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- <head>
- <title>Glossary</title>
- <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="chrome://help/skin/helpFileLayout.css"/>
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-
- <p>This glossary is provided for your information only; it is not meant to be relied
- upon as a complete or authoritative description of the terms defined below or of
- the privacy and/or security ramifications of the technologies described.</p>
- <hr/>
-
- <h1 id="glossary">Glossary</h1>
-
- <dl>
-
- <dt id="authentication">authentication</dt>
- <dd>The use of a password, certificate, personal identification number
- (PIN), or other information to validate an identity over a computer
- network.</dd>
-
- <dt id="bookmark">bookmark</dt>
- <dd>A stored web page address (<a href="#Uniform_Resource_Locator">URL</a>)
- that you can go to easily by clicking a bookmark icon in the Bookmarks Toolbar
- or choosing the bookmark's name from the Bookmarks menu.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Bookmarks_Toolbar">Bookmarks Toolbar</dt>
- <dd>The customizable toolbar that appears just below the Location Bar by
- default in &brandShortName;. It contains buttons for your favorite bookmarks
- (or folders containing groups of bookmarks) that you can add or remove.</dd>
-
- <dt id="cache">cache</dt>
- <dd>A collection of web page copies stored on your computer's hard disk or in
- its random-access memory (RAM). &brandShortName; accumulates these copies as you
- browse the Web. When you click a link or type a
- <a href="#Uniform_Resource_Locator">URL</a> to fetch a particular web page for
- which the cache already contains a copy, &brandShortName; compares the cached copy
- to the original. If there have been no changes, &brandShortName; uses the cached
- copy rather than refetching the original, saving processing and download time.</dd>
-
- <dt id="certificate">certificate</dt>
- <dd>The digital equivalent of an ID card. A certificate specifies the name of an
- individual, company, or other entity and certifies that a public key, which
- is included in the certificate, belongs to that entity. When you digitally
- sign a message or other data, the digital signature for that message is
- created with the aid of the private key that corresponds to the public key
- in your certificate.</dd>
-
- <dt id="client">client</dt>
- <dd>Software (such as an Internet browser) that sends requests to and receives
- information from a <a href="#server">server</a>, which is usually running
- on a different computer. A computer on which client software runs is also
- described as a client.</dd>
-
- <dt id="cookie">cookie</dt>
- <dd>A small bit of information stored on your computer by some web sites. When
- you visit such a site, the site asks &brandShortName; to place one or more cookies
- on your hard disk. Later, when you return to the site, &brandShortName; sends the
- site the cookies that belong to it. Cookies help web sites keep track of
- information about you, such as the contents of your shopping cart. You can set
- your cookies options to control how cookies are used and how much information
- you are willing to let web sites store on them.</dd>
-
- <dt id="cryptography">cryptography</dt>
- <dd>The art and practice of scrambling (encrypting) and unscrambling (decrypting)
- information. For example, cryptographic techniques are used to scramble and unscramble
- information flowing between commercial web sites and &brandShortName;.</dd>
-
- <dt id="decryption">decryption</dt>
- <dd>The process of unscrambling data that has been encrypted. See also
- <a href="#encryption">encryption</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="digital_ID">digital ID</dt>
- <dd>See <a href="#certificate">certificate</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="encryption">encryption</dt>
- <dd>The process of scrambling information in a way that disguises its meaning.
- For example, encrypted connections between computers make it very difficult
- for third-parties to unscramble, or <em>decrypt,</em> information flowing
- over the connection. Encrypted information can be decrypted only by someone
- who possesses the appropriate key.</dd>
-
- <dt id="XML">Extensible Markup Language (XML)</dt>
- <dd>An open standard for describing data. Unlike HTML, XML allows the
- developer of a web page to define special tags. For more information,
- see the online W3C document <a href="http://www.w3.org/XML/">Extensible
- Markup Language (XML)</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="feed">feed</dt>
- <dd>An <a href="#XML">XML</a> web page that contains a list of links to
- other web pages. Special programs can read feeds to create a list
- of headlines from the links, automatically updating the list as it changes.
