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ACSi
On-line Glossary
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A
Accredited
Registrar - A domain
name registrar
accredited by ICANN
and allowed to use the SRS
(Shared Registry System) to directly
register domain
names. Non-accredited registrars
must register domain
names through an accredited registrar.
Administrative
Contact - The individual responsible
for maintenance of a domain
name. This individual is authorized to
interact with the registrar
on behalf of the domain name registrant.
Usually the Administrative Contact is the registrant.
Address Bar
- The long, thin box near the top of a web
browser window which contains the Web
address of the Web
page currently being viewed.
Alias - One
of several alternative hostnames
with the same IP
address.
Appraisal - An evaluation of the
potential market value of a domain
name.
A Record - Address Record; by
adding an A Record line to a DNS
listing, you are adding an address for a domain
that resolves to
more than one network
interface. A Records are entered as an IP
address (111.22.333.45) and have their
own line in the DNS
entry.
Authoritative
- A name server
is considered authoritative for a domain
name when it has the best source of
information that can be found inside a
given zone.
Authoritative servers
usually include a SOA
(Start of Authority) record in their zone
file for a domain
name. For instance, if a zone
file says: "@ IN SOA
dns1.namesecure.com", this means that
dns1.namesecure.com is considered
authoritative for the domain. Only one SOA
record can be contained in a zone
file.
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B
Billing
Contact - The individual responsible
for a domain name's registration fees.
Browser (see Web
Browser)
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C
Cable Modem - A device that uses
a cable TV signal to connect a computer to
the Internet.
Cable modems offer download
speeds of up to 56Mbps and upload speeds
of up to 10Mbps.
Cache - A
section of a computer's memory which
retains recently accessed data in order to
speed up repeated access to the same data.
Your computer and browser
use cache memory to load Web
pages more quickly. Your ISP
also uses a cache for this purpose. If you
ask your computer to view a page, and it
finds the page in the cache, it will read
the cached page instead of the page from
the Internet,
unless you reload
the page.
Central Domain Name Database
(see Registry)
Change
DNS Information - To make a new set of
name servers
responsible for resolving
a domain name.
Change
Registrar - To make a new registrar
responsible for maintaining your ownership
of a domain name.
CNAME (Canonical
Name) - A CNAME record maps an address
to its canonical name. The name
server handles CNAME records in a
different manner than aliases are handled
in the host table. When a name
server looks up a name and finds a
CNAME record, it replaces the name with
the canonical name and looks up the new
name.
Contact
(see Administrative
Contact, Billing
Contact, Technical
Contact, or
Zone Contact)
Cookie - A unique identifier
sent to a user's computer during a visit
to a Web site.
Cookies can be used to remember
information such as user names and
passwords (so a users don't have to enter
them every time they visit a site) or to
track future visits to a Web
site.
Country
Code - A top-level
domain name that corresponds to a
particular geographical area. Country code
domain names are
alternatives to ".com,"
".net," or ".org" domain
names. Examples of Country codes are
".it" for Italy and ".cn"
for China. The registrar
in charge of registering the different
country codes varies.
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D
Database
File - The file from which a primary
master name server
loads zone data. See also zone
file.
db File - (see Database
File)
Deactivation
- The process of turning off forwarding
services and domain
name service for a particular domain
name. This is the same thing as
putting a domain
name "on hold." A domain
name that has been deactivated still
remains registered and in Namesecure's
database.
Delegate
- To instruct a server
in how to resolve a
domain or sub-domain.
Deleted Domain - A previously
registered domain
name whose registration has been
cancelled by the registrar,
possibly due to a dispute over ownership
or a breach of contract. A dropped domain
is available for registration by the
public.
Dial-Up Connection - A
connection to the Internet via an analog
modem over regular phone lines. Analog
modems can typically connect at speeds of
up to 56Kbps.
DNR (see Domain
Name Registration)
DNS - An acronym that can stand
for both Domain Name
System and Domain
Name Service.
DNS Transfer - To point a domain
name to a different name
server in order to make another
company responsible for its hosting and/or
forwarding
services.
Domain - A
group of computers whose hostnames
share a common suffix, the domain
name. The last component of this is
the top-level domain.
Domain Name
- A meaningful, easy-to-remember
"handle" for addressing
computers and information on the Internet.
Domain names typically end with a suffix
that denotes the type or location of a
resource (for instance, ".com"
for commercial resources or ".jp"
for resources based in Japan).
