Basic IT terms glossary

Adware
Any advertising software which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth in computer networking refers to the data speed supported by a network connection. It is most often expressed in terms of bits per second (bps) or megabits per second (Mbps).

Broadband
The term Broadband is usually used to describe any high-speed connection to the Internet.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A central processing unit (CPU), or often simply called a processor, is the component in a computer that interprets instructions and processes data contained in computer programs.

Downloading
The process of copying a file from an Internet site to the hard drive of a personal computer.

Encryption
A way of coding the information in a file or email so that if it is read by a third party as it travels over a network it cannot be read. Only the persons sending and receiving the information have the key and this makes it unreadable to anyone except the intended persons.

Firewall
A system that prevents unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be hardware or software, or a combination of both.

Font
A design for a set of characters. A font is the combination of typeface and other qualities, such as size and spacing. The term font is often used incorrectly as a synonym for typeface. The font you're currently looking at is called Helvetica.

Hard Drive/Hard Disk
Most used computer storage device which reads and writes one or more spinning disks. Hard drives are the storage medium in desktop and laptop computers.

Hardware
Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard. By contrast, software is the set of instructions that can be stored and run by hardware.

Icon
An icon is a tiny picture on the screen that represents a program, file, or folder.

IP (Internet Protocol) Address
A string of four numbers separated by periods (such as 192.168.211.100) used to represent a computer on the Internet. It is similar to a mailing address, which identifies where postal mail comes from and where it should be delivered.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)
Internet Service Provider. A company that provides an Internet connection.

Key logger
Sometimes called a keystroke logger, key logger, or system monitor, it is a hardware device or small program that monitors each keystroke a user types on a specific computer's keyboard.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
A low-power flat-panel display used in many computers.

Malware
Short for "malicious software" and is used as a term to refer to any software which causes damage to a single computer, server, or computer network.

OS (Operating System)
An operating system is a powerful, and usually large, program that controls and manages the hardware and other software on a computer. All computers and computer-like devices require operating systems, including your laptop, tablet, desktop, smartphone etc. Windows or Linux are examples of OS.

Phishing
Phishing is email fraud where the perpetrator sends out legitimate looking emails that appear to come from trustworthy web sites in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from the recipient.

Portal
A web site that the user sets up as an entrance to other sites on the Internet. A portal typically has search engines, email, news, etc.

RAM (Random Access Memory)
Random Access Memory, or RAM, is the physical hardware inside a computer that temporarily stores data, serving as the computer's "working" memory. Additional RAM allows a computer to work with more information at the same time, which usually has a considerable effect on total system performance.

RSS
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it is a simple, standardized content distribution method that can help you stay up to date with your favourite newscasts, blogs, websites, and social media channels.

Server
A computer system that provides client stations with access to files as shared resources to a computer network.

Software
Operating instructions for specific task-based applications. The computer processors (CPU) carry out these instructions. These include all packaged programs like word processing, image editing, databases, games, and so on. Software has to be written for a specific computer Operating System (OS) like Windows, Apple or Linux.

Spam
An inappropriate attempt to use email as if it was a broadcast medium by sending the same message to many people who didn't ask for it.

Spyware
Computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. The term is often used interchangeably with adware and malware. Personal information is secretly recorded with techniques such as logging keystrokes, recording browsing history, and scanning documents on the computer's hard disk. Some spyware attempts to track the web sites a user visits and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a user enters them into a web form or other applications.

Trojan horse
A Trojan horse is a computer program that pretends to do one thing (like claim to be a picture) but actually does damage when one starts it (it can completely erase one's files). Trojan horses cannot replicate automatically.

Uploading
Moving or copying a file from a local computer to a remote network or Web server.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A Uniform Resource Locator, more commonly known as a URL, is the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. It is the mechanism used by browsers to retrieve any published resource on the web. For example, www.housingagency.hesk.com is the URL used to locate this website.

USB
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is used to connect many types of peripherals to a computer including mice, keyboards, printers, scanners etc. Most modern PCs come equipped with several USB connections.

Virus
A virus is a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer.

Worm
A worm is software that uses computer networks and security flaws to create copies of itself. It replicates itself to new computers using the flaws and then begins scanning and replicating again.