Broadband Glossary

Broadband Buyer's Guide

Broadband Glossary Of Terms

ADSL

A DSL line which has different speeds of downloading and uploading with the former one being more quicker than the latter. 'A' stands for Asymmetric and 'DSL' is of course Digital Subscriber line.

Always on

Anti-virus software

A Software that detects and erases viruses and also protects the computer from being attacked by viruses using tools such as firewalls.

Adware

These are Pop-up windows which contain advertisements. They are normally unsafe piece of codes due to having spywares which can access the personal information.

Bandwidth

Broadband

A revolutionary signal transmission technology with the primary feature being the ability to send more than one signal over a single cable.

Cache

Conceptually similar to a Buffer in terms of being a temporary form of memory. The difference lies in the fact that this 'cache' is used for increasing the speed of the internet connection used.

Contention rate

The total number of users at a time who use bandwidth on a single connection. The rate for ADSL connections is normally 50:1. this rate means that the person shares the connection along with a total of 49 users apart from him.

Cookie

A small data file which is normally stored in the hard drive of the computer. The information consists of the preference or the contents of the history of the internet connection.

DSL

This is a method which is used for sending data across traditional telephone lines and is completely known as Digital Subscriber Line.

Firewall

A collection of programs residing on the server, which handles all the incoming traffic to a computer. A firewall acts as the intermediary between the network and the computer and checks every bit of incoming data before letting in access to the computer system.

ISP/Broadband Provider

The company which gives the technology needed for connecting to the internet. The name is essentially an acronym and refers to the phrase: 'Internet Service Provider'.

MAC address

The code which grants the authorisation required to switch between two broadband providers. MAC is the concise way to refer to Migration Authorisation Code.

Modem

The device which is used for connectivity to the internet. Another classic acronym made out of the words: modulator and demodulator in the sense of 'Mo' for modulator and 'dem' for demodulator.

Piggy backing

Quite a cute term when heard and refers to the usage of a session for using restricted communications. This session is not created by the one gaining the access, but is an already created one and therefore, the term: Piggy Backing.

Phishing

Nothing to do with catching fishes, if one is having such a brainstorm about this term. This is the process of fooling someone in order to make him give classified information or do acts which are not supposed to be done.

SDSL

'S' in this digital subscriber line stands for the word symmetry which indicates the speeds of downloading and uploading being the same.

Spyware

Annoying pieces of software which are experts in getting information using the internet connection of the user, while the user is not aware of the misdeed taking place.

Wi-Fi

Another fantastic asset in the quiver of internet technologies, Wi-Fi is a short form of the term ' Wireless Fidelity'. This technology is able to link up two network devices without having to use wires.

802.11 and 802.11b

These are essentially technical specifications which do the activity of channelising information around networks which use Wi-Fi for their functionality.

802.11g and 802.11n

New and advanced technical specifications being used with Wi-Fi with the basic feature of being able to move information with a higher speed than the one used in earlier specifications. These specifications also have a much wider range than their predecessors.

802.3

This is a specification which is used for Ethernet connectivity and is an industry standard one.