File
Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is a protocol used
to upload files form a workstation to a FTP server or download files
from a FTP server to a workstation. It is the way that files get transferred
from one device to another in order for the files to be available on the
Internet. In contrast, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, HTTP is a protocol used to transfer files from a
Web server onto a browser in order to view a Web page that is on the Internet.
Unlike FTP, where entire files are transferred from one device to another and
copied into memory, HTTP only transfers the contents of a web page into a
browser for viewing. FTP is a two-way system as files are transferred back and
forth between server and workstation. HTTP is a one-way system as files are
transported only from the server onto the workstation’s browser. When http
appears in a URL it means that the user
is connecting to a Web server and not a file server. The files are transferred
but not downloaded, therefore not copied into the memory of the receiving
device.
Firewall
Software or
hardware that limits certain kinds of access to a computer from a network or
other outside source.
Packets
A block of
data that can be transmitted from one computer to another on a network like the
Internet. A packet contains data to be transmitted, data to guide the packet,
and data that correct errors along the way.
Router
A specialized
machine that runs various protocols to direct network packets from one segment
to another.
Search Engine
A search
engine is a piece of software that looks up information on the Internet for you
just like a librarian would help you locate books in a library. It would fine
the sites with the phrase you ask in a jiffy and it would look up all of the
Internet libraries for you.
“Cookies”?
“Cookies”
are pieces of information that a web site transfers to your computer’s hard
disk for record-keeping purposes. “Cookies” can make the Web more useful by
storing information about your preferences on a particular site, such as your
preferred chart settings. The use of “Cookies” is an industry standard, and
many major Web sites use them to provide useful features for their customers.
“Cookies” in and of themselves do not personally identify users, although they
do identify a user’s computer. Most browsers are initially set to accept
“Cookies”. If you’d prefer, you can set yours to refuse “Cookies”. However, you
may not be able to take full advantage of a Web site if you do so.
Bandwidth
Computer
networks transfer data. The term bandwidth describes the amount of data that is
transferred over any unit of time. It is usually ensured in Bits Per Seconds
(Bps). To convert Bps into the more familiar measure of kilobytes per Second
(KBps) requires the division of the Bps figure by approximately 800 (there are
8 bits in any one byte and the prefix “kilo” means units of 1000)(. The term Bandwidth
is usually used in conjunction with data transmission via any kind of
connecting media.
The average
speed of data transfer – the bandwidth – depends always on the slowest link in
a chain between computer. Traditionally the data transfer rate decreases with
the distance between the computer that exchange information. With the advances
of technology this difference becomes blurred and less significant.
