each type of CPU has its own machine language and assembly language, so an assembly language program written for one type of CPU wont run on another. In the early days of programming, all programs were written in assembly language. Now, most programs are written in a high-level language such as FORTRAN or C. Programmers still use assembly language when speed is essential or when they need to perform an operation that isn't possible in a high-level language. assign To give a value to a variable. In programming, you assign a value to a variable with a special symbol called an assignment operator. In many languages, the assignment operator is the equal sign (=). For example, the following C language statement assigns the value 5 to the variable x: x = 5 Such a statement is called an assignment statement. associate To link a certain type of file to a specific application. In MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows environments, the files type is specified by its three-character extension. For example, the .DOC extension identifies Microsoft Word documents. Once a file type has been associated with an application, selecting any file of that type automatically starts its associated application and loads the selected file. ASTEF Known spyware or adware. Asterisk Also called a star, a punctuation mark denoted by a 6-pointed snowflake shape (*). In many operating systems and applications, the asterisk is used as a wild card symbol to represent any string of characters. Asuscom Known spyware or adware. ASYLUM Known spyware or adware. async Short for asynchronous. asynchronous Not synchronized; that is, not occurring at predetermined or regular intervals. The term asynchronous is usually used to describe communications in which data can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. For example, a telephone conversation is asynchronous because both parties can talk whenever they like. If the communication were synchronous, each party would be required to wait a specified interval before speaking. The difficulty with asynchronous communications is that the receiver must have a way to distinguish between valid data and noise. In computer communications, this is usually accomplished through a special start bit and stop bit at the beginning and end of each piece of data. For this reason, asynchronous communication is sometimes called start-stop transmission. Most communications between computers and devices are asynchronous. Asynchronous Transfer Mode See ATM expl. 1. AT Short for advanced technology, the AT is an IBM PC model introduced in 1984. It includes an Intel 80286 microprocessor, a 1.2MB floppy drive, and an 84-key AT keyboard. Today, the term is used more generally to refer to any PC with an 80286 processor or better (the current generation pc´s). These are faster than a XT. AT bus The expansion bus on the IBM PC/AT and compatible computers. The bus is the collection of wires and electronic components that connect all device controllers and add-in cards. The controllers are the components that attach to peripheral devices. The bus, therefore, is the main highway for all data moving in and out of the computer. The AT bus, which runs at 8 megahertz and has a 16-bit data path, is the de facto standard for PCs. Because all IBM PCs (until the high-end PS/2 models) had an AT bus, it has been possible for manufacturers to produce expansion boards that will work with any PC. As processors have become more powerful, and applications more demanding, the AT bus has turned out to be the chief bottleneck in PCs. In response, IBM introduced the Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) in 1987. However, MCA was not accepted by the computer industry because it was not backward compatible with the AT-bus, so IBM has been forced to drop it. A more successful alternative to the AT bus is the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), a high-speed 32-bit bus architecture developed by a group of IBMs competitors. Unlike MCA, EISA is backward compatible with the AT bus, so a computer equipped with an EISA bus can accept AT or EISA expansion boards. While EISA has had limited success, its speeds are still insufficient for modern graphical applications. The most common solution to bypassing the AT-bus bottleneck is to include a local bus on the motherboard. A local bus communicates directly with the processor rather than using the standard computer bus. Currently, there are two competing standards for local buses: VESA local bus (VL-bus), promoted by the VESA standards group, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), designed and promoted by Intel. The AT bus is sometimes referred to as the ISA bus, which stands for Industry Standard Architecture. However, ISA also includes the XT bus, which is an 8-bit version of the AT bus. AT command set Pronounced ay-tee command set, the de facto standard language for controlling modems. The AT command set was developed by Hayes and is recognized by virtually all personal computer modems. AT keyboard An 84-key keyboard introduced with the PC/AT. It was later replaced with the 101-key Enhanced Keyboard. ATA Advanced Technology Attachment. A disk drive interface standard. See also IDE expl.2. ATAKA-E Known spyware or adware. AtHoc Toolbar Known spyware or adware. ATM 1) Short for Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a network technology based on transferring data in cells or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively small compared to units used with older technologies. The small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data hogs the line. Current implementations of ATM support support data transfer rates of from 25 to 622 Mbps (megabits per second). This compares to a maximum of 100 Mbps for Ethernet, the current technology used for most LANs. Some people think that ATM holds the answer to the internet bandwidth problem, but others are skeptical. ATM creates a fixed channel, or route, between two points whenever data transfer begins. This differs from TCP/IP, in which messages are divided into packets and each packet can take a different route from source to destination. This difference makes it easier to track and bill data usage across an ATM network, but it makes it less adaptable to sudden surges in network traffic. 2) Adobe Type Manager. software that produces PostScript (outline fonts) on screen and paper. There are versions that run under Microsoft Windows and on the Macintosh. attach(ment) In an e-mail system, a file, sound annotation, video clip, or other external resource you send along with a text message. On the Internet, attachments other than plain text files must be encoded into a text format before transmission and then decoded at the receiving end with a matching program in order to preserve compatibility with the existing base of text-only links and text-oriented mail programs. In the last years, MIME has become the preferred standard for such encoding and decoding, and most mail programs are now MIME-compatible. Attack An attempt by an unauthorized individual or program to gain control over aspects of your PC. attribute (1) A characteristic. In a word processing application, an underlined word would be said to have the underline attribute. In database systems, a field can have various attributes. For example, if it contains numeric data, it has the numeric attribute. (2) In database management systems, the term attribute is sometimes used as a synonym for field. (3) In DOS