A list of technical terms commonly used in the field of computer sciences and computer forensics is provided below. Some of the definitions listed here were found in Webopedia, an online resource on the World Wide Web.
Short for "Web browser," this software application can locate and display Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of these are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text.
Campus-Area Network (CAN)
The computers are within a limited geographic area, such as a campus or military base.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is the brains of the computer. Sometimes referred to as the processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place.
Cipher Text
Data that has been encrypted. Cipher text is unreadable until it has been converted into plain text (decrypted) with a key. Only a password or table that can decipher encoded data.
Circuit Board
Sometimes abbreviated as PCB or printed circuit board, a circuit board is a thin plate on which chips and other electronic components are placed. Computers consist of one or more boards, often called cards or adapters.
Computer Forensics
The application of computer investigation and analysis techniques to determine potential legal evidence.
Cookie
A cookie is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. Cookies are used to identify users and can possibly be used to prepare Customized Web pages for them. Cookies can not spread viruses, not can they access the hard drive.
Delete
To remove or erase, e.g. deleting a character means removing it from a file or erasing it from the display screen or a disk. A common misconception when deleting files is that they are also removed from the hard drive. However, data can still be retrieved from the hard drive even after the files have been deleted. The only way to completely erase a file with no trace is to overwrite the data.
Digital Storage Media
An electronic device, or the media that fits into an electronic device, that stores bits of digital information otherwise known as "data." Many electronic devices fit into this category including laptops, personal computers, computer networks, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (aka Palm Pilots), MP3 players, CD players, video cameras, and digital cameras.
All of these devices store data in a variety of formats, including: audio files (voice, telephone calls, music), video, pictures (diagrams, charts, photographs), and virtually any kind of document. Many of these same devices can store large amounts of data on small, portable media such as hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, tapes, Zip disks and drives, or memory sticks.
Digital Tape
Relatively inexpensive and can have very large storage capacities, but they do not permit random access of data. Video cameras can record several hours of live full-motion video on a single tape. Tapes are also used on computer systems to backup entire workstations or servers and vary in capacity from 2GB to 40GB.
Download
To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an online service or bulletin board service to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer on the network.
Encryption
The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text.
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