Informatics

3G : an ITU specification for the third generation (analog cellular was the first generation, digital PCS the second) of mobile communications technology. 3G promises increased bandwidth, up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationery or moving at pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work over wireless air interfaces such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA. The new EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) air interface has been developed to specifically to meet the bandwidth needs of 3G.
access : 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. Access is an element of the Fair Information Practices.
access control : the mechanisms for limiting access to certain information based on a user's identity and membership in various predefined groups. Access control can be mandatory, discretionary, or role-based. See also access control list and access control entry.
access control entry (ACE) : in Windows-based systems, an entry in an access control list containing the security identifier for a user or group and an access mask that specifies which operations by the user or group are allowed, denied, or audited.
access control list (ACL) : in Windows-based systems, a list of access control entries that apply to an entire object, a set of the object's properties, or an individual property of an object, and that define the access granted to one or more security principals.
access mask : in Windows-based systems, a value that specifies the permissions that are allowed or denied in an access control entry of an access control list. The access mask is also used in an access request to specify the access permissions that the subject requires when accessing an object.
access token : a data structure that contains authorization information for a user or group. A system uses an access token to control access to securable objects and to control the ability of a user to perform various system-related operations on a local computer.
ActiveX is Microsoft's answer to the Java technology from Sun Microsystems. An ActiveX control is roughly equivalent to a Java applet. ActiveX is the name Microsoft has given to a set of "strategic" object-oriented program technologies and tools. The main thing that you create when writing a program to run in the ActiveX environment is a component, a self-sufficient program that can be run anywhere in your ActiveX network (currently a network consisting of Windows and Macintosh systems). This component is known as an ActiveX control
address book : an automated e-mail address directory that allows you to address your messages easily. Generally comes in personal and public versions
address resolution : conversion of an Internet address to the corresponding physical address. On an ethernet, resolution requires broadcasting on the local area network

ARP (address resolution protocol) : a protocol for mapping an Internet Protocol address (IP address) to a physical machine address that is recognized in the local network.

Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS) : the organization that provides information technology systems and services to support administrative processes for all three campuses of the University of Illinois
administrative vulnerability : failure to observe administrative best practices, such as using a weak password or logging on to an account that has more user rights than the user requires to perform a specific task.
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) : former name of DARPA, the government agency that funded ARPAnet and later the DARPA Internet.

ArpaNet (Advanced Research Project Administration Network) : network financed by the US Department of Defense in the 1960s. It was intended to allow interchange among researchers in American universities. The present Internet network was created from its subsequent development. The prototype for the Internet, first implemented in 1969 at UCLA, Stanford, and, later, at the University of Utah.

adware : advertising that is integrated into software. Adware is often combined with a host application that is provided at no charge as long as the user agrees to accept the adware.
AIX : IBM's version of Unix
anti-replay service : each IP packet passing within the secure association is tagged with a sequence number. On the receiving end, each packet's sequence number is checked to see if it falls within a specified range. If an IP packet tag number falls outside of the range, the packet is blocked
anonymous : associated with a FTP server to which you can connect "anonymously" unlike servers which require a name and password.
antivirus software (AV) : a computer program designed to detect and respond to malicious software, such as viruses and worms. Responses may include blocking user access to infected files, cleaning infected files or systems, or informing the user that an infected program was detected

Web resources

API (application program interface) is the specific methodology by which a programmer writing an application program may make requests of the operating system or another application
application level firewall / application gateway look at data at the application layer of the protocol stack and serve as proxies for outside users, intercepting packets and forwarding them to the application. Thus, outside users never have a direct connection to anything beyond the firewall. The fact that the firewall looks at this application information means that it can distinguish among such things as telnet, file transfer protocol (FTP), or Lotus Notes traffic. Because the application gateway understands these protocols, it provides security for each application it supports.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) : method of coding characters
asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) : a technology that delivers data faster downstream than upstream. The fastest downstream rate is 8 Mbps, while the fastest upstream rate is 640 Kbps
asyncecronous transfer mode (ATM) : a high-bandwidth, low-delay, connection-oriented packet-like switching and multi- plexing technique. Usable capacity is segmented into 53-bye fixed-size cells; each cell is presented to the network on a start-stop basis, thus asynchronous. 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 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. ATM creates a fixed channel, or route, between 2 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. When purchasing ATM service, you generally have a choice of four different types of service:

Constant Bit Rate (CBR) specifies a fixed bit rate so that data is sent in a steady stream. This is analogous to a leased line.
Variable Bit Rate (VBR) provides a specified throughput capacity but data is not sent evenly. This is a popular choice for voice and videoconferencing data.
Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR) does not guarantee any throughput levels. This is used for applications, such as file transfer, that can tolerate delays.
Available Bit Rate (ABR) provides a guaranteed minimum capacity but allows data to be bursted at higher capacities when the network is free

automated meter reading (AMR) : the remote collection of consumption data from customers' utility meters using telephony, radio frequency, power line, and satellite communications technologies
attachment : a file that a user adds to an email message to transfer it to another user
attack : a deliberate attempt to compromise the security of a computer system or deprive others of the use of the system.
authentication : the process of validating the credentials of a person, computer process, or device. Authentication requires that the person, process, or device making the request provide a credential that proves it is what or who it says it is. Common forms of credentials are digital signatures, smart cards, biometric data, and a combination of user names and passwords.Authentication occurs through challenge/response, time-based code sequences or other techniques.
authorization : the process of granting a person, computer process, or device access to certain information, services, or functionality. Authorization is derived from the identity of the person, computer process, or device requesting access, which is verified through authentication

role-based authorization : a type of authorization that uses roles to determine access rights and privileges. A role is a symbolic category of users that share the same security privilege.

availability : the property of a system or a system resource that ensures it is accessible and usable upon demand by an authorized system user. Availability is one of the core characteristics of a secure system.
back door : a hardware or software-based hidden entrance to a computer system that can be used to bypass the system's security policies.
bandwidth : generally speaking, bandwidth is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted or received per unit time. In digital systems, bandwidth is proportional to the data speed in bits per second (bps). Thus, a modem that works at 57,600 bps has twice the bandwidth of a modem that works at 28,800 bps. Bandwidth converter :

BBBOnLine : a privacy seal program established by the Better Business Bureau which certifies that certain Web sites conform to baseline privacy standards. Microsoft is a sponsor of BBBOnLine.

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) : the built-in software that helps your system start up and contains the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, and other functions. Your computer must successfully run its BIOS software before it starts your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc)

Bluestem : a software system (developed by CITES) that enables one or more high-security SSL HTTP servers in a domain (entrusted with handling user passwords) to provide reliable client identification for applications running on other authorized SSL HTTP servers within the domain

Bluetooth : a wireless technology that allows devices in close proximity to communicate with one another named after Harold Bluetooth, a 10th-century Viking King who united Denmark under Christianity. This short-range RF solution (10 centimeters to 10 meters) operates on a bandwidth of 2.4 GHz, which is an unlicensed frequency worldwide. It is viewed primarily as a cable replacement technology to link such devices as laptop computers and personal digital assistants and mobile phones to headsets

toothing : local area spamming for bluetooth.

BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) of Unix. It was the first commercial version of Unix.

bit : smallest element of information. It is equal to 0 or 1. A byte (octet) is equal to 8 bits.

bastion host : a specific host that is used to intercept packets entering or leaving a network. and the system that any outsider must ordinarily connect with to access a system or service that is inside the network's firewall. Typically the bastion host must be highly secured because it is vulnerable to attack due to its placement. See dual-homed gateway

BlackBerry : a handheld wireless device providing e-mail, telephone, text messaging and web browsing services^ref

bps (bits per second) : quantity of information transmitted per second.

buffer : a region of memory reserved for use as an intermediate repository in which data is temporarily held before it is transferred between two locations or devices.

buffer overflow attack / stack overflow works by exploiting a known bug in one of the applications running on a server. It then causes the application to overlay system areas, such as the system stack, thus gaining administrative rights. In most cases, this gives a hacker complete control over the system

buffer overrun : a condition that results from adding more information to a buffer than it was designed to hold. An attacker may exploit this vulnerability to take over a system.

bug : error in the operation of a program.

byte : unit of computer data measurement, once composed of any number of bits, nowadays used only for 8 bits. A kilobyte (Kb) = 1024 bytes. A megabyte (Mb) = 1024 KB.

