Don’t know your Ethernet port from your elbow? Don’t worry if not – you’re not alone. For this reason, we’ve put together a glossary of commonly-used terms associated with your broadband and home network, which should hopefully clear things up for you.
Your handy broadband glossary.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
ADSL is a way of sending data over a copper telephone line at high speeds.
ADSL2+
This is the newer version of ADSL, which basically doubles the capacity of speed that can be achieved.
Attachment
An attachment is a file that accompanies an email. These can be Word documents, pictures, videos and so on. The speed of your internet and the size of the file will affect how long it takes to send or receive an attachment.
Anti-phishing
Similar to anti-virus software, anti-phishing is software that prevents phishing attacks. Phishing is a way in which undesirables try and obtain your personal information.
Avatar
This is a graphical representation of your ‘onscreen persona’. This would usually be used in online chat rooms, or games.
AVI (Audio Video Interleave)
This type of file extension indicates that the file is a video.
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B
Backbone
As the name implies, the backbone is key in connecting local internet branches via a high speed telecommunications line.
Bandwidth
This is another way of describing your internet speed, and the speed of your data transmission. It is measured in bits per second (bps).
Bookmark
Using a bookmark allows you to store the web address (or URL) on your computer. You can then access the web page without having to type the address again. These are your ‘Favourites’ in Internet Explorer.
Broadband
Broadband is an internet connection which allows the transfer of large amounts of data at very fast speeds.
Browser
A browser is the program that allows you to view web pages, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome.
Byte
A byte is a unit of computer storage space. There are 1024 bytes in one kilobyte (KB), 1024 KB in a megabyte (MB), and 1024 MB in a gigabyte (GB).
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C
Cache
Your computer has a temporary storage area where it stores data you access regularly. This allows it to access this data more quickly.
Capped
In the world of broadband, capped services limit the amount of data you can download within a certain period of time (usually a month).
Client
A client is a program that requests information from a server. Client most commonly refers to the program you use to download your email onto your computer – such as Outlook Express, Thunderbird or Eudora.
Contention ratio
The contention ratio is the number of users who are sharing an internet connection. For example, your provider may have a contention ratio of 50:1. This means that you may have to share your internet connection with up to 49 other people – which could result in a large drop in your download speed.
Cookie
Cookies are pieces of data exchanged between your web browser and websites you visit. These can be used by websites for personalisation among other things. For example, a website may remember your location, and give you a localised weather report.
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D
Dial up
Dial up connects you to the internet using a normal telephone line. Luckily the bad old days of dial up access are mainly behind us, thanks to the advent of broadband. Woo-hoo!
Domain
This is the principal address of a website. For example, Confused.com is a domain name.
Dongle
A dongle is another name for a portable modem which allows you to use mobile broadband by plugging it into one of your computer’s USB ports. They tend to look something like this:
Download
The term download refers to the data you receive from a location on the internet, which is received by your computer.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) modem
This is a piece of hardware that you need in order to get a high-speed broadband service.
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E
Email
Short for ‘electronic mail’, which is passed between users over the internet.
Encryption
This is the process of protecting sensitive data by mixing the information into a ‘secret code’.
Ethernet cable
You need an Ethernet cable to connect to the internet if you are not connecting wirelessly. It looks similar to a telephone cable and plugs into a port on your computer that looks like this:
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F
Fibre-optic cable
A fibre-optic cable is made from coated high-quality silica glass (or sometimes plastic), and passes information through transmitting light. This allows for extremely fast broadband.
Firewall
A firewall is a piece of security software that protects your computer from being accessed by an unauthorised person or program.
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G
Gigabyte (GB)
This is a measure of data storage capacity. There are 1024MB in a Gigabyte. If you see Gbps written, this denotes how many gigabytes per second are being transmitted.
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H
Home page
Your home page is the first page you see when you open your internet browser. You can choose your own home page using the toolbar at the top of your browser window.
Hub
If more than one computer needs to access the same internet connection, a hub is used to connect both at the same time via a local area network (LAN).
