Internet Firewall Jargon, Acronyms, Terms
Rated: 
Adware – any piece of software, usually a utility that automatically displays advertisements when running (the term a combination of “advertisement and software”; often contains spyware features and is considered a type of malware
Censorware – a type of content-control software designed to block off websites for a variety of purposes, e.g., workplace surfing, kids-safe surfing, etc.
Demilitarized Zone/DMZ – an area found between an internal network (as in a workplace) and an external network (e.g. the Internet); is able to connect to the external network but not to the internal network, thereby protecting the latter; may be created when firewalls are set up
File Transfer Protocol/FTP – an application layer protocol that is most useful for sending and receiving files through a network, usually the Internet
Gopher – a network protocol for document search and retrieval, similar to the one for the World Wide Web
Hypertext Transfer Protocol/HTTP – an application layer protocol used for communicating on the World Wide Web
Internet Protocol/IP – a network layer protocol associated with transmitting data over a network
IP Address – a unique number that is assigned to every device that communicates within a network (e.g. computers, routers, printers, telephones)
Malware – software programmed to infiltrate or cause damage to a computer it runs on (see our article on security threats)
Network Address Translation/NAT – the process of reformatting or "translating" the addresses of where packets come from and go to, especially when passing through a sub-network
Operating System/OS – a piece of software that manages all aspects of a computer; found on most computers including personal computers
Packet – a chunk containing information and is transmitted through a network; consists of the header, the data, and the trailer
Secure HTTP/S-HTTP – another form of encrypted communication using HTTP; useful for transactions that need to be particularly secure, e.g. e-commerce websites
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/SMTP – an application layer protocol that is used for sending e-mail and internet fax; also known as ESMTP
SOCKS – short for "SOCKetS", allows requests to communicate when a network firewall is present
Spyware – a type of malware that characteristically spies on or monitors computer usage and other possibly sensitive information and sends them to the creator of that software, possibly to exploit the information gathered
Wide Area Information Servers/WAIS – a system that allows users to search index databases on other computers in a network
Print Article
Send to a friend
Save as PDF