Glossary
Except when noticed, all words in this glossary come from this source (in French only): Bibliothèque virtuelle de l'Office québécois de la langue française
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Alias
Nickname chosen by Internet users when chatting online with other Internet users.
Blog
Personal website maintained by one or several bloggers who openly and frequently express themselves using informative or personal columns and articles, which are dated, similar to a diary, signed and displayed in reverse-chronological order, sometimes enhanced with links, images or audio, and may be commented on by readers.
Browser
Client software that enables a user to search for and access hypertext and hypermedia information on the Internet. Examples of browsers are Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, Firefox and Opera.
Chatting
See Instant Messaging
Computer virus
Malicious program that launches when the attached vector is covertly enabled. It duplicates itself within other programs or system areas from which it proceeds to spread and carry out the malicious actions that it was designed to trigger.
Content management system
Integrated cross-platform system that allows companies and organizations to quickly and easily manage a website's dynamic and editorial content.
Content management systems are flexible dynamic solutions that enable companies to easily update websites, i.e., correct and add text, photographs and multimedia functions on their website, without the need for outside assistance.
Abbreviation: CMS
Discussion forum
Service offered by an information server or an electronic bulletin board on a network like the Internet and that allows a group of people to discuss their opinions and ideas on a particular topic, live or offline, using a variety of formats (email lists, IRC (Internet relay chat) channels, etc.).
Discussion forums can bring together professionals or amateurs on a great variety of topics, in a work-related or leisure context. They arise from special interest groups (SIGs), but they are different than SIGs, since not only are they prevalent in the IT field, they are also focused on discussing rather than on sharing information.
Although they may use an IRC channel, discussions in a forum are different than chatting, as they are usually between more than two people, are not casual conversations and are based on a topic, which is not always the case with chatting.
Electronic commerce
All the commercial activities that are carried out over the Internet, including promoting, purchasing and selling products and services online.
Filter
Source: Industrie Canada
Software that can distinguish between desirable and undesirable email using the characteristics of the message. For example, it can check for the presence of certain text strings, similarities with other messages or other criteria.
Identity theft
Source: Grand dictionnaire terminologique de l'Office québécois de la langue française
Fraud that consists of collecting and using personal information without the victim’s knowledge or consent, usually for criminal purposes.
Instant messaging
Real-time messaging service that allows users to consult a list of correspondents with whom they are simultaneously online and immediately communicate with them.
Messages usually appear spontaneously on the screen in a window, without the need for user intervention. Instant messaging offers users the possibility of using email functions (transfer of files and web addresses) and participating in chat sessions.
An example of instant messaging service is AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), offered by America Online.
Internet domain
Part of a host name that identifies a network organization and that specifies the hierarchical level of that organization on the Internet. There are three-character descriptive domains (www.company.com) and two-character domains (ic.gc.ca).
IP address
Computers connected to the Internet have unique numbers to identify and locate them, consisting of four decimal numbers separated by dots.
Since the host name and number that identify a website may be used indifferently to access this website, they are not considered addresses. That is why the term Internet address is widely used to refer to both of these concepts.
For example, the address 132.203.250.87 may be read as: computer 87 located at 250th network of network 203, which itself is located in global network 132. This type of addressing is the basis of the TCP-IP communications protocol.
Link
Online connection enabled upon request that links textual data with a complementary relationship wherever it is found on the Internet.
Note: On webpages, the presence of a link is visually indicated by its anchor, which may be part of a sentence or an underlined word or in a different colour than the text, or an image, icon, or graphic.
Operating system
A computer's system software used to run programs by managing activities, input-output operations on peripheral equipment, assignment of resources to various processes, access to application libraries and files, and accounting of work.
Examples: Windows XP, UNIX, Linux, Apple Mac OS X.
Phishing
Mass mailing of a bogus email, made to look authentic by identifying itself as a financial institution or well-known commercial site, in which recipients are asked, under various pretexts, to update personal or banking information by clicking on a link to a bogus website, an exact copy of an institution’s or a company’s website, where the pirate operation gathers information with the intention of diverting funds.
Reputable intermediary
Source: ISIQ
In electronic commerce, a reputable intermediary is a recognized company that offers secure online payment solutions, such as PayPal.
Even if a supplier uses a reputable intermediary, this does not necessarily mean that it is trustworthy, but the intermediary means that the supplier had to open an account and meet certain requirements.
Server
Source: Industrie Canada
Computer that provides one or several services to other computers, such as the email server, Domain Name Server (DNS) and Web server.
Social networks
Source: ISIQ
Online social networks are virtual communities linking people that want to share interests, activities and a few information.Internet applications or websites used to communicate with acquaintances, meet new people or build a professional network.
Spam
An unsolicited or unwanted electronic message, usually an advertisement, which is sent to a large number of Internet users without their consent and which normally ends up in the garbage.
Spyware
Any software running in the background that uses the individual's Internet connection to gather and send personal information, in particular on the user’s web-surfing habits, to advertisers, without the individual’s knowledge or consent.
Spyware, which is normally freeware or shareware, obtained by downloading, is completely invisible to users. It does not look like programs and cannot be uninstalled. However, it can be repaired or deleted with software specifically designed for this purpose.
Trojan horse
Malicious program hidden inside another harmless-looking program (for example, a game or small utility) that performs malicious functions without the user's knowledge.
The Trojan horse usually gives access to the computer on which it is launched by opening a back door. Thus, it may allow hackers to break into files and consult, change or destroy them without the user's knowledge.
The Trojan horse is sometimes considered a virus (Trojan horse computer virus or Trojan horse virus). However, this is not necessarily the case, as its goal is not to duplicate and infect other machines. Moreover, some viruses may be Trojan horses if they are designed to spread and open a door to infected machines.
URL address
Standardized series of characters used to identify a webpage or other online reference, which is normally presented as http://mydomain.ca/a_page.
Wiki
Collaborative website where visitors may easily contribute to its content development.
The main characteristic of a Wiki website is that it enables users to quickly and easily change any of its pages. A Wiki website usually has buttons (edit, history, etc.) located at the bottom of each page.
"Wiki" is a Hawaiian word that means "fast."
Zombie computer
Personal computer infected and remotely controlled by a malicious hacker. Without the owner's knowledge, the zombie computer is used to send large amounts of spam or anonymously launch denial of service attacks.
In concrete terms, the personal computer is infected by a malicious program that allows a hacker to remotely control it and use its high bandwidth connection.
Together, all of these zombie computers, which are infected and remotely controlled, form a botnet (sometimes connecting thousands of computers), which allows hackers to access powerful resources. These hacked computers are a source of significant business; their location is often used to conduct illicit operations such as spamming, i.e., the abusive sending of advertising. Owners of zombie computers may therefore be unwitting accomplices to a crime.