Internet Glossary
What is a Point-to-Point Wireless Bridge?
A point-to-point (P2P) wireless bridge is a Wi-Fi networking technology that allows users to wirelessly connect two or more locations. It lets two or more locations share an Internet connection to share files and other data types across a network.
A P2P wireless bridge enables communication between two or more wireless access points (APs) to connect multiple local area networks (LANs).
What is an Ad Hoc Network?
An ad hoc network is a type of wireless local area network (WLAN) that enables devices to connect with others without the need for access points (APs), such as built-in or external routers. Through such a network, computers can talk to each other and exchange files. One device can also share its Internet connection with other devices. Because of this feature, ad hoc networks are also called “peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.”
An ad hoc network setup differs from an infrastructure one in that it is decentralized. That means it eliminates the need for devices to connect to a “mother” to communicate.
An ad hoc network works similarly as a Bluetooth connection (bear in mind though that Bluetooth is a different type of technology). Paired devices can share an Internet connection and transmit files.
What is Addressable Media?
Addressable media is a form of advertising that lets brands connect with individual consumers across various online platforms, social media, over-the-top (OTT) content providers, and even smart TV platforms.
Using addressable media requires a detailed consumer database that contains the customers’ personal information categorized by demographic, consumption behavior, and purchase history. In a sense, it helps advertisers serve personalized content and offers to consumers to enhance campaigns and earn more significant revenue.
What is Air Gapping?
Air gapping is a network security measure that requires disconnecting one or more computers to ensure it is physically isolated from unsecured networks like the Internet or insufficiently secured local area networks (LANs). Translated to simpler terms, computers or LANs have no network interface controllers connected to other networks.
You can compare an air-gapped computer or network to water pipes disconnected from the primary source—the public utility provider’s—to maintain water quality.
What is Anycast?
Anycast is a network addressing and routing method where incoming requests can be routed to different locations or nodes. In a content delivery network (CDN), anycast typically routes incoming traffic to the nearest data center that can process the request efficiently. Selective routing allows an anycast network to stand high traffic volume, network congestion, and even distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
You can compare anycast with a telephone network switch that directs a customer call to an available customer service representative (CSR).
What is App Store Optimization (ASO)?
App store optimization (ASO) means optimizing mobile apps so they would rank higher in an app store’s search results. And it’s easy to see why, given that the higher an app ranks, the more likely it will be seen and downloaded by users.
The same rules and tactics that apply to search engine optimization (SEO) for websites and web pages can help in ASO.
What is an Authority Site?
An authority site is one that has gained its readers’ trust. It is also trusted by other websites, industry experts, and search engines. As a result, search engines commonly give it a high domain ranking because it is a proven producer of high-quality content and vetted information.
Typical examples of authority sites are news publishing sites like The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and BBC, among many others. Niche websites can also become an authority in their industries if they consistently produce useful content for their target audiences.
What is a Browser?
A browser is a computer program that people use so they can surf the Web. The main function of a browser is to display the pages of a website. Not all browsers are the same. Some are more capable of providing data security to users, while others offer a faster browsing experience.
If computers were cars, the Internet was the world, and every website was a destination, then we could say that the roads we take to get from one place to another are the ‘browsers.’
What is Canvas Fingerprinting?
Canvas fingerprinting is a technique websites use to track visitors who access their content. It uses the HyperText Markup Language 5 (HTML5) Canvas feature to do the job. HTML5 is a programming language for displaying and organizing web pages.
To create a canvas fingerprint, HTML5 instructs the browser to draw text or three-dimensional (3D) graphics on the canvas when a user visits a site. It is then rendered into a digital token that serves as a unique identifier that allows the website to remember the visitor and his or her browsing history.
A canvas fingerprint can track website visitors based on their browser, operating system (OS), and graphics hardware.
What is Churn and Burn SEO?
Churn and burn search engine optimization (SEO) is a blackhat strategy to flood a website with unnatural links so it would rank on search engines quickly. It is also known as “rank and bank SEO” because it makes a website rank so it can bank revenue.
