Computer Terms Dictionary

Bit = The fundamental measurement unit for storage capacity or memory. A bit can have either the value 0 or 1.

Bookmark = In free translation, the term stands for book mark and was used by the Netscape company in the browser with the same name for the users to be able to save important sites. Its homologous in Internet Explorer is the Favorites menu.

Byte = The measurement unit for the storage capacity or memory. Usually in computer architecture, a byte represents 8 Bits of information.

Cache = The temporary memory (buffer type) used by the computer to increase the running speed of the operating system and programs. The memory space has 3 levels: the first in the processor, where are saved information essential for the operating system and applications, the second in the RAM memory (Random Access Memory – the physical memory of the computer), and the third inside the virtual memory.

Codec = An acronym derived from compressor / decompressor, the term designates a technology for compressing or decompressing video / audio data. Better said, the codecs allow us to view movies or listen music.

Cookie = A text file retained by the Personal Computer from a particular site, which can contain data like personal data used in registering, data relating to your preferences in terms of web pages, different options or your IP address. Their purpose is to facilitate the surfing (by retaining you login data for example) or to retain some personal settings (like the language you wish to read in a particular website) There are also some dangers in using cookies, like the possibility that the personal information can be reached by strangers, so it’s recommended to delete them from time to time (work that can be done from the browser’s menu).

Cracker = The term designates that person which cracks passwords or informatics systems with the purpose to obtain money or valuable information. Often are created confusions between this term and hacker, which designates a person with solid knowledge in a specific informatics domain.

CRT = An acronym for Cathode Ray Tube, the term is referring to the classic monitors (TV also) and at their functioning technology. So, an electron beam travels very fast the screen designing phosphorescent dots on the film behind the screen. The phosphorescent dots are red, green and blue, and when grouped into three they hit the electron beam emitting a light radiation of a certain frequency which can be seen under the shape of a dot with a specific color.

Domain = Also known as Web Domain or Domain Name, this is referring to a group of computer which are using a specific network (or a single computer), designated into an address like “domain.com”. In this case, the domain name is “domain” and “.com” is its extension, specifying the domain’s purpose and the website’s also.

FTP = Short for File Transfer Protocol, the term designates a protocol which is allowing the communication and file transfer between two computers. There are certain programs named FTP clients which are connecting to other programs, named FTP servers, in order to download or upload files on it.

GB = GigaBytes – the measurement unit for storage capacity or memory, equal with 1024 MB (MegaBytes)

Hacker = a person with solid knowledge in a certain informatics domain.

Hyperlink = Also known as Link, the term designates a text or image which creates a connection with another Internet page, a location in the same page or a document.

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