- News web sites use feeds to quickly publish the latest headlines, and
- personal online journals often use feeds to quickly notify visitors about
- new entries. See also <a href="#live_bookmark">Feedmark</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="File_Transfer_Protocol">File Transfer Protocol (FTP)</dt>
- <dd>A standard that allows users to transfer files from one computer to
- another over a network. You can use &brandShortName; to fetch files
- using FTP.</dd>
-
- <dt id="FIPS_PUBS_140-1">FIPS PUBS 140-1</dt>
- <dd>Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) 140-1 is
- a US government standard for implementations of cryptographic modules —
- hardware or software that encrypts and decrypts data or performs other
- cryptographic operations (such as creating or verifying digital signatures).
- Many products sold to the US government must comply with one or more of the
- FIPS standards.</dd>
-
- <dt id="home_page">home page</dt>
- <dd>The page &brandShortName; is set to display every time you launch it or when you
- click the <em>Home</em> button. Also used to refer to the main page for a
- web site from which you can explore the rest of the site.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Hypertext_Markup_Language">Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)</dt>
- <dd>The document format used for web pages. The HTML standard defines tags, or
- codes, used to define the text layout, fonts, style, images, and other
- elements that make up a web page.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Internet">Internet</dt>
- <dd>A worldwide network of millions of computers that communicate with each
- other using standard protocols such as
- <a href="#TCP_IP">TCP/IP</a>.
- Originally developed for the US military in 1969, the Internet grew to include
- educational and research institutions and, in the late 1990s, millions of
- businesses, organizations, and individuals. Today the Internet is used for email,
- browsing the <a href="#World_Wide_Web">World Wide Web</a>, instant messaging,
- mailing lists and usegroups, and many other purposes.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Internet_protocol_address">Internet protocol address (IP address)</dt>
- <dd>The address of a computer on a
- <a href="#TCP_IP">TCP/IP</a> network.
- Every computer on the Internet has an IP address. <a href="#client">Clients</a>
- have either a permanent IP address or one that is dynamically assigned to them
- each time they connect with the network.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Java">Java</dt>
- <dd>A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. A single Java program
- can run on many different kinds of computers, thus avoiding the need for
- programmers to create a separate version of each program for each kind of
- computer. After Java is installed, &brandShortName; can automatically download
- and run Java programs (also called applets).</dd>
-
- <dt id="JavaScript">JavaScript</dt>
- <dd>A scripting language commonly used to construct web pages. Programmers use
- JavaScript to make web pages more interactive; JavaScript is often used to
- dynamically validate forms and select buttons. JavaScript can be used with
- Java, but it is technically a separate language. Java is not required for
- JavaScript to work correctly.</dd>
-
- <dt id="live_bookmark">Feedmark</dt>
- <dd>A special type of bookmark that acts as a folder to contain the links in a
- <a href="#feed">feed</a>. You can create a Feedmark by visiting a site
- with a feed, clicking on the Feedmark icon in the Location Bar, and
- selecting the feed you wish to use.</dd>
-
- <dt id="location_bar">Location Bar</dt>
- <dd>The field (and associated buttons) near the top of a &brandShortName; window
- where you can type a <a href="#Uniform_Resource_Locator">URL</a> or search terms.</dd>
-
- <dt id="master_password">master password</dt>
- <dd>A password used to protect saved passwords and other private data.
