Definitions Flashcards
3G
The third generation of cellular communication technology.
4G(LTE)
The latest generation of cellular communication technology.
Access control
The use of software settings and various technologies to control users’ access to data and resources. It also involves control over physical access to equipment.
Access point (base station)
Consists of a sender/transciever and an antenna which transmits and receives radio waves so that the devices that are wireless enabled are are able to communicate with one another and the network.
Accuracy
The refers to the fact that the data is ‘right’.
Administrator account
A special account which allows that account holder to make any changes they wish to the system, including to other accounts.
Adware
Software that downloads and bombards your computer with adverts that pop-up whenever you are connected to the internet. It is more of a nuisance than a threat
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
Combines JavaScript with a browser command to allow the browser to download data without requiring the whole page to refresh.
Alternate key
A field that identifies each record with a unique value but is not used as the primary key.
Android
OS created by Google and used on most non-Apple devices.
Anti-virus software
A computer program that scans computer files for viruses and eliminates them.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An interface between the OS and the programming language/ end user.
Appification of the web
The trend for information that was previously accessed through conventional web pages and a browser, to be accessed via dedicated apps on mobile devices. Driven by increasing reliance on mobile devices for interaction with web services, with benefits of speed, ease of use, singleness of purpose etc.
Application software
Software that is used to do productive work and accomplish specific tasks.
Archiving
To store files that are static on a secondary system.
Artificial intelligence
Simulation of human decision-making processes by a computer system that is programmed to react on the basis of input gained from sensors.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
A coding system which is limited to 256 different characters.
Assembler
A program that translates assembler code to machine code.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
A permanent digital connection to the Internet using a telephone line.
Attenuation
The loss of signal strength over a distance.
AVOD (Audio and Video on Demand)
Systems which allows users to watch video content and listen to audio content on demand, without having to wait for a scheduled broadcast.
Audit trail
A record or ‘trail’ that is made to keep track of who made changes to a database and when those changes were made.
AUP (Acceptable Usage Policy)
A document that outlines the rights and responsibilities of users within a network environment, including the consequences of violating these stipulations.
Bandwidth
The total amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another in a given period of time.
Binary
The base 2 system that consists of just two digits, namely a 0 and a 1.
Biometric scanners
Specifically designed for security, and read and identify unique identifying characteristics of people, like fingerprints or pattern of an iris.
Biometric security
Security based on measurement and identification of unique physical characteristics of a person.
BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
The essential startup instructions of a computer, in ROM chips on the motherboard, and representing the lowest level of programming in firmware.
Bit
A binary digit.
BitTorrent
A peer-to-peer protocol used to transfer and share large files across a network suck as the internet. Parts of the file being downloaded from different computers, and any part of the file that has been saved on your computer becomes available for others to download.
Blog
Website updated regularly with news and events in chronological order. A blog reads like a journal with the most recent entry at the top.
Bluetooth
A wireless technology that allows devices to communicate over a relatively short distance.
Blu-ray
An optical type of read-only storage that represents data as a series of light patterns on a removable disk.
Botnet
A remotely controlled network of ‘zombie’ PCs (computers infected with malware that enables criminals to use then for launching DDOS attacks, sending out spam, etc.)
Broadband
Any permanent, high speed, high bandwidth connection to the Internet.
Bus
A set of electrical paths etched on a motherboard, used to transfer data between an expansion card and RAM.
Byte
A collection of 8 bits - the smallest unit of storage on computer system.
Caching
A method used to compensate for the loss of efficiency, or ‘bottelneck’, that becomes inevitable when a faster medium tries to communicate with a slower medium.
Cap
The amount of data an ISP allows a person to upload and download in a month.
Clients
Clients are computers that use but do not provide network resources.
Cloud applications
Software where most of the processing is done ‘in the cloud’ i.e. by one or more services on the internet.
Cloud computing
The use of resources offered as services over the internet and shared between many users, including online file storage services and running of programs.
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
the type of memory that stores the BIOS settings that can be updated or changed. This memory is kept ‘alive’ by a small battery on the motherboard.
Compilers
Software that translates programming instructions written in a high level language into standalone ‘executable files’ that can be run independently of the programming language or compiler.
Composite keys
The combination of more than one field to uniquely identify a record.
Computer virus
A program that is written to distribute the normal functioning of a person’s computer without theur knowledge or consent and that easily spreads between computers by attaching itself to files.
