What is Spam?
Spam is unsolicited e-mail on the internet. Usually considered bulk mail or junk mail often sent to a list of people obtained by companies that create distribution lists.
Spam is the equivalent to unsolicited telemarketing calls.
The term Spam is said to derive from a Monty Python sketch.
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What is Spyware?
Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person without their knowledge. Spyware is programming that is put in someone’s computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program. Other forms of Spyware that can be considered virus-like are Adware and Malware.
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What is a Virus?
A Virus is a program or code that replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another program or document. Viruses can be transmitted as attachments in an e-mail or in a downloaded file, or from a diskette or CD.
Some Viruses wreak havoc immediately, some sit dormant until circumstances cause their code to be executed on the computer. Some viruses are benign or playful and can display a non threatening message. Others can be quite harmful, erasing data or causing your hard disk to require reformatting. A Virus that replicates itself or resends itself in an e-mail or on a network is known as a worm.
Files that can be infected that might come through e-mail usually end with .com or .exe Other files may end in .prg, .mnu, .sys, .ovl, .scr or .bat.

Anti-Virus software is a program that searches your hard drive, floppy or CD for any known or potential viruses. The market has expanded in this software but the leaders in research include Symantec Norton Anti-Virus, McAfee, AVG, Panda and Trend Micro.
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What is Biometric Technology?
Biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data. In information technology, biometrics refers to technologies that measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns and hand measurements, for authentication purposes and security.
Biometric devices, such as fingerscanners, consist of: a reader or scanning device, software that converts the scanned information into digital form and compares match points and a database that stores the biometric data for comparison.
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What is Phishing and Pharming?
If you've ever received an email from PayPal, eBay, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, BestBuy, Citibank or another financial institution in which the sender asks you to log onto a website to confirm your online user ID and password you've witnessed phishing. Phishing is email fraud where the perpetrator sends out legitimate looking emails that appear to come from a trusted site in an attempt to gather personal information (pin#, credit card or social security#) from you. Pharming is very similar to phishing except that the malicious code is installed on your computer via an infected email and modifies the local host file on a computer. The host files convert convert URLs into the number strings that the computer uses to access websites. A computer with a compromised host file will go to the fake website even if a user types in the correct internet address or clicks on an affected bookmark entry.
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What is an OS?
An OS (operating system) is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer. The other programs are called applications or apps. The application programs make use of the operating system by making requests for services through a defined application program interface (API). In addition, users can interact directly with the operating system through a user interface such as a command language or a graphical user interface (GUI) (windows).
Common operating systems are Microsoft Windows DOS, 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, CE, Mac OS9, OSX, Unix, Linux Red Hat, Mandrake, Suse and Palm OS.
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PC Vs. Mac
An age old question, which is better? It has been said that the Mac was very user friendly for schools and home users. It has also been said that the Mac was best for graphics and processing power. These statements were true until the PC market caught up and surpassed the Mac. The software availability for the PC largely out numbers the Mac 10 to 1. The processing power for both have improved greatly and run neck and neck on performance. For stability, well, that is a question of use. I have seen both good and bad on both platforms depending on their use and abuse. Technical support seems to be more readily available for the PC with more certified and trained technicians at hand than for the Mac. As for the price, the Mac is a bit high but still appeals to the true enthusiasts.
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What is a Hacker?
Hacker is a term used by some to mean "a clever programmer" and by others, especially journalists or their editors, to mean "someone who tries to break into computer systems.
For someone who attempts to crack someone else's system or otherwise uses programming or expert knowledge to act maliciously the term "cracker" is used for this meaning.
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What is E-Mail?
E-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. E-mail was one of the first uses of the Internet and is still the most popular use. A large percentage of the total traffic over the Internet is e-mail. E-mail can be distributed to lists of people as well as to individuals. Some Internet Service Providers offer email utilities in their web browsers such as AOL or Earthlink. Otherwise you can use 3rd party programs which are better at managing emails and include other functions such as calendar, contacts, to-do lists etc. These applications include Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Mozilla Thunderbird.
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What is the Internet (WWW)?
The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET. The original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to "talk to" research computers at other universities. A side benefit of ARPA Net's design was that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster.
The most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often abbreviated "WWW" or called "the Web").
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What is a Web Browser?
A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. Web Browsers that allow you surf the internet include: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Mozilla Firefox.
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What is MySpace?
