Having grown up in the pre-Internet era, modern-day parents can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the vast online jungle that the Internet represents. If you are to help your family explore this brave new world in safety, it is crucial that you speak the language of cyberspace and understand the technology involved. The Kid-Safe Internet glossary will help you keep pace with your tech-savvy children.
AntiVirus Software: Programs that detect and remove computer viruses.
Avatar: A graphical representation of a chat room or message board user.
Bandwidth: The amount of information (or data) that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. Usually stated in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps), or megabits per second (mps).
Blocking software: Programs that filter content from the Internet and block access to web sites or web content based on specified criteria. Most commonly used to prevent children gaining access to online content considered inappropriate by their parents and /or educators.
Blog (short for Web Log): Instantly updatable online journal used for publishing short, informal comments and ideas. Very popular among young people. The act of keeping a blog is known as blogging.
Bookmark: A file within a browser used for the storage of interesting or frequently used website addresses, allowing them to be accessed quickly and easily the next time they are required.
Browser: Software application used to locate and display web pages. The most popular examples include Internet Explorer, Netscape and Firefox.
Buddy List: Collection of online contacts on an instant messaging (IM) Program.
Bulletin board (aka Newsgroup or Discussion Group): Electronic message center usually serving a specific interest group. Users can leave, read and respond to messages known as “posts”.
Cache: Area of a computer’s hard drive where web pages and page elements are stored when they are downloaded from the Internet, making it easier and faster for the user to revisit those pages.
Chat: Real-time text-based online communication. Chatting is one of the most popular uses of the Internet. Generally the participants remain anonymous, using nicknames or pseudonyms known as ‘handles’ or ‘screen names’ to identify themselves online.
Chat room: Virtual room where people can communicate in real time while on the Internet. Users type their messages with a keyboard and the entered text will appear on the monitor, along with the text of the other chat room visitors.
Chat Speak: Short-hand language used in real-time text-based communication. Very popular among children and teenagers, this online slang can seem indecipherable to parents. Here is a brief run-down of the most commonly used terms:
AFAIK |
As far as I Know |
ATM |
At the moment |
B/C |
Because |
BF |
Boyfriend |
BRB |
Be right back |
BTW |
By the way |
CYA |
See you |
DL |
Download |
FYI |
For your information |
G2G |
Got to go |
GF |
Girlfriend |
GR8 |
Great |
IIRC |
If I remember correctly |
IMO |
In my opinion |
J/K |
Just kidding |
K |
OK |
LOL |
Laughing out loud |
NE1 |
Anyone |
OMG |
Oh my gosh |
OT |
Off topic |
TBH |
To be honest |
THX |
Thanks |
TTYL |
Talk to you later |
U |
You |
WTF |
What the f***? |
XOXO |
Hugs and kisses |
Y |
Why |
Content: The actual text of a communication or information sent in e-mails, bulletin board postings, chat room communications, files and graphics.
Cookie: Small data file written to a user's hard drive by a web server so that individual preferences, ID, passwords etc can be remembered when the user re-visits a site.
Cyberspace: Generic term referring to the virtual environment of the Internet. Commonly used to distinguish the physical world from the digital, or computer-based world.
Directories: Indexes of websites, organized by subject
Domain Name: The unique ‘text’ name identifying a particular website, i.e. its address or URL. This is the humanly readable form of the numeric IP address. A domain name will include a suffix such as .com, .org, .gov, or .edu. The suffix frequently indicates the country of origin or type of organization that is hosting the site. For example, .edu is used for educational sites such as those belonging to schools and universities, while .gov is used for US government sites. .com originally stood for “commercial” but is now the best known, top-level domain, used for a wide variety of sites around the world.
Download: to transfer – or copy – files from a remote computer to your own.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): A means of accessing the Internet at very high speed using standard phone lines.
