Some Computer technical definitions [Archive]

Kamakazy

30-10-00, 03:19 AM

The Internet can be rather confusing to new users. It has its own jargon, just as many professions or hobbies do. Learning the jargon can make the Internet less foreign to you. As the Internet has grown over the years, a whole vocabulary has developed to describe Internet features and related activities. As you read documents and participate in conversations on the Internet, you may come across terms that you are unfamiliar with. This section explains some of the most common terms you may encounter.

account A user ID and disk area restricted for the use of a particular person. Usually password protected.

ACM Association for Computing Machinery, a professional society for people connected with the computer industry.

address See e-mail address and host address.

Agent The commercial version of the Free Agent news reader.

alias A short name used to represent a more complicated one. Often used for mail addresses or host domain names.

America Online A commercial online service that gives its subscribers access to the Internet in addition to its other features.

analog A form of electronic communication using a continuous electromagnetic wave, such as television or radio. Any continuous wave form, as opposed to digital on/off transmissions.

anonymous FTP An Internet service that allows you to access a public collection of files on a host without having to log in to a personal account on the host. Usually, you can log in as user anonymous, using your e-mail address as the password.

applet A small application written in the Java language that can be downloaded with your Web document to add programmable features to Web pages. See also Java.

Archie An application that allows you to search easily for information at anonymous FTP sites on the Internet.

archive A repository of files available for access at an Internet site. Also, a collection of files-often a backup of a disk, or files saved to tape to allow them to be transferred.

ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency, a government agency that originally funded the research on the ARPANET (became DARPA in the mid 1970s).

ARPANET An experimental communications network funded by the government that eventually developed into the Internet.

article Message submitted to a UseNet newsgroup. Unlike an e-mail message that goes to a specific person or group of persons, a newsgroup message goes to directories (on many machines) that can be read by any number of people.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) Data that is limited to letters, numbers, and punctuation. A standard exists that defines how the letters, punctuation, and numbers are stored in the lower 7 bits of a byte (each character is represented by a unique number).

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) A developing technological advance in communications switching. This technology uses hardware switches to create a temporary direct path between two destinations so data can be exchanged at a higher rate.

AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) The restrictions that a network segment places on the traffic it carries. (These policies used to be more prevalent when the government was running the Internet backbone.)

backbone The major communications lines of a network. Usually refers to the central high-speed line of a WAN. The Internet backbone was funded by the National Science Foundation before the Internet became commercial.

bandwidth The maximum volume of data that can be sent over a communications network.

bang A slang term for an exclamation point.

bang address A type of e-mail address that separates host names in the address with exclamation points. Used for mail sent to the UUCP network, where specifying the exact path of the mail (including all hosts that pass on the message) is necessary. The address is in the form of machine!machine!userID, where the number of machines listed depends on the connections needed to reach the machine where the account userID is.

BBS (Bulletin Board System) A system that allows you to connect to a computer to upload and download files and leave messages for other users.

binary file File whose data contains non-printable characters, including graphics files, programs, and sound files.

BinHex A program that is used to encode binary files as ASCII so that they can be sent through e-mail.

bit The basic unit of digital communications. There are 8 bits in a byte.

BITNET (Because It's Time Network) A non-TCP/IP network for small universities without Internet access.

bookmarks Term used by some World Wide Web browsers for shortcuts to URLs you access frequently. Other Internet clients (such as Gopher) also use bookmarks.

bot (IRC) A program that watches an IRC channel and automatically responds when certain messages are entered.

bounce An e-mail message you receive that tells you that an e-mail message you sent wasn't delivered. Usually contains an error code and the contents of the message that wasn't delivered.

bps (bits per second) Units of measure that express the speed at which data is transferred between computers.

bridge A device that connects one physical section of a network to another, often providing isolation.

browser A utility that lets you look through collections of things. For example, a file browser lets you look through a file system. Applications that let you access the World Wide Web are called Web browsers.

BTW (By The Way) An abbreviation often used in online conversations.

byte A digital storage unit large enough to contain one ASCII character. Compare to bit.