MySpace is a website for Social Networking founded in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson along the lines of the Friendster site. MySpace has 54 million user profiles as of February 2006 and the majority of users are 16 to 25 year olds. 25% of the users are registered as minors 14 to 17 but you need to be at least 14 to register. However, kids that are clearly about 12 are lying about their age because MySpace is the place to be. The reason for that is because it is free and you can post almost anything on the site except for extreme nudity and hate messages. Advertisers love MySpace because of the age demographic with one company making 30 to 40 million in ad revenue in 2005. MySpace took off as music portal for indie bands to communicate and share their music and soon turned into a social networking phenomenon. It takes about 2 minutes to sign up, then you find friends profiles and invite them into your network and it keeps building from there. Recently MySpace has been in the news because of an association with non-violent sexual assaults on minors and at least one murder. Parents beware! MySpace can be fun and a great place to keep in touch with friends but make sure you know who your kids are friends with.
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What is a Blog? A blog is short for weblog which in most terms means a personal internet journal or diary. Many non-commercial or personal websites have a daily journal that is updated by the site owner or by users that contribute their thoughts and information to the site. Many blogs are devoted to one or several subject or themes, usually of topical interest. An author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. Some of the more popular blog sites are blogger.com and blogspot.com.
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What is an ISP?
An ISP (Internet service provider) is a company that provides individuals and other company’s access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and web hosting. An ISP has the equipment and the telecommunication line access required to have a point of presence on the Internet for the geographic area served. The larger ISP's have their own high-speed leased lines so that they are less dependent on the telecommunication providers and can provide better service to their customers. Some well known ISP's are AOL, CompuServe, Earthlink, SBC Yahoo.
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What is a Firewall?
A firewall is a set of related programs that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks. Basically, a firewall, working closely with a router program, examines each network packet to determine whether to forward it toward its destination.
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DSL Vs. Cable Broadband?
Both DSL and cable high-speed Internet services are available to millions of residential and business consumers worldwide. In some areas, only one or the other service is available. Some of the differences between DSL and cable modem originate with the service provider. All other things being equal, factors like cost, reliability and quality of customer support can vary significantly depending on the provider. In a recent survey cable won for availability and price. DSL won for installation. And it was a tie for security and performance.
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What are Cookies?
A cookie is a small piece of information sent by a web server to a web browser to be stored for future use. The data in the cookie (text file) will be sent back to the web server whenever the browser reconnects to the web site.
Cookies are commonly used to store user preference information, such as web site options. Cookies are also used to store shopping cart contents. The most security-relevant use of cookies is when they are used to store authentication data, such as user names and passwords.
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What is Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is short for Wireless Fidelity. It is a term used for certain types of wireless local area networks that use a certain type of specifications known as 802.11x. Wi-Fi has gained acceptance in many businesses, agencies, schools and homes as an alternative to a wired LAN (local area network). Many hotels, airports and fast food places offer public access to Wi-Fi networks as Hot Spots. To access a hot spot you may be charged a daily or hourly rate for access, however, some are free.
Unless adequately protected, a Wi-Fi network can be susceptible to access by unauthorized users who the connection for free internet or possible malicious activity.
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What is a Trojan Horse?
A Trojan Horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless programming or data in such a way that it can get control and do its chosen form of damage such as ruining your hard disk.
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Do Macs get Viruses?
In short the answer is yes. However the likely hood of an Apple Macintosh user getting a virus when compared to Microsoft is very little. Some of the reasons they are less likely to get a virus are the newer Mac OSX is built on a Unix kernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available. Microsoft Windows is used by more users which makes them a better target than Apple users. Most of the tools and scripts used to help create viruses or other malware are designed for Microsoft Windows.
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What is Linux?
Linux is a Unix-like operating system publicly open and extendible by contributors. It is suggested that it is an alternative to Microsoft Windows but is more popular in the business enterprise. Linux comes in different flavors or versions depending on need and usability. Some of those flavors include Red Hat, Mandrake and Suse.
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What is the difference between CD ROM, CD-R and CDRW?
CD-ROM (Compact Disc, read-only-memory) is an adaptation of the CD that is designed to store computer data in the form of text and graphics, as well as hi-fi stereo sound. The original data format standard was defined by Philips and Sony in the 1983 Yellow Book. Other standards are used in conjunction with it to define directory and file structures, including ISO 9660, HFS (Hierarchal File System, for Macintosh computers), and Hybrid HFS-ISO. Format of the CD-ROM is the same as for audio CDs: a standard CD is 120 mm (4.75 inches) in diameter and 1.2 mm (0.05 inches) thick and is composed of a poly carbonate plastic substrate (under layer - this is the main body of the disc), one or more thin reflective metal (usually aluminum) layers, and a lacquer coating.