Churn and burn SEO is often practiced by scammers whose goal is to make a fraudulent site rank so they can rip people and disappear if identified. The practice can get a website penalized but most risk doing it because it guarantees ranking and a substantial revenue. The term is apt in that it gets a site churn (lots of visits) before it gets burned when it’s penalized.
What is a CNAME Record?
A Canonical Name (CNAME) record points a domain or subdomain to another domain name. An example would be:
blog.company.com CNAME company.wordpress.com
In this example, your corporate blog’s subdomain (blog[.]company[.]com) points to your blog platform (wordpress[.]com). It tells website visitors’ browsers to go to another webpage if they want to view your blog. CNAME records are helpful for sites that use different external providers (WordPress in this case) for their various pages (the corporate blog in this case).
Think of a CNAME as an alias or nickname, if you want. In the example above, we can say that blog[.]company[.]com is also known as “company[.]wordpress[.]com.”
What is a Cookie-Free Domain?
A cookie-free domain is a domain name that does not tell a user’s web browser to store cookies. This domain type is commonly used to serve static content, such as images, web fonts, and scripts, as these do not use cookies. These contents aren’t modified as often as other types, and there’s no need for user interaction, making cookies unnecessary.
Using a cookie-free domain helps save on bandwidth and lessens the amount of time needed for requests to load. Overall, it helps improve website performance, which has a cascading effect on search engine optimization (SEO).
What is a Crawl Budget?
A crawl budget refers to the number of pages that search engines like Google crawls on your website on a specific day. That number can vary. Sometimes, Google only crawls three pages on your site while at others, it can crawl as many as 4,000 pages.
Your crawl budget depends on your website’s overall size and health, including the number of errors found within it. It is the amount of attention that search engines pay your site. It dictates how many times your website gets crawled.
What is Cyberlibel?
Cyberlibel refers to unlawful or prohibited acts of libel committed through a computer system or any other similar means that may be devised in the future.
Libel, meanwhile, is defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, vice, or defect (real or imaginary) or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a person or blacken the memory of one who is dead.
What is Cyberloafing?
Cyberloafing refers to the actions of employees who take advantage of their corporate Internet access for personal use while pretending to do work. It commonly occurs in all offices. Cyberloafing includes sending personal emails, watching YouTube videos, spending a lot of time on social media, and even job hunting.
Cyberloafing is also known as “cyberslacking.” The term is also related to goldbricking, which means doing less work than one can. You can compare cyberloafing to lounging at home instead of doing necessary chores.
What is a Dark Post?
A dark post is simply a targeted ad on social media. They are called “dark” because they don’t appear on your timeline or your followers’ feeds. On the digital marketers’ part, they show up as sponsored content in the feeds of the users they’re targeting.
On Facebook, dark posts are formally known as “unpublished page posts.” They only appear for the users being targeted.
What is the Darknet?
The darknet refers to any private virtual network accessible only to a few select users. It traces its roots to the need for security, and as such, it lies “in the dark” and doesn’t appear on network lists.
In the early days, though, the darknet referred to networks outside the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) that could receive messages but were unable to make any form of response. They couldn’t even acknowledge that the message was received, unlike Facebook Messenger or any chat app that can tag a message as “seen.”
These days, the term “darknet” has taken on a whole new meaning, and it isn’t called such for nothing.
What is Data Privacy?
Data privacy is an aspect of information technology that determines what computer data individuals or organizations can share with others. This includes sensitive details that malicious individuals can exploit such as personal information you might provide for various purposes when you use computers.
Sensitive data is often sent to an electronic database and kept there. If this information falls into the wrong hands, you could be in trouble. This is the reason why there’s a need to preserve and protect such information from being accessed by unwanted people.
What is a Datagram?
A datagram is a unit of data transfer primarily used for wireless communication. Datagrams are similar to data packets in that they are both smaller pieces of data that make up a whole video, photograph, message, or other forms of online communication. All communication done over the Internet is usually broken down into smaller and more manageable bits of data called “datagrams” or “packets.”
Each datagram has a header that typically contains the IP addresses of the sender and the recipient. They also have payload sections that store the actual message. But despite having this structure, communication using datagrams is considered unreliable since data delivery is not guaranteed.
The word “datagram” was coined in the early 1970s and is a combination of “data” and “telegram.” However, the concept behind it dates back to the 1960s as a means of military communication.