Domain Name
Dispute - A disagreement concerning
the ownership of or legal right to a domain
name. While domain name disputes are
usually handled by ICANN,
lawsuits involving domain names are
becoming increasingly common in the
courts.
Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy - The ICANN
policy which dictates how to resolve domain
name disputes.
Domain Name
Hosting - Maintaining the forwarding
of a domain name
and ensuring that it resolves.
Domain Name Owner (see Registrant)
Domain Name
Record - An entry usually contained
within a zone file.
Domain
Name Registration - The process of
alloting a new, specific domain
name to an owner.
Domain Name
System (DNS) - The hierarchical
referencing system by which
easy-to-remember domain
name addresses (such as "mycompany.com")
are mapped to numeric IP
addresses (such as
"123.123.4.5") on the Internet.
Note that the acronym DNS can stand for
both Domain Name System and Domain Name
Service.
Domain Name
Service (DNS) - The process by which
text-based domain
name addresses are translated (or resolved)
into numeric IP
addresses by way of name
servers. Many registrars,
Web hosts, and ISPs
offer domain name service to customers.
Note that the acronym DNS can stand for
both Domain Name System and Domain Name
Service.
Download
- To receive information from another
computer over a network. The opposite of upload.
Dropped Domain - A previously
registered domain
name whose registration was allowed to
lapse by the original owner (often times
because the registration fees were not
paid). A dropped domain is available for
registration by the public.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) -
A relatively new type of high-speed Internet
connection that allows high-speed data
communications over existing copper
telephone lines. The speed of DSL
communications ranges from about 128Kbps
to over 8Mbps.
Dynamic DNS - A DNS
set up to allow users to attach a domain
name to a server
which uses a dynamic
IP Address.
Dynamic IP
Address - A variable IP
address that is delegated to a
computer or server
each time it is connected to the Internet.
Many ISPs use a dynamic
IP address system in order to reduce the
number of IP
addresses they need to maintain. Each
time a computer connects, it will be
assigned an available IP
address from the ISP's
bank of IP addresses
and will use that IP
address until it disconnects. Use of
this system greatly reduces the number of
unused IP addresses
at any given time, but, because a
computer's address continually changes, a
dynamic IP address
system can cause difficulty in accessing a
computer online.
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E
.EDU - The top-level
domain reserved for educational
institutions. The institutions must be
four-year degree-granting colleges or
universities.
E-mail -
Electronic mail. Transmitted through the Internet.
E-mail Forwarding - A service
that directs e-mail
messages sent to one address to another
address. E-mail forwarding is analogous to
call forwarding for telephones.
E-mail - IMAP (see Internet
Message Access Protocol)
E-mail - POP3 (see Post
Office Protocol, Version 3)
E-mail - Web-based (see Web-Based
Email)
Expired Domain - A domain
name whose renewal date has passed,
but which has not yet been dropped from
the domain name system.
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F
Forwarding
- The process of redirecting queries
related to a domain
name (such as request for a web
page or e-mail
directed to the name) to the actual
locations related to that information.
FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) A networking standard for
transferring files from one computer to
another over the Internet.
FTP is used to upload
files to a Web server.
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G
.GOV - The top-level
domain reserved for agencies,
departments, and branches of the United
States Federal Government. Registration of
.gov domains is handled by the General
Services Administration (GSA).
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H
Hostname
- The unique name by which a computer is
known on a network,
used to identify it when sending and
receiving e-mail, Usenet
news, or other forms of electronic
information interchange such as Web
hosting.
HTML (Hypertext
Markup Language) - The language used
to create Web pages.
HTML code consists of formatting
instructions called "tags,"
which are distinguished by their
surrounding angle brackets
("<" and ">").
HTTP (Hypertext
Transfer Protocol) - The set of
networking standards used to exchange
information over the World Wide Web. The
"http://" at the beginning of
every Web address tells a Web
browser that a document is a Web
page.
HTTPS (or SHTTP)
Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol -
The set of networking standards for
exchanging files in an encrypted format
over the World
Wide Web. If a web address begins with
"https://," it is likely a part
of a secure site.
Hyperlink
- A graphic or piece of text in a Web
page that, when clicked with a mouse,
causes another file on the Web to be
accessed. The HTML
code used to create a hyperlink includes
the Web address (URL)
of the file to which it points.
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I
ICANN -
Internet Council of Assigned Names and
Numbers. The non-profit organization under
U.S. Government contract that manages the domain
name system, accredits and oversees
domain name registrars,
and manages root
servers.
