Internet technologies

This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet technologies, including definitions about port numbers, standards and protocols and words and phrases about how the Internet works.

timeline - A timeline is a visual representation of a chronological sequence of events along a drawn line that helps a viewer understand time relationships.
TL;DR (too long; didn't read) - TL;DR is an abbreviation for "too long; didn't read.
Top 10 spyware threats - The top 10 spyware list describes the 10 common spyware threats behind famous spyware attacks and is frequently identified by Webroot's Spy Audit, a free spyware scanner tool.
Top searches of 2008 - What were people searching the WhatIs.
touch screen - A touch screen is an electronic display screen that is also an input device.
Tumblr - Tumblr is a free microblogging site.
tvOS - TvOS is the operating system that runs on the 4th and 5th generation Apple TV digital media player.
Twitch - Twitch (Twitch.
UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) - UDDI, or Universal Description, Discovery and Integration, is an Extensible Language Markup (XML)-based standard to describe, publish and find information about web services.
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, or UEFI, specifies how a software program connects a computer's firmware to its operating system and attached computing hardware.
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) - A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a character sequence that identifies a logical (abstract) or physical resource -- usually, but not always, connected to the internet.
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) - The Universal Naming Convention (UNC) is a standard for naming resources -- such as files and devices -- that are shared by computers on a network.
uploading - Uploading is the transmission of data from a local device to a remote device.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the Internet.
URN (Uniform Resource Name) - A URN (Uniform Resource Name) is a permanent identifier for internet resources that employs the urn scheme.
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) - User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communications protocol primarily used to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the internet.
User Principal Name (UPN) - In Microsoft Active Directory, a User Principal Name (UPN) is a username and domain in an email address format.
UUID (Universal Unique Identifier) - A UUID (Universal Unique Identifier) is a 128-bit value used to uniquely identify an object or entity on the internet.
vanity URL (vanity uniform resource locator) - A vanity URL (vanity uniform resource locator) is a simplified version of a URL that users enter into their browsers in place of the original URL.
vector embeddings - Vector embeddings are numerical representations that capture the relationships and meaning of words, phrases and other data types.
vector graphics - Vector graphics are computer images created through a sequence of commands or mathematical statements that place lines and shapes in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional space.
Vimeo - Vimeo is a U.
virtual asset - A virtual asset is a digital representation of an item that has value in a specific environment.
virtual classroom - A virtual classroom is an online learning environment.
virtual reality sickness (VR motion sickness) - Virtual reality sickness (VR motion sickness) is the physical discomfort that occurs when an end user's brain receives conflicting signals about self-movement in a digital environment.
voice SEO - Voice SEO is the optimization of keywords and keyword phrases for searches through voice assistants.
VoIP phone - A VoIP phone is a hardware- or software-based telephone designed to use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to send and receive phone calls over an IP network.
von Neumann bottleneck - The von Neumann bottleneck is a limitation on throughput caused by the standard personal computer architecture.
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) - The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is an international organization that creates standards for the World Wide Web.
WAN (wide area network) - A wide area network (WAN) is a geographically distributed private telecommunications network that interconnects multiple local area networks (LANs).
Wayback Machine - The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine is a digital archive of information on the internet.
Web 2.0 - Web 2.0 are websites and applications that make use of user-generated content for end users.
web analytics - Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a website.
web development framework (WDF) - A web development framework is a set of resources and tools for software developers to build and manage web applications, web services and websites, as well as to develop application programming interfaces (APIs).
web server - A web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
web services - Web services are a type of internet software that use standardized messaging protocols and are made available from an application service provider's web server for a client or other web-based programs to use.
web stack - A web stack is the collection of software used for web development that incorporates, at a minimum, an operating system (OS), a programming language, database software and a web server.
weblog - A blog, short for weblog, is a frequently updated web page used for personal commentary or business content.
webOS - WebOS is an LG-owned, Linux-based operating system for smart devices, particularly smart TVs.
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) - WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) is an open source project that enables real-time voice, text and video communications capabilities between web browsers and devices.
What is a Server? - A server is a computer program or device that provides a service to another computer program and its user, also known as the client.
What is hybrid cloud? The ultimate guide - A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud and third-party public cloud services with orchestration among these platforms.
What is network-attached storage (NAS)? A complete guide - Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity.
What is unified endpoint management (UEM)? A complete guide - Unified endpoint management (UEM) is an approach to securing and controlling desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets in a connected, cohesive manner from a single console.
white hat link building - White hat link building is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique for increasing the number of high-quality backlinks to a webpage.
whitelist (allowlist) - A whitelist (allowlist) is a cybersecurity strategy that approves a list of email addresses, IP addresses, domain names or applications, while denying all others.
wiki - A wiki is a web-based collaborative platform that enables users to store, create and modify content in an organized manner.
Windows Imaging Format (WIM) - Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is used for the creation and distribution of disk image files.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) - Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a set of specifications from Microsoft for consolidating the management of devices and applications in a network from Windows computing systems.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) - Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol, specified in the IEEE Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) standard, 802.
wireless broadband (WiBB) - Wireless broadband (WiBB) is high-speed internet and data service delivered through a wireless local area network (WLAN) or wireless wide area network (WWAN).
Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) - Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) is a security level for the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), specifically for the applications that use WAP.
WordPress - WordPress is free, open source publishing software that can be installed locally on a web server and viewed on a proprietary web site or hosted in the cloud and viewed on the WordPress web site.
World Wide Web (WWW) - The World Wide Web -- also known as the web, WWW or W3 -- refers to all the public websites or pages that users can access on their local computers and other devices through the internet.
WSTx (Web Services Transactions) - WSTx (Web Services Transaction) is a set of XML markup specifications designed to permit the use of open, standard protocols for secure, reliable transactions across the Web.
XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) - XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) is an attribute-based access control policy language (ABAC) or XML-based language, designed to express security policies and access requests to information.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) - XML (Extensible Markup Language) is used to describe data.
XML Schema Definition (XSD) - XML Schema Definition or XSD is a recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to describe and validate the structure and content of an XML document.
XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) - XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) is a family of standards that specifies how to define Extensible Markup Language (XML) document transformation and presentation.
Yahoo - Yahoo, or Yahoo.
yak shaving - Yak shaving is programming lingo for the seemingly endless series of small tasks that have to be completed before the next step in a project can move forward.
Yammer - Yammer is a private microblogging and collaboration platform for enterprise social networking.