The world of SEO and Internet Marketing has gained considerable popularity in the last few years, and has its own language and dictionary of terms. We have compiled a list of some of the most used words in Search Engine Optimization and other Internet related terms to help you.
Select a letter to see the terms starting with this letter.
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Term and Description |
| 1. | F2FShort for face-to-face. In person, rather than over the Internet. The term is used in e-mail. |
| 2. | Face TimeTime spent dealing face-to-face with another person, rather than communicating electronically. |
| 3. | Fair UseA legal doctrine describing the boundaries of legitimate use of copyrighted software or other published material. |
| 4. | FanzineA magazine, distributed on line or by mail, that is produced by and devoted to fans of a particular group, person, or activity. |
| 5. | FAQFrequently Asked Questions. A document listing common
questions and answers on a particular subject. FAQs are often posted on
Internet newsgroups where new participants tend to ask the same questions
that regular readers have answered many times. |
| 6. | Favorites FolderIn Microsoft Internet Explorer, a collection of shortcuts to Web sites that a user has selected for future reference. Other Web browsers refer to this collection by other names, such as bookmarks or hotlists. |
| 7. | Fax ModemA modem that sends (and possibly receives) data encoded in a fax format, which a fax machine or another modem decodes and converts to an image. The image must already have been encoded on the host computer. Text and graphic documents can be converted into fax format by special software usually provided with the modem; paper documents must first be scanned in. Fax modems may be internal or external and may combine fax and conventional modem capabilities. |
| 8. | Fax ServerA computer on a network capable of sending and receiving fax transmissions to and from other computers on the network. |
| 9. | feedSee "newsfeed". |
| 10. | Fiberoptic CableA form of cable used in networks that transmits signals optically, rather than electrically as do coaxial and twisted-pair cable. The light-conducting heart of a fiberoptic cable is a fine glass or plastic fiber called the core. This core is surrounded by a refractive layer called the cladding that effectively traps the light and keeps it bouncing along the central fiber. Outside both the core and the cladding is a final layer of plastic or plastic-like material called the coat, or jacket. Fiberoptic cable can transmit clean signals at speeds as high as 2 Gbps. Because it transmits light, not electricity, it is also immune to eavesdropping. |
| 11. | FidonetA protocol for sending e-mail, newsgroup postings, and files over telephone lines. The protocol originated on the Fido BBS, initiated in 1984 by Tom Jennings, and maintaining low costs has been a factor in its subsequent development. Fidonet can exchange e-mail with the Internet. |
| 12. | File ProtectionA process or device by which the existence and integrity of a file are maintained. Methods of file protection range from allowing read-only access and assigning passwords to covering the write-protect notch on a disk and locking away floppy disks holding sensitive files. |
| 13. | File ServerA file-storage device on a local area network that is accessible to all users on the network. Unlike a disk server, which appears to the user as a remote disk drive, a file server is a sophisticated device that not only stores files but manages them and maintains order as network users request files and make changes to them. To deal with the tasks of handling multiple, sometimes simultaneous requests for files, a file server contains a processor and controlling software as well as a disk drive for storage. On local area networks, a file server is often a computer with a large hard disk that is dedicated only to the task of managing shared files. |
| 14. | File Server for MacintoshAn AppleTalk network integration service that allows Macintosh clients and personal computers clients to share files. Also called "MacFile". |
| 15. | Finger1. An Internet utility, originally limited to UNIX but now available on many other platforms, that enables a user to obtain information on other users who may be at other sites (if those sites permit access by finger). Given an e-mail address, finger returns the user's full name, an indication of whether or not the user is currently logged on, and any other information the user has chosen to supply as a profile. Given a first or last name, finger returns the logon names of users whose first or last names match. 2. To obtain information on a user by means of the finger program. |
| 16. | Fingerprint1. To scan a computer system to discover what operating system (OS) the computer is running. By detecting a computer's OS through fingerprinting, a hacker is better able to specify attacks on system vulnerabilities and therefore better able to plan an attack on that system. A hacker may use several different fingerprinting schemes separately and in tandem to pinpoint the OS of a target computer. 2. Information embedded or attached to a file or image to uniquely identify it. |
| 17. | FirewallA security system intended to protect an organization's network against external threats, such as hackers, coming from another network, such as the Internet. Usually a combination of hardware and software, a firewall prevents computers in the organization's network from communicating directly with computers external to the network and vice versa. Instead, all communication is routed through a proxy server outside of the organization's network, and the proxy server decides whether it is safe to let a particular message or file pass through to the organization's network. |
| 18. | Five-nines AvailabilityThe availability of a system 99.999 percent of the time. |
| 19. | FIXFederal Internet Exchange. A connection point between the U.S. government's various internets and the Internet. There are two Federal Internet Exchanges: FIX West, in Mountain View, California; and FIX East, in College Park, Maryland. Together, they link the backbones of MILNET, ESnet (the TCP/IP network of the Department of Energy), and NSInet (NASA Sciences Internet) with NSFnet. |
| 20. | Flame1. An abusive or personally insulting e-mail message or newsgroup posting. 2. To send an abusive or personally insulting e-mail message or newsgroup posting. 3. To criticize personally by means of e-mail messages or newsgroup postings. |
| 21. | Flame baitA posting to a mailing list, newsgroup, or other online conference that is likely to provoke flames, often because it expresses a controversial opinion on a highly emotional topic. |
| 22. | Flame WarA discussion in a mailing list, newsgroup, or other online conference that has turned into a protracted exchange of flames. |
| 23. | FlamefestA series of inflammatory messages or articles in a newsgroup or other online conference. |
