Internet Dictionary V

U

UDP  (User Datagram Protocol)  Another of the protocols on which the Internet is based. It is one of the protocols for data transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. UDP is a "stateless" protocol in that UDP makes no provision for acknowledgement of packets received.

Unix  A computer operating system, originally developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories, that is compatible with a wide range of computer systems. Unix is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet.
Apple computers' Macintosh operating system, as of version 10, is based on Unix. Ultrix, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX, BSD, Linux, and SystemV are also among its numerous descendants.

unmanaged hosting  A system of server hosting in which the customer is responsible for maintaining and staffing all servers.

untrusted network  A network that is outside a firewall.

untrusted applet  A java applet that is not known to be secure.

upload   To transfer your files from your local site to a server. To send or transmit a file from one computer to another (compare download).

upstream  The transfer of information from a client computer to another computer.

URI  (Uniform Resource Identifier)  An address for s resource available on the Internet.
The first part of a URI is called the "scheme". the most well known scheme is http, but there are many others. Each URI scheme has its own format for how a URI should appear.

Here are examples of URIs using the http, telnet, and news schemes:
http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com
telnet://well.sf.ca.us
news:new.newusers.questions

URL  (Uniform Resource Locator)  A Web site's address. Examples are: http://www.msn.com and http://www.whaddup.com. The term URL is basically synonymous with URI. URI has replaced URL in technical specifications. Pronounced "You Are El."

URL broker  A business that sells or auctions domain names that it believes others will find valuable.

URL forwarding  See cloaking.

URN  (Uniform Resource Name) A URI that is supposed to be available for along time. For an address to be a URN some institution is supposed to make a commitment to keep the resource available at that address.
 

usability testing  The testing and evaluation of a company's Web site for ease of use by visitors.

USB (Universal Serial Bus)  A daisy-chain serial bus used connect up to 63 peripherals to a single PC.  USB is used to connect such devices as:  backup tape drives, CD-ROM drives, digital telephones, joysticks, keyboards, mouses, printers, and digitized audio devices, memory card readers, i-Books and more.

Usenet  A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups. Refers mostly to the newsgroups, but also to e-mail. Usenet travels on the Internet, but also over modems and satellites.

username or user-ID  An address that designates a personal account on a large computer. For example, in the email address mrbill@oh-no.com, mrbill is the user-ID and oh-no.com is the domain name.

user session  Commonly called a visit. All time spent on a Web site (and all activity performed) by an individual user. By industry standard, a user session is terminated when a user is inactive on the site for more than 30 minutes.

UUCP  (Unix-to-Unix Copy)  Originally, a program that ran under the Unix operating system and allowed one Unix system to send files to another via dial-up phone lines. At present, the term generally is applied to the large international network that uses the UUCP protocol to pass news and electronic mail.

Uuencoding (Unix to Unix Encoding) A common Internet formatting standard for encoding files attached to electronic mail messages. See also MIME, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. A method for converting files from Binary to ASCII (text) so that they can be sent across the Internet via e-mail.

V

V.32  A CCITT V series standard used by fax modems for half- or full-duplex transmission at speeds up to 9600bps over point-to-point leased circuits. This standard is worldwide.

V.32bis  A CCITT V series standard for modems transmitting at speeds up to 14,400 bps over leased or dial-up lines. This standard is worldwide.

V.34  A CCITT V series standard for full-duplex transmission at speeds up to 28,800bps. Modems adhering to this standard automatically adjust their speed to compensate for the quality of the phone line. This standard is worldwide.

V.42  A CCITT V series standard for regulating error-detection for high-speed modems. Modems conforming to this standard can be used over digital telephone networks, as opposed to the standard analog telephone networks. This standard is worldwide.

V.42bis A CCITT V series standard for data compression that lets modems reach data transfer speeds of up to 34,000bps. This standard is worldwide.

value-added network  (VAN)  An independent company that provides connection and EDI transaction forwarding services to businesses engaged in EDI.

vanilla wafer  A cookie created by a browser that contains little or no personal information.

VBScript  A programming language that can create dynamic pages within HTML documents.

Veronica  (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Netwide Index to Computerized Archives)  A program that lets users search "Gopherspace" by keyword. Developed at the University of Nevada, Veronica was a constantly updated database of the names of almost every menu item on thousands of gopher servers. The Veronica database could be searched from most major gopher menus.
Now made obsolete by web-bases search engines.

virtual host  Multiple servers that coexist on a single computer.

virtual private network  (VPN)  A network that uses public networks and their protocols to transmit sensitive data using a system called "tunneling" or "encapsulation". Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private.

virus  Malicious software that attaches itself to another program and can cause damage when the host program is activated.

visit  All the activity of a single visitor as she cuts a path through a Web site.

VMS  The native operating system of Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX computers.

vortal  Portals for vertical industries that are part of a value chain beginning with raw materials and ending with finished products.

VR  (Virtual Reality) 

VRM  (Visitor Relationship Management)  Compare CRM.

VT100  The DEC terminal (actually, the terminal's operating parameters and command set) generally used to define the option of "standard computer terminal". Countless other terminals, as well as PC telecommunications programs, can emulate the VT100.

