Applet A Java program that can be attached to a web page so that when a person views the web page, they automatically download and run the program. The programs have certain restrictions though, so they can't damage a person's computer or spread viruses.
Certificates - A digital signature presented to you when you visit some sites that attest to the authenticity of the site itself. Issued by third party organizations like "Verisign" , certificates are begining to be used widely around the net.
Cookies - Cookies are tiny bits of code that you may be asked to accept to your hard drive, sent from various websites, that hold information about you that can be used to configure a site to your preferences next time you visit. They can also assign you an account number for use on "store" sites to identify your purchases etc. They are very common and for the most part harmless. You can set your browser to NOT accept them if you wish. This can be bothersome though as many sites like Microsoft hand you a whole "box" of cookies when you visit them.
Cyberspace The term "cyberspace" was first coined by a sci-fi writer in the early 1980s. Cyberspace, Internet, WWW, World Wide Web & Information Superhighway, are used interchangeably.
Encryption The process by which information or data is encoded so that it can safely be transmitted over the Internet without other people being able to read it.
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions. Usually refers to a file that contains a list of frequently asked questions along with answers. FAQs are created so programmers, ISP's and other people aren’t asked the exact same questions over and over again.
Front Page Webots/Extensions - Executable programs that reside on the server side of a website that makes interactive forms and order taking possible. Sometimes called "Webots" They can only be used if the server administrator has installed "extensions" in the customers website. Caprok.net utilizes these extensions so that customers using Front Page 97/98 can create interactive forms for their visitors use.
Freeware Occasionally you will come across a program labeled freeware. This means the program is free to download, copy, distribute and use. Freeware is not the same as Shareware
FTP File Transfer Protocol. FTP is the most common method of transferring files over the internet. There are thousands of FTP archives on the internet, where users can download files and programs, usually for free. To FTP, your computer will need FTP client software. See our FTP page for more information.
FTP Client - Software used to transfer files over the Internet
Gopher Gopher is similar to the World Wide Web, and is slightly older. It is losing popularity as HTML is becoming more popular. Gopher is strictly text-based
Guru An expert. Often used with a qualifier, e.g. Unix Guru, Windows 95 Guru.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language. The programming language used by web pages. Documents written in HTML are also said to be Hypertext documents.
Hypertext Document A file that contains "links" to other files. Web pages are examples of hypertext documents. Hypertext documents use the programming language HTML.
Information Superhighway - just another term for Cyberspace, the Internet, and the World Wide Web
Internet A massive network of computers that covers the entire globe. The large network is actually made up of thousands of smaller networks, all connected together by high speed digital lines or satellites. Even though the Internet is just recently gaining widespread popularity, it has actually been around since 1969.
IRC Internet Relay Chat. IRC allows multiple users to "talk" to each other in real-time over the Internet. To use IRC, you need IRC client software, and you need to choose an IRC server. There are numerous available to everyone. You can talk with anyone who is on the same IRC network as you, even if they are on a different IRC server. IRC is divided into channels. When you join a channel everything you type is visible to other people in the same channel, and everything they type is visible to you. Most channels have a topic, but the conversations on IRC tend to drift far from that topic. More information about IRC is available at http://www.irchelp.org/.
ISDN Stands for: Integrated Services Digital Network. A type of phone line that can be installed in your home or office that can greatly increase you access speeds to the Internet while also providing you other, enhanced services as well. Check out our ISDN Information Page
Java Java is a computer programming language. It has gained a lot of popularity because the same code can be used on many different operating systems Another reason for Java's popularity is that Java applets can be placed on web pages. When someone views that web page, they automatically receive and run the Java applet.
META TAGS - Used in HTML or hypertext documents/web pages to hold "hidden from the viewer" information about the page. Uses for meta tags include, Page titles, search keywords, descriptions of the site etc...
MUD Acronym: Multi-User Dungeon. A multi-player game that can be played over the Internet using telnet. Such games are usually text-based.
Newbie A person who is new to the Internet.
Newsgroup Newsgroups are sort of like discussion groups. There are over 30,000 different newsgroups available now, and each one is on a specific topic. You can read messages written by other people on that topic, or ask / answer questions yourself. Some newsgroups are moderated, meaning someone watches over what is said on the newsgroups and censors it, but most are unmoderated, so be careful, you never know what you might see or read.
Operating System (OS) An operating system is the very basic "program" which makes your computer start and run. It helps the higher level applications "talk" to the hardware. Common operating systems are MS-DOS, Windows 95, UNIX, MAC System 8, etc. Normally programs written for one operating system will not run on another.
PGP "Pretty Good Privacy", an encryption program that is popular on the Internet. PGP helps to prevent other people from reading things such as email messages which you send to a friend.
PPP Point to Point Protocol. PPP is the protocol used if you want to connect to the Internet graphically. Programs like Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer use PPP connections by default.
RFC Request For Comments. Documents describing the Internet standards (such as networking protocols) as well as informational documents. Mostly technical in nature. They are available for download at ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc.
Shareware is a term to describe software that has been made available by it's author on a Try-Before-You-Buy basis. This means that you may download and use the program for free, but you may not continue to use it for extended periods of time unless you "register" or purchase it.
Smiley are small faces created with ordinary text. :) Smileys can be read by tilting your head to the side. They are often used in email and IRC to describe emotions, since it is sometimes hard to let someone know you are sad, happy or kidding. A smiley dictionary can be found at www.eff.org. But for now, the common smileys are:
Spider A program that gets it's name because it automatically walks the web and visits websites. They are commonly used to automatically visit search engines and directories submission pages and register customer websites for Internet marketing companies. (A tedious job if done manually) They are also used by search engines and directories to visit websites and index the information found there. Sometimes called agents, indexing agents, robots and bots. They can also be used to gather specific information from webpages such as any email address's found there. (this is one of the ways that email marketers gather their lists.) or competitors product information. Spiders do no harm and are welcomed on most servers. Spiders can also be restricted by network administrators so that they can not gather info from certain selected domains or websites.
Telnet Telnet is used to connect to a remote computer across the Internet This protocol is similar to the old way of dialing up to another computers modem via phone lines, but you use the Internet instead.
Unix Unix is an operating system that was originally developed by Bell Laboratories around 1970.
URL Uniform Resource Locator. The URL is basically the Internet Address (see our help page explaining Internet Addresses ) URL’s usually look something like this: http://www.caprok.com/
Virtual Domain Server space configured to look like a server itself. The address of a virtual Domain looks like this: www.anyco.com Sometime referred to as a : Domain
Virus A virus is a small executable program that attaches itself to other executable programs. Viruses can do many things to damage a computer, but most virus's are relatively harmless. For more information on viruses, see the Virus Page. Contrary to popular belief, you can not get a virus by viewing a web page or reading email. You can, however get a virus from an executable file attached to an email message. If there is any doubt where an email message came from that has an attached executable file with it, the attachment can be deleted without harm to your computer.
Web Page A web page is one single page on a website on the World Wide Web. You are currently viewing a web page now!
Website The storage space set aside on a server that holds your web pages. Also called server space. May or may not be a virtual domain.
Windows - Microsoft Windows 95 or 3.X or NT. Operating systems used by the majority of computer systems in the world today.