Some Computer Terms
RTM
Short for release to manufacturing, the version of a software product that is given to manufacturers to bundle into future versions of their hardware products. RTM versions are typically released to manufacturers before they are released to the general public so that the manufacturers can work out any bugs the software may encounter with hardware devices. The release of an RTM version does not necessarily mean that the creators have worked out all the problems with the software; there still may be more versions of the product before it is released to the general public.
OEM
Short for original equipment manufacturer, which is a misleading term for a company that has a special relationship with computer producers. OEMs are manufacturers who resell another company's product under their own name and branding. While an OEM is similar to a VAR (value-added reseller), it refers specifically to the act of a company rebranding a product to its own name and offering its own warranty, support and licensing of the product. The term is really a misnomer because OEMs are not the original manufacturers; they are the customizers.
IHV
Short for Independent hardware vendor, a hardware-manufacturing company that specializes in a specific type of hardware device and not a complete computer system. The IHV typically also provides the software drivers for its hardware devices
Pulling wire
A phrase used to describe the act of running network cable from one location to another.
SURGINET
SURGINET is one of the most well-known e-mail mailing list for General Surgeons that serves as a forum for academic and clinical discussions and knowledge sharing specific to the specialty of General Surgery. While officially the list membership is restricted to Surgeons, members are also from many disciplines, such as nursing, med students, basic scientists, pharmacists, residents, even veterinarians. The SURGINET mailing list is run by list owner Tom Gilas.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail devices and services from Research In Motion (RIM). BlackBerry is a complete package that includes airtime, software and choice of BlackBerry mobile device. BlackBerry is currently available in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
In the United States and Canada, BlackBerry depends on either narrowband PCS 800 MHz DataTAC networks or narrowband PCS 900 MHz Mobitex networks. In the UK, BlackBerry works over GPRS networks.
BlackBerry's popularity may be attributed to its easy-to-use interface and keyboard.
Bluejacking
Bluejacking allows phone users to send business cards anonymously using Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluejacking does not involve the removal or alteration of any data from the device. These business cards often have a clever or flirtatious message rather than the typical name and phone number. Bluejackers often look for the receiving phone to ping or the user to react. They then send another, more personal message to that device. Once again, in order to carry out a bluejacking, the sending and receiving devices must be within 10 meters of one another. Phone owners who receive bluejack messages should refuse to add the contacts to their address book. Devices that are set in non-discoverable mode are not susceptible to bluejacking
Bluebugging
Bluebugging allows skilled individuals to access the mobile phone commands using Bluetooth wireless technology without notifying or alerting the phone’s user. This vulnerability allows the hacker to initiate phone calls, send and read SMS, read and write phonebook contacts, eavesdrop on phone conversations, and connect to the Internet. As with all the attacks, the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the phone. This is a separate vulnerability from bluesnarfing and does not affect all of the same phones as bluesnarfing
Bluesnarfing
Bluesnarfing allows hackers to gain access to data stored on a Bluetooth enabled phone using Bluetooth wireless technology without alerting the phone’s user of the connection made to the device. The information that can be accessed in this manner includes the phonebook and associated images, calendar, and IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). By setting the device in non-discoverable, it becomes significantly more difficult to find and attack the device. Without specialized equipment the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the device while running a device with specialized software. Only specific older Bluetooth enabled phones are susceptible to bluesnarfing
MIN
Short for Mobile Identification Number it is a unique 24-bit number assigned by the wireless service provider (carrier) to each mobile phone it sells or includes in service plans.
Wi-Fi
Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Any products tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. A user with a "Wi-Fi Certified" product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is certified. Typically, however, any Wi-Fi product using the same radio frequency (for example, 2.4GHz for 802.11b or 11g, 5GHz for 802.11a) will work with any other, even if not "Wi-Fi Certified."
Formerly, the term "Wi-Fi" was used only in place of the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, in the same way that "Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3. The Alliance expanded the generic use of the term in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability.
Moblog
Acronym used to combine the terms "mobile" and "Web log". Where a Web log (also called a blog) is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual, a moblog is a blog which has been posted to the Internet from a mobile device such as a mobile phone or PDA.
3G
3G is an ITU(International Telecommunication Union) specification for the third generation (analog cellular was the first generation, digital PCS the second) of mobile communications technology. 3G promises increased bandwidth, up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationary or moving at pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work over wireless air interfaces such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA. The new EDGE air interface has been developed specifically to meet the bandwidth needs of 3G.
E-nag
A slang term used to describe a person who nags (annoys or torments persistently) through electronic means such as e-mail, instant messaging, forums or online chat rooms. An e-nagger typically is a person who sends a successive stream of messages without allowing adequate time for a response from the recipient.
