Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line. High speed copper wire connections at up to 6 Mbps downstream and 640 Kbps upstream.

Size of the data pipeline. If you increase bandwidth, more data can flow at once.

Number of times a modem's signal changes per second when transmitting data.

All non-plain text files are binaries, ie: word documents, images and audio clips.

Method of encoding, commonly used by Macs.

Netscape file used to store addresses.

Bits per second. The rate that which data is transferred between two modems.

High-speed Internet access.

Program such as, Netscape or Internet Explorer, that displays Web documents.

Program that accesses information across a network, such as a browser or newsreader.

Virtual world that exists within the marriage of computers, telecoms and digital media.

Domain Name System that locates the IP address corresponding to a host name.

The DNS name that specifies details about the host - its location and entity
( .co.uk, .com, .gov, .edu )

Retrieve a file from a host computer. Upload means to send the other way.

Digital Subscriber Line. Encompasses all forms including ADSL.

Electronic mail carried on the Net.

The unique Internet address to which your mail is sent.(eg: user@host).

Frequently Asked Questions. Documents that answer the most commonly asked questions on a particular subject.

Network security system used to restrict external and external traffic.

File Transfer Protocol. Standard method of moving files across the Internet.

Graphic Image File format. A compressed graphics format commonly used on the Net.

Graphic User Interface. Method of driving software through the use of windows, icons, menus, buttons, and other graphic devices.

Either the first page loaded by your browser at start-up, or the main Web document for a particular group, organisation, or person.

Computer that offers some sort of services to networked users.

HyperText Markup Language. The language used to create Web documents

The 'clickable' links or 'hot-spots' that connect pages on the Web to each other.

A Web image that contains multiple links. Which link you take depends on where you click.

Internet Explorer directory that stores filed URL's.

Internet Protocol. The most important protocol upon which the Internet is based. Defines how packets of data get from source to destination.

Every computer connected to the Internet has an IP address (written in dotted numerical notation), which corresponds to its domain name. Domain Name Servers convert one to the other.

Integrated Services Digital Network. An international standard for digital communications over telephone lines, which allows for the transmission of data at 64 or 128 Kbps.

Internet Service Provider. Company that sells access to the Internet, eg: AOL, Freeserve.

Platform-independent programming language designed by Sun Microsystems

Graphic file format prefer by Net users because its high compression reduces file size, and thus the time it takes to transfer.

Local Area Network. Computer network that spans a relatively small area such as an office.

A dedicated telecommunications connection between two points.

In hypertext, as in a Web page, a link is a reference to another document. When you click on a link in a browser, that document will be retrieved and displayed or downloaded depending on its nature.

A freely distributed implementation of the UNIX operating system.

Connect to a computer network.

Replica FTP or web site set up to share traffic.

MOdulator/DEModulator. Device that allows a computer to communicate with another over a standard telephone line, by converting the digital data into analog signals and vice versa.

A compressed music format.

A compressed video file format.

Host that translates domain names into IP addresses.

Newcomer to the Net, discussion or area.

Network News Transfer Protocol. Standard for the exchange of UseNet articles across the Internet

Any device connected to a network.

Computer operating system, such as Mac OS, Windows or Linux.

Program that fits into another.

Post Office Protocol. An email protocol that allows you to pick up your mail from anywhere on the Net, even if you're connected through someone else's account

Web site that specializes in leading you to others, eg: Pizzanet-UK

Point to Point Protocol. This allows your computer to join the Internet via a modem. Each time you log-in, you're allocated either a temporary or static IP address.

An agreed way for two network devices to talk to each other.

Sites between a client, such as a Web browser and a real server. They're more often used to improve performance by delivering stored pages like browser cache and to filter out undesirable material.

Standard for streaming compressed audio over the Internet.

Database of Web page extracts that can be queried to find reference to something on the Net.

Computer that makes services available on a network.

Delivered in real time instead of waiting for the whole file to arrive, eg :RealAudio.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The protocol that drives the Internet.

Internet protocol that allows you to log on to a remote computer and act as a dumb terminal.

Operating system used by most service providers and universities. So long as you stick to the graphics programs, you'll never notice it.

Uniform Resource Locator. The addressing system for the World Wide Web.

What You See Is What You Get. Commonly associated with web editing packages, eg: Dreamweaver.

PC file compression format that creates files with the extension 'zip' using PKZip or WinZip software. Commonly used to reduce file size for transfer or storage on floppy disks