CERN The European Laboratory for Particle Physics, where the World Wide Web was first conceived of and implemented.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) A method for interfacing Web servers with programs to allow input from users on Web pages.

channel An Internet Relay Chat term that refers to a group of people discussing a particular topic.

chat A real-time conversation with other Internet users. IRC provides a text-based client, while Web-based chat clients let you use pictures and audio.

CIX (Commercial Internet Exchange) A consortium of commercial providers of Internet service.

client User of a service. Also often refers to a piece of software that gets information from a server.

CNRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives) An organization formed to foster research into a national data highway.

coaxial A type of wiring where the signal wire is in the center of a shielded cable. Compare to twisted pair.

command line Line on a terminal-based interface where you enter commands to the operating system. Some Internet accounts are command-line based.

compress A program that compacts a file so it fits into a smaller space. Also can refer to the technique of reducing the amount of space a file takes up.

CompuServe A commercial online service that gives its subscribers access to the Internet in addition to its other features.

CPSR (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility) An organization that encourages socially responsible use of computers.

CREN (Corporation for Research and Educational Networking) An organization formed by the joining of two different educational networks to enhance the capabilities of the two networks.

CWIS (Campus Wide Information Service) A hypertext-based system that provides information about people and services on a campus.

cyberspace A term used to refer to the entire collection of sites accessible electronically. If your computer is attached to the Internet or another large network, it exists in cyberspace.

daemon A program that runs automatically on a computer to perform a service for the operating system.

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, originally ARPA) The government agency that funded the research that developed the ARPANET.

decode Transform a file from an encoded format to its original format. For example, to use binary files sent through e-mail, you must decode the files from ASCII to binary data.

dedicated line See leased line.

DES (Data Encryption Standard) An algorithm developed by the U.S. government to provide security for data transmitted over a network.

dial-up A type of connection where you use a modem to connect to another computer or an Internet provider via phone lines.

Dial-up Networking Built-in Windows 95 support for networking over modems. Eliminates the need for third-party SLIP or PPP software to connect to dial-in Internet accounts.

digest A form of mailing list where a number of messages are concatenated (linked) and sent out as a single message.

digital Type of communications used by computers, consisting of individual on and off pulses.

DNS See Domain Name System.

DOD (Department of Defense) A U.S. government agency that originally sponsored the ARPANET research.

domain Highest subdivision of the Internet, for the most part by country (except in the U.S., where it's by type of organization, such as educational, commercial, and government). Usually the last part of a host name-for example, the domain part of ibm.com is .com, which represents the domain of commercial sites in the U.S..

Domain Name System (DNS) The system that translates between Internet IP address and Internet host names.

dot address See host address.

download Move a file from a remote computer to your local computer.

ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) A law that governs the use and restrictions of electronic communications.

EDUCOM A non-profit consortium of educational institutions that help introduce electronic information access and management into educational organizations.

EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) An organization concerned with the legal rights and responsibilities of computer usage.

e-mail An electronic message delivered from one computer user to another. Short for electronic mail.

e-mail address An address used to send e-mail to a user on the Internet, consisting of the user name and host name (and any other necessary information, such as a gateway machine). An Internet e-mail address is usually of the form username@hostname.

emoticon See smiley face.

encode Transform a file from one format to another. For example, to send binary files through e-mail, you must encode the files from binary to ASCII data.

encryption The process of scrambling a message so that it can be read only by someone who knows how to unscramble it.

EtherNet A type of local area network hardware. Many TCP/IP networks are EtherNet-based.

EUDORA A popular PC e-mail application.

expire Remove an article from a UseNet newsgroup after a specified interval.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Question document, often pronounced "fak") Contains a list of commonly asked questions on a topic. Most UseNet newsgroups have a FAQ to introduce new readers to popular topics in the newsgroup.

FARNET A group of networks interested in promoting research and education networking.

feed Send UseNet newsgroups from your site to another site that wants to read them.

finger A program that provides information about users on an Internet host (possibly may include a user's personal information, such as project affiliation and schedule).

firewall A device placed on a network to prevent unauthorized traffic from entering the network.

flame Communicate in an abusive or absurd manner. Often occurs in newsgroup posts and e-mail messages.

forms Online data entry sheets supported by some World Wide Web browsers.

frame relay A type of digital data communications protocol.