CD-R - These are inexpensive disks that are used generally to back up data. These disks usually hold between 650MB and 700MB of information. The advantage of these disks are the low cost and reliability of the backup. CDs can become scratched and data can be corrupted, but odds are if a CD is kept in a case away from dust or other contaminants, a CD-R of reasonable quality should last approximately 50 years. These disks utilize a technology that allows the burner to sear the data into a reflective surface in the form of many zeros and ones. You can normally play CD-R disks in any CD-ROM drive.

CD-RW - disks on the other hand are more flexible than CD-R because you can write and rewrite data to the disk. The quality of these disks vary, but generally the disks are rewritable up to approximately 40 times. If you wish to have a disk for once a week backups, CD-RW's should serve you for about a year. Generally, the newer CD-ROM drives can read CD-RW disks, but you should be careful because not all CD drives can read these. If you need to trade information, you are better of creating a CD-R and closing the disk. If you want to continue writing to the disk as backup for your own computer, you can do this on a CD-RW up to the available space. As you read under "What is a Burned CD?" the difference between CDs and other rewritable media such as zip disks is that when you Finalize a session, you have completed writing to that disk. If you are writing to a CD-RW, however, you can still erase the disk. To write more information, you need to add the new files after the data. You cannot change files when writing to a CD, you only can write new versions of the file up to the space on the disk.
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What is the difference between DVD-ROM, DVD+R RW DVD-R RW RAM?
DVD-ROM was the first DVD standard to hit the market and is a read-only format. The video or game content is burned onto the DVD once and the DVD will run on any DVD-ROM-equipped device.

DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others. DVD+R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can record data only once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. DVD+RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium.

DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum. DVD-R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R and DVD+R. A DVD-R can record data only once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time. There also are two additional standards for DVD-R disks: DVD-RG for general use, and DVD-RA for authoring, which is used for mastering DVD video or data and is not typically available to the general public. DVD-RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW or DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. DVD's created by a -R/-RW device can be read by most commercial DVD-ROM players. DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are compatible only with devices manufactured by the companies that support the DVD-RAM format. DVD-RAM discs are typically housed in cartridges.
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What is a PDA?
PDA (personal digital assistant) is a term for any small mobile hand-held device that provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use, often for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy. The term handheld is a synonym. Many people use the name of one of the popular PDA products as a generic term. These include Hewlett-Packard's Palmtop and 3Com's Palm Pilot.
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What is VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol uses your existing high speed broadband connection to convert standard telephone audio into a digital format that can be transmitted over the internet, and by converting incoming digital phone signals from the internet to standard telephone audio. A computer is not required. Companies such as Vonage, Earthlink and SBC are offering this service to home users to reduce their phone bills to one flat rate. Although there are some great features there are some concerns about this technology. Dialing 911 calls is different in that you have to setup an enhanced feature so the emergency operator can locate your address by phone number, this enhanced feature may be an extra charge. Also if you have additional phone throughout the house you might be required to purchase special VoIP phones. Otherwise you can only use one located near the VoIP modem that they provide. Also if the internet is down for any reasons (maintenance, power outage, etc.) you will not be able to make calls unless you pay for basic local service from your telephone provider.
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What is Podcasting?
Podcasting is a compound word coined in 2004 that combined two words: iPod and Broadcasting. Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos over the internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. The distribution method of a podcast uses either the RSS or Atom Syndication formats. The term podcast like radio can mean both the content and the delivery method. The host or author of a podcast is often referred to as a podcaster.
Podcasts can be downloaded or streamed and what distinguishes a podcasts is its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds. One of the sites I list on my resources page called This Week in Tech has daily podcasts.
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What is an RSS Feed?
News agencies and other dynamic sites now offer a service called RSS Feeds or RSS. With RSS Feeds the website can feed or download information such as top headlines, current travel discounts, sports scores, and other timely content throughout the day to subscribers. Internet Explorer 7 now has this feature that lights up when you visit a site that offers the feeds. Simply subscribe to the feed and have it automatically sent to your computer so you no longer have to go looking for updates on your favorite things.
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What is WEP?
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol that is designed to provide a wireless local area network (WLAN) with a level of security and privacy comparible to a wired LAN. In short, it is data encryption that protects your wireless signal from being accessed from unauthorized users.
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