E-mail (Electronic Mail): Messages, usually text, sent through an electronic (computer) network. Email messages can also carry attached files such as images, graphics, sound, and video. E-mail addresses include the @ symbol, such as president@whitehouse.gov
Emoticons (aka Smilies): Text-based icons used to express emotion in online communications. Common examples include:
: - ) |
Happy |
: - ( |
Sad |
; - ) |
Wink |
: - D |
Delighted |
: - \ |
Confused |
: - O |
Shocked |
Encryption: A way of coding information in a file or e-mail message so that it is unreadable to everyone except the authorized recipient. Commonly used in online shopping to make the transmission of credit card numbers secure.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): Pages that list and answer the questions most often asked about a web site, service or specific subject. The FAQ page often provides useful information for a new user of a Web site, mailing list, discussion group, or product.
File Sharing: The act of making files on one computer accessible to others on a network.
Filtering software: Computer programs that screen information on the Internet and classify its content. Some filtering software allows the user to block access to certain kinds of content.
Firewall: Hardware or software that limits access to a computer over a network or from an outside source, thereby securing computer files by blocking unauthorized access to them. Most home computers come with built-in firewalls, although they need to be activated by the user.
Flaming: Sending inflammatory, hostile or insulting messages in newsgroups, e-mail or message boards etc.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A way of transferring files over the Internet from one computer to another.
Hacker: A highly skilled computer programmer who attempts to break into computer systems.
Hardware: The physical components of a computer system, such as the central processing unit, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, as well as other equipment like printers and speakers.
Hidden dialers: Usually downloaded unwittingly, hidden dialers are programs that use your computer to make premium rate phone calls without your knowledge.
Home page: The first page on a website, used to introduce the site and provide the means of navigation.
HTML(Hypertext Markup Language): The coding language used to create documents for the World Wide Web.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): The set of rules for exchanging files on the World Wide Web
Hyperlink: A graphic or text phrase on a web page which, when clicked, opens a new web page or jumps to a new location in the current page. Words or phrases which serve as links are underlined, or appear in a different color, or both. Images that serve as links have a border around them, or they change the cursor to a little hand as it passes over them.
IM or Instant Messaging: Technology similar to that of chat rooms which enables real-time text-based online communication. A user is noted when one of their ‘contacts’ or ‘buddies’ is online, allowing them to ‘converse’ by exchanging text messages and files via special software. The most popular IM applications include MSN Messenger, AIM and ICQ.
Internet: vast global network of computer networks, also referred to as the "Net"
.IP (Internet Protocol): Computer language that allows computer programs to communicate over the Internet.
IP Address (or IP number): A unique string of numbers assigned to any internet-connected computer or other hardware device.
IRC (Internet Relay Chat): A protocol and a program type that allows participants to "chat" online in a live forum.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network): System of digital telephone connections that provides a fast, commercially available link to the Internet. Allows a user to connect to the Internet over standard phone lines at speeds higher than a 56K modem allows.
ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company that provides access to the Internet, usually for a monthly fee.
Keystroke Logger: Program or hardware device that captures each keystroke made on a particular computer. Also known as Keystroke Cops, these devices are marketed to organizations and parents as a way of monitoring the online activities of their employees / children. However, they can also be downloaded unwittingly by an internet user, with the recorded information uploaded periodically to fraudsters and cyberstalkers over the Net.
Keyword: A word that is entered into the search form or search "window" of an Internet search engine to search the Web for pages or sites about or including the keyword and information related to it.
Link: See Hyperlink Mailing list: Online discussion forum that occurs via mass email distributions. Typically dedicated to a particular topic of interest common to all subscribers.
Message Board or Internet Forum: Website usually serving a specific interest group that allows users to post and reply to messages from other users and review the flow of a discussion. (See also Bulletin Board).
Modem: Piece of hardware that allows computers to communicate with each other by transmitting signals over telephone lines. Modem speeds indicate how fast the data is transmitted. The fastest widely available modems are "56K" (56 kilobits per second).