W

W3C  (World Wide Web Consortium)  (http://www.w3.org)

WAIS  (Wide Area Information Servers)  A commercial software package that allows the indexing of huge quantities of information, and then making those indices searchable across networks such as the Internet. A prominent feature of WAIS is that the search results are ranked (scored) according to how relevant the hits are, and that subsequent searches can find more stuff like that last batch and thus refine the search process. It's an Internet multimedia search-and-retrieve tool offering more than 500 databases. WAIS (pronounced "ways") lets users look through the full text of the document.

WAN  (Wide Area Network)  Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus.

web analytics  Also known as Web traffic analysis, it is a process that involves the parsing of a Web log file and the study of its contents to learn:  how many and what pages were viewed, who visited the site, where they came from, when they entered, how long they stayed, what paths they took, and a whole lot more.  WebTrends makes software that does just that AND produces detailed reports to help you learn more about your site and how it attracts customers.  If you do business online, Web analytics is a fast and easy way to capture information, study your demographics, and make sound business decisions based on solid facts.

Web browser A software application (either text-based or graphical) that lets you browse the world wide Web (WWW). Examples are: Spry Mosaic, Netscape Navigator, and Microsoft Internet Explorer.  

Web catalog model   A business model of selling goods and services on the Web wherein the seller establishes a brand image that conveys quality and uses the strength of that image to sell through catalogs mailed to prospective buyers.  Buyers place orders by mail or by calling the seller's toll-free telephone number.

Web client  A computer that is connected to the Internet and used to download Web pages.

Web Developer  An individual or company that specializes in the development of Web sites. Web developers handle all programming aspects of creating a Web site including HTML programming, creating graphics, adding pictures, creating links, and everything else that goes into building a Web site.

Web Host A company that hosts Web sites. The most common Web host is an Internet Service Provider. The size and scope of the Web host's computer network and the quality and configuration of the hardware system on which Web sites are stored and delivered to the Internet determine the performance and reliability of the Web host.

Web hosting  A business relationship that provides the Internet access services of an ISP along with electronic commerce software, store space, and commerce experts.

Web mall  A type of Web hosting that groups commerce sites in a portal-style directory.

Web Page  A text document which is encoded in HTML, displayed by a browser application, and accessible from remote sites via the WWW.

Web portal  A location on the Web that acts as a launching point for searching, navigating, and other Web-based activities.

Web Publishing Software  Software that allows a user to write HTML without having HTML programming experience. Two of the most popular examples of web publishing software are Adobe PageMill and Microsoft FrontPage. They contain all the tools necessary to create a Web site.

Web server  A type of server dedicated to storing Web-based files. A computer that is connected to the Internet that stores files written in HTML that are publicly available through an Internet connection.   

Web Site A collection of files that are linked to a central Web page, made available via the World Wide Web. The part of the Internet that contains hypertext documents. Also abbreviated WWW.

WHOIS  See InterNIC.

Winsock application  Any program designed for use with Windows sockets.

wire transfer  Synonymous with electronic funds transfer, which is the electronic transfer of account exchange information over secure private communications networks.

worm  A virus that replicates itself on other computers.

WWW (World Wide Web)  Frequently used (incorrectly) when referring to "The Internet", WWW has two major meanings - First, loosely used: the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, telnet, USENET, WAIS and some other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which are the servers that allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together. It is one of several different protocols on the Internet. The WWW is the place that people are raving about. It contains colorful graphics, video, sound bites, real audio, and much, much more. The World Wide Web (also known as WWW, W3, or the Web) is fast becoming the predominant tool for accessing and storing information on the Internet. Like gopher, it is a menu-based system. Unlike gopher, menu items are actually hypertext links which allow the user to jump among menu pages, directories, files, and documents, and other Internet (FTP, gopher, and Telnet) sites.

X

x2 technology or x2™  A transmission scheme developed by U.S. Robotics that is capable of achieving line speeds of up to 56 Kbps. This technology can take advantage of compression schemes such as V.42 bis, to further increase throughput. 

Xenix  Microsoft Corporation's version of the Unix operating system.

XML  (Extensible Markup Language)  A language that describes the semantics of a page's contents and defines data records on a page. It's a widely used system for defining data formats. XML provides a very rich system to define complex documents and data structures such as invoices, molecular data, news feeds, glossaries, inventory descriptions, real estate properties, etc.
As long as a programmer has the XML definition for a collection of data (often called a "schema") then they can create a program to reliably process any data formatted according to those rules. 

Xmodem  A popular file-transfer protocol developed in 1977 by Ward Christiansen. The protocol works by sending blocks of data in 128-byte blocks from PC to PC. Included with this data is an error-detection system called a checksum. When the data is received, the error detection system ensures that the entire message reached its destination. If not, the receiving computer sends a request for retransmission of the data. Compare with Ymodem, Zmodem.

Y

Ymodem  A file-transfer protocol similar to the enhanced 1K version of Xmodem. Ymodem also allows multiple file transmission, performs cyclical redundancy checks (CRC), and can reduce the file transfer size to compensate for a poor connection. Compare to Xmodem, Zmodem.

Z

Z39.50  A US-based protocol (with international OSI counterparts) that allows stress-free information exchange (i.e., full-text or catalog requests) between dissimilar computer systems.

Zmodem  A file-transfer protocol that uses cyclical redundancy check (CRC) to detect errors. It is designed to transfer large files. Compare to Xmodem, Ymodem.

zombie  A program that secretly takes over another computer for the purpose of launching attacks on other computers.  Zombie attacks cannot be traced back to their creators.

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Revised: November 21, 2007