Spim
Also spelled as spIM, spam over instant messaging (IM). Spim is perpetuated by bots that harvest IM screen names off of the Internet and simulate a human user by sending spam to the screen names via an instant message. The spim typically contains a link to a Web site that the spimmer is trying to market.
Also referred to as instant spam or the less-intrusive sounding IM marketing.
(v.) To send someone spam through an instant messaging application.
A spimmer is the individual or organization responsible for sending the spim.
Bot
Short for robot, a computer program that runs automatically.
Hammering
The act of trying repeatedly to connect to an unavailable FTP server with little or no time between connection attempts. It can be compared to repeatedly hitting the "redial" button on a telephone when dialing a phone number that is busy until the other phone is no longer busy.
Trading servers have a limit on the number of active connections that may be present at one time. A server cannot process an unlimited number of requests, so when servers are occupied to full capacity they will deny further access until they have free space. Hammering consumes bandwidth, slowing down the server. In addition to already working at capacity, the server has to then send a busy response to the device that was unable to connect every time that device attempts a connection, which further depletes the server's resources and slows the system down in its connections with other devices.
Most FTP sites have policies against hammering and require FTP clients to set retry times at specific intervals, commonly at least 120 seconds between each attempt to connect. Most FTP sites can also monitor for devices that hammer, and once detected the server will ban access to the offending IP address either permanently or for a limited amount of time.
Cuckoo Egg
A Cuckoo Egg is an edited MP3 file that appears to be a copyright protected song being distributed via the Internet without the permission of the copyright owner. The initial portion of the song (first 30 seconds or so) will be of the real song. The remainder of the song however, has been overwritten by something other than the initial song; usually cuckoo clock sound effects or or a series of random sounds and noises which are free of any copyright ownerships. Cuckoo Eggs will have the correct file size and playing time as the original copyrighted MP3 file will have.
Hoax
In e-mail terminology a hoax is a message which is written to deliberately spread fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Cloaking
1) Also known as stealth, a technique used by some Web sites to deliver one page to a search engine for indexing while serving an entirely different page to everyone else. There are opposing views as to whether or not cloaking is ethical. Opponents see it as a bait-and-switch, where a Web server is scripted to look out for search engines that are spidering in order to create an index of search results. The search engine thinks it is selecting a prime match to its request based on the meta tags that the site administrator has input. However, the search result is misleading because the meta tags do not correspond to what actually exists on the page. Some search engines, such as Lycos, Hotbot and Excite, even ban cloaked Web sites. Proponents of cloaking assert that cloaking is necessary in order to protect the meta data, as only the spider is supplied with the meta tags.
(2) In e-mail distribution, cloaking is the act of masking the name and address of the sender so that the recipient does not know who sent the e-mail.
Leech
Slang term frequently used by those actively engaged P2P and unethical file sharing. A leech or leecher is considered to be a user who downloads files and provides few or no uploads in return. Crackers also uses this term to describe those who constantly request sources and information and offer nothing in return.
Flame
A searing e-mail or newsgroup message in which the writer attacks another participant in overly harsh, and often personal, terms. Flames are an unfortunate, but inevitable, element of unmoderated conferences.
Sporn
A slang term used to describe e-mail spam specifically of adult content or of a pornographic nature. Sporn tends to be more aggressively marketed and deceitfully packaged than other types of spam.
Snailmail
Normal postal mail, where an actual physical letter or package is delivered. The term didn't exist until electronic mail (e-mail) became so prevalent that there was a requirement to differentiate the two. Obviously, the term was invented by e-mail aficionados as a small barb directed at the relative slowness of physical ransportation.
Spamdress
Slang term for spam e-mail address, a person's secondary e-mail address, which is used for registering to receive newsletters, discussion forums and for other Web sites requiring sign-ups where you may receive frequent e-mails. The spamdress is used in place of a primary e-mail address to assist in keeping spam out of the primary account. Also called spamaddress.
IMAP
Short for Internet Message Access Protocol, a protocol for retrieving e-mail messages. The latest version, IMAP4, is similar to POP3 but supports some additional features. For example, with IMAP4, you can search through your e-mail messages for keywords while the messages are still on mail server. You can then choose which messages to download to your machine.
IMAP was developed at Stanford University in 1986.
Hard bounce
When e-mailing, hard bounce is used to describe an e-mail that has bounced back to the sender undelivered without having been accepted by the recipient's mail server.
Soft bounce
When e-mailing, soft bounce is used to describe an e-mail that has bounced back to the sender undelivered after it has already been accepted by the recipient's mail server