CA (Certificate Authority) is an authority in a network that issues and manages security credentials and public keys for message encryption and decryption. As part of a public key infrastructure (PKI), a CA checks with a registration authority (RA) to verify information provided by the requestor of a digital certificate. If the RA verifies the requestor's information, the CA can then issue a certificate.

cache : saving local copies of frequently-visited Web pages

cascading style sheets (CSS) : a simple mechanism for adding style (eg fonts, colors and spacing) to Web pages. CSS is a standard layout language for the Web, one that controls colors, typography, and the size and placement of elements and images. CSS is intended by its creators, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to replace HTML table based layouts, frames, and other presentational hacks. CSS, together with other web standards such as XHTML, helps us separate style from content, making the Web more accessible, and opening it up to more powerful applications and technologies to come. CSS is a technique built into version 4.0 browsers that support styles for pages. For example, you can format styles for fonts and page layouts in one file that will automatically apply to pages linked to that sytle sheet. This technique holds great promise for the future browsers. The present version 4.0 browsers from Netscape and Microsoft read some features of the style sheets differently, leaving what works with one not always working for the other.

category 3 (wiring) : consists of 4 pairs of twisted-pair wires used for medium speed communications of up to 10 megabits over distances of up to 100 meters. The FCC has specified that new homes use a minimum of CAT3 wiring for telephones in new home construction

category 4 (wiring) : consists of 4 pairs of twisted-pair wires used for medium speed communications of up to 16 Mbps over distances of up to 100 meters

category 5 (wiring) : consists of 4 pairs of twisted-pair wires used for high-speed communications of up to 100 Mbps over distances of up to 100 meters.

certificate : an encrypted file containing user or server identification information, which is used to verify identity and to help establish a security-enhanced link.

CGI (common gateway interface) exploit : when a denial of service attack is aimed at the CGI, it is referred to as a CGI exploit. The CGI is a standard way for a Web server to pass a Web user's request to an application program and to receive data back to forward to the user. It is part of the Web's HTTP protocol.

change management : the practice of administering changes with the help of tested methods and techniques in order to avoid new errors and minimize the impact of changes.

CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol) : an authentication technique where after a link is established, a server sends a challenge to the requestor. The requestor responds with a value obtained by using a one-way hash function. The server checks the response by comparing it its own calculation of the expected hash value. If the values match, the authentication is acknowledged otherwise the connection is usually terminated

checksum or hash : a count of the number of bits in a transmission unit that is included with the unit so that the receiver can check to see whether the same number of bits arrived. If the counts match, it's assumed that the complete transmission was received.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) : a U.S. law that took effect on April 21, 2000, and requires parental consent for certain Web sites to knowingly collect personally identifiable information on children under the age of 13.

choice : an individual's ability to determine whether and how personally identifiable information collected from him or her may be used, especially for purposes beyond those for which the information was originally provided. Choice is an element of the Fair Information Practices.

cipher : the method used to transform a readable message (called plaintext or cleartext) into an unreadable, scrambled or hidden message (called ciphertext).

ciphertext : data that has been encrypted. Ciphertext is the output of the encryption process and can be transformed back into a readable form plaintext with the appropriate decryption key.

circuit-level gateways run proxy applications at the session layer instead of the application layer. They can't distinguish different applications that run on the same protocol stack. However, these gateways don't need a new module for every new application, either. Circuit-level gateway is a firewall feature which can, when needed, serve as an alternative to packet filtering or application gateway functionality

circuit switching : a switching system that establishes a dedicated physical communications connection between endpoints through the network for the duration of the communications session; this is most often contrasted with packet switching in data communications transmissions

clickstream data : information that users generate as they move from page to page and click on items within a Web site, usually stored in log files. Web site designers can use clickstream data to improve users' experiences with a site.

client : the requesting program or user in a client/server relationship; also used to describe a computer that relies upon another for some or all of its resources. For example, the user of a Web browser is effectively making client requests for pages from servers all over the Web. The browser itself is a client in its relationship with the computer that is getting and returning the requested HTML file.

cloaking is used to describe a website that returns altered webpages to search engines crawling the site. In other words, the webserver is programmed to return different content to Google than it returns to regular users, usually in an attempt to distort search engine rankings. This can mislead users about what they'll find when they click on a search result. To preserve the accuracy and quality of their search results, Google may permanently ban from their index any sites or site authors that engage in cloaking to distort their search rankings.

coaxial cable : a single insulated copper wire surrounded by a braided co per shield Two types of coaxial cable are currently used in LANs 50-ohm cable used for digital signaling and 75-ohm cable is used for analog and high-speed digital signaling TIA-570-A (the "standard" for residential structured wiring) calls for 75-ohm quad-shielded coaxial cabling

code-division multiple access (CDMA) : a digital cellular technology that uses spread spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as GSM, that use time-division multi-plexing (TDM), CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user. Instead, every channel uses the full available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence

commercial "at the rate of" sign "@" : character separating the user's name from the domain he is attached to in e-mail addresses.

competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) : a LEC which is not the Incumbent (ILEC) or market-leading LEC. CLECs compete on a selective basis for local exchange service and long distance Internet access and cable TV/video-on-demand. They build or rebuild their own loops (wired or wireless) and lease local loops from ILECs at wholesale rates for resale to end-users CLECs include cellular/PCS providers ISPs IXCs CATV providers CAPs, LMDS operators and power utilities

complex instruction set computer (CISC) : most personal computers use a CISC architecture, in which the CPU supports as many as two hundred instructions. An alternative architecture used by many workstations and also some personal computers, is RISC (reduced instruction set computer), which supports fewer instructions.

compression : a means by which information can be encoded such that the encoded information is more concise than the unencoded information. Compression can be lossless (meaning that no information is lost by the compression and decompression process) or lossy (some information may be lost). There are numerous compression techniques for both data transmission and storage (file compression), some of which are standardized

computer security : the protection of information assets through the use of technology, processes, and training.

consumer electronics bus (CEBus) / EIA-600 : a standard developed by the Electronics Industry Association. The CEBus effort was initiated in 1964 as a cross-industry effort among players in home controls, residential wiring and consumer electronics. The standard specifies home control signals across a wide variety of network media.

Content Advisor : a tool in Microsoft Internet Explorer that lets you control which sites users on your computer can visit. This is particularly helpful for parents who want to control the content their children view on the Web.

content blocking : the ability to block network traffic based on actual packet content

content management system (CMS) : a document centric collaborative application for managing documents and other content. A CMS is often a web application and often it is used as a method of managing web sites and web content. Typical features include:

online authoring / change approval
WYSIWYG editing
workflow including a review and publishing process
session and user management
indexing and searching
object storage
templating
image and URL management

The market for content management systems remains fragmented, with many open source and proprietary solutions available.

content scanning or screening : the ability to review the actual information that an end user sees when using a specific Internet application. For example, the content of e-mail.

cookie : a small data file attached to some Web pages that is stored on a user's local computer for record-keeping purposes and which contains information about the user that is pertinent to a Web site, such as user preferences. Your navigator is able to deactivate the use of all cookies..

CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) : mathematical system for ensuring the data is transmitted correctly.

credentials : information that includes identification and proof of identification that is used to gain access to local and network resources. Examples of credentials are user names and passwords, smart cards, and certificates.

critical update : a broadly released fix for a specific problem addressing a critical, non-security-related bug.

cross-platform : the capability of software or hardware to run identically on different platforms. Many applications for Windows and Macintosh, for example, now produce binary-compatible files, which means that users can switch from one platform to another without converting the data to a new format

crosstalk : interference on an analog line of an adjacent signal with the intended receive signal. Crosstalk makes it hard to hear just the intended signal, as there are multiple conversations on the line at once

cryptography : the study or analysis of codes and encoding methods used to secure information. Cryptographic techniques can be used to enable and ensure confidentiality, data integrity, authentication (entity and data origin), and nonrepudiation. Quantum cryptography has been sped up to the point that it can be used to secure video conferencing. Toshiba's Cambridge Research Laboratory system is capable of generating 100 quantum 'keys' every second. This is fast enough for every individual frame of video to be protected by its own encryption. This makes the system highly secure : it would take an enormous computational resource to crack this frame by frame. The technology could be commercially available in as little as 2 years' time. Although it could initially cost up to US$20,000, the price will plummet as demand increases. Although video conferencing can already be secured using conventional encryption, this can still be intercepted and decoded by someone with sufficient computing power. Quantum cryptography promises to stop such eavesdroppers. The system works by first establishing a 'key' that provides instructions on how to decode an incoming message. This key is built into the quantum state of photons. Intercepting a message breaks the key and alerts the sender and intended recipient to the security breach, because the very act of observing a quantum state changes it. The Toshiba system creates keys made of 256 'bits', where each bit is a photon speeding along a fibre-optic cable. A photon represents either one or zero depending on whether it arrives slightly early or late at its destination. By passing a series of messages between the sender and receiver, both can arrive at a secure, mutually agreed key. Once a key is established, a single frame of encrypted video signal is transmitted down a standard Ethernet cable. This process is repeated for every frame. The team hopes that in the near future, both keys and video will be able to travel down the same fibre-optic cable. Unlike previous systems, which become unreliable when they heat up, this device can run continuously for more than four weeks. The quantum information can only go so far before being corrupted by random interactions with surrounding material, however. This can work over 120 km of fibre. Experts are surprised by how quickly this technology has matured : the main barrier to quantum encryption is demand. For most users, the nearly-uncrackable transmissions that are achieved through cheaper, simpler methods are good enough. But the situation could change dramatically if quantum computers become a reality. Quantum computers are decades away from being built, but researchers believe they will boost computing power to levels that will enable codes to be broken very quickly. What most people don't realize is that classical encryption schemes can be broken retroactively. A spy can take down encrypted Internet traffic and set it aside until a quantum computer becomes available. Quantum cryptography could boom when people realize this. Two physicists have come up with an idea that could crack the as yet unsolved problem of how to build a quantum computer, a device that would make a conventional supercomputer look like a Palm Pilot. A spin-parity meter^ref created by Loss and Engel would be analogous to the transistors in microchips: a kind of universal component for building quantum-computer circuitry. The imagined component could allow electronic quantum computers to be made from silicon, just as today's microprocessor chips are. With a spin-parity meter in hand, quantum computing could be just around the corner. They have worked out how a spin-parity meter could be put together in principle, and their theoretical calculations show that it could function as a component of a quantum computer. But they haven't made a real device. In an electronic quantum computer, information would be encoded in the magnetic state or 'spins' of electrons: 'up' and 'down' spins would substitute for the ones and zeros of binary code in conventional computers. Because of the wave nature of quantum particles, pairs of electrons can exist not only as discrete pairs of up and down spins but also as mixtures of such combinations, where each electron can be considered to have an up and down spin simultaneously. This allows a quantum computer access to many more information-encoding states than a conventional computer, and so it can perform some calculations much more quickly and efficiently. In 2004 DiVincenzo and his co-workers theorized about an electronic quantum computer that avoided some of the complications of previous proposals^ref. In their scheme, computing is performed not by feeding data into one end of a circuit and looking at how it emerges at the other end, but by looking at the pattern the data makes as it spreads out through a network of components, just as ripples spread from a pebble dropped in water. To do this one would need to measure the 'parity' of electron pairs (whether their spins are aligned or opposite) without disturbing them : a system in which a pair of electrons is placed in a tiny blob of semiconducting material such as silicon, called a quantum dot. There is a second, empty quantum dot nearby. By applying a magnetic field, it is possible to 'tune' the system such that the energy of neighbouring dots is the same if and only if they contain a pair of electrons with opposite spin. This energy equality allows those electrons with opposing spins to jump between quantum dots. Such jumps can be detected by a highly sensitive meter for measuring electrical charge, and the opposing spins of the electrons can therefore be inferred. Their scheme is a little bit of a mindbender that could change they way others think about how to make quantum computers. Experimentalists really pay attention to these people. The breathtaking experimental advances that have taken place recently in the relevant electronic technologies definitely pave the way to an actual implementation of the idea

encryption : the process of converting data into a coded form (ciphertext) to prevent it from being read and understood by an unauthorized party. Scrambling data in such a way that it can only be unscrambled through the application of the correct cryptographic key. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it

encrypted data : data that has been converted from plaintext into ciphertext.
asymmetric encryption / public key encryption : a method of encryption that uses a pair of mathematically related keys: a public key and a corresponding private key. Each half of the pair (one key) can encrypt information so that only the other half (the other key) can decrypt it. One part of the key pair, the private key, is known only by the designated owner; the other part, the public key, is published widely but is still associated with the owner

private key : one of two keys in public key encryption. The user keeps the private key secret and typically uses it to digitally sign data, or to decrypt data that has been encrypted with the corresponding public key.
public key : one of two keys in public key encryption. The user releases this key to the public, who can use it to encrypt messages to be sent to the user and to verify the user's digital signature

symmetric encryption : the oldest form of key-based cryptography is called secret-key or symmetric encryption. In this scheme, both the sender and recipient possess the same key, which means that both parties can encrypt and decrypt data with the key
DES (Data Encryption Standard) : a widely-used method of data encryption using a private (secret) key that was judged so difficult to break by the U.S. government that it was restricted for exportation to other countries. There are 72,000,000,000,000,000 (72 quadrillion) or more possible encryption keys that can be used. For each given message, the key is chosen at random from among this enormous number of keys. Like other private key cryptographic methods, both the sender and the receiver must know and use the same private key.
key : in cryptography, a key is a variable value that is applied using an algorithm to a string or block of unencrypted text to produce encrypted text. The length of the key generally determines how difficult it will be to decrypt the text in a given message

private key : in cryptography, a private or secret key is an encryption/decryption key known only to the party or parties that exchange secret messages. In traditional secret key cryptography, a key would be shared by the communicators so that each could encrypt and decrypt messages. The risk in this system is that if either party loses the key or it is stolen, the system is broken. A more recent alternative is to use a combination of public and private keys. In this system, a public key is used together with a private key.
public key : a public key is a value provided by some designated authority as a key that, combined with a private key derived from the public key, can be used to effectively encrypt and decrypt messages and digital signatures. The use of combined public and private keys is known as asymmetric encryption. A system for using public keys is called a public key infrastructure (PKI).

key management : the establishment and enforcement of message encryption and authentication procedures, in order to provide privacy-enhanced mail (PEM) services for electronic mail transfer over the Internet

Web resources

Steganos

customer premises equipment (CPE) : networking devices such as workstations, routers, POTS, splitters, etc. installed at a customer site and connected to the telephone company network

daemon : a program that runs continuously and exists for the purpose of handling periodic service requests that a computer system expects to receive. The daemon program forwards the requests to other programs (or processes) as appropriate. Each server of pages on the Web has an HTTPD or Hypertext Transfer Protocol daemon that continually waits for requests to come in from Web clients and their users

data driven attack : a form of intrusion in which the attack is encoded in seemingly innocuous data, and it is subsequently executed by a user or other software to actually implement the attack

data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) : developed by CableLabs and approved by the ITU in March 1998, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification defines interface standards for cable modems and supporting equipment. With certification from CableLabs, manufacturers will be able to produce cable modems for retail, so consumers no longer have to depend on leased cable modems from their cable providers. Other devices that recognize and support the DOCSIS standard include HDTVs and Web-enabled set-top boxes for regular televisions. DOCSIS specifies downstream traffic transfer rates between 27 and 36 Mbps over a radio frequency (RF) path in the 50 MHz to 750+ MHz range, and upstream traffic transfer rates between 320 Kbps and 10 Mbps over a RF path between 5 and 42 MHz. But, because data over cable travels on a shared loop, individuals will see transfer rates drop as more users gain access

data transfer : as a key principle of privacy, the movement of personally identifiable information between entities, such as a customer list being shared between two different companies.