Free Agent A popular shareware news reader.

freenet A publicly accessible Internet site (for example, in a library) that does not charge users for limited accounts.

freeware Software that is made available by the author at no cost to anyone who wants it (although the author retains rights to the software).

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) An Internet communications protocol that allows you to transfer files between hosts on the Internet. See also anonymous FTP.

FWIW (For What It's Worth) An abbreviation often used in online conversations.

FYI (For Your Information) An abbreviation used often in online conversations. An FYI is also a type of Internet reference document that contains answers to basic questions about the Internet.

gateway A device that interfaces two networks that use different protocols.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) A compressed graphic file format. GIF files can be displayed without helper applications by WWW browsers.

gigabit Very high-speed (1 billion bits per second) data communications transfer rate.

gigabyte A unit of data storage approximately equal to 1 billion bytes of data.

Gopher A menu-driven system/application that lets you access archives of information on Internet hosts that provide Gopher service.

Gopherbook An application that uses an interface resembling a book to access Gopher servers.

GUI (Graphical User Interface) A computer interface based on graphical symbols rather than text. Windowing environments and Macintosh environments are GUIs.

gzip A file compression program originally designed to replace the UNIX compress utility.

hacking Originally referred to playing around with computer systems; now often used to indicate destructive computer activity.

headers Lines at the beginning of an e-mail message or newsgroup post that contain information about the message-its source, destination, subject, and route it took to get there, among other things.

Hgopher (Hampson's Gopher) A Windows Gopher interface.

home page The document that your World Wide Web browser loads when it starts up. It should have links to other documents that you use frequently.

hop-check A utility that allows you to find out how many routers are between your host and another Internet host. See also traceroute.

host address A unique number assigned to identify a host on the Internet (also called IP address or dot address). This address is usually represented as four numbers between 1 and 254 and separated by periods-for example, 192.58.107.230.

host name A unique name for a host that corresponds to the host address. A host name contains the name of the machine and the subdomain of the organization the host belongs to. For example,

indigo.cmu.edu would be a machine named indigo in the cmu.edu subdomain. See also domain, subdomain, and Domain Name System.

hosts Individual computers connected to the Internet; see also nodes.

HotDog A popular shareware HTML editor.

hotlist A list of your favorite World Wide Web sites that can be accessed quickly by your WWW browser. See also bookmarks.

HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) The formatting language that is used to create World Wide Web documents.

HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) The communications protocol that allows WWW hypertext documents to be retrieved quickly.

hyperlinks See links.

hypermedia An online document that can contain a mixture of media, including text, graphics, sound, and animation. Most WWW documents are hypermedia documents.

HyperTerminal A terminal emulator that comes with Windows 95. See also terminal emulation.

hypertext An online document that has words or graphics containing links to other documents. Usually, selecting the link area on-screen (with a mouse or keyboard command) activates these links.

IAB (Internet Architecture Board) A group of volunteers who work to maintain the Internet.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) The professional society for electrical and computer engineers.

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) A group of volunteers that helps develop Internet standards.

IMHO (In My Humble-or Honest-Opinion) An abbreviation often used in online conversations.

Internet The term used to describe all the worldwide interconnected TCP/IP networks.

Internet Assistant A Microsoft application that allows you to develop HTML documents in Microsoft Word.

Internet Explorer A Microsoft Windows 95 Web browser.

Internet Society See ISOC.

InterNIC The NSFNET manager sites on the Internet that provide information about the Internet.

IP (Internet Protocol) The communications protocol used by computers connected to the Internet. Used to get information from one Internet host to another, while TCP provides a protocol for keeping track of the data transferred and checking for errors. See also TCP.

IP address See host address.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) A live conference facility available on the Internet.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) An emerging digital communications standard, allowing faster speeds than are possible using modems over analog phone lines.

ISO (International Standards Organization) An organization that sets worldwide standards in many different areas. For example, the organization has been working on a network protocol to replace TCP/IP (this isn't widely supported, however).