Monitoring software: Programs that allow parents to monitor their children’s online activities, tracking the websites they visit and the emails they read.
Multimedia: Information presented in more than one format, such as text, audio, video, graphics, and images.
.Navigation: System of tabs, text and graphic hyperlinks enabling visitors to a website to find their way around the site.
Netiquette: Generic term for the conventions of politeness recognized on the Internet.
Newsgroup: See Bulletin Board
Online: Connected to the Internet
Operating System: The main program that runs on a computer, controlling the machine’s internal function and managing all other programs. Major operating system include UNIX, Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
Peer-to-peer (P2P): A type of internet network that directly connects individual computers running the same application for the purpose of sharing files, often illegally. Popular examples include Kazaa and Limewire.
Phishing: Form of internet fraud centered around fake websites that closely resemble those of respected organizations such as banks or insurance companies. Victims are attracted to these sites by legitimate-looking spam emails that dupe them into entering personal information, ostensibly for authentication purposes.
Plug-in: A small piece of software that enhances a larger piece of software by adding features or functions.
Pop-ups: Unsolicited online advertisements that appear in new browser windows.
Posting: Sending a message to a discussion group or other public message area on the Internet. The actual message is called a "post."
Privacy Policy: Statement on how a website handles the personal information collected about its visitors. Usually published online, these policies typically include a description of the personal information that is collected by the site, how this information will be used and with whom it will be shared. They should also contain information on how an individual can access their own data and how they can opt-out.
Search engine: A tool that enables keyword searching for relevant sites or information on the internet. Popular examples include Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and Overture.
Server: A powerful host computer that delivers information to other computers on a network upon receiving a request for data. A web server transmits web pages over the Internet when it receives a web browser's request for a page. Servers are also known as hosts or nodes.
Software: Computer programs comprising coded instructions that direct the computer hardware to perform useful work. System software, such as Windows or MacOS, operates the machine itself, while applications software, such as spreadsheet or word processing programs, provide specific functionality.
Spam: Unsolicited "junk" e-mail sent to large numbers of people to promote products or services. Also refers to inappropriate promotional or commercial postings to message boards or website guestbooks.
Surf: To explore the internet in a random, non-linear way, with no pre-set agenda.
Time limiting software: Programs that allows users to set time limits for access to the Internet, computer games, or other software programs.
Trojans: Small malicious programs delivered secretly or benignly to a victim’s computer, usually in the form of an .exe file attached to another file. The purposes of these programs can be wide-ranging, but they are designed to allow third parties unauthorized access to the computer systems they infect. Trojans may also be used in order to exploit a computer system to send unsolicited email.
Troll: A newsgroup or message board user who posts deliberately incorrect or controversial messages in an attempt to provoke flames.
Upload: Opposite of Download. To transfer or copy files from one’s own computer to another.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The World Wide Web address of a site on the Internet. See Domain Name.
Virus: A self-replicating program written to cause mischief or damage to a computer system. Viruses can be transmitted as e-mail attachments, downloads, or be present on a diskette or CD.
Web: Short for the World Wide Web. One of the services available on the Internet, accessible through the use of a browser. The web is an Internet system to distribute graphical, hyper-linked information, based on the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
Web-based e-mail: A technology that allows users to send and receive e-mail using only a browser, rather than using an e-mail program such as Outlook or Eudora.
Web site: A location on the World Wide Web comprising a collection of interconnected "pages" or files. Web sites are provided by companies, organizations and individuals.
Webmaster: The person responsible for administering, maintaining and/or creating a website.
Window: An enclosed visual area on a computer screen, usually rectangular in shape, that contains a display different from the rest of the screen.
Worm: Similar to a virus, a worm is a self-replicating program that usually performs malicious actions. Unlike a virus, however, a worm is self contained and propagates across networks without needing to attach itself to other programs. In this sense it is sometimes seen as the Internet equivalent of a virus.
WWW: The World Wide Web. See Web