deceptive trade practices : misleading or misrepresenting products or services to consumers and customers. In the United States, these practices are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission at the national level and typically by the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection at the state level.

decryption : the process of converting encrypted content back into its original form, often the process of converting ciphertext to plaintext. Decryption is the opposite of encryption.

denial of service attack (DoS) : an attempt by a malicious (or unwitting) user, process, or system to prevent legitimate users from accessing a resource (usually a network service) by exploiting a weakness or design limitation in an information system. Examples of DoS attacks include flooding network connections by launching a multitude of requests, filling disk storage, disabling ports, or removing power. Typically, denial-of-service attacks are aimed at bandwidth control.

distributed denial of service (DDoS) : a type of denial of service attack in which an attacker uses malicious code installed on various computers to attack a single target. An attacker may use this method to have a greater effect on the target than is possible with a single attacking machine.
e-mail bomb : a denial of service attack in which an excessive amount of e-mail data is sent to an e-mail address in an attempt to disrupt the e-mail service, or to prevent the recipient from receiving legitimate messages.

digital certificate : a digitally signed statement that binds the identifying information of a user, computer, or service (credentials) to a public/private key pair. A digital certificate is commonly used in the process of authentication and for securing information on networks when doing business or other transactions on the Web. It is issued by a certification authority (CA). It contains your name, a serial number, expiration dates, a copy of the certificate holder's public key (used for encrypting and decrypting messages and digital signatures), and the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority so that a recipient can verify that the certificate is real.

X.509 : the most widely used standard for defining digital certificates. X.509 is actually an ITU Recommendation, which means that has not yet been officially defined or approved. As a result, companies have implemented the standard in different ways. For example, both Netscape and Microsoft use X.509 certificates to implement SSL in their Web servers and browsers. But an X.509 Certificate generated by Netscape may not be readable by Microsoft products, and vice versa.

digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) : a digital wireless telephone technology that is expected to make cordless phones much more common in both businesses and homes in the future. Formerly called the Digital European Cordless Telecommunications standard because it was developed by European companies, DECT's new name reflects its global acceptance. Like another important wireless standard, Global System for Mobile communication DECT uses tine division multiple access to transmit radio signals to phone. Whereas GSM is optimized for mobile travel over large areas, DECT is designed especially for a smaller area with a large number of users, such as in cities and corporate complexes. A user can have a telephone equipped for both GSM and DEC (this is known as a dual-mode phone), and they can operate seamlessly

digital rights management (DRM) : any technology used to protect the interests of owners of content and services (such as copyright owners). Typically, authorized recipients or users must acquire a license in order to consume the protected material—files, music, movies—according to the rights or business rules set by the content owner

digital signal processor/processing (DSP) : manipulating analog information, such as sound or photographs, that has been converted into a digital form. DSP also implies the use of a data compression technique. When used as a noun, DSP stands for digital signal processor, a special type of coprocessor designed for performing the mathematics involved in DSP. Most DSPs are programmable, which means that they can be used for manipulating different types of information, including sound, images, and video

digital signature : an electronic rather than a written signature that can be used by someone to authenticate the identity of the sender of a message or of the signer of a document. It can also be used to ensure that the original content of the message or document that has been conveyed is unchanged. Additional benefits to the use of a digital signature are that it is easily transportable, cannot be easily repudiated, cannot be imitated by someone else, and can be automatically time-stamped. Data that binds a sender's identity to the information being sent. A digital signature may be bundled with any message, file, or other digitally encoded information, or transmitted separately. Digital signatures are used in public key environments and provide nonrepudiation and integrity services.

digital subscriber line (DSL)

digital television (DTV) : the transmission of television signals using digital rather than conventional analog methods

digital video broadcast (DVB) : a set of standards that defines digital broadcasting using existing satellite, cable, and terrestrial infrastructures. In the early 1990s, European broadcasters, consumer equipment manufacturers, and regulatory bodies formed the European Launching Group (ELG) to discuss introducing digital television (DTV) throughout Europe. The ELG realized that mutual respect and trust had to be established between members and later became the DVB Project. Today, the DVB Project consists of more than 220 organizations in > 29 countries worldwide. DVB compliant digital broadcasting and equipment is widely available and is distinguished by the DVB logo. Numerous DVB broadcast services are available in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The term digital television is sometimes used as a synonym for DVB. However, the Advance Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard is the digital broadcasting standard used in the U.S.

disassembling : converting a binary program into human-readable machine language code.

disclosure : a component of the notice principle, wherein a company should make available its data handling practices, including notices on how it collects, uses, and shares personally identifiable information.

DMZ (de-militarized zone) : a network added between a protected network and an external network in order to provide an additional layer of security. Sometimes called a perimeter network.

domain : group of computers connected in a network.

domain name : a name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the uiuc.edu domain is used by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Within that domain are distinct hostnames (such as argus.cites.uiuc.edu) that point to individual computers on the campus network
Domain Name Server, Service, or System (DNS) : a facility that maps IP addresses (e.g., 128.174.5.58) to hostnames (e.g., argus.cites.uiuc.edu), domain names and aliases and vice versa. CITES maintains DNS servers that anyone on campus can use, plus a few departments maintain their own name servers

Web resources

DNS Server/IP Domain Pings

1	Enter IP/IPv6
2	Press the button “Reverse DNS”

DNS spoofing : breaching the trust relationship by assuming the DNS name of another system. This is usually accomplished by either corrupting the name service cache of a victim system or by compromising a domain name server for a valid domain.

download : to transfer a copy of a file from a remote computer to a requesting computer by means of a modem or network

Dropcash : a website that combines two popular online tools to help fundraisers collect money. To build their site, the creators integrated the popular Web-based payment method PayPal with Typekey, a service ensuring that a person posting online has a verified identity. Creators of the website 43 Things describe how they encourage their users to list 43 of their goals in life. This allows for cross-linking to connect people with similar hopes.

DSX (Dynamic Security Extension) : a proprietary technology that is patented and works in the following way. The operating system has a system call (or vector) table that contains memory address pointers for each system call. These pointers point to a location in memory where the actual kernel code of the system calls resides. DSX stores the address pointers for the security sensitive system calls and then redirects these pointers to the corresponding SECURED system call code, which is located elsewhere in memory

dual-homed gateway : a system that has 2 or more network interfaces, each of which is connected to a different network. In firewall configurations, a dual-homed gateway usually acts to block or filter some or all of the traffic trying to pass between the networks

dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) : a TCP / IP protocol that allocates IP addresses automatically to any DHCP client (any device attached to your network, such as your PC) so that addresses can be reused when the client no longer needs them

e-business (electronic business) is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners

e-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice, this term and e-business are often used interchangably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used.

online dispute resolution (ODR) : SquareTrade

e-fax :

eFax free (can receive freely < 20 pages a month to a non-local number; upgrading allows more pages received to a local number and to send faxes via e-mail)
FreeFax (can receive freely < 3 fax a month)
TPC.int : send a fax freely via web form but only to a limited set of locations

e-government

e-voting

e-learning

e-mail (electronic mail) : message sent on computer network.

email client : an application from which users can create, send and read e-mail messages.
email server : an application that controls the distribution and storage of e-mail messages