Computer worm
Malware that is able to distribute itself over a network, without a person having to run an infected program.
Context-aware search
A search in which context is used as criteria to make search results more relevant. Inevitable downside is loss of privacy - the higher the relevance of the search, the greater sacrifice of personal privacy.
Convergence
Trend whereby separate technologies and functions from multiple devices are combined into a single multi-purpose device.
Cookie
A textfile used to store customised settings for a website on your local computer.
Copyright
A law designed to protect intellectual property by creating legal limits on who can copy, sell and use types of work suck as photos, documents, books or poems, Copyright indicated by the word copyright or the © symbol followed by the name of the copyright owner and the year in which the copyright was first applied.
Core
A single complete working CPU circuit - relevant because modern chips are ‘multi-core’ and contain more than one ‘core’ in a single physical CPU ‘chip’.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A chip that can contain mare than one ‘core’ and which connects to the motherboard using ZIF socket. Responsible for all the processing.
CPU cache
Special type of high speed memory built into the CPU, used to maximise CPU productivity.
Cracker
‘Black hat hacker’ who does illegal things to data.
Creative commons
A copyright license that allows you to use parts of, copy and distribute work for nonprofit purposes.
CSS (Cascading Style sheets)
Allow you to define and name styles and then specify the formatting for those styles and save it all into a .css file - this makes it easier to apply consistent formatting to elements of your website.
CopyLeft
A copyright license that allows one to use parts of, copy and distribute work for nonprofit purposes.
Currency
This relates to hoe ‘recent’ or up to dat the data is.
Cyberbullying
The use of ICT tools and devices to malign, mock, embarrass, threaten or intimidate a person.
Cyber-extortion
The use of IT-based blackmail, whereby threats are issued ranging from the personal to the corporate - unless specified amounts of money are paid over to extortionist.
Cybergang
A group of people who help each other to commit cybercrimes. Each member often specialises in a different task.
Cybergang
A group of people who help each other to commit cybercrimes. Each member often specialises in a different task.
Data collection
any method of obtaining data to be processed.
data independence
the same application can be used for data stored on different media, and the application will not be affected when you add a table to a database or create extra fields in existing tables.
data integrity
the overall completeness, accuracy and consistency of data. data integrity is ensured when each record has it’s own unique primary key and when a foreign key refers to an existing record in another table.
data maintenance
adding or deleting records, or updating data.
data mining
the use of complex algorithms to group and arrange ‘bid data’ so that interesting and previously unknown patterns emerge - and new information is discovered.
data redundancy
the unnecessary repetition of data.
data security
the protection of databases against unauthorized access users.
data validation
any technique used to reduce the number of errors that can be made during the input of data by ensuring that data meets a set of requirements.
data verification
checking for the accuracy of data from a human perspective.
dara warehouse
a huge collection of data, often accumulated from a range of sources such as separate databases within a company
database
a collection of data or facts regarding a specific topic
DBA (database administrator)
a person who is responsible for managing and maintaining databases, this involves the allocation and supervision of users of the database and their access rights, as well as performing routine maintenance on the database.
databases analyst
a person who is concerned with issues such as the need to make changes to the underlying database structure, analysing the efficiency of the syse and analysis and design activities in terms of nee development s and maintenance of the database.
DBMS (database management system)
software that allows you to work with electronic databases
database programmer
a person who is responsible for coding the custom-made software that is the interface to the database.
DDOS (distributed denial of service)
an attack that makes a website unavailable by the use of thousands or millions of computers to request data from the site at the same time. the servers become overloaded, unresponsive, and effectively unavailable for everyone.
Decentralization of labour
concept whereby ICT has made it possible for people to work form remote locations.
defensive programming
a technique whereby the programmer makes proactive provisions for possible errors made by users, in the interest of correct data entry.
delete anomaly
the design of a database is such that deleting one piece of data results in the simultaneous removal of other unrelated data.
desktop database
database software where the tools that you to work with the data are all included in a single application - and you need to start that application to be able to work with the database
device drivers
programs that allow OS to communicate with and control hardware devices
digital certificate
a certificate issued by a trusted third party to verify the identity of a person or organization, so that the person or organization may be trusted for communication of sensitive information. an essential part of the SSL encryption protocol.
digital signature
an electronic signature used to identify and validate the sender of an electronic message or the signer of an electronic document.