What is Device Fingerprinting?
Device fingerprinting is the process of identifying a system based on data points that are unique to it. Examples of such data include an IP address, a time zone, a browser, screen resolution, a language, and an operating system (OS). Device fingerprinting even takes into account a list of installed plug-ins and fonts in the system. As such, the process looks at a wide variety of data points to identify a device, making it easier to track its owner’s online activities.
Device fingerprinting typically begins when a user visits a website with a JavaScript that collects the necessary information about his/her device. Because of device fingerprinting, sites can better measure the return on investment (ROI) of an advertising campaign.
What is Digital Maturity?
Digital maturity refers to an organization’s ability to respond and adapt to disruptive technological trends. Many would argue that digital maturity is more of a process than an end goal. It is not something that you achieve and mark off your to-do list.
Digital maturity is a continuous undertaking throughout an organization’s life cycle. After all, technology constantly evolves, and we have to adapt to these changes to remain competitive.
What is a Digital Native?
Digital natives are people from the generation that grew up in the digital age. They consider technology a necessary part of life, are naturally tech-savvy and from an early age have become very comfortable with computers and digital devices.
You can compare them to the native residents of a foreign town, who know the language and are masters of the terrain. Digital natives speak the language of tech and are masters of digital technologies.
What are Digital Rights?
The creation and exchange of information through the Internet has become so widespread that it must be governed by its own set of rules to protect those who own the information from those who seek to exploit it for their own gain. These rules are called "digital rights," and they are your legal and moral entitlements to access, use, and create digital media.
Usually, the term is applied particularly in relation to the realization and protection of existing rights, such as freedom of expression and right to privacy, under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Digital rights are the cyberspace equivalent of each person's inalienable human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a scheme that uses a combination of technologies to protect digital content from unauthorized users. It also determines what you can and cannot do with digital material. Maybe you’ll be allowed to read only a few chapters of an ebook you downloaded. Or maybe you’ll only be able to watch a few selected parts of a video. It all depends on how the content owner has set up the scheme.
DRM is like a lock that prevents you from reading an ebook, listening to music, watching a video, or printing a file if you don’t have the key. The lock is actually a piece of software that scrambles up or encrypts the original content. Only users with the right decryption key — a long, complex sequence of text characters that functions as a powerful password — can unscramble it.
What is Digitalization?
If you think digitalization means converting analog information into digital format, you’re off the bat. That process is called digitization. Digitalization, on the other hand, is something much deeper.
It is a mindset of applying digital technologies to every aspect of our personal and business lives. For example, from snail mail, we can digitalize to email or SMS. From manual record-keeping, we shift to automated digital ledgers.
Digitalization is like a paradigm shift from the old way of thinking to a newer way of seeing things.
What is Digitization?
Data can be in the form of a love letter you wrote, or a voice recording you for your family. It could consist of the photographs from your childhood. All of these can be easily lost or destroyed. But they can be preserved by converting them into a digital form through digitization.
Digitization is the process of scanning and converting physical information — such as paper documents, photographs, or sound — into digital form (bits and bytes) that can then be stored and processed by a computer.
What is DNS Parking?
Domain Name System (DNS) parking is a method of registering a domain name before its official use. It is a business strategy to secure domain names for future use or resale to others for a profit.
DNS parking is also known as “domain parking.” Think of it as buying a limited edition car that you only intend to use on a specific special occasion. As such, it will stay parked in your garage until that day arrives.
What is Domain Migration?
Domain migration refers to moving data from one system to another without losing critical information and maintaining system security. It is often done by organizations that need to upgrade systems and transfer data into new systems, such as when creating a web page. In that case, all code, regardless of markup language and content used, should be transferred from one domain to another.
The idea behind domain migration is to move data in whatever format, so it remains usable even with the new system in place. That means transferring all files while keeping their original format.
What is a Domain Name?
On the Internet, websites are assigned specific addresses consisting of 4 groups of numbers. It's cumbersome and difficult, though, to find websites this way. It's easier to recall an address that contains the brand name or describes what the site is about. This is why domain names were invented.