Think your e-mail messages are secret when they're out of sight? Researchers reveal that eavesdroppers can decipher your messages just by listening to the sound of your keyboard. In a paper to be presented at an upcoming meeting on computer security, computer scientist Doug Tygar from the University of California, Berkeley, and his co-workers report how they can analyse the sounds generated by a typist. Using a $10 microphone, they are able to recreate up to 96% of what was typed. Our algorithms require no information about the typist, keyboard, room, or text typed. In fact, the microphone needn't even be placed in the same room as the typist. A parabolic microphone outside the room would work equally well at recovering the signals. I don't think it is very hard for people to put this together. If we were able to figure this out, it's likely that people with less honourable intentions can, or have, as well. The method relies on the 'tap' produced when your finger strikes the keyboard. Every key makes an ever so slightly different noise : keys at the edges sound different to those in the centre, just as a drum produces different tones when struck in the middle or near the rim. Not surprisingly, this sound isn't usually distinct enough to identify a specific key. But that's where the computer software comes in. Using the sequence of sounds, it generates guesses as to what the words might be, and then gradually refines them using standard algorithms for checking spelling and grammar. The software also learns to recognize individual keys, becoming more accurate as it goes along. Once our algorithm has 10 minutes' worth of typed English, it can recover arbitrary text, such as passwords. It's far more devastating than previous attempts at acoustic sniffing of keyboards. Some previous systems have needed a teaching phase, in which they use known text to work out what each key sounds like. It isn't clear where the technique might be used. You can't get close enough to the US National Security Agency with a mike to get anything meaningful. And suspicious spouses would presumably have access to their partner's computer to install more direct and efficient eavesdropping systems, such as keystroke-logging devices. Maybe this is a tactic that the paparazzi will find attractive: to listen in on the e-mails of rock stars.
Social networks evolve over time, driven by the shared activities and affiliations of their members, by similarity of individuals' attributes, and by the closure of short network cycles. We analyzed a dynamic social network comprising 43,553 students, faculty, and staff at a large university, in which interactions between individuals are inferred from time-stamped e-mail headers recorded over one academic year and are matched with affiliations and attributes. We found that network evolution is dominated by a combination of effects arising from network topology itself and the organizational structure in which the network is embedded. In the absence of global perturbations, average network properties appear to approach an equilibrium state, whereas individual properties are unstable. You are 30-folds more likely to meet a friend of a friend, than a friend of a friend of a friend^ref.

customize e-mail links : <a href="mailto:....@.....com,.....@.....com,......@.....com?subject=...&cc=....&bcc=...&body=.......%0A.......">Mail me!</a>

check if an e-mail address is valid

Schwarzl email check

name@server
surname@server
names@server
name.surname@server
namesurname@server
nsurname@server
n.surname@server

find e-mail addresses

E-mail Search - Find an address + Find who owns it [doesn't works for some domains, e.g. _@yahoo.com]
College E-mail Addresses

Web resources : ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS)

elevation of privilege : the process by which a user obtains a higher level of privilege than that for which he has been authorized. A malicious user may use elevation of privilege as a means to compromise or destroy a system, or to access unauthorized information.

Encap allows Unix users to install software in separate directories while still making them accessible from the traditional usr/local location in the directory tree

enforcement : a privacy principle which provides mechanisms for assuring compliance with the Fair Information Practices, recourse for individuals affected by noncompliance, and consequences for noncompliant organizations. Methods for enforcement include a review by independent third parties, such as BBBOnLine.

Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) : a technology that gives GSM and TDMA the capacity to handle services for the third generation of mobile telephony. EDGE was developed to enable the transmission of large amounts of data at a high speed, 384 Kbps. EDGE uses the same TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) frame structure, logic channel, and 200kHz carrier bandwidth as today's GSM networks, which allows existing cell plans to remain intact

EPOC : an operating system from Psion Software, designed specifically for mobile, ROM-based computing devices. EPOC16 is a 16-bit version of the operating system that has been available for several years and is embedded in many handheld devices. EPOC32 is a newer, 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multitasking. EPOC is competing head-to-head with Windows CE in the growing PDA market

eProcess : a set of software that facilitates the electronic processing of business transactions using e-mail as an enabling technology

ESP (Encapsulated Security Payload) : the Encapsulating Security Payload provides confidentiality for IP datagrams or packets, which are the message units that the Internet Protocol deals with and that the Internet transports, by encrypting the payload data to be protected

EU Data Protection Directive : a European Union (EU) law stating that personal data from EU countries can only be transferred to non-EU countries that provide an acceptable level of privacy protection. An organization must inform individuals why information about them is collected, how to contact the organization with inquiries and complaints, the types of third parties to which the organization will disclose, and the options an organization provides to limit the disclosure of certain information. Proper notice and choice must be offered to allow an individual to opt in or opt out of providing specific information the organization plans on tracking. See also Safe Harbor Agreement.

Extensible Markup Language (XML) : a system for organizing elements of web documents. XML allows designers a great deal of flexibility in defining how the information should be formatted.

extended MAPI (Extended Messaging Application Programming Interface) : an interface developed by Microsoft that provides messaging functions including addressing, sending, receiving and storing messages

extranet : an extension of an organization's intranet accessible from outside the company by authorised persons but not available on the Internet, used to facilitate communication with the organization's trusted partners. An extranet allows such trusted partners to gain limited access to the organization's internal business data.

Fair Information Practices : the basis for privacy best practices, both online and offline. The Practices originated in the Privacy Act of 1974, the legislation that protects personal information collected and maintained by the U.S. government. In 1980, these principles were adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and incorporated in its Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Data and Transborder Data Flows. They were adopted later in the EU Data Protection Directive of 1995, with modifications. The Fair Information Practices include notice, choice, access, onward transfer, security, data integrity, and remedy.

favicon (short for "favorite icon"), also known as a page icon, is an icon associated with a particular website or webpage. A web designer can create such an icon, and many graphical web browsers—such as recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Safari, and Konqueror—can then make use of them. Browsers that support favicons may display them in the browser's URL bar, next to the site's name in lists of bookmarks, and next to the page's title in a tabbed document interface. The original means of defining a favicon was by placing a file called favicon.ico in the root directory of a webserver. This would then automatically be used in Internet Explorer's favorites (bookmarks) display. Later, however, a more flexible system was created, using HTML to indicate the location of an icon for any given page. This is achieved using the link element like: <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico"> in the <head> section of the document. In this way, any appropriately sized (16×16 pixels or larger) image can be used, and although many still use the .ico format, others use GIF or PNG files. In Internet Explorer 6, favicons are displayed in the Favorites menu and the address bar.Most modern browsers implement both methods. Because of this, web servers receive many requests for the file "favicon.ico" even if it doesn't exist. Another common problem is that the favicons may disappear if the browser's cache is emptied. Originally IE only used favicon's for bookmarks, which created a minor privacy concern in that a site owner could tell how many people had bookmarked their site by checking the access logs to see how many people downloaded the favicon.ico file. However since modern browsers now use the favicon in the URL bar, that concern is no longer relevant. For optimal browser support, the following rules should be obeyed:

include both element types:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://mysite.com/favicon.ico">
<link rel="icon" href="http://mysite.com/favicon.ico">

the LINK elements must be inside the HEAD element (between <head> and </head>) in the HTML.
a file called favicon.ico and located in the document root directory will also be found by some browsers which do not process the LINK elements.
the .ico file format will be read correctly by the most browsers.

configure the webserver to send the correct MIME identifier for .ico files.
include multiple resolutions (most commonly used being 16x16 and 32x32, with 64x64 and 128x128 sometimes used on Apple Macs) and bit-depths (most common being 4, 8, 24 bpp - i.e. 16, 256 and 16 million colours) in the file.

The original favicon feature was created by Microsoft, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser would request a favicon from a set URL (/favicon.ico) on every website. Microsoft's supported format for the link tag did not conform to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) HTML recommendation because:

the rel attribute must contain a space-delimited list of link types, so a 2-word link type would not be understood correctly by conforming web browsers.
the ".ico" file format (a raster format used for icons on Microsoft Windows) did not have a registered MIME type, and wasn't likely to be automatically understood by most web browsers. In 2003, however, the format was registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) under the MIME type image/vnd.microsoft.icon, eliminating the first part of this problem.

The Mozilla web browser added support for favicons, including a version that conformed to web standards: The use of rel="icon" and optional mime-type (e.g., image/png) let web designers add favicons in any supported graphics format while conforming to W3C standards. e.g. <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/path/image.png"> Most web browsers have since added support for this feature.

