Short for bootstrapping, is the process of loading instructions and feeding them to a processor. modern computers boot up using a BIOS (basic input/output system).

BASIC INPUT/OUTPUT SYSTEM - The BIOS is a program pre-installed on Windows-based computers (not on Macs) that the computer uses to start up. A BIOS is located in its own chip separate from the rest of the system's RAM and ROM, and is the first thing a processor interfaces with upon startup.

Power-on self-Test. The first set of instructions the BIOS gives the processor is to run a power-on self-test, or POST, which discovers, activates, and diagnoses all connected hardware.

In computer security, a login or logon (also called logging in or on and signing in or on) is the process by which individual access to a computer system is controlled by identification of the user using credentials provided by the user.

Central Processing Unit. The group of integrated circuits that work together to perform any system processing, such as artimetic calculations, logic comparisons, and data access.

The relationship between two computer programs, in which the server computer responds to requests from one or more client computers, frequently from many client computers.

Projected by the cathode tube in your screen and comprised of the red, green, and blue (RGB).

made up of the pigments cyan, magenta, yellow and black CMYK,(using the K from black).

Shrinking of file size in order to take up less storage space and/or make transmitting files and programs faster over the internet.

The reception and transmission of information between two control devices.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol- how the web communicates. An application level protocol that manages the communications between web clients and web servers. Developed by Tim Berners-Lee.

Programming language developed by Sun Microsystems that combines simplicity and power. Java is an example of OOP. Can run on any machine that has a Java Virtual Machine.

Object Oriented Programming- wide style of programming that treats data and procedures as objects.

Software whose source code is included with the compiled version and modification or customization is actually encouraged.

Operating System- program or several programs together that activates as soon as you turn on a computer to control, organize and perform fundamental tasks.

Provide the instructions that make computers useful in the form of compiled code.

1. System software which directly controls the components of the computer (e.g. drivers).
2. Application software that runs a process on the computer (e.g. calculator, MS Paint, etc)

1. Allow the control of multiple software applications. e.g. Java and Flash

2. Embedded within one application to provide instructions to that program specifically.

Specific set of communication rules that let two or more computers or devices communicate, either to each other directly over a network.

Open System Interconnection- model developed to standardize the layers that data travel through to move from one device to another.

• Layer 7 Application: Interacts with the operating system or application when the user performs an action.
• Layer 6 Presentation: Converts the data into a standard format.
• Layer 5 Session: Establishes, maintains, and ends communication with the device that is receiving the data

• Layer 4 Transport: Error checking and recovery of data between devices. Integrates data coming from more than one application into a single stream.
• Layer 3 Network: Determines the way data will be sent to the receiving device.
• Layer 2 Data: Determines the physical protocol of the data.
• Layer 1 Physical: Hardware. Determines physical connections, timing, and voltage levels.

Random Access Memory- Temporary or volatile, memory that stores bytes of data and program instructions in addressed cells for the processor to access.

Dynamic (DRAM)- Compatible with just about everything, it is cheaper and smaller, but works slowly. DRAM is the most common type of memory found in personal computer systems. Used in some printers, and system memory for computers.

A chip that, unlike RAM, is nonvolatile and keeps its memory when the power is shut off. Common in digital cameras and thumb drives but works slowly.

Static RAM- a type of RAM that stores data using a static method, in which the data remains constant as long as electric power is supplied to the memory chip. SRAM is commonly used in smaller applications, such as CPU cache memory and hard drive buffers. Used in personal computers, modern appliances, toys, and cell phones.

Read Only Memory- permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change, like programs and data from the computer manufacturer including the boot process used to start the computer.

Software program developed by hackers to cause computer malfunctions. A virus attaches itself to a file, spreads to other files and delivers a destructive action called a payload.