NTMY nice to meet you.
OIC oh I see.
OMG Oh, my God!
PM private message.
PMJI pardon my jumping in.
ROTF rolling on the floor.
ROFL rolling on the floor laughing.
SYS see you soon.
THX thanks.
wUF where are you from?
Zup? What's up?
The Internet
address a string of letters (often spelling out a name), characters, and/or numbers designating the electronic location of a Web site, computer user, organization, etc. Used for e-mail and to download a specific site on the Web.
adware a type of spyware consisting of a program that is secretly piggybacked onto another, albeit legitimate program, which a user downloads. The adware then infects the user's PC and causes annoying pop-up ads.
antispyware software that weeds out spyware from a user's PC and prevents other spyware from being downloaded.
archive a repository for the storage of data, software, etc. Also, a method for combining several files into one.
astroturfing the attempt to create a grassroots buzz about one's product or service by touting it anonymously in forums, chat rooms, and message boards.
attachment any file attached to and sent with an e-mail.
autobot see bot.
backbone a large network serving to interconnect other networks.
back door program see Trojan horse.
bait and switch a devious marketing ploy in which key words such as sex are used to draw search engines to a Web site.
bandwidth the amount of data, in bits per second, that can be sent over a network connection in a specific time period.
banner ad a Web page advertisement, usually appearing over the top of a page.
banner exchange the trading of advertisements between Web sites.
below the fold referring to the screen portion one must scroll down to see.
bitloss loss of data during a transmission.
BitTorrent a free program that allows simultaneous uploading and downloading of movie, video game, and other files, allowing users to share pieces of those with others and increase the speed of trading content.
blog short for Web log. A cybermagazine or online forum that may cover everything from politics to sports, with links to communicate with participants. Also, to participate in a Web log.
blogger one who contributes to a blog.
blogosphere slang for the medium of Web logs, and their contributors and readers.
bookmark an electronic bookmark, allowing the user to mark any site on the Web in order to return to it quickly, without searching again. Also known as a favorite.
bot short for robot. Any of several automated software programs, such as a crawler or spider, especially those involved in Web cataloging.
bounce return of an e-mail to its sender due to a delivery glitch or an incorrect address.
broadband a high-speed, high-capacity transmission channel using fiber-optic or coaxial cable.
browser Internet navigating software employed to find and display Web sites.
buffering temporarily holding data in computer storage that is being transmitted as an aid to compensate for different processing rates.
bulletin board an online medium through which users with a common interest may exchange messages or software.
cache a computer's storage repository for recently visited Web sites, used to expedite loading of Web files on future visits.
case sensitive referring to an e-mail address that must be typed in upper- or lower-case letters to be viable, largely a requirement of the past.
chain letter a spam or hoax letter directing the receiver to forward it to others, with negative consequences if unheeded, sometimes used in conjunction with fraudulent money-making schemes.
chat to converse online in real time.
chat room an online medium or Web site through which users can have real-time conversations.
click ad a Web page advertisement that, when clicked on, takes the viewer to a page with more information, often for ordering a product or service.
click fraud the dishonest and repeated clicking of an advertiser's ad with no intention of buying anything, in order to drive up that advertiser's fees, sometimes perpetrated by a rival advertiser.
codec technology that compresses or decompresses data, such as is necessary when viewing video on demand.
.com at the end of an e-mail or Web address, the designation for a commercial enterprise.
compression the electronic reduction of a file or data stream to speed transmission or take up less space in memory storage.
congestion a data path overload resulting in a slow or no response from a server.
contentjacking the copying or stealing of material in blogs or other sites to use in one's own site. Also known as pagejacking.
cookie a brief personal file created for a specific visitor and loaded on to his or her browser by a Web server to facilitate usage of its Web site. The file logs personal preferences and habits and often stores the user's ID and password.
cracker one who removes or defeats the security components in protected software to allow copying and pirating.
cracking the illegal removal or defeating of security components in software to allow copying and pirating.
crawler a program that searches new Internet resources.
cryptography mathematical coding used to secure Internet transactions.
cybercafe a coffee house with public computer access to the Internet.
cybercrime any crime committed online, such as credit card fraud or unauthorized access violations.
cyberfraud online fraud.
cybernaut one who frequently surfs the Internet; also known as an internaut.
cybersex simulated sex—actually, dirty talk—conveyed via a private chat room or e-mail.
cyberspace the electronic medium and culture of the World Wide Web.
cybersquatting the unethical practice of registering an Internet address or domain name consisting of the letters of a company name and selling that name to the company. A company is unable to use their own name in their Internet address unless it registers it before others do.
cyberstalking harassing someone through e-mails, instant messaging, etc.
cyberterrorism the criminal destruction or disruption of Internet communications through the use of mail bombs, viruses, or other means.
darknet an underground network of users who illegally trade copyrighted software and game files.
dead link a link that is either broken or connected to a Web page that is no longer available.
decryption the decoding of encrypted or secret messages.
dial-up online transmission service over telephone lines.
digirati collective term for people who are savvy with digital technology, particularly with computers and the Internet.
distance learning college or other classroom learning that takes place over the Internet.