systems, every file has a file attribute that indicates several properties of the file. For example, the file attribute indicates whether the file is read-only, whether it needs to be backed up, and whether it is visible or hidden. H = Hidden (hides a file) R = Read-only (you can only read this file) S = System (this is a system file) These characteristics can be combined. Attune Known spyware or adware. Attune HelpExpress Known spyware or adware. AttuneClientEngine Known spyware or adware. Atztecmarketing.syscpy Known spyware or adware. audio card Same as sound card. audit trail A record showing who has accessed a computer system and what operations he or she has performed during a given period of time. Audit trails are useful both for maintaining security and for recovering lost transactions. Most accounting systems and database management systems include an audit trail component. In addition, there are separate audit trail software products that enable network administrators to monitor use of network resources. Aureate Known spyware or adware. authentication The process of identifying a remote computer, message or an individual. In case of an individual the process is usually based on a username and password. In security systems, authentication is distinct from authorization, which is the process of giving individuals access to system objects based on their identity. Authentication merely ensures that the individual is who he or she claims to be, but says nothing about the access rights of the individual. Authenticating the identity of remote computers has been a major technical challenge in network design. Passwords are considered a good solution for user identification, but only if account holders follow recommended practices. Various studies have shown most do not, making cracking passwords a regular way of circumventing this type of protection. authoring Refers to a process implemented by a "developer" whereby a multimedia application is "programmed" into a series of icons, menus, hypermedia, etc. authoring tool A program that helps you write hypertext or multimedia applications. Authoring tools usually enable you to create a final application merely by linking together objects, such as a paragraph of text, an illustration, or a song. By defining the objects' relationships to each other, and by sequencing them in an appropriate order, authors (those who use authoring tools) can produce attractive and useful graphics applications. Most authoring systems also support a scripting language for more sophisticated applications. The distinction between authoring tools and programming tools is not clear-cut. Typically, though, authoring tools require less technical knowledge to master and are used exclusively for applications that present a mixture of textual, graphical, and audio data. authorization The process of granting or denying access to a network resource. Most computer security systems are based on a two-step process. The first stage is authentication, which ensures that a user is who he or she claims to be. The second stage is authorization, which allows the user access to various resources based on the user's identity. AuthZ Known spyware or adware. AUTO AUTOmatic. auto-answer A feature supported by many modems that enables your computer to accept incoming calls even if you are not present. In auto-answer mode, a modem attempts to establish a connection whenever the telephone rings. This is an important feature if you are offering a service to which others can subscribe. Auto-answer is also a critical feature for fax modems because it enables you to receive fax documents while you are away. All fax machines are auto-answer. auto-redial A feature supported by many modems that causes the modem to continue redialing a number until it makes a connection. This is a useful feature if you subscribe to an online service that is frequently busy. auto-repeat A feature of some keys on computer keyboards that causes them to repeat as long as they are held down. Most keys are auto-repeat. autodialer A computer program that dials to an expensive phone number through which one pays for, for example, porn. Sometimes an autodialer can install itself secretly so that the owner gets a high telephone bill. autoexec.bat Stands for automatically executed batch file, the file that DOS automatically executes when a computer boots up. This is a convenient place to put commands you always want to execute at the beginning of a computing session. For example, you can set system parameters such as the date and time, and install memory-resident programs. automatic acceleration See under dynamic acceleration. autosave A feature supported by many applications in which the program automatically saves data files at predetermined intervals. This is an important feature because it reduces the amount of work you would lose if your system crashed. Usually, you can specify how often you want the application to save data. AutoSearch Known spyware or adware. autosizing Refers to a monitor´s ability to accept signals at one resolution and display the image at a different resolution. For example, a VGA video card outputs images at a resolution of 640 by 480. An SVGA monitor, however, can display images at a resolution of only 800 by 600, or even 1,024 by 768. If the monitor supports autosizing, it automatically adjusts the size of the image so that the proportions are correct. Without autosizing, you need to adjust an image manually so that it fills the screen properly. AutoStartup Known spyware or adware. autosync monitor Same as multiscanning monitor. autotracing The process of converting a bit-mapped image (or raster image) into a vector image. In a bit-mapped image, each object is represented by a pattern of dots, while in a vector image every object is defined geometrically. Most autotracing packages read files in a variety of bit-mapped formats (PCX and TIFF are the most common) and produce a file in a vector format such as Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). The conversion techniques used, and the accuracy of the conversion process, differ from one package to another. Autotracing is particularly useful for manipulating images produced by an optical scanner. Scanners produce bit-mapped images that cannot be manipulated by sophisticated tools until they have been converted into a vector format through autotracing. AutoUpdater Known spyware or adware. AUTOUPDER Known spyware or adware. AUX 1) Stands for Auxiliary port, the logical name in DOS systems for the standard communications port. This is usually the same as COM1. 2) Nowadays a port to connect not computer related devices with ie amplifiers. AV Audio-Video. avatar A digital "actor" (like a chess piece, fish, or penguin) used in VRML as a surrogate for a person communicating online in three-dimensional chat lines such as World Chat on the World Wide Web. AVI Short for Audio Video Interleave, the file format for Microsofts Video for Windows standard. See under Video for Windows. AVR Automatic Voice Recognition. This encyclopedia is for informational purposes only. All (registered) trademarks mentioned are property of their respective owners. No infringement of third party rights intended. The author cannot garantuee that the information presented is complete or that it contains no errors. 
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This explains the most common computerterms which you can encounter.
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