ISOC (Internet Society) An educational organization dedicated to encouraging use of the Internet.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) Any commercial provider of Internet accounts and high-speed connections.

Java A language developed by Sun MicroSystems, Inc. that allows small applications to be downloaded with a Web document to add programmable features to Web pages. See also applet.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) A compressed graphic file format. JPEG files can be displayed without helper applications by many WWW browsers.

kill file A file used by some news reader software that allows you to automatically skip posts with certain attributes (specific subject, author, and so on).

knowbots (Knowledge robots) Programs that automatically search through a network for specified information.

labels The different components of an Internet host name.

LAN (Local Area Network) A network of computers that is limited to a (usually) small physical area, like a building.

leased line A dedicated phone line used for network communications.

links The areas (words or graphics) in a hypertext document that cause another document to be loaded when you activate them.

listproc Software that automates the management of electronic mailing lists. See also LISTSERV, Majordomo, SmartList.

LISTSERV Software that automates the management of electronic mailing lists. See also listproc, Majordomo, SmartList.

local Pertaining to the computer you are now using.

local host The computer you are currently using.

log-in Provide a user-ID and password to allow you to use the resources of a computer.

lurking Observing, but not participating in an activity, usually a UseNet newsgroup.

LYCOS A popular Web search tool.

mailers Applications that let you read and send e-mail messages.

mailing list A service that forwards an e-mail message sent to it to everyone on a list, allowing a group of people to discuss a particular topic.

mail reflector Software that automatically distributes all submitted messages to the members of a mailing list.

Majordomo Software that automates the management of electronic mailing lists. See also listproc, LISTSERV,SmartList.

man A UNIX command that provides information about UNIX commands. (Man is short for manual entry.)

MBONE (Multicast backbone) An experimental network that allows live video to be sent over the Internet.

Merit (Michigan Educational Research Information Triad) The organization that initially managed NSFNET.

MILNET DOD's (Department of Defense) network.

MIME (Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions) An extension to Internet mail that allows for the inclusion of non-textual data such as video and audio in e-mail.

modem An electronic device that allows digital computer data to be transmitted via analog phone lines.

moderator A person who examines all submissions to a newsgroup or mailing list and allows only those that meet certain criteria to be posted. Usually, the moderator makes sure that the topic is pertinent to the group and that the submissions aren't flames.

Mosaic A graphical interface to the World Wide Web (WWW).

MOTD (Message Of The Day) A message posted on some computer systems to let people know about problems or new developments.

MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) A popular video file format. MPEG files must be displayed with helper applications by most WWW browsers.

MSN (Microsoft Network) A commercial online service run by Microsoft that allows access to the Internet in addition to its other features.

MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) Interactive real-time text-based games accessible to anyone on the Internet.

multimedia Presenting information using more than one type of media; for example, sound, text, and graphics.

NETCOM NetCruiser A complete Internet service package.

Netfind A service that allows you to look up an Internet user's address.

netiquette Network etiquette conventions used in written communications, usually referring to UseNet newsgroup postings, but also applicable to e-mail.

NetManage The producer of Chameleon, a popular TCP/IP package that provides interfaces to a number of Internet services for Windows.

netnews A collective way of referring to the UseNet newsgroups.

NetScape A popular commercial World Wide Web browser.

network A number of computers physically connected to enable communication with one another.

newbie Someone who is new to the Internet and unfamiliar with its services and social protocols. See also netiquette.

news readers Applications that let you read (and usually post) articles in UseNet newsgroups.

newsgroups The electronic discussion groups of UseNet.

NewsXpress A popular shareware news reader.

NFS (Network File System) A file system developed by Sun Microsystems that is now widely used on many different networks.

NIC (Network Information Center) A service that provides administrative information about a network. It also stands for network interface card.

NII (National Information Infrastructure) The government's vision of a high-speed network giving everyone in the country access to advanced computer capabilities.

NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) The communications protocol that is used to send UseNet news on the Internet.

nodes Individual computers connected to a network. See also hosts.

NREN (National Research and Education Network) A proposed nationwide high-speed data network to be used for educational and research purposes.