IMAP (see Internet
Message Access Protocol)
Internet Message
Access Protocol (IMAP) - A protocol
that allows users to access and manipulate
e-mail messages on a mail
server. IMAP lets you create, delete,
and rename mailboxes as well as check for
new messages, remove messages, and search
through existing messages. IMAP does not
specify a particular means of writing or
sending mail; this function is handled by
a mail transfer protocol such as SMTP.
Internet
- A "network of networks"
linking millions of computers worldwide
for communications purposes. The Internet
was originally developed in 1969 for the
U.S. military and gradually grew to
include educational and research
institutions. Today commercial industries,
corporations, and residential users all
communicate using the Internet. The World
Wide Web is a collection of
interactive documents accessible via the
Internet.
Internet Service
Provider (ISP) - A company that
enables companies or individuals to
connect to the Internet. ISPs often
provide e-mail capability, Web
hosting, and other services in
addition to connectivity. Large ISPs
include America Online, Excite@Home, and
Earthlink.
InterNIC
- Internet Network Information Center.
Formerly, the cooperative activity between
the U.S. government and Network Solutions
that was responsible for registering and
maintaining the ".com,"
".net," and ".org" top-level
domain names. Many of the InterNIC's
functions have now been taken over by ICANN.
IP Address
(Internet Protocol Address) - The
numeric address of a computer on the Internet.
An IP address is written as a set of four
numbers separated by periods (each number
can range from 0 to 255). An example of an
IP address is 123.123.4.5.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) - A telecommunications
technology that allows for digital voice,
video, and data transmission. ISDN
replaces the slow and inefficient analog
telephone system with a fast digital
network that can transmit data at up to
128Kbps.
ISP (see Internet
Service Provider)
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J
Top
K
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L
Local Name Server - A server,
usually maintained by an ISP,
that retrieves and stores domain
information, such as hostnames
and addresses. Local name
servers cache resolved
hostname
information, so that the user may access
infomration more quickly. This provides a
faster retrieval of information, but can
sometimes result in a display of old
information.
Location Box (see Address
Bar)
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M
Mail Server
- An Internet-connected
computer set up to receive e-mail
from another server
and distribute it to users, and to send e-mail
from those users to another server.
Mail Exchanger - A Internet-connected
computer that processes or forwards e-mail
messages sent to a domain
name.
.MIL - The top-level
domain reserved for use by the United
States military. This TLD
is maintained by the Department of Defense
Network Information Center.
Mini-Site (see One-Page
Mini-Site)
Modem - Acronym for modulator/de-modulator.
A hardware device that allows a computer
to transmit and receive information over
telephone lines. A modem converts digital
data from computers into analog data that
can be transmitted over the telephone
lines. Traditional modems can carry data
at speeds of up to 56Kbps.
MX Record
(Mail Exchange Record) - Instructions
within a Domain Name
System (DNS) record that routes e-mail
for a particular domain
to the proper mail
server.
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N
Name Server
- A computer that maps domain
names (such as "mycompany.com")
to IP addresses
(such as "123.123.4.5"). For a domain
name to be functional, it must be
associated with at least one name server.
Name Service (see Domain
Name Service)
Network -
A system of computers, databases, and
other components connected by
communications lines
NIC - Network Information
Center, such as InterNIC
NIC Handle - Used by Network
Solutions. A unique identifier, comprised
of up to 10 alpha-numeric characters that
is assigned to each contact record, domain
name record, and network record in the
Network Solutions database.
nslookup - Name Server Lookup; A
UNIX utility used to
query Internet
domain name servers.
An nslookup is usually used to find the IP
address corresponding to a hostname.
An nslookup may also be used to find other
types of information such as CNAME
- the canonical name for an alias;
MINFO - mailbox or mail list information; MX
- mail exchanger information; NS - the name
server for the named zone;
and SOA the domain's
start-of-authority information.
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O
On Hold (see Deactivation)
One-Page
Mini-Site - A single web
page intended as a "place
holder" for a domain
name. The contact
information displayed on this page may
be edited by the user.
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P
Parking - A domain
name registration that does not
include domain name
hosting or forwarding
services. Users can park a domain
name to reserve it for future use.
POP3 (see Post
Office Protocol, Version 3)
Post Office
Protocol, Version 3 (POP3) - A protocol
that allows a user to retrieve e-mail
from a mail server
by way of an Internet
connection. POP e-mail is most useful for
users who lack a permanent network
connection since it provides a virtual
"post office" (the POP server)
that will hold e-mail
until it can be retrieved. POP3 does not
specify a particular means of writing or
sending mail; this function is handled by
a mail transfer protocol such as SMTP.