Hyperlink
A hyperlink or link is a piece of text or an image which directs you to another webpage if you click it. Traditionally hyperlinks are underlined, but on most websites there should be something which makes a link distinct from the rest of the text.
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I
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer is an internet browser that lets you view different websites.
Internet
The internet is a global system of connected computer networks that allows users to communicate with one another, and allows data to be sent worldwide.
Intranet
An intranet is an internal network used within a company or organisation.
IP address
An IP address is a unique set of numbers that is used to identify any users or servers connected to the internet. They look like this: 192.168.1.1.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
This is the company that provides your access to the internet; e.g. BT, Virgin Media, O2 etc.
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L
LAN (Local Area Network)
This consists of two or more computers connected (either with cables, or wirelessly) to a network. This allows users to share files via an internet connection.
LLU (Local Loop Unbundling)
This is the terminology used when an ISP bypasses BT’s own network in the local exchange – thus ‘unbundling’ it. This allows for greater competition in these areas.
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M
Meg (usually preceded by 2, 4, 8 etc)
This is the speed of your internet. The government has set targets for all homes in the UK to be able to achieve at least 2 meg – i.e. 2Mbps (megabits per second). The higher the number, the faster your internet connection in theory.
Migration fee
Some suppliers may charge you a fee for moving to another supplier. This is a called a migration fee.
Mobile broadband
With mobile broadband, you are connected to the internet using a ‘dongle’ (see above) which plugs into your USB socket. This allows you to connect to the same network that your mobile phone uses.
Modem (Modulator/Demodulator)
This is a piece of hardware that allows computers to send and receive data using your telephone line (also see ‘DSL Modem’).
Mp3
You have probably heard of mp3s. These are music files that are recognised by most audio playing software and modern portable music devices.
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N
Network
A network is an interconnected system. In the world of the internet, this means a system of linked computers.
Network adaptor (or network card)
This is a piece of hardware that is inside your computer which allows it to connect to a network.
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O
Offline
When you are not connected to the internet you are considered to be offline.
Online
Conversely, when you are connected to the internet, you are online.
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P
Phishing
This is a scam to get your personal details. Baddies will set up a page to resemble an official organisation (e.g. your bank) to trick you into entering sensitive information.
POP (Post Office Protocol)
This program accepts emails on the users’ behalf, and stores it. So when you connect to the net and gather your new emails into Outlook Express, for example, you are downloading from a POP server.
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R
Rip
This is the process of converting one type of media into another. Most commonly used is ripping a CD to mp3 format.
Router
A router channels data between computers and other devices so that each is connected.
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S
Server
A server is a host computer that stores website information and sends that information when requested.
Spam
Not the tinned meat! This is a slang term for ‘junk mail’ you receive to your email inbox.
Spyware
This is software that basically ‘spies’ on your internet behaviour. This information is sent to a third party.
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U
Upload
This is when you transfer data from your computer to another location. For example, when you add a photograph to your Facebook page, you are uploading it.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A web page’s URL is the entire unique web address you see at the top the page – including the ‘http://’ part. For example, the URL for this page is: www.confused.com
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
This is a plug on your computer/laptop which id used to connect pieces of hardware. A USB port will tend to look like this:
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V
Video on Demand (VoD)
Similar to ‘Anytime’ on Sky or ‘On Demand’ on Virgin, this is when you watch programmes or films over the internet.
Virus
This is a program that damages your computer in some way. It’s best to have anti-virus software on your PC to prevent these.
(VoIP) Voice over Internet Protocol
VoIP technology allows you to make very cheap or sometimes free calls over the internet. Skype is an example of a program that facilitates this.
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W
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
WAP is the technology that allows you to access online information via handheld wireless devices such as your mobile phone or PDA.
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)
Used to describe devices that connect to the internet using wireless technology.
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Z
Zip
A zip file is a file that has been compressed; i.e. made smaller so that you can store or send it more easily.
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