NSF (National Science Foundation) Funder of the main Internet backbone in the U.S. during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

NSFNET A Network funded by the National Science Foundation; the backbone of the Internet during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

OC3 (Optical Carrier 3) A protocol for communications over a high-speed optical network.

online Existing in electronic form (for example, an online documentation). Also, connected to a network.

OTOH (On The Other Hand) An abbreviation often used in online conversations.

packet The unit of data transmission on the Internet. A packet consists of the data being transferred with additional overhead information, such as the transmitting and receiving addresses.

packet switching The communications technology that the Internet is based on, where data being sent between computers is transmitted in packets.

parallel Means of communication in which digital data is sent multiple bits at a time, with each simultaneous bit being sent over a separate line.

PDIAL A list of mailing lists maintained by Stephanie da Silva (arielle@taronga.com), periodically posted to the news.answers, news.announce.newusers, and news.lists UseNet newsgroups.

PDN (Public Data Network) A service such as SprintNet that gives access to a nationwide data network through a local phone call.

peer-to-peer Internet services that can be offered and accessed by anyone, without requiring a special server.

PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) A standard for automatically encrypting and decrypting mail messages to provide more secure message transmission.

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) An application that allows you to send and receive encrypted e-mail.

ping A utility that sends out a packet to an Internet host and waits for a response (used to check if a host is up).

POP (Point Of Presence) Indicates availability of a local access number to a public data network.

port (hardware) A physical channel on a computer that allows you to communicate with other devices (printers, modems, disk drives, etc.).

port (network) An address to which incoming data packets are sent. Special ports can be assigned to send the data directly to a server (FTP, Gopher, WWW, Telnet, e-mail) or other specific program.

post Send a message to a UseNet newsgroup.

postmaster An address to which you can send questions about a site (asking if a user has an account there or if they sell a particular product, for example).

PPP (Point to Point Protocol) A driver that allows you to use a network communications protocol over a phone line, used with TCP/IP to allow you to have a dial-in Internet host.

Prodigy A commercial online service that gives its subscribers access to the Internet in addition to its other features.

protocol The standard that defines how computers on a network communicate with one another.

provider Someone who sells-or gives away, in some cases-access to the Internet.

PSI Pipeline U.S.A. A complete Internet service package.

public domain software Software that is made available by the author to anyone who wants it. (In this case, the author gives up all rights to the software.)

QuickTime A popular video file format. QuickTime files must be displayed with helper applications by most WWW browsers.

RAS (Remote Access Service) A service that allows other computers to remotely connect to a Microsoft NT computer.

remote Pertaining to a host on the network other than the computer you now are using.

remote host A host on the network other than the computer you currently are using.

repeater Device that allows you to extend the length of your network by amplifying and repeating the information it receives.

RFC (Request For Comments) A document submitted to the Internet governing board to propose Internet standards or to document information about the Internet.

rlog-in A UNIX command that allows you to log-in to a remote computer.

router Equipment that receives an Internet packet and sends it to the next machine in the destination path.

serial Means of communication in which digital data is sent one bit at a time over a single physical line.

server Provider of a service. Also often refers to a piece of hardware or software that provides access to information requested from it. See also client.

SGML (Standard General Markup Language) A powerful markup language that allows you to structure documents so that they can be displayed on any type of computer.

shareware Software that is made available by the author to anyone who wants it, with a request to send the author a nominal fee if the software is used on a regular basis.

signature A personal sign-off used in e-mail and newsgroup posts, often contained in a file and automatically appended to the mail or post. Often contains organization affiliation and pertinent personal information.

site A group of computers under a single administrative control.

SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) A way of running TCP/IP via the phone lines to allow you to have a dial-in Internet host.

SmartList Software that automates the management of electronic mailing lists. See also listproc, LISTSERV, Majordomo.

SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Service) A type of high-speed digital communications protocol.

smiley face An ASCII drawing such as :-) (look at it sideways) used to help indicate an emotion in a message. Also called emoticon.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) The accepted communications protocol standard for exchange of e-mail between Internet hosts.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A communications protocol used to control and monitor devices on a network.

socket Abstraction in the file system used for Internet connections (lets you read and write to an Internet service as if it were a file).

SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) A high-speed fiber optics network.

store and forward A type of system that collects information (like e-mail) for a user, then forwards the information when the user connects to the system.

subdomain Any subdivision of the major Internet domains. For example, cmu.edu is a subdomain assigned to Carnegie-Mellon University, and cs.cmu.edu is a subdomain assigned to the Computer Science department of Carnegie-Mellon. See also domain.

subscribe Become a member of a mailing list or newsgroup; also refers to obtaining Internet provider services.

surfing Jumping from host to host on the Internet to get an idea of what can be found. Also used to refer to briefly examining a number of different UseNet newsgroups.

T1 Communications lines operating at 1.544M per second.

T3 Communications lines operating at 45M per second.

TAR (Tape Archive program) A UNIX-based program that creates packages of directory structures.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) The network protocol used by hosts on the Internet. TCP controls data transfer (keeps track of what has been transferred and whether there were any errors), while IP takes care of actually sending the data between the hosts. See also IP.

Telnet A program that allows remote log-in to another computer.

terminal emulation Running an application that lets you use your computer to interface with a command-line account on a remote computer, as if you were connected to the computer with a terminal.

thread All messages in a newsgroup or mailing list pertaining to a particular topic.

toggle Alternate between two possible values.

traceroute A utility that allows you to find out how many routers are between your host and another Internet host. See also hop-check.

traffic The information flowing through a network.

Trumpet Winsock A popular shareware implementation of sockets for Windows, along with some basic Internet clients. See also sockets.

twisted pair A type of wiring where pairs of communications wires are twisted together to minimize interference. Compare to coaxial.

UNIX An operating system used on many Internet hosts.

upload Move a file from your local computer to a remote computer.

URL (Universal Resource Locator) Used to specify the location and name of a World Wide Web document. Can also specify other Internet services available from WWW browsers. For example, http://www.nsf.gov or gopher://gopher2.tc.umn.edu.

UseNet A collection of computer discussion groups that are read all over the world.

user name The ID used to log in to a computer.

UUCP (UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Protocol) An early transfer protocol for UNIX machines that required having one machine call the other one on the phone.

UUDecode A program that lets you construct binary data that was UUEncoded.

UUEncode A program that lets you send binary data through e-mail.

Veronica An Internet service that allows you to search the directories and files on Gopher servers for information of interest to you.

viewers Applications that are used to display non-text files, such as graphics, sound, and animation.

virus A computer program that covertly enters a system by means of a legitimate program, usually doing damage to the system; compare to worm.

VMS (Virtual Memory System) An operating system used on hosts made by Digital Equipment Corporation.

VRML Virtual Reality Modeling Language) An experimental language that lets you display 3D objects in Web documents.

WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) A system for searching and retrieving documents from participating sites.

WAN (Wide Area Network) A network of computers that are geographically dispersed.

Web Chat An application that allows you to carry on live conversations over the World Wide Web.

Web Crawler A Web search tool.

WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectric Link) One of the first Internet public access sites.

WHOIS A service that lets you look up information about Internet hosts and users.

worm A computer program that invades other computers over a network, usually non-destructively; compare to virus.

WS_FTP A Windows FTP client that lets you easily transfer files between hosts on the Internet.

WSGopher A Windows Gopher client that lets you easily browse Internet Gopher servers.

WinZip A Windows interface for creating archives of compressed files.

WWW, Web (World Wide Web) The newest Internet service, originally developed to allow viewing of linked hypermedia documents containing graphics, sounds, and video. WWW clients can also interface (although on a limited basis) to other Internet services like FTP, Gopher, UseNet newsgroups, and e-mail. See also browser.

X-modem A communication protocol that lets you transfer files over a serial line. See also Y-modem, Z-modem.

Y-modem A communication protocol that lets you transfer files over a serial line. See also X-modem, Z-modem.

YAHOO A Web site that contains lists of many topics to be found on the Web and includes a search tool to find sites you are interested in.

zip Probably the singular most popular file compression and archive program for PCs.

Z-modem A communication protocol that lets you transfer files over a serial line. See also X-modem, Y-modem.