Primary
Name Server - The first name
server queried when attempting to
resolve an Internet address or domain
name. If the primary name server is
unavailable, the domain name's secondary
name server (if one is defined) will
be queried.
Protocol
- A set of formal rules or conventions
governing the transmission, treatment, and
formatting of data in an electronic
communications system.
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Q
Qwho.com - Registrars for
".com," ".net," and
".org" TLDs
are required by ICANN
to allow public access to certain domain
name registration information, including
the name of the registrant,
administrative
and technical
contacts, and name
server information. Qwho.com is the Web
site that provides this information
for Namesecure.
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R
Refresh (see Reload)
Registrant
-The person or company that carries the
ownership title for a given domain
name. You can determine the registrant
of a domain name by performing a WHOIS
lookup.
Registrar
- A company that is able to register
".com," ".net," and
".org" domain
names by directly accessing the Central
Domain Name Database. Namesecure is a
registrar.
Registrar Transfer - To give a
different registrar
the responsibility for maintaining the
ownership of a domain
name.
Registry
- The Central Domain Name Database. This
database holds the registration
information for all a domain
names with ".com,"
".net," and ".org" top
levels.
Registration Company - A company
that is able to register domain
names but must seek approval of the
registration from an accredited
registrar.
Reload - A
command made through your web
browser which forces your browser
to load a web page
from your ISP's server,
rather than from your browser's
cached memory.
Resolve -
To successfully map a domain
name to its corresponding IP
address by way of name
servers.
Resource Records - Databases
which contain all data associated with
their respective domain
names and/or their respective zones.
Root Server
- A central computer on the Internet
that stores information about all the
registered domain
names. Internet specifications
currently limit the number of root servers
to 13. These are located in the U.S., the
U.K., Sweden, and Japan. If a local name
server can't resolve a particular domain
name, it will query a root server.
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S
Second-Level
Domain Name - The part of a domain
name preceding the top
level. In "mydomain.com,"
"mydomain" is the second-level
domain name. Within the ".com,"
".net," and ".org"
domain names, it is the second-level
domain names that are registered.
Secondary
Name Server - The second name server
referenced when attempting to resolve an
Internet address. It is reserved for use
as backup if resolution via the primary
name server fails.
Secure Socket
Layer - A protocol
that provides encrypted communications on
the Internet. It
is used by the HTTPS
access method and was designed by
Netscape.
Server - a
computer used to transfer files via an Internet
connection.
Shared
Registration System (SRS) - A system
that permits multiple registrars
to provide Internet domain
name registration services of top-level
domains.
Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol - A protocol
used to transfer e-mail
between computers. It is a
server-to-server protocol.
Client-to-server protocols such as IMAP
and POP3 are used to
access e-mail
messages.
SMTP (see Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol)
SOA (Start of
Authority) Resource Record - A type of
record in the domain
name system that indicates that a
particular name
server contains authoritative
data for a domain
name.
SRS (see Shared
Registration System)
SSL (see Secure
Socket Layer)
Sub-Domain
- A partition within a domain
name, usually a third
level domain name.
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T
Technical
Contact - The individual or company
responsible for all technical changes to a
domain name. The
technical contact is usually the person or
organization responsible for maintaining
the primary name
server for the domain
name.
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) - The primary language that
computers use to communicate with one
another over the Internet.
Protocols such as HTTP
and FTP run on top of TCP/IP.
Third
Level Domain Name - The part of a domain
name preceding the second
level and top
level in an address. In a Web address,
the third-level domain name is usually
"www." The third level often
specifies the type of information that a
computer is responsible for on a network;
the computer at "www.mycompany.com"
will typically be a Web
server while the one at "mail.mycompany.com"
will be a mail
server.
TLD (see Top-Level
Domain Name)
Top-Level
Domain Name - The rightmost part of a domain
name. Generic TLDs include
".com," ".net," and
".org"; country
code TLDs include .jp (Japan), .uk
(United Kingdom) and .au (Australia).
Trademark - A word, phrase,
graphic image, or symbol used by a
business or other organization to
represent itself or its merchandise.
Trademarks must be registered with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (in the
United States) or with the appropriate
international authority in order to be
legally recognized.
Transfer In - A change of domain
name service or registrar
to Namesecure from another company.