A domain name is a unique name that identifies a website. It allows people to locate a page through words or names that can be easily remembered. You can actually think of the domain name as the equivalent of a company's address.
What is Domain Name System (DNS)?
The domain name system (DNS) is a system for naming computers on the Internet. It's a database that maps each numerical Internet address (called an IP address) with the corresponding domain name. This is important because while people input websites by their names, computers access domains through IP addresses. DNS allows you to simply look up a domain name, and the DNS will direct you to its address.
The DNS is like the telephone directory of the Internet.
What is an Email Bomb?
An email bomb is a means to perform a denial-of-service (DoS) attack on an email server. Email bombing occurs when threat actors send tons of emails to a specific inbox to overwhelm it and its corresponding server. The result? The target’s inbox and server cease to function.
You can thus think of an email bomb as a DoS attack specific to email. Like a typical DoS attack, it can negatively affect a target organization’s operations. Stopping one of its email servers from working will halt communications inside and outside the network.
What is an External Link?
An external link is a connection on a web page to another page on a different website. It contains the name of the target page as well as the domain name of the website it's on. The user simply clicks on this link, and they are brought immediately to the connected page.
The external link is like a doorway that magically takes the user from the current website to an entirely different one.
What is an Extranet?
An extranet is a private network that only authorized users can access. These authorized users may include business partners, suppliers, and even some customers. They can use the extranet to exchange information with each other without having to enter the host company's main network.
An extranet is like a secure file room located somewhere off the company premises. Only those issued a key can enter and browse through the filing cabinets.
What is Fake News?
You might have come upon a story on the Web one day that got you so engrossed it brought about certain emotions. The next day, however, you learned that it wasn’t true after all. Super annoying, right? Well, that’s fake news for you.
Fake news are news stories that are absolutely untrue. They deliberately misinform people about a certain individual, company, government, etc. — often to make them look bad. This type of misinformation generally uses outrageous headlines that grab the attention of readers.
Fake news are like the obituaries proclaiming the death of a person who is very much alive.
What is an FQDN?
A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) refers to the complete domain name of a specific computer or host on the Web. It has two parts—the hostname and the domain name.
Let’s say that your mail server’s FQDN is mymail[.]company[.]com. The hostname is mymail, whose host is company[.]com. Another example would be a web address like whoisxmlapi[.]com. Its FQDN is www[.]whoisxmlapi[.]com since it is hosted on www.
What is a Fuzzy Search?
A fuzzy search is a method of locating web pages that return highly relevant results even if the search terms used do not necessarily match the desired information. Websites that have the exact matches appear on top of the list, but other relevant results will also be included on the next pages.
A fuzzy search is best for specific kinds of searches, as it can also reveal results that may otherwise be filtered out by search algorithms that apply hard-and-fast rules. Using a fuzzy matching program can address search terms that contain typographical errors. The program returns results for alternative spellings and homophones.
A fuzzy search is like consulting an online encyclopedia or a thesaurus with a cross-referencing feature. As such, users can get related search terms that can serve as valuable resources.
What is General Data Protection Rule (GDPR)?
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Rule (GDPR) is a law that came into effect on May 25th, 2018, to protect the data privacy of citizens of EU countries.
GDPR calls for transparency on what data are being collected when people transact online, what they are being collected for, and how unnecessary (and questionable) data collection can be avoided. It also mandates substantial penalties for non-compliance with the regulation.
What is Google Crawling?
Google crawling is the search engine’s discovery process to follow links and crawl websites. Google uses bots or so-called “spiders” to scour a site and follow links to pages on it.
Google crawling is one of the primary reasons webmasters create sitemaps that contain all links in existing blogs or content pages. Google uses bots to check these sitemaps and other web addresses obtained from previous crawls to look deeper into a website.
What is a Hashtag?
In social media, a hashtag is a symbol that is placed in front of a word so that people can easily find the post it's in. It's usually the hash symbol ('#'). Hashtags make posts easier to locate and follow so people can contribute to them or use them as a reference for various purposes.
Hashtags are like ring binders which hold together important documents and make them easily available when needed.
What is Hosting?