Favatars are the application of favicons as weblog avatars.
Gravatars (Globally Recognized Avatars) are centralized square images representing commenters in weblogs.
NotesBuddy is an experimental Lotus Notes application putting sender faces in email, among many other things
Picons (Personal Icons) are icons representing email addresses and server names.
Vismon was the Bell Labs system which put faces in email and inspired Picons
X-Face is a standard mail header for sending 48 by 48 pixel images of senders

Favicons do not show in the address bar unless you have set the site as a favorite. If you didn't make your Icon using our applet, it may not be a true ICO file and you need to make a favicon.ico file using our program. If you create a favicon.ico file at favicon.com and are having trouble seeing your new icon, it is probably because you had an existing bookmark for that page already. It is hard to change existing bookmarks. Rest assured, however, your new bookmark is visible to the rest of the world and any new bookmarks will be seen with that logo. If you want to see the new logo, we have 2 possible remedies :

visual check (recommended) - enter the URL of your favicon (ie http://www.favicon.com/favicon.ico) into your browser. Is your updated icon displayed or downloaded?

rename favicon - when using the tag method for specifying the location your favicon, change the HREF (the URL) value specifying the location of your favicon. This is usually done by renaming your favicon.ico (ie newfavicon.ico)and updating the link tag. IE. Rebookmarking forces IE to download the new icon as it doesn't have the newicon.ico file in cache. It is also good habit to check the link used in the above tag (ie http://www.mydomain.com/newicon.ico). Always check your favorites folder to see if the change is reflected correctly. Do not judge by the address bar, since icons in the address bar are less reliable. We are not sure why.
delete cache : go toTools Menu and select Internet Options. Then make sure you select the General Tab. There you will click Settings under Temporary Internet Files. You can then delete the offending file there. When you reboot the machine now, the shortcuts will revert to IE's standard icon. Simply clearing the cache doesn't delete icons, just as it doesn't delete cookies. Adding the site to favorites again now will force IE to download the new icon. Earlier we had recommended, deleting the existing bookmark(s), clear all your cache, reset your computer, return to page and bookmark, however, users said they got mixed results. Let us know if you have any more information

On rare occassions, we have seen discount/free ISPs add their advertising in such a way that disallows the use of Favicons. Read below if this is the case. In addition, sometimes you have to select the bookmark to see it - rather than typing in the URL - in order to see the icon in the address bar.
Web resources :

Create animated Favicon from pictures
Favicon validator (doesn't check all requirements)
Big online favicon maker and favicon editor - Make favicons and desktop icons from any types of images and edit them in semi-professional online editor
FavIcon from Pics - Freeware picture to favicon converter.
Favorites Icon tutorial
Favicon Gallery
Favicon search engine
IconSurf Favicon search engine
Controlling Favicon 404 errors in your web logs
IANA MIME Media Type registration: image/vnd.microsoft.icon
How Favicons Work
Favicon tutorial - Create a favicon using Adobe Photoshop.

fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) : a set of ANSI protocols for sending digital data over fiber optic cable. FDDI networks are token-passing networks, and support data rates of up to 100 Mbps (100 million bits) per second. FDDI networks are typically used as backbones for wide-area networks

file system :

FAT
FAT16
FAT32
NT file system (NTFS) : allows making folders private in Windows Simple File Sharing (SFS), enhanced security, including automatic error correction, improved verification of files written to disk, and data logging for emergency recovery.
encrypting file system (EFS) : a technology used in Windows 2000 and later versions that enables users to encrypt files and folders on NTFS volumes. EFS protects the confidentiality of data by ensuring that only the original user has access to them.

How to convert the file system : Start > Command Prompt > Open > cmd > OK > convert lettera_unità: /fs:ntfs > ENTER > Y > Y > Y. Once you convert to NTFS, you can't go back to FAT32 or FAT16 without reformatting the entire hard drive.
Alternative solutions : Hide Folders XP 2.0 (hide & lock, hide only or lock only; NTFS, FAT32 and FAT volumes are supported; unlimited number of files and folder; effective password protection when uninstalling program; removing Hide Folders XP folder from the system will not uncover hidden folders)

file transfer protocol (FTP) : the simplest way to exchange files between computers on the Internet. Like the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which transfers displayable Web pages and related files, and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which transfers e-mail, FTP is an application protocol that uses the Internet's TCP/IP protocols.

secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) : a program that uses SSH to transfer files. Unlike standard FTP, it encrypts both commands and data, preventing passwords and sensitive information from being transmitted in the clear over the network. It is functionally similar to FTP, but because it uses a different protocol, you can't use a standard FTP client to talk to an SFTP server, nor can you connect to an FTP server with a client that supports only SFTP. There are two ways you can use SFTP: graphical SFTP clients and command line SFTP.
Ws-Ftp
Filezilla
CuteFtp
Dreamweaver
Total Commander

filter : a program or section of code that is designed to examine each input or output request for certain qualifying criteria and then process or forward it accordingly. A pattern or mask through which data is passed to separate specified items. For instance, a filter used in e-mail or in retrieving newsgroup messages can allow users to automatically discard messages from designated users.

filtering : a method by which incoming electronic mail can be redirected to locations other than your inbox

firewall : a combination of software and hardware that filters or blocks traffic from a public network. A firewall renders parts of the private network inaccessible and invisible to the public network. It prevents unauthorized and/or unrecognized access. A program that protects the resources of one network from users from other networks. Typically, an enterprise with an intranet that allows its workers access to the wider Internet will want a firewall to prevent outsiders from accessing its own private data resources. A security solution which segregates one portion of a network from another portion, allowing only authorized network traffic to pass through according to traffic filtering rules.

firewall denial-of service : the firewall is specifically subjected to a denial-of-service attack.

flash memory : a special type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time. Many modern PCs have their BIOS stored on a flash memory chip so that it can easily be updated if necessary. Such a BIOS is sometimes called a flash BIOS. Flash memory is also popular in modems because it enables the modem manufacturer to support new protocols as they become standardized. Flash technologies used in memory cards such as the CompactFlash cards are of 2 types :

NAND Flash architecture is also used in USB Flash drives, MP3 players, and provides the image storage for digital cameras. NAND is best suited to flash devices requiring high capacity data storage. NAND flash devices offer storage space up to 512-MB and offers faster erase, write, and read capabilities over NOR architecture. Samsung's 4Gb NAND flash memory was first developed in September 2003. Following the New Memory Growth Model of double density growth every 12 months (conceived by Dr. Chang Gyu Hwang, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business), 5 generations of NAND flash memory have been introduced consecutively: 256Mb in 1999, 512Mb in 2000, 1Gb in 2001, 2Gb in 2002, 4Gb in 2003 and 8Gb in 2004. The use of 70nm design technology to produce the 4Gb NAND flash enables Samsung to produce the industry's smallest memory cell size -- 0.025 mm/squared (25/1000 mm). An advanced Argon fluoride photo-lithography light source has been deployed to etch the finer circuitry permitted by the 70nm process. Samsung's 70nm 4Gb NAND flash writes data at 16-megabytes per second, a 50% enhancement over a 90nm 2Gb device, thereby enabling real time data storage of high-definition (HD) video images. Samsung also announced the first wafer-out at its new 300mm wafer fabrication line, one month ahead of schedule. The 300 mm wafer line, Samsung's Line 14, initially will produce 4,000 wafer starts per month and gradually ramp up to 15,000 wafer starts by the end of 2005. Line 14 produces 70nm 4Gb NAND and 90nm 2Gb NAND flash memory. According to market research firm Gartner Dataquest, 4Gb NAND flash will account for more than 30 percent of total expected sales of $8 billion in NAND flash memory this year.
NOR

freeware : software completely free of rights

full file replacement : a technology used in hotfixes that replaces the currently installed files with new files. Compare patching.

gateway : a network point that acts as an entrance to another network. In a company network, a proxy server acts as a gateway between the internal network and the Internet. A gateway may also be any machine or service that passes packets from one network to another network in their trip across the Internet

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software :

ArcGis Explorer by ESRI comes equipped with a series of analytic tools. Scientists can run models on their servers, and simultaneously view them over the Internet in ArcGis Explorer by dragging and dropping data files. They can fuse multiple data sources on screen, and export them in whatever format they choose
EarthSLOT (Earth Science Logistics and Outreach Terrainbases
monitoring of the polar regions by the Technical University of Denmark. The near real time feeds of Arctic and Antarctic data can be enjoyed at: http://www.seaice.dk/damocles or http://www.polarview.dk. and the DTU JAVA based ice/weather/ocean information system is available for both hemispheres at http://www.seaice.dk
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
TerraExplorer and Skyline Online by Skyline Software Systems
World Wind by NASA
GeoMapApp gives much more detail to the ocean floor (>60% of the earth) and has the superb land topography. You can save DEMS, show survet tracks, view multibeam seafloor relief and more.
Google Earth : much professional spatial data are in shapefile format and need to be converted to KML, the format GE uses, to be viewed in converters have emerged including :

Arc2Earth : Getting Data into Google Earth using Arc2Earth
KMLer
KML Home Companion
Export to KML
the Pro version of Google Earth allows import of shapefiles.