| 24. | FlamerA person who sends or posts abusive messages via e-mail, in newsgroups and other online forums, and in online chats. |
| 25. | FOCUSFederation on Computing in the United States. |
| 26. | Follow-upA post to a newsgroup that replies to an article. The follow-up has the same subject line as the original article, with the prefix "Re:" attached. An article and all of its follow-ups, in the order they were received, constitute a thread, which a user can read together using a newsreader. |
| 27. | Fortune CookieA proverb, prediction, joke, or other phrase chosen at random from a collection of such items and output to the screen by a program. Fortune cookies are sometimes displayed at logon and logoff times by UNIX systems. |
| 28. | ForumA medium provided by an online service or BBS for users to carry on written discussions of a particular topic by posting messages and replying to them. On the Internet, the most widespread forums are the newsgroups in Usenet. |
| 29. | ForwardIn e-mail, to send a received message, either modified or in its entirety, to a new recipient. |
| 30. | Four-nines AvailabilityThe availability of a system 99.99 percent of the time. |
| 31. | Frame1. A single screen-sized image that can be displayed in sequence with other, slightly different, images to create animated drawings. 2. The storage required to hold one screen-sized image of text, graphics, or both. 3. A rectangular space containing, and defining the proportions of, a graphic. 4. A rectangular section of the page displayed by a Web browser that is a separate HTML document from the rest of the page. Web pages can have multiple frames, each of which is a separate document. Associated with each frame are the same capabilities as for an unframed Web page, including scrolling and linking to another frame or Web site; these capabilities can be used independently of other frames on the page. Frames, which were introduced in Netscape Navigator 2.0, are often used as a table of contents for one or more HTML documents on a Web site. Most current Web browsers support frames, although older ones do not. |
| 32. | Frame SourceIn the HTML frames environment, a contents document that will look for the source document to display within a frame drawn by the local browser. |
| 33. | Frames PageA Web page that divides a Web browser window into different scrollable areas that can independently display several Web pages. One window can remain unchanged, while the other windows change based on hyperlinks that the user selects. |
| 34. | Free SoftwareSoftware, complete with source code, that is distributed freely to users who are in turn free to use, modify, and distribute it, provided that all alterations are clearly marked and that the name and copyright notice of the original author are not deleted or modified in any way. Unlike freeware, which a user might or might not have permission to modify, free software is protected by a license agreement. Free software is a concept pioneered by the Free Software Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
| 35. | FreenetA community-based computer BBS and Internet service provider, usually operated by volunteers and providing free access to subscribers in the community or access for a very small fee. Many freenets are operated by public libraries or universities. |
| 36. | FreewareA computer program given away free of charge and often made available on the Internet or through user groups. An independent program developer might offer a product as freeware either for personal satisfaction or to assess its reception among interested users. Freeware developers often retain all rights to their software, and users are not necessarily free to copy or distribute it further. |
| 37. | Frequently Asked QuestionsSee "FAQs". |
| 38. | FringewareFreeware whose reliability and value are questionable. |
| 39. | Front End1. In a client/server application, the part of the program that runs on the
client. 2. In networking, a client computer or the processing that takes place on it. |
| 40. | Front-end Processor1. Generally, a computer or processing unit that produces and manipulates data before another processor receives it. 2. In communications, a computer that is located between communications lines and a main (host) computer and is used to relieve the host of housekeeping chores related to communications; sometimes considered synonymous with communications controller. A front-end processor is dedicated entirely to handling transmitted information, including error detection and control; receipt, transmission, and possibly encoding of messages; and management of the lines running to and from other devices. |
| 41. | FTP1. Acronym for File Transfer Protocol, a fast, application-level protocol widely used for copying files to and from remote computer systems on a network using TCP/IP, such as the Internet. This protocol also allows users to use FTP commands to work with files, such as listing files and directories on the remote system. See also TCP/IP. 2. A common logon ID for anonymous FTP. 3. To download files from or upload files to remote computer systems, via the Internet's File Transfer Protocol. The user needs an FTP client to transfer files to and from the remote system, which must have an FTP server. Generally, the user also needs to establish an account on the remote system to FTP files, although many FTP sites permit the use of anonymous FTP. |
| 42. | FTP clientA program that enables the user to upload and download files to and from an FTP site over a network, such as the Internet, using the File Transfer Protocol. |
| 43. | FTP commandsCommands that are part of the File Transfer Protocol. |
| 44. | FTP programSee "FTP client". |
| 45. | FTP serverA file server that uses the File Transfer Protocol to permit users to upload or download files through the Internet or any other TCP/IP network. |
| 46. | FTP siteThe collection of files and programs residing on an FTP server. |
| 47. | FulfillmentThe process of delivering goods and services ordered by a consumer. Fulfillment involves establishing a reliable procedure for tracking orders and delivering products. |
| 48. | Fulfillment Service ProviderA company that provides fulfillment services for an e-commerce Web site by tracking, packing, and shipping goods ordered via the e-commerce site. A fulfillment service provider allows an e-business to save time, costs, and labor by outsourcing order processing. |
| 49. | FWIWFor What It's Worth. An expression used in e-mail and newsgroups. |
| 50. | FYI1. Acronym for for your information. An expression used in e-mail and newsgroups to introduce information that is thought to be useful to the reader. 2. An electronic document distributed through InterNIC like a request for comments (RFC), but intended to explain an Internet standard or feature for users rather than to define it for developers, as the RFC does. |
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