Tech Jargon Demystified

Have you ever been confused by tech jargon?

My guess is probably yes. Most people have probably suffered from confusion when a tech person throws some weird acronym, initialism, buzz word, or tech term at you. This is what we call tech jargon.

Recently on our Facebook page I have been posting some Q & A style posts to help people demystify some of the terminology we use in the tech world.

Below you will find a list of the terms that I have posted to Facebook (and Instagram) as they are posted. The initial list is pretty short but as it grows this will be a good place to come look for new terms that you’ve heard and are unsure what they mean.

The List

2FA: 2FA is short for “Two Factor Authentication”. This adds a layer of protection to your accounts. When you log in to a website or service and it sends you a code via text or email, asks you a question, or asks you for a code from an app like Google Authenticator this is 2FA at work.

Algorithm: A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

BYOD: It is short for bring your own device. It’s when staff can use their own smartphones, tablets or laptops to do their work on, by connecting them to the company network.

Cloud: This generally refers to remote / off-site storage where data, software and services are stored and processed. Many online services are referred to as cloud services. Think of Gmail, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Google Docs, etc. This are also sometimes referred to SaaS (Software as a Service see SaaS below).

Cookie: A cookie is a small piece of data that a web server sends to your browser. This data contains unique identifiers that allow websites to remember you, your preferences, and your online browsing patterns.

Cyber Security: This is all the methods, systems and processes involved in protecting computer systems and data from unauthorized access.

DNS: The Domain Name System. Think of the internet like a giant city with millions of houses. Every house has an address (an IP address), but remembering all those numbers is impossible! DNS is like the internet’s phonebook. When you type a website name like “https://www.google.com/search?q=google.com,” DNS looks up that name and finds the correct numerical address (the IP address) so your computer can connect to the right website.

Domain Name: A domain name is a unique, human-readable web address that identifies a website on the internet. It serves as an easy-to-remember substitute for the numerical IP address of the web server.

DoS (and DDoS): DoS stands for Denial of Service and DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. They are both methods used to take a service offline by overwhelming the target system. DoS attacks generally originate from one source while DDoS attacks use many sources (that’s where distributed comes from).

Emulation: Emulation, in computer systems, is the process of mimicking the behavior of one system (hardware or software) by another, allowing the second system to run software or use peripheral devices designed for the first.

Encryption: Encryption is the branch of cryptography that focuses on transforming information into an unreadable format. This ensures that only individuals with specific knowledge or access can understand it, keeping it secure from unauthorized third parties.

Ethernet: Ethernet is the most common method for physically connecting devices to a network. This involves using cables to link devices within a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), allowing them to communicate using a shared network protocol.

Firewall: A system that monitors and controls network traffic based on preset security rules. It acts as a barrier, protecting your internal network from external threats. It is often a custom hardware device provided by your networking company or Internet Service Provider.

FTP: It stands for File Transfer Protocol. It’s a set of rules that computers use to move files back and forth over the internet. Think of it like a delivery service specifically for computer files. FTP was first proposed way back in 1971. It was one of the early ways people could share files between computers

GitHub: GitHub is an online platform used by developers to collaborate on, and share, their application source code. It was original created by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, P. J. Hyett and Scott Chacon. However, it was sold to Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion US.

IoT: The Internet of Things (IoT) is like connecting everyday objects – things like your fridge, thermostat, or even your car – to the internet. This allows them to share information and sometimes even work automatically, making our lives more convenient and efficient. Think of it as giving regular objects the ability to “talk” to the internet and to us.

IRC: It stands for Internet Relay Chat. Think of it like a big online group chat room where people can talk to each other in real-time. IRC has been around since 1988. It was created by a Finnish student named Jarkko Oikarinen as an improvement to an existing chat program. ¹ So, it’s been helping people chat online for over 35 years!

ISP: An ISP, which stands for Internet Service Provider, is a company that offers internet access and related services to individuals and organizations. These companies may also provide services such as web hosting and email accounts.

LAN: A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that connects devices within a limited geographical area, such as a home, office, ¹ or school. It allows these devices to communicate and share resources

Large Language Model (LLM): A Large Language Model (LLM) is an advanced artificial intelligence program trained on massive amounts of text data, enabling it to understand and generate human-like text for various tasks like translation, summarization, and content creation.

Malware: It is like a computer virus that someone creates to intentionally cause trouble. It’s a type of software designed to sneak into your devices (like computers and phones) and do harmful things, such as stealing your information, messing up your files, or slowing things down.

Metaverse: The metaverse is a virtual reality space where users can enter a computer-generated world and interact with others.

Modem: A modem is a device that acts like a translator between your computer’s digital language and the internet’s analog signals, allowing your devices to connect to the internet. It converts outgoing digital signals into analog for transmission and incoming analog signals back into digital for your computer to understand.

SaaS: This stands for Software as a Service. It’s software that’s online based GMail, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Google Docs, Dropbox, etc. These are also sometimes referred to as cloud services (see “the cloud” above).

Token Ring: Token Ring is an older type of network where computers are connected in a loop. A special “token” passes around the circle, and only the computer holding the token can send information, preventing data collisions. Think of it like a talking stick – only the person with the stick can speak.

VPN: This is an initialization of Virtual Private Network. It is a service that allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. It is often used by companies to allow employees to remotely access internal services and applications.

Web Server: A web server is a special computer that holds all the files for a website. When you visit a website, your computer asks this server for the files, and the server sends them back so you can see the website.

WWW: “WWW” stands for World Wide Web. It is the collection of all the public websites accessible through the internet. Think of it as one of the main ways we access information online.

WYSIWYG: It is pronounced “wizzy-wig”. It stands for “what you see is what you get”. A type of design or code editor that is visual rather than typing in programming code. Similar to software like Canva or MS Word where the end product is what you see while you’re editing it.

That is it for our tech jargon list. Check back often as I will add more as I come across them. Feel free to comment if you have a terms or concepts you’d like to see added and I will do my best to do so.

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