Hosting is the service of providing storage space and resources on a server for a website. A website’s information, content, and everything else pertaining to it are stored, maintained, and kept safe in the server linked to the Internet. The company that provides the hosting services is known as a Web host. It is the one in charge of ensuring that your website stays online, as long as you continue paying the fees, of course.
Hosting works the same way as landlords renting out an apartment. Paying the landlord regularly assures the resident continuous use of the apartment unit.
What is HTTPS?
You visit an online store, and suddenly, you see your browser display an ‘HTTPS’ rather than the regular ‘HTTP.’ What just happened? Did you just get redirected to another website?
Well, the good news is that you’re still in the same domain, and the information you shared will be kept safe so that no one would be able to steal them. That is because the website is using HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure or HTTPS.
It is a method of communicating information on the Worldwide Web and the secure version of the original Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTPS is usually applied in order to protect highly sensitive transactions on the Web, such as with online shopping and online banking.
What is Ingress Traffic?
Ingress traffic pertains to all network traffic and data that come from outside a local network and is expected to land on a specific location within it. It is initiated from a remote location or within a network but outside a subnetwork. An example of such is an email message from an external source. It will pass through the Internet and enter the local area network (LAN) before it reaches the recipient’s inbox.
You can think of ingress traffic as an incoming international flight arriving at a local airport. The plane would pass through a runway, land at a designated ramp, and only then can the passengers head to where they are going.
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a system of computer networks all over the world that can exchange data with each other using a standard communication protocol called TCP/IP. It is decentralized, and no single entity owns or controls it. There are several organizations in the world, however, that work together to maintain and improve the Internet. These include the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which looks after the technical aspects of the Internet.
The Internet is similar to a modern city that features interstate highways. These freeways link to secondary roads and local streets. Each house has a driveway connected to this extensive road network. Think of each house as a computer, and the road system as the Internet.
What is Internet Censorship?
In its most basic form, Internet censorship refers to restrictions to viewing certain information and content on the Web. It is commonly imposed by governments to prevent people, especially children, from accessing illicit content.
If the Internet is like the superhighway for information, then we can say that Internet censorship is the roadblock we sometimes encounter that controls what people can and cannot access.
What are Internet Cookies?
Internet cookies (often simply called "cookies") are small files placed by Web servers in your computer when you visit a website for the first time. They place them there to remember who you are and what you did when you visited their site. So the next time you access their site, they can make the experience smoother and more convenient for you by serving up personalized content.
Think of Internet cookies as nametags you wear at a party. The host sees the tag and remembers who you are.
What Is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?
An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company or an organization that lets your computer connect to the World Wide Web. It provides customers access to one or more high-speed Internet lines. An ISP may offer other services as well, such as web hosting and digital storage space rental services and access to software, among others. ISPs compete among themselves in terms of bandwidth and coverage—anything that enables them to provide the best signal and transmission speed.
So, what is an ISP? You can compare it to a water tap. There’s water flowing through the main pipe, but you can’t get any unless you install a faucet.
What is an Intranet?
An intranet is a computer network that’s only accessible to an organization and its employees. It is a dedicated and exclusive hub where staff can safely communicate and share data. You can compare it to a private club with special services and privileges that are not open to the public.
An intranet uses a local area network (LAN), a computer network that interconnects the computers of the different members of the intranet, where they hold office. In contrast, a company may also set up an extranet, a private network for exchanging information securely through the Internet with a select group of clients, suppliers, and customers.
What is an IP Address?
If people have an address, well most of them do, your computer has got one too.
It's called an Internet Protocol (IP) address composed of a set of numbers separated by periods.
Every computer device that is connected to the Internet is given one. Otherwise, there'd be no way to locate or identify it in the vast universe of the Web and people won’t have a clue where to send you messages and files.
What is IPv4?
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth edition of the Internet Protocol. It is a system of identifying individual computers and digital devices on the Internet by assigning each one with a unique address.
IPv4 address consists of a set of four numbers separated by a period character ("."), often referred to as a "dot." Each number can be from 0 to 254. Some addresses may not be assigned because they are reserved for special uses. IPv4 can accommodate up to 4 billion unique addresses, but these have already been used up as the Internet continues to grow.
You can think of IPv4 as the unique ID which a computer, smartphone, or game console displays to communicate with similar devices.
