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ABCs of the Internet

browser bulletin board chat room cookies directory or Web directory domain name download encryption or encryption code e-mail or electronic mail e-mail address home page hyperlink icon link listserv mouse tracks	online opt out parental access control password privacy privacy policy or statement profile or personal profile real time registration search engine screen name surf URL or Uniform Resource Locator Web page Web site WWW or World Wide Web
browser computer software that lets you move from one Web site to another. bulletin board also called newsgroup, a bulletin board is a public place on the Internet where people can post and read online messages about a specific topic such as a favorite TV show or type of music or science. As on bulletin boards in the "real" world, people can review information on an Internet bulletin boards anytime they want, and respond or not. chat room a live online system that allows several people to send messages back and forth; similar to a conference telephone call. The communication is not confidential - it can be read by everyone who enters the chat room. cookies bits of information sent by a Web site to your Internet browser for storage. Cookies can help make your online activity quicker and easier by storing information about your interests and preferences, and making it available when you revisit the site.
directory or Web directory a catalog of everything on the World Wide Web organized by category. A directory may also contain a search engine. Yahoo! is one well-known directory; Yahooligans! is the section of it designed specifically for children. domain name the part of the Internet address or URL that identifies a specific Web site. download to copy a file from the Internet to your computer. encryption or encryption code a system for scrambling an e-mail or other Internet communication for security and to protect privacy. For example, encryption is used to protect sales or banking transactions. e-mail or electronic mail messages, similar to letters, sent or received through the Internet. E-mail can be addressed to one person or a whole group. It can be read and answered at the convenience of the receiver. e-mail address your screen name plus the domain name of your Internet provider; the address needed to send you e-mail. Example: tom@aol.com home page the first page of a Web site, an introduction to the site's contents. hyperlink an electronic connection that automatically takes you from one Web site to another. For example, a parenting Web site may provide a hyperlink to a Web site about child development or first aid and publications that are of interest to parents. icon a graphic button or picture on a computer screen that commands the computer to act. For example, you click on an icon to start a software program.
link see hyperlink. listserv an automated system that manages mailing lists and sends messages about a specific topic to large groups of people who have signed up to receive them. Many listservs also allow people to share their opinions with the group by sending as well as receiving messages. mouse tracks (also called click stream data) bits of information some sites collect about what pages you visit as you explore their Web sites. newsgroup see bulletin board. online communicating with a computer on the Internet. opt out to choose not to have personal information rented, sold, exchanged or used in the future. parental access control a system that allows parents to decide what access their children will have to Web sites, e-mail, chat rooms, newsgroups and other Internet connections. password a confidential security code you choose, then use to connect with the Internet. Generally everyone in a family uses the same password, while each member has a personal screen name. privacy the right to have personal information and communication kept confidential; the right to be left alone. privacy policy or statement a Web site's policy for collecting and using information about the people who visit the site. profile or personal profile information that some site or service provider may collect about you and your interests and activities. real time occurring now, as you see or hear it; for example, chat rooms let people communicate in real time, while e-mail can be sent now and answered much later. registration providing personal details including your name, e-mail address, home address or phone number.
search engine a system that explores the Internet to find a Web site or topics related to a key word or phrase. Webcrawler, Excite and AltaVista are some well-known search engines. screen name your Internet name. Sometimes it is given to you by your Internet provider; sometimes you choose your own screen name. A screen name that does not identify you, your family, your age or gender helps protect your privacy. surf to move around the Web from site to site. URL or Uniform Resource Locator identifies the address or location of information on the World Wide Web. For example, the URL http://www.the-dma.org shows that The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) is a site on the World Wide Web. The domain name is the section that includes the identifying letters or name of the sponsor plus a three-letter syllable that shows the general type of site, such as: .org, a non-profit association; .com, a commercial, profit-making company or organization; .edu, an educational institution such as a school or college; .gov, a government agency or organization Some URL endings also indicate the country of origin. For example, .fr is a French site, .jp is a Japanese one. Web page a document on the World Wide Web. Web site an area on the World Wide Web that is maintained by an organization and has a unique URL. For example, http://www.CyberSavvy.org WWW or World Wide Web the part of the Internet that contains graphics, illustrations, sound and text. Web addresses all start with the letters http://www