DaveBirchall.com on Business Technology

There are enough TLA’(three letter acronyms) and jargon floating around and its one of my pet hates. It seems the IT industry thinks they can get a sale by alianating customers with geek speak.

Personally, I think that you shouldn’t have to learn a new language to enjoy and use technology. I try not to use jargon where possible, but in case some of your other supplier don’t agree, you can find some answers to your questions below with my geek speak translator

ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a technology for providing high transmission Internet to businesses over ordinary copper telephone wire. This is the most common Internet connection and provides bandwidth well in excess of 10 times a modem speed. Typical ADSL speed is 1.5mb download and 512kb upload

Broadband
A high bandwidth network (carrying voice audio and data simultaneously) allowing for high-speed Internet access. This term is mostly used for ADSL and cable Internet connections.

Cache
A small, fast, temporary memory store for regularly accessed or recently used data.

Cookie
A coded file sent to a web server to record visits, also used to identify users and customise information based on previous visits. Cookies are stored on your computer.

Data Encryption
Encrypted data is encoded for the purposes of making secure communications or financial transactions.

Domain Name System
DNS – themissinglink.com.au is a domain name. Every Internet address must be unique and is assigned a number. The Missing Link’s Home page is located at 203.36.209.36 this is called our IP address. When you use our domain name (www.themissinglink.com.au) you are in fact accessing this IP address, this is called the Domain Name System.

Download
Transfer of data from a server or web site to your computer’s hard disk.

Encryption
The coding or scrambling of information in a file so that it can only be decoded and read by someone who has the correct decoding key.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a common method of moving data or software between Internet sites and Internet users. Usually a username and password is required but many sites have public FTP areas which can be accessed with the account name “anonymous”.

Gateway
Either hardware or software that acts as a bridge between two applications or networks so that data can be transferred between a number of computers.

Host
Server machine that allows public access for the purposes of sharing data.

IP
Internet Protocol is the general standard used to enable a diverse range of computers and networks to communicate all over the world.

IP Address
Unique address of a network device. It’s like the location’s telephone number but is usually substituted with a Domain Name.

ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN is used to connect computers over the telephone network – much like an ordinary modem. ISDN is faster and more expensive than a normal modem. ISDN is typically used in situations where reliability is highest priority.

ISP
Internet Service Provider is an organisation or business which provides access to the Internet.

LAN
Local Area Network is a network of computers which serves a local or geographically limited area such as a University or office building.

Network
Two or more computers connected together to enable them to send and receive data and share resources.

OS
Operating System is the program which manages a computer’s resources and serves as a software bridge to all other programs running on the machine.

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturing.

Phishing
In computing, phishing is the act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business with a real need for such information in a seemingly official electronic notification or message (most often an email, or an instant message). It is a form of social engineering attack.

PING
Packet Internet Gopher is a method of testing an Internet connection. A number of packets are sent and if they return correctly then the communication was successful.

POP
A Point Of Presence is any dial in location of your ISP.

POP3
Post Office Protocol 3. A protocol that provides a simple, standardized way for users to access mailboxes and download messages to their computers.

Processor, CPU, Microprocessor, Chip
A processor is the integrated circuitry on a tiny piece of silicon that processes the instructions to make a computer work. If the processor is in a personal computer or a handheld device, it’s called a microprocessor. Processors contain thousands, or even millions, of interconnected transistors, which work together to store and manipulate data. The functions a microprocessor, or chip, performs are determined by software.

Protocol
Defined procedures and rules which determine the way computers communicate with each other.

PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network – is the currently used analogue telephone network, the largest electronic network.

RAM
Random Access Memory is the memory that can be used by applications to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on.

Router
A router is a computer network device that routes traffic between networks. When a packet travels from your computer to a computer in the United States say, it must pass through a number of routers. Each router in the process reads the packet’s destination and determines the best path to forward packet onto in order to reach its destination.

Server
A high end computer with specific software that allows other computers to use its facilities for connection to data drives, email, printers, Internet or other service.

SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is the protocol used by servers for the transmission of email.

SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol is a standard for gathering statistical data about network traffic and the behavior of network components; SNMP uses Management Information Bases (MIBs), which define what information is available from any manageable network device

Spam
Unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups; junk e-mail.

Spyware
Software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet.

SSID
Service Set Identifier specifies which 802.11b network you are joining. Some systems allow you to specify ANY SSID as an option so you can join any network.

Topology Diagram
A diagram displaying the logical devices in a computer network. Topology diagrams are essential for gaining an understanding of how a computer network is constructed. Topology diagrams also contain IP addressing information, location, and other critical information.

TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol – is the standard communications protocol used to connect computers across the Internet.

UPS
Uninterruptible Power Supply. A UPS is used to regulate power to a critical network device such as a server or switch. A UPS can provide enough power to a server to allow users to logoff; it will also automatically shut the server down in a specified time frame usually 5-10 minutes

VOIP
Voice-Over Internet Protocol, also called Internet telephony, is the two-way transmission of phone conversations over an IP network, allowing audio to travel over the Internet, intranets, or private LANs (local area networks) and WANs (wide area networks).

VPN
Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a way to provide remote access to an organization’s network via the Internet. VPN’s are also used to connect two offices together to create a wide area network. VPNs send data over the public Internet through encrypted secure “tunnels.”

WAN
Wide Area Network – is a network of linked computers covering a multi site, national or even global area.

WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy is the standard for encrypting data over an 802.11x wireless network. WEP 40 or 128 bit encryption has been shown to be insecure. So the current recommendation is to use a VPN to secure corporate data.

Got questions is there jargin here that’s not included? Don’t be a stranger, drop me a line….