The Lingo all the Cool Kids are Using
Do you ever end a phone call conversation with your IT guy and feel like you had no idea what you just discussed? We’ve all been there. Or maybe you used some terms you may be familiar with, but you’re questioning if you used them correctly. Well here is a list of 10 commonly used terms (in IT) and definitions to help you feel like you fit it.
- The cloud- is a way to store all your files and access them from any device, anytime. It isn’t some mystery where it is, the files go through a wire and end up on a server in a warehouse far away. The company you pay (CSP) is who is responsible for its keeping. If you still can’t grasp the concept, now may be a time to watch the barely tolerable Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal film Sex Tape.
- CSP– Cloud Service Provider is the company you pay that provides cloud computing.They provide either Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) We’ll save an in-depth explanation of these for another time
- ISP– Internet Service Provider, for instance who do you pay for your internet?
- VoIP– Voice over Internet Protocol uses the internet as a means of making phone calls.You will never have overages beyond the cost of your internet while using VoIP, such companies like Vonage or OOMA offer this type of service
- DNS– Domain Name System, a service for accessing a computer by name instead of IP address
- IP address– Internet Protocol address, every computer connected to the internet has a unique identifying number, in other words don’t do anything illegal, you’ll get caught
- Firewall– A method of preventing unauthorized access to or from a particular network; firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or both
- Malware- These are malicious pieces of software designed to damage or do other harmful things to a computer, they include viruses, worms, Trojan horses and spyware
- Proxy- This refers to a special kind of server that functions as a link between something like a web browser and a real server. It intercepts request to the real server and fills it in. If it can’t, it’ll send it to the real server. This saves tons of time and is often used to serve hundreds or thousands of users at a time.
- DSL- Digital subscriber Line; an always on broadband connection over a phone line.