DIMM (Dual inline memory module)
thin rectangular electronic boards which contain banks of RAM chips; inserted into DIMM slots on the motherboard, and the means whereby the memory of a computer is upgraded
Internet
A worldwide computer network consisting of computers and networks that are linked using telephone lines undersea cables satellite or microwave for the purpose of sharing resources and communication
End-user licence agreement
A licence agreement in which you agreed to use software according to the software company’s terms most of the won’t finish installing until you have indicated that you are aware of the terms and conditions of this licence agreement and did you accept that these terms and conditions differ from licence to licence but they mostly involves things such as the number of computers and which you may install the software and whether you may distribute software not
Disk fragmentation
Parts of files are scattered in several pieces across the desk.
Disk cleanup
A utility that removes temporary files downloaded from the internet deleted files and folders permanently by emptying the recycle bin temporary files created by windows are components of windows that you are not using installed programs that you no longer or seldom use
Disk cache
A certain amount of high-speed memory built into every harddrive. used to cache data read from the slower disc and thereby speed up subsequent calls from the same chunk of code or data
Disk defragmentation
To reorganize the parts of files and speed up your computer again.
Disk imaging
Creating a backup image of the entire hard drive including all data and programs to be used for reinstallation in the case of complete hard drive failure.
Disk management
A function of an operating system whereby it manages storage- both how the data is organised on the storage device and how or when a program can access the storage device.
Distributed computing
Sharing and using the resources of many different computers at the same time in order to solve a single problem.
DLL files
DLL or dynamic link library is a file that contain code or routine they can be called a news by programs.
DNS domain name systems
An internet service that translate the name names to IP addresses. domain names consisting of words are easier to remember than IP addresses. The internet is based on IP addresses. When you use a domain name a DNS servers must translate the name into the corresponding IP address.
Drivers
Software that enables the operating system to communicate with a hardware device.
DRM digital rights management
A way of protecting digital books movies games etc by using some form of encryption to control access to the content.
DSS decision support system
A computer system designed to gather information from a wide range of sources analysed it and presented it in a summarise or graphical format that aid in decision-making.
Dynamic website
A website consisting of web pages designed to be generated on the go and which may differ with each feeling based on her the user is and what the recorded preferences and options are.
Eavesdropping
Is dropping is when a signal is detected on a cable allowing someone to gain access to the data. This is also a concern for wireless networks.
E-book
Electronic version of a book read by using an e-reader or other e-book software.
Email server
Email servers are used to handle all the email needs of the organisation.
Email spoofing
The changing of an email header so that the origin of the email appears to be from a different source.
Embedded operating system
Embedded operating systems differ from those installed and used on a general-purpose competitors such as a PC and that they are stored on internal memory chips they are not loaded from disj the case of a computer with a hard drive
Encryption
The scrambling of text or data using a specified set of Rules to ensure the privacy of the data during communication or for security purposes.
Er entity relationship diagram
Diagrams used to illustrate relationship between entities.
E-reader
A single purpose device designed to allow you to read ebooks and have a portable library of e-books.
Ergonomics
Studies of the human body for the purpose of designing products that will benefit the way in which we actually function.
E-waste
Broken I’ll take it and discarded hardware that we neither want nor need.
Expansion slots
Slots on the motherboard for attaching additional circuit boards and the order to expand the capabilities of the computer-mostly dedicated videos and sound cards for high- end gaming and design work.
Expert systems/ knowledge-based system
Ariel-based form of artificial intelligence or human expertise is coded into a computer system that can take in food and arrive at a session far more quickly than most humans can.
Expert system/ knowledge-based system
A real-based form of artificial intelligence or human expertise is coded into a computer system that can take input and arrive at a session far more quickly than most humans can.
Extranet
An organization’s internet or part there of which is available to other users outside the organisation.
Fat clients
Computers that run most of the applications from the local hard drive and make little use of network services
File extension
This set of characters usually 3 to 5 as I did to the end of a file name and it identifies the type of file.
Firewall
Hardware or software that monitors the traffic between a computer and the internet to safeguard against breaches in security.
FireWire
Type of food that can transfer data faster than USB. It is usually used by high-speed data transfers as desirable such as videos from video camera and are taught to or from an external hard drive.
Firmware
Software that is permanently installed or hard- coded on a ROM chip and is used to control the basic operations of a device.
Fixed location internet access
High-speed data transmissions to homes and businesses using cable technologies such as ADSL. This is often referred to as fixed broadband internet access.
Flash players
Examples include Adobe Flash Player Silverlight and Adobe shockwave player. This multimedia plugins enable users to experience a very wide range of applications and multimedia web content in any browser irrespective of the operating system.
Flashing the ROM
The process whereby the existing content of firmware is white and replaced with an updated version always to be performed with great care
Font files
Files containing phones that can be used by programmers on the computer where the fonts are installed. They typically have the file extension of ttf or otf.
Foreign keys
A field not a primary key that is used as a link to a field in another table usually the primary key.
Freeware
Software which is distributed freely. You do not receive the source code. There is no limitations all the time or functionality included.
FTP file transfer protocol
Protocol used for fast easy transfer of large files between remote computers that have internet connection
Fuzzy Logic
A type of reasoning that works with probabilities in order to arrive at a decision.
GIGO
Garbage in garbage out the quality of output of any computer system is directly related to the quality of input
GNU / GPL
Allison specifically for software that allows people to distribute the software for free or even charge for it so long as the Source Code is made available. GNU with the licence under which most freeware is distributed.
GPS global positioning system
A navigation system that uses signals received from the geostationary satellite to determine accurately the position of a receiving device.
GPU graphics processing unit
Dedicated graphics processor on a graphics card used to provide extra processing power
Green computing
initiatives to design use and dispose of technology in an environmentally or eco-friendly waves
Gui
A graphical user interface makes use of Visual controls to allow the user to interact with the computer and with programs on the computer and
Hacker
General term used for any person who uses ICT skills to access computer systems networks and information illegally. Sometimes differentiated into two subcategories good hackers or white hat hackers and bad hackers black hat hackers.
Hardware interrupt
A dedicated communication channel or means whereby a device can request the immediate attention of the CPU in order to process a given function.
Hexadecimal
The base 16 number system that consists of the digits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e and f.
High-level programming languages
Programming languages that are easier for humans to ride and understand that rely on extensive pre-written libraries to execute complex instructions with just a few lines of code.
Home area network h a n
A small network within a home environment.
Homepage
The first page of a website containing information about the websites purpose and content. It also provides links to other web pages website and documents.
Hotspot
An area usually in a public space where people may receive and be granted Wi-Fi access from an access point to connect wirelessly to the internet via a wired network.
HTML hypertext markup language
A set of formatting codes placed in a text file to change the way the browser displays text.
HTML files
Hypertext markup language files is used to define the structure and layout of a web page.
HTTP hypertext transfer protocol
The protocol that defines how web pages and the contents are transferred across the web
Https hypertext transfer protocol secure
The protocol used for secure encrypted communication over the internet. It is use on website which require a user to enter confidential or personal information such as password of banking details.
Hyperlink
A built-in connection to another related web page and is indicated as text underlined in blue or by a graphic with a blue outline.
Identity theft
When someone steals your details in order to pretend to be you and then buy the expensive goods and your name or just money from your account etc.
Incremental backup
Backup schedule whereby backups are made only of new files and files that have changed since the last backup resulting in a greater backup efficiency and allowing selective Data Recovery from an earlier date.
Input/output management
A function of an operating system whereby it manages input and output of the computer and how program programs use the input and output devices- which programs receive input from input devices and which programs can use an output device.
Incident anomaly
The design of a database prevents a user from capturing data when they want or need to.
Installation wizard
A program that present you with options and defence installations based on your choices and preferences.
IM instant messaging
Internet-based alternative to text messaging and which multimedia content can be exchanged in real-time via applications such as WhatsApp BBM and mix it
Intellectual property
The idea behind any original creation is the property of its creative and not only the physical objects which might Express that idea if for example you were to write a poem or a book or take a photo and someone were to make a copy of it without asking your permission or compensation you that person would have stored in your intellectual property in it even if he didn’t steal your physical exemplar of the
Internet
The internet is a worldwide computer network consisting of computers and networks that are linked using telephone lines undersea cable satellite or microwave for the purpose of sharing resources and communication.
Internet hoax
An email message or article intended to deceive or defraud others
Internet or proxy server
Users connect to the internet via their servers so security control for virus etc. Can be implemented at 1 central point. Access to the Internet can also be speeded up by storing cashing recently Access web pages on the desk
Internet of proxy server
Users connect to the internet via their servers so security control for virus etc. Can be implemented at 1 central point. Access to the Internet can also be speeded up by storing cashing recently Access web pages on the desk
