Jargon Buster
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4Kat least Video 3840x2160that has a resolutionpixels. of Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. Beta A version of software that’s being tested. Blue light Light given off by PC and phone screens. Can disrupt sleep patterns. Blue screen of death Technically called a ‘Stop error’, this is shown when your PC crashes.
Botnet A group of infected computers connected together via the internet, and used to infect other PCS, send junk email and perform other criminal tasks. Browser hijackers Programs that change your default browser, its homepage and search engine, without prior warning, when you install them. Calibration The process of checking that colours are accurate on a monitor. Cast To wirelessly send content from your PC to TV. Clock speed The speed at which a computer processor can perform operations. Measured in Gigahertz (GHZ). CPU Central Processing Unit. Another term for a computer processor. DAC-UP (port) Digital-to-analog converter. Connects to the PC for audio playback. DDR4 The newest, fastest commonly used type of computer memory. DOS Disk Operating System. DOS was the predecessor to Windows. Driver A file that tells Windows how to work with a connected device. Emoji A small graphic that can be inserted into a text message or email. Ethernet A standard used for almost all wired computer networks.
Factory reset A software restore of an electronic device to its original system state by erasing all of the information stored on the device in an attempt to restore the device’s software to its original manufacturer settings. False positive When an antivirus program wrongly detects a malware infection. Firmware Basic software stored on a device, such as a music player, to control its operation. Can sometimes be upgraded in a process often called flashing. Ghosting In relation to television screens, the appearance of an offset second image that’s a ghost-like facsimile of the first. GHZ Gigahertz. A measure of how many instructions a chip can process per second. 1GHZ is equal to 1,000MHZ. Gigabit Ethernet A very fast networking standard that can transfer data at up to 1,000Mbps. Graphics card A component in a computer that produces the image shown on the monitor. HTML Hypertext Markup Language. The language used to write most web pages. IBAN code International Bank Account Number. Made up of 32 letters and numbers. IP address Internet Protocol Address. A unique set of numbers, separated by full stops, used to identify computers and websites on the internet. ISO file A type of image file that contains all the data from a CD or DVD. Keylogger A piece of malicious software that records all the letters and numbers typed on a PC in an effort to find passwords or other valuable information. LCD Liquid crystal display. The technology used to create almost all flatscreen monitors. M.2 A standard specification for internal PC expansion cards and connectors.
Macro commandsAn automatedor options seriesthat can of be run at any time. Metadata information A aboutset of a data file. that gives Microsd A small type of memory card. Can be converted to SD size using an adapter. Micro USB A miniature version of USB, often found on smartphones, tablets and portable hard drives. Motherboard The main circuit board inside every PC into which all other parts connect. NAS Network-attached storage. A hard drive attached to a network that can be shared with other PCS.
OCR Optical character recognition. The process by which printed text is scanned and converted into documents that can be edited. Open source Software that can be modified by anyone, rather than just by the employees of the company that created it. Partition A large hard drive can be split into two or more partitions or ‘virtual’ drives. PCIE Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. A faster version of PCI – a slot on the motherboard for expansion cards. Plug-in A small program that adds extra features to software or to your web browser. Protocol A type of internet technology that is regarded as the accepted standard. PUP Potentially unwanted program. A program that may not be desired. Push notification A message from an app that appears on a phone or tablet, even when you’re not using the app. QR code Quick Response Code. A barcode that can be read using smartphones. Quad core A computer that has four processors on a single chip, which allows it to operate faster than single-core computers.
Ransomwarehackers who lock Malwarefiles on run your by PC releaseand demandthem. a payment to Referenceused to check card monitorA colour accuracy,chart like the old TV test card. Refresh rate Measured in Hertz (Hz), the number of times per second that the image on your monitor is redrawn. SATA Serial ATA. An interface for connecting modern hard drives and optical discs to a computer. SD card Secure Digital card. A popular type of memory card. SRGB A standard RGB colour space for use on monitors, printers and the internet. RGB stands for red, green and blue. SSD Solid-state drive. Storage that, unlike a hard drive, uses no moving parts.
System restore point The collection of system files stored by System Restore on a given date and time to which Windows can revert if a problem occurs. Trojan A malicious computer program that’s disguised as a different, harmless program. USB 2.0/3.0 Faster successors to USB that are used by devices such as external hard drives. USB Type-c A new USB connector type that’s reversible, letting you plug it in upside down. VPN Virtual private network. A technology for keeping all internet communication safe and private even on insecure networks. Whitelist A list of allowed websites, email addresses and programs used by security software. Zero-day vulnerability A security flaw accidentally introduced into new or updated software that can be exploited by malware or hackers before it is fixed. ZIP file A file that contains a number of compressed documents or files.