- &brandShortName; will prompt you for your master password when you wish to
- access this data. If you have multiple security devices, each security device
- will require a separate master password.</dd>
-
- <dt id="navigation_toolbar">Navigation Toolbar</dt>
- <dd>The toolbar near the top of the &brandShortName; window that includes
- the <em>Back</em> and <em>Forward</em> buttons.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Password_Manager">Password Manager</dt>
- <dd>The part of &brandShortName; that can help you remember some or all of
- your names and passwords by storing them on your computer's hard disk and
- entering them for you automatically when you visit such sites.</dd>
-
- <dt id="PKCS_11">PKCS #11</dt>
- <dd>The public-key cryptography standard that governs security devices such
- as smart cards.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Plugin">Plugin</dt>
- <dd>Plugins add new capabilities to &brandShortName;, such as the ability to
- play audio or video clips. Unlike other kinds of helper applications, a Plugin
- installs itself into the Plugins directory within the main
- &brandShortName; installation directory and typically can be opened within
- &brandShortName; itself (internally). For example, an audio Plugin lets you
- listen to audio files on a web page or in an e-mail message. Macromedia
- Flash Player and Java are both examples of Plugin applications.</dd>
-
- <dt id="private_key">private key</dt>
- <dd>One of a pair of keys used in public-key cryptography. The private key is
- kept secret and is used to decrypt data that has been encrypted with the
- corresponding public key.</dd>
-
- <dt id="proxy">proxy</dt>
- <dd>An intermediary or "go-between" program that acts as both a
- <a href="#server">server</a> and a <a href="#client">client</a> for
- the purpose of making requests on behalf of other clients.</dd>
-
- <dt id="search_engine">search engine</dt>
- <dd>A web-based program that allows users to search for and retrieve
- specific information from the World Wide Web. The search engine may
- search the full text of web documents or a list of keywords; it may
- also use librarians who review web documents and index them manually
- for retrieval. Typically, the user types a word or phrase into a
- search box, and the search engine displays links to relevant web
- pages.</dd>
-
- <dt id="secure_site">secure site</dt>
- <dd>A site that uses <a href="#encryption">encryption</a> in connections
- with &brandShortName; to prevent other malicious Internet users from
- viewing transmitted data. When you visit secure sites, &brandShortName;
- displays a lock icon in the <a href="#Status_Bar">Status Bar</a> and the
- <a href="#location_bar">Location Bar</a>. &brandShortName; also
- displays the site's domain name in the Status Bar (to prevent malicious
- sites from stealing your data) and turns the background of the Location
- Bar to yellow.</dd>
- <dd>Some sites may consist of both secure and insecure data; the insecure data
- usually is non-private, although it isn't guaranteed to be so. For such
- sites &brandShortName; will display a lock icon with a slash through it in
- the Status Bar and Location Bar and will <em>not</em> display the site's
- domain name in the Status Bar so that you know that the current web page
- isn't completely secure.</dd>
-
- <dt id="SSL">Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)</dt>
- <dd>A protocol that allows mutual authentication between a
- <a href="#client">client</a> and a <a href="#server">server</a>
- for the purpose of establishing an authenticated and encrypted
- connection. SSL runs above TCP/IP and below HTTP, LDAP, IMAP, NNTP,
- and other high-level network protocols. The new Internet Engineering
- Task Force (IETF) standard called Transport Layer Security (TLS) is
- based on SSL. See also <a href="#authentication">authentication</a>,
- <a href="#encryption">encryption</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="server">server</dt>
- <dd>Software (such as software that serves up web pages) that receives
- requests from and sends information to a <a href="#client">client</a>,
- which is usually running on a different computer. A computer on which
- server software runs is also described as a server.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Status_Bar">Status Bar</dt>
- <dd>The toolbar that appears at the bottom of any &brandShortName; window. It
- shows status icons on the right.</dd>
-
- <dt id="TLS">TLS</dt>
- <dd>See <a href="#SSL">Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)</a>.</dd>
-
- <dt id="TCP_IP">Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)</dt>
- <dd>A Unix protocol used to connect computers running a variety of operating systems.
- TCP/IP is an essential Internet protocol and has become a global standard.</dd>
-
- <dt id="Uniform_Resource_Locator">Uniform Resource Locator (URL)</dt>
- <dd>The standardized address that tells &brandShortName; how to locate a file or
- other resource on the Web (for example, <tt>http://www.mozilla.org</tt>).
- Type URLs into &brandShortName;'s Location Bar to access web pages. URLs
- are also used in the links on web pages go to other web pages. Also known
- as an Internet or Web address.</dd>
-
- <dt id="web_page">web page</dt>
- <dd>A single document on the World Wide Web that is specified by a unique
- address or URL. A web page may contain text, hyperlinks, and graphics.</dd>
-
- <dt id="web_site">web site</dt>
- <dd>A group of related web pages linked by hyperlinks and managed by a single
- company, organization, or individual. A web site may include text, graphics,
- audio and video files, and links to other web sites.</dd>
-
- <dt id="World_Wide_Web">World Wide Web</dt>
- <dd>Also known as the Web. A portion of the Internet that is made up of web
- pages stored by web <a href="#server">servers</a> and displayed by
- <a href="#client">clients</a> called web browsers (such as
- &brandShortName;).</dd>
-
- </dl>
-
- <p>
- [ <a href="#glossary">Return to beginning of Glossary</a> ]
- </p>
-
- <div class="contentsBox"><em>07 April 2005</em></div>
- <p>Copyright © 2003-2007 Contributors to the Mozilla Help Viewer Project.</p>
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