G.LITE / DSL Lite / Universal ADSL : it is expected to become the most widely installed form of DSL. It is essentially a smaller bandwidth flavor of DSL, providing a data rate from 128 Kbps to 1.544 Mbps downstream and from 128 Kbps to 384 Kbps upstream

globally unique identifier (GUID) : a 16-byte value generated from the unique identifier on a device, the current date and time, and a sequence number. A GUID is used to identify a particular device, component, user, or session.

general packet radio service (GPRS) : a standard for wireless communications which nuns at speeds up to 150 Kbps, compared with current GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) systems' 9.6 kilobits. GPRS, which supports a wide range of bandwidths, is an efficient use of limited bandwidth and is particularly suited for sending and receiving small bursts of data, such as e-mail and Web browsing, as well as large volumes of data.

global system for mobile (GSM) communications : one of the leading digital cellular systems. GSM uses narrowband TDMA, which allows eight simultaneous calls on the same radio frequency. GSM was first introduced in 1991. As of the end of 1997, GSM service was available in more than 100 countries and has become the de facto standard in Europe and Asia

graphics :

NVIDIA Drivers

Intel Drivers

ATI Drivers

Green Screen Terminal : terminals that are designed to be centrally-managed, configured with only essential equipment, and devoid of CD-ROM players, diskette drives, and expansion slots (and therefore lower in cost).

grids of supercomputers : the new computing infrastructure proposed by Ian Foster to solve problems of large-scale computation by connecting independent supercomputing centers, which is already being implemented by several instituions, including Argonne National Laboratory and CERN, and is spreading worldwide^ref. The 140 sequenced bacterial genomes and 1600 sequenced viral genomes, comprising potentially over 400,000 encoded proteins, already exceed by 10-fold the complexity of the human genome, which less than 3 years ago was seen as a major challenge for biocomputing. Today, a scientist working in an advanced research instituion, with a cluster of Unix servers and workstations, needs 48 hours to compare one genome against all other available genomes and 2 weeks to compare all available genomes against all others. The time for the analysis could be reduced to 16 minutes and 40 hours, respectively, by a 10-node grid architecture and to 30 secons and 6 hours, respectively, with a 100-node grid. Finally, all these operations will be performed in real time, when the grid system will be ubiquitous and available to any scientist able to formulate fundamental questions using delocalized databases and computing power.

Conventional videoconferencing and the Internet are too limited for the job, and scarce resources preclude scientists from crisscrossing the planet to meet with colleagues. Information roadbeds being laid down around the world include :

US-based :

Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF) embraces 60 researchers from the 6 inhabited continents

National Lambda Rail (NLR) : the "rail" comprises more than 11,500 miles of coast-to-coast optical fiber that had been lying idle after the telecommunications industry contracted in the 1990s. A consortium of regional nonprofit groups, each in turn made up of universities and research organizations, purchased the dark cables, making the NLR the only US research infrastructure owned by the research community itself. Dubbed "lambda" after the Greek letter scientists use to designate wavelength, the rail runs along both US coasts and the central and southern parts of the country. The $125-million project is also planning a northern spur linking Chicago and Seattle through Minneapolis, as well as some additional north-south routes, such as from Atlanta to Chicago. Scientists board the NLR via fiber-optic links from their institutions to one of 27 hubs around the country. When an innovation that boosts network speed or capacity is hatched, it might easily appear first as part of the NLR. Last November, a group of physicists showcased a new transmission protocol developed at California Institute of Technology. In so doing they won the Supercomputing Bandwidth Challenge competition, setting a world record by sending 101 gigabits per second (gbps) over the rail – fast enough to transmit the entire contents of the Library of Congress in 15 minutes (the Internet speed record, in contrast, is barely 4 gbps.). The other half of the system's capacity will be reserved for research projects vetted by the NLR's scientific advisory panel. The approved projects will be granted a dedicated wavelength over which to create, find, store, share, and analyze data and to communicate with others. In essence, they're trying to create a nationwide LAN using Ethernet connections in 21 locations along our infrastructure. The NLR expects to have its internal Ethernet running in February

TeraGrid describes itself as "a multiyear effort to build and deploy the world's largest, most comprehensive, distributed infrastructure for open scientific research." Spread across nine research universities and supercomputing centers, the grid offers not only state-of-the-art imaging and tools for seamless grid computing, but also 20 teraflops of computing power and nearly a petabyte of online storage space. (A teraflop is a trillion floating-point operations per second. A petabyte is 250 bytes or 1,000 terabytes). TeraGrid formally came online in 2001 and the 3-year construction phase ended in September 2004.It was originally conceived as a way to unite and synergize the data processing and storage capacities at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) at Caltech, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). Since then, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), and Purdue and Indiana Universities have joined, forming a 9-member network linked by a dedicated, 40-gbps fiber-optic line. It is the world's fastest network for this purpose, as far as we know. Steering the vehicles on this particular byway is a suite of open-source grid software developed by the Argonne-based Globus Alliance, which is installed at participating TeraGrid sites. That gives scientists the ability to run applications on multiple remote resources with a single login across all sites and to do high-performance data transfer. What they've developed isn't so much a piece of software as a specification for what software, tools, compilers, and the general environment will look like for all machines at all locations for all users.

Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease

Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) : the $20 million-per-year NIH initiative is developing software to link and smooth connections among supercomputing centers, databases, and an integrated suite of imaging tools. Through desktop Web portals, researchers in 22 brain research groups at BIRN's 15 participating universities can use the digital infrastructure to tap an array of federated databases and the data-crunching power of the nation's supercomputing centers. BIRN has a fairly specific task. It has an array of imaging tools, a particular network of researchers, and is part of the job of integrating basic knowledge about neuroscience with high-quality imaging. The network is also testing a new style of collaborative research and resource organization that the NIH hopes will spread. To carry out both missions, BIRN has launched 3 initiatives. Mouse BIRN is studying animal models of illnesses such as Parkinson disease and brain cancer; Function BIRN is looking into disorders in regions of the brain as schizophrenia progresses; and Morphometry BIRN is investigating unipolar depression, Alzheimer disease, and cognitive impairment. Supporting both real-time collaboration and remote "telehealth" services, ultra-high-speed information networks like National Lambda Rail and AARNet are serving to build a virtual community of researchers and clinicians around the world. The kinds of responses you get from these tasks can be related to a specific genetic polymorphism, which means you need a large number of subjects. The idea is not to look at 10 or 12 local subjects but eventually thousands drawn from a variety of populations. You could use this kind of network to assess a potential drug's effects before you spend huge amounts of time and money bringing it to animal or human trials. That milestone won't be passed soon. BIRN already has yielded new insights into the mechanisms of depression and brain morphology, and in 2003, helped Japanese and US researchers collaborate on climate research. Issues of data security, intellectual property, and privacy must be negotiated, which means changing scientists' attitudes at least as much as their technology. There's a cultural change underway. When the larger community sees the early adopters of these network opportunities gaining an intellectual advantage and doing things that traditional methods won't allow, then people jump on the bandwagon. You won't be flying around to meetings any more. You'll be back in your lab

