Descriptionary

click ad a Web page advertisement that, when clicked on, takes the viewer to a page with more information, often for ordering a product or service.

click fraud the dishonest and repeated clicking of an advertiser's ad with no intention of buying anything, in order to drive up that advertiser's fees, sometimes perpetrated by a rival advertiser.

codec technology that compresses or decompresses data, such as is necessary when viewing video on demand.

.com at the end of an e-mail or Web address, the designation for a commercial enterprise.

compression the electronic reduction of a file or data stream to speed transmission or take up less space in memory storage.

congestion a data path overload resulting in a slow or no response from a server.

contentjacking the copying or stealing of material in blogs or other sites to use in one's own site. Also known as pagejacking.

cookie a brief personal file created for a specific visitor and loaded on to his or her browser by a Web server to facilitate usage of its Web site. The file logs personal preferences and habits and often stores the user's ID and password.

cracker one who removes or defeats the security components in protected software to allow copying and pirating.

cracking the illegal removal or defeating of secu­rity components in software to allow copying and pirating.

crawler a program that searches new Internet resources.

cryptography mathematical coding used to secure Internet transactions.

cybercafe a coffee house with public computer access to the Internet.

cybercrime any crime committed online, such as credit card fraud or unauthorized access violations.

cyberfraud online fraud.

cybernaut one who frequently surfs the Internet; also known as an internaut.

cybersex simulated sex—actually, dirty talk—con­veyed via a private chat room or e-mail.

cyberspace the electronic medium and culture of the World Wide Web.

cybersquatting the unethical practice of registering an Internet address or domain name consisting of the letters of a company name and selling that name to the company. A company is unable to use their own name in their Internet address unless it registers it before others do.

cyberstalking harassing someone through e-mails, instant messaging, etc.

cyberterrorism the criminal destruction or disrup­tion of Internet communications through the use of mail bombs, viruses, or other means.

darknet an underground network of users who ille­gally trade copyrighted software and game files.

dead link a link that is either broken or connected to a Web page that is no longer available.

decryption the decoding of encrypted or secret mes­sages.

dial-up online transmission service over telephone lines.

digirati collective term for people who are savvy with digital technology, particularly with computers and the Internet.

distance learning college or other classroom learn­ing that takes place over the Internet.

DNS Domain Name System.

domain at the end of an e-mail or Internet address, an abbreviation designating the nature of the addressee, such as .com for "commercial enterprise," .edu for "educational institution," .mil for "military installation," and so on.

Domain Name System collective term for any one or all of several e-mail routing and Internet connec­tion servers.

down inaccessible or inoperable due to technical difficulty.

download to transfer information or graphics of files from a Web location onto a computer.

DSL digital subscriber line. A transmission circuit that is superior to a regular phone circuit.

e-business commerce over the Internet; a company that sells goods or services via the Internet.

.edu at the end of an Internet or e-mail address, the domain designation for an educational institution.

e-mail electronic mail typed into a computer and sent through a modem over the Internet or online server to a receiver.

emoticon any fanciful "facial expression," such as a smiley face :), created on a keyboard, to help convey emotion in one's e-mail or post online.

encryption the coding of data into an unreadable form, to increase security.

ethernet a networking system used in a small or confined area.

evil twins a fraudulent technique through which an illegitimate, wireless network mimics a legitimate one and, by offering a public wi-fi connection to the Inter­net, such as those in coffeehouses and hotels, captures passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

extranet a partially closed network providing access to company employees and a select group of outsid­ers, such as vendors and contractors.

e-zine an online magazine.

FAQ frequently asked question.

favorite see bookmark.

filter a sorting system used to block unwanted e­mail or spam.