Transfer Out - A change of domain
name service or registrar
from Namesecure to another company.
Transfer DNS (see Change
DNS Information)
Transfer Registrar (see Change
Registrar)
T1 - A type of data connection
able to transmit a digital signal at 1.544
megabits per second. T1 lines are often
used to link large computer networks, such
as those that make up the Internet.
T3 - A type of data connection
able to transmit a digital signal at
44Mbps. T3 lines are often used to link
large computer networks, such as those
that make up the Internet.
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U
UDRP (see Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy)
Under Construction page - A
single, non-editable web
page which displays the domain
name used to reach it. Namesecure's
Under Construction page is available to
all Namesecure customers. The Under
Construction page is not editable.
URL (Universal
Resource Locator) - The addressing
standard used for documents and media on
the Internet. The
term "http://www.mycompany.com/info/file.html"
is a URL. It specifies the document type (HTTP),
the computer where the document can be
found (www.mycompany.com), where on the
computer the document is located (/info),
and the document's name (file.html).
URL Gripper - A feature that
keeps a domain name
in a browser's
address bar while a user browses a Web
site. It hides the real location of
the pages. The URL Gripper is used in
conjunction with Web
forwarding.
Upload - To
transmit information to another computer
over a network. The opposite of download.
UNIX - An
interactive time-sharing operating system
invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson.
Co-authored by Dennis Ritchie (the
inventor of C, another programming
language).
Usenet - A
world-wide distributed interactive system
consisting of "newsgroups" with
names which are classified hierarchically
by subject. "Articles" or
"messages" are
"posted" to these newsgroups by
and read by people on computers with the
appropriate software. Some usenet groups
are "moderated", meaning that
the posts are sent through a moderator for
approval before they are displayed.
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V
Virtual Host - A computer which
can be forced to respond to multiple IP
addresses and provide various services
(typically different Web services) on
each. Each of these IP addresess (which
usually each have their own hostname)
operate as if they were separate hosts on
separate machines, although they are
really all the same host. Therefore, they
are called "virtual" hosts. An
example of virtual hosting is when an
Internet Service Provider
"hosts" World-Wide Web and other
services for several customers on the same
computer but gives the appearence that
each of these services use separate
servers.
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W
Web Address
- A domain name
or URL; usually the
location currently being viewed in the web
browser.
Web-Based
E-mail - A service that allows users
to send and receive e-mail
(and usually to store e-mail and manage
accounts) via a Web interface. Popular
Web-based e-mail
services include HotMail and Yahoo! Mail.
Web Browser
- Software that gives a user access to the
World Wide Web.
Web browsers provide a graphical interface
that lets users click buttons, icons, and
menu options to view and navigate Web
pages. Netscape Navigator and
Microsoft Internet Explorer are popular
Web browsers.
Web
Forwarding - A service that points a domain
name to an existing Web site address.
Web forwarding lets you register a domain
name (such as "mycompany.com")
and attach it to an existing Web
site (such as "http://www.aol.com/members/mycompany9876").
Web Host - a
company responsible for hosting a web
page.
Web Hosting
- A service that allows you to upload
and store a site's HTML
documents and related files on a Web
server. This makes the files available
on the World Wide
Web for viewing by the public. Also
called site hosting.
Web Page -
A document written in HTML
that can be accessed on the Internet.
Every Web page has a unique address called
a URL. Web pages can
contain text, graphics, and hyperlinks
to other web pages and files.
Web Server
- A computer that stores Web documents and
makes them available to the rest of the
world. A server may
be dedicated, meaning its sole purpose is
to be a Web server, or non-dedicated,
meaning it can be used for basic computing
in addition to acting as a server.
Web Site -
A collection of Web
pages.
WHOIS
Lookup - A search of a root
server to determine if a domain
name has been registered and, if it
has, who the owner is.
World
Wide Web - A vast collection of files,
including text, graphics, and other data
linked through the Internet.
Top
X
Top
Y
Top
Z
Zone - A
section of the total domain name space
that is represented by the data stored on
a particular name
server. The name
server has authority over that
particular zone - or the particular
section of the domain name space -
described by that data.
Zone
Contact - The zone contact is the
person or entity that is responsible for
administration and management of a domain
name, and all sub-domains
that have not been delegated
to different name
servers.
Zone Data - Information
concerning a domain and contained within a
zone file or a database
file.
Zone File
- A file on the root
server that contains domain name
registration information. Zone files
contain information necessary to resolve
domain names to IP
addresses. See also database
file.
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