the European GÉANT project is a collaboration between 26 National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) spread across 30 EU member countries, the European Commission, and Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe (DANTE). DANTE is the project's co-ordinating partner, based in UK. The partnership coordinates such projects as BioCASE, a network-wide integration of biomedical databases from Reykjavik to Budapest. The project began in November 2000 and was originally due to finish in October 2004; however, because of the project's success, and in order to permit a smooth transition to the next generation of the network (GÉANT-2), the project has now been extended until 30 June 2005. The EuMedConnect project is a pioneering initiative to establish an IP-based network that serves the research and education communities of the Mediterranean region and is linked to the pan-European GÉANT network. Wiring Europe both east and west, GÉANT is Europe's representative in the TIEN2 Project, connecting Western researchers to colleagues in Asia and the Pacific Rim, and in ALICE, a Latin American project. It also forms part of EUMEDConnect, which joins scientists and clinicians on the continent to medical study and treatment centers along the Mediterranean from Turkey to Morocco.
and America Latina Interconectada Con Europa (ALICE) in Latin America. They link the fastest data-transfer and communications tools with the most powerful computers and databases in new and more flexible ways. ALICE provides teleconsultation services in Latin America, allowing medical patients to be scanned for a variety of conditions, from pregnancy to cancer. When necessary, scans can be referred to specialists in Europe through GÉANT, which links to the Latin network via a trans-Atlantic cable between Madrid and Sao Paulo.
Along the northern US border, those projects eventually may flow seamlessly into the CANARIE network, spanning Canada from Victoria Island on the Pacific to the windswept shores of Newfoundland. CANARIE's optical network unites > 150 colleges, universities, hospitals, and research centers with colleagues in > 40 other countries. The network is being used to store images as part of the medical records of cancer patients, and to enable physicians to monitor the health of patients requiring long-term care in Canada's hinterlands.
In the southern hemisphere, CANARIE's initial success inspired the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARnet), a 10-gbps Internet-based Web that shuttles data among 37 universities "down under" as well as to colleagues abroad. Among other ventures, the network is part of a nascent project to help far-flung infectious disease experts swap complex images and data instantly. In a test run, Pittsburgh scientists were able to zoom in and read the finest print on a business card in Canberra, Australia, which means the link could realistically be used for remote diagnosis and other telehealth imaging requirements where detail is critical. The young network already has been credited with shortening China's 2003 SARS epidemic. Though the NLR cannot predict a date for the wider integration of these regional nets, the Rail will have all its elements in place for June 2005

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) : a U.S. law containing provisions that require all financial institutions to disclose to consumers and customers their policies and practices for protecting the privacy of nonpublic personal information. Nonpublic personal information includes any personally identifiable information provided by a customer, resulting from transactions with the financial institution or obtained by a financial institution through providing products or services. Also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999.

hacker : a term used by some to mean "a clever programmer" and by others, especially journalists or their editors, to mean "someone who tries to break into computer systems."

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) : a U.S. regulation that gives patients greater access to their own medical records and more control over how their personally identifiable health information is used. The regulation also addresses the obligations of healthcare providers and health plans to protect health information. In general, covered entities such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers which conduct certain financial and administrative transactions electronically had until April 14, 2003, to comply.

HFNETCHK : a command-line tool that enables an administrator to check the update status of all Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP computers on a network from a central location.

high definition television (HDTV) : a television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm movies with sound quality similar to the that of a compact disc

high priority update : a classification used on the Windows Update Web site and by the Windows Update Service to recommend Microsoft software updates and drivers that help protect against the latest publicly known security threats and reliability issues. All software updates and drivers that can be installed by turning on Automatic Updates on your computer are classified as high priority. These can also be installed by visiting the Windows Update Web site.

highjacking or hijacking : control of a connection is taken by the attacker after the user authentication has been established.

home audio video interoperability (HAVi) : announced in May 1998 HAVi is a consortium of consumer electronics companies that focuses specifically on the transfer of digital Audio/Video (AV) content between HAVi devices as well as the processing (rendering, record, playback) of this content by HAVi devices. Typical examples of AV content are digital broadcasts received by a set-top box or content produced by HAVi devices in the consumer's home such as a digital video recorder, a digital camera or other devices

home network : an in-home network means that through the use of microprocessors and common software languages different household products and systems will communicate with each other. The key in Parks Associates definition is that devices are capable of true two-way signaling

home phoneline networking alliance (HomePNA) : publicly announced in June 1998, HomePNA has launched two versions of networking technology that utilizes the existing phone lines in the home to network PCs and other devices. The group endorsed a 1 Mbps technology from Tut Systems Inc. in 1998. In 1999 the consortium endorsed a 10 Mbps technology jointly proposed by Broadcom Corp. and Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group. The alliance now totals more than 150 companies

home plug & play allows CAL to be transported by multiple transport protocols including IEEE 1394.

homeplug powerline alliance : officially launched on April 10, 2000, this alliance of companies is seeking to standardize a 10 Mbps home networking solution that will utilize electrical wiring in the home.

home RG : publicly launched in March 1998 HomeRF has developed a technology called SWAP or Shared Wireless Access Protocol. Utilizing the 2.4 GHz unlicensed bandwidth first-generation HomeRF products will deliver wireless data and voice services between and among PCs cordless telephone handsets and other consumer electronics products at a throughput of 1.6 Mbps. Relying on frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology, SWAP is a merger between wireless LAN technologies and DECT or Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone technology.

hostname : a convenient method of identifying computers using DNS to map a unique name to an IP address

hotfix : a single cumulative package composed of one or more files used to address a problem in a product. Hotfixes address a specific customer situation and may not be distributed outside the customer organization. The terms QFE, patch, and update have been used in the past as synonyms for hotfix.

HP-UX : Hewlett Packard implementation of Unix that incorporates BSD and System V

hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network : a telecommunication technology in which optical fiber cable and coaxial cable are used in different portions of a network to carry broadband con tent (such as video, data, and voice). Using HFC, a local CATV company installs fiber optic cable from the cable head-end (distribution center) to serving nodes located close to business and residential users and from these nodes use coaxial cable to individual businesses and homes. An advantage of HFC is that some of the characteristics of fiber optic cable (high bandwidth and low noise and interference susceptibility) can be brought close to the user without having to replace the existing coaxial cable that is installed all the way to the home and business

Hypertext : information containing cross-references to other information.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) : a standard set of commands used to structure documents and format text so that it can be used on the Web.

Character Entity Set(s)


name	syntax	character	description
aacute	&aacute	á	small a with acute accent
agrave	&agrave	à	small a with severe accent
ccedil	&ccedil	ç	small c with cedilla
eacute	&eacute	é	small w with acute accent
egrave	&egrave	è	a minuscola con accento grave
ntilde	&ntilde	ñ	small n with tilde
ouml	&ouml	ö	small o with umlaut
uuml	&uuml	ü	small u with umlaut
(double) quotation mark	&quot	"	double quotation mark
ampersand	&amp	&	commercial e
less-than sign	&lt	<	minore di
greater-than sign	&gt	>	maggiore di

Hypertext link : principal means of navigation between Web pages and sites. Generally, hypertext links are shown in a different colour and are underlined. Links which have already been visited are also displayed in a unique colour.

IEEE 1394 : a new very fast external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps (400 million bits per second). Products supporting the 1394 standard go under different names, depending on the company. Apple, which originally developed the technology, uses the trademarked name FireWire. Other companies use other names, such as Sony Corp.'s i.LINK TM, to describe their 1394 products. A single 1394 port can be used to connect up 63 external devices. In addition to its high speed, 1394 also supports isochronous data -- delivering data at a guaranteed rate. This makes it ideal for devices that need to transfer high levels of data in real time, such as video devices.

IEEE 802.11b : "high-rate" radio frequency networking technology developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Most wired ne