What is IPv6?
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a revision designed to upgrade the old IPv4 system as it ran out of available network addresses. Instead of 4 sets of decimal numbers separated by periods (".") used by IPv4, IPv6 uses eight sets of alpha-numeric hexadecimal numbers.
This minor change produces a virtually unlimited number of unique IP addresses. It also provides more efficient routing, better security, and eliminates many network problems such as duplicate addresses assigned to different devices.
When the phone system runs out of telephone numbers, one of the simplest solutions is to add one more digit or create new area codes. This is similar to what IPv6 does for Internet addressing.
What is a Keyword?
A keyword is a term or phrase that best describes the entire content, or at least a part of it, on your page. It's the term you enter into Google and other search engines to find websites about the subject matter you are interested in. The search engines go through websites and compile all of the keywords in a list of web pages which it presents back to the user. In this context, a keyword is the reference point which a search engine like Google uses to find the information you want.
A keyword is like a set of specifications given to a store clerk. The clerk then searches the store for items that match your specs exactly, or even somewhat closely.
What is Kopimism?
Kopimism is a new religion that believes file sharing and copying information is a sacred virtue. Isak Gerson founded it.
While considered a religion, Kopimism does not have a god. Its members believe data sharing is the highest virtue and form of worship. And since Gerson is from Sweden, the congregation is headquartered in the country. The Missionary Church of Kopimism has several branches in countries like Canada and the U.S.
What is Graymail?
Graymail refers to emails sent in bulk by a legitimate company to people who opted to receive them. It differs from spam in that graymail is solicited while spam is unsolicited. Examples of graymail include newsletters, announcements, or ads.
Think of graymail as the marketing flyers you opted to take from roving marketers in a grocery store. In such a case, its spam equivalent would be the same flyers left on your parked car’s windshield.
What is Multicast?
Multicast is the process of sending data to several users simultaneously. The data sent can be in audio, video, image, or any other format. In multicast communication, only one data source or sender communicates with multiple receivers. Multicast is a one-way communication model, so the receivers can’t send data back to the source.
Regular Internet users have taken advantage of this technological process by simply sending an email to multiple email addresses. Some industries have taken multicast to a more advanced level. For example, multicast communication allows the one-time delivery of vehicle geolocation data to all connected cars instead of sending the same data multiple times.
What is Netiquette?
Netiquette refers to a set of guidelines for appropriate behavior when communicating online. It combines “network” and “etiquette” and refers to the proper way to conduct oneself in cyberspace.
Netiquette is thus the equivalent of proper etiquette while on the Internet. Note that the netiquette definition evolves with time.
What is a Network-to-Network Interface?
A network-to-network interface, or “NNI” for short, refers to a physical interface that connects two or more networks. It also defines how the connected networks should signal or communicate with each other and how they are managed.
NNIs are typically used in telecommunications and enable Signaling System 7 (SS7), Internet Protocol (IP), and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network interconnection. SS7 defines and manages network connections in the global Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). IP, meanwhile, defines and manages Internet connections. Finally, ATM efficiently and flexibly organizes information into cells for transmission.
You can thus think of an NNI as a mediator that facilitates communication between two or more parties.
What is an Obfuscated URL?
An LDAP injection is an attack that exploits vulnerable Web-based applications that construct LDAP statements based on user input. If a program fails to sanitize user input, attackers can modify LDAP statements using a local proxy. That could let them execute arbitrary commands, such as granting permissions to unauthorized queries and content modification inside the LDAP tree.
An LDAP injection attack often uses the same exploitation techniques employed in SQL injection attacks.
What is Passive DNS?
Passive DNS is a means to store Domain Name System (DNS) data. It was built specifically to help security analysts and researchers use previous details from DNS records to uncover events and incidents related to their investigations in hopes of mapping out malicious infrastructures.
You can think of passive DNS simply as a repository of all the domains the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses you’re looking into resolved to in the past and vice versa. In effect, it’s like a journal where you find details on the events that happened in its owner’s life.
What is the Pierre Salinger Syndrome?
A gullible person who believes everything he or she reads on the Internet, even if these defy the rules of common sense, is believed to be suffering from the Pierre Salinger syndrome. The term is derogatory and coined after ex-White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger previously reported that the Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800 crash that occurred in July 1996 resulted from friendly fire from a U.S. Navy ship conducting missile testing. However, that report was untrue.
While his information came from security agents, many believed that Salinger got the report online. Nonetheless, the terminology stuck and is now widely used to refer to readers who immediately believe in gossip without verifying data.
What is Piracy?
Piracy is the practice of illegally duplicating content, such as computer programs or branded merchandise, to sell them for a fraction of what they would normally fetch. The original owner of the content is not compensated for this transaction. Piracy has become a billion-dollar industry that is outlawed in many countries.
It is like sneaking onto a train or bus without paying for the fare. You benefit from it, but shortchange the transport company providing the service.
What is a Registrar?
A registrar is an organization responsible for reserving domain names and assigning unique IP addresses to these. You pay a monthly or yearly fee to register your desired website name so that no one else can use it. Trusted domain registrars are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private organization tasked to manage and allocate Domain Name System (DNS) resources.
If a domain name is like a home address, then a domain registrar is like the land registry office where we go to log our website (home) and claim it as our own.
What is a Search Engine?
A search engine is a computer program that helps you find specific information about a subject matter you are interested in. You enter a term or a phrase, called a "keyword," about whatever you want to learn about. The search engine then gives you a list of the websites that may have the most relevant information about the topic. This list is called a search engine results page (SERP). Some of the examples of search engines include Google, Bing, DuckDuck Go, Yandex, and Dogpile.
A search engine is like a librarian. You tell her the topic you are working on, and she provides you with a list of books and where to find them in the library.
What is the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP)?
Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) is a virtual private network (VPN) protocol that confines traffic over HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). This definition may sound very complicated but, in essence, SSTP enables VPN traffic to pass through most firewalls.
Firewalls and web proxies usually block VPN protocols, so employees in some industries can’t access corporate networks remotely. With SSTP VPN, traffic passes through an encrypted tunnel using the same security protocols and ports that establish HTTPS connections. As a result, connecting to a firewalled network becomes possible.
What is Strict SSL?
Strict Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), also known as “full SSL,” is a more stringent version of SSL encryption. Turning strict SSL mode on means additional validation of the origin server’s identity to prevent active traffic snooping and modification on the Internet.
Strict SSL was born out of the need to protect against on-path attacks (more on these below.)
What is TCP/IP?
TCP/IP is an acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, which is practically the reason why the Internet works. These protocols let computers communicate with one another over the Web.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) takes enormous amounts of data, compiles them into network packets (i.e., the units of data transmitted over the Internet), and sends them to another computer’s TCP. Think of TCP as the Internet’s “delivery man,” and the “package” he delivers is the data in the form of packets.
Internet Protocol (IP), on the other hand, is the delivery man’s Global Positioning System (GPS). It ensures that the right locations (i.e., computers or devices) receive the network packets.
Because of TCP/IP, people from Europe can check what’s happening on the other side of the world, and vice versa.
What is Traffic Shaping?
Traffic shaping is a technique used for bandwidth management on computer networks. It delays some or all of the data to make them comply with the desired traffic profile. That way, network traffic management is optimized, or its performance is guaranteed.
Traffic shaping improves latency or increases the usable bandwidth for some packets by delaying others. As such, it is often confused with traffic policing, which is the practice of packet dropping and packet marking. Packet dropping occurs when traffic gets dropped from a network when the latter gets congested. Packet marking, meanwhile, is the practice of classifying traffic into different priority levels or classes.
What is UDRP?
UDRP stands for “Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy,” a set of guidelines established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that tackles how trademark-based domain disputes must be resolved. ICANN is a nonprofit organization tasked with maintaining the databases of domain names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
What is the Undernet?
The Undernet is the third largest real-time Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network, with approximately 40 servers connecting people worldwide.
Have you ever heard of IRC before? If you’ve been following cybercrime stories for a long while, you’re bound to have done so. IRC channels played a role in many threat groups’ activities, like those of the infamous Russian Business Network (RBN) in the 2000s.
What is a Virtual Private Server (VPS)?
A virtual private server (VPS) is a web hosting service that lets users have their own exclusive web hosting environment. There may be several virtual servers running within a single physical server. But to customers, each one looks and feels like an independent machine. Compared with other web hosting services, a VPS is more stable, performs better, provides more disk space and memory, and is more flexible in terms of features.
A VPS is like a luxury apartment. While a low-end apartment complex could have hundreds of tenants, your high-end building only has a handful, allowing you to enjoy prime accommodation and facilities.
What is a Walled Garden?
A walled garden, also known as a closed platform or environment, is a software system wherein the carrier or service provider controls applications, content, and media. They restrict convenient access to unapproved applicants or content.
Think of it as a private piece of property, such as a house’s garden, as opposed to a public park. You cannot just enter someone’s garden without permission, whereas you can walk around in a park anytime.
What is Web 1.0?
Web 1.0 refers to the original state of the Internet when it was just getting started. Back then it was nothing more than a static collection of Web pages connected by hyperlinks. It was not interactive, the graphics were basic, and the content was limited.
Internet 1.0 is the Web equivalent of the Rennaissance age. Human intellectual development was accelerating, and technology was beginning to advance. But it would take some more time for progress to take place in all fields of human endeavor.
What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 describes the evolution of the Worldwide Web from its original form to the next level of development. This stage is characterized by the use of dynamic web pages and user-generated content. It also coincides with the beginnings of a more participative culture that saw the birth of social media.
Web 2.0 is like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.
What is a Web Host?
A web host is a business that provides the tools for a website to be seen on the Internet. These tools include a physical server and storage space on which you can keep your website's files. It also includes the web server and the software that lets people access your website.
A Web host also lets you upload files to the Web server, setup and use domain email accounts (e.g., yourname@yourwebsite.com), and manage content on your page. It won't likely build the website for you though. You'll need to either hire a Web developer or put it together yourself.
A web host is like an office space you rent on a floor filled with offices leased by other people. This is where you keep your important business documents. Prospective customers come and visit to inquire about doing business.
What is a Web Property?
A web property is any proof of an organization’s or individual’s presence on the Internet. Examples include a website, a blog, social media accounts, and the like. Anything that can identify or be associated with someone on the Internet is considered a web property.
You can think of a web property as your real property like your home or car—things that are under your name and you can mortgage or sell should you need money.
What are Whitehat SEO Techniques?
Whitehat search engine optimization (SEO) techniques refer to strategies that aim to satisfy major search engines like Google, Baidu, Yahoo!, and Yandex to improve a website’s search ranking. Applying these strategies is often aligned with search engines’ terms and conditions and best practices. The goal is to get to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) by using tactics such as providing quality content, utilizing keyword-rich meta tags, and being mobile-friendly.
Whitehat SEO techniques are the opposite of blackhat SEO practices, which include purchasing links and using other deceptive strategies that may be harmful to content consumers.
What is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that provides information about existing domain names and all the pertinent data about them. This information includes the owner’s contact details, domain registration, and expiration dates, registrar data, and more. WHOIS helps you ensure that all the relevant information about a particular registered domain is authentic and up-to-date, which is crucial to prevent fraud and identity theft.
You can think of WHOIS as a private investigator that gives you information about a person of interest. In this case, that would be a domain of interest.
What is the World Wide Web?
The Worldwide Web, or simply the Web, is the network of websites and web resources from all over the world connected together by the Internet and interlinked with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The main purpose of these resources is to serve content to anyone who wants it. You can access the information or complete a transaction by using a software called a browser to connect to the right website.
The Web is like an enormous bazaar where you can find any sort of information, but you have to know where and how to find it amidst this connected network of stalls and stores.
What is WPA?
WPA stands for “Wi-Fi Protected Access,” a set of rules that ensures only authorized users can connect to a Wi-Fi network. Think of WPA as a secret handshake between your router and device. If the computer or mobile phone knows the handshake, it can connect to your Wi-Fi network.
Aside from connecting your device to the network, WPA also encrypts your Internet traffic so no one else can understand what you’re sending and receiving. WPA was introduced in 2003 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit organization (NGO) sponsored by some of the largest tech companies in the world, including Apple, Cisco, Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony.