Glossary of Terms

The following are terms and definitions that may be of help as you use your Efanz subscription to surf the web and manage your email.

Attachment – A file sent along with an email.

Bandwidth – The amount of data that a communications line can carry measured in “bits-per-second”.

Bits-Per-Second – The measurement units reflecting the speed of data transfer.  Think miles-per-hour for online connections.  The standard modem for dial-up connections allows for a maximum of 56 kilobits per second.

Bookmarks – See Favorites.

Broadband – Connecting through some form of a dedicated line.  This service is typically offered through Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) or Cable lines, and is built to transfer data at higher rates.

Browser – Software located on your computer that allows you to view web sites.  Most Efanz customers use Microsoft Explorer but the use of Firefox has become increasingly more popular.

Cache – Temporary storage space on your computer that saves web page content to speed up loading time for future visits.

Chat – Real-time online discussions in which participants type their communications.

Compression – The process of condensing files or data to be transferred in order to speed up downloading.

Cookie – Text files created by web sites and stored on your computer to provide custom content or save information needed for future visits to the site (like passwords)

Desktop Screen – The main screen of your computer that is visiable imediatly after startup.

Dialer Software – The dialer passes specific instructions to the modem located on your computer to assist the connection process.   The dialer installed on your computer when setting up your Efanz account also includes our acceleration technology and other files to improve connections.

Dial-Up-Number – This is the local number used to connect to the Internet.  This is sometimes called a POP (Point of Presence).

Domain Name – A unique name given to provide a distinguished presence on the web.  In the case of Efanz, the domain name is efanz.com.

Download – This is the process of transferring data files or software from the Internet to your base computer.

Email – Short for electronic mail.

Favorites – Web addresses saved on the web browser for easy access on future visits. 

Firewall – Hardware or software that protects your computer or network from being accessed by outside computers.

Homepage – The main page of a web site.  Typically includes the main navigation for the site.  Also refers to the start page set within your browser software.  When set up, your computer will automatically load your preferred page as it completes the connection.

Hyperlink – Text or graphic content that when you click on, you are directed to another web page.

Internet – The worldwide network connecting millions of computers together. 

ISP – Internet Service Provider

LAN – Local area network or a group of interconnected computers.

Link – See Hyperlink.

Log on – The process for gaining access to the web or a particular web site.

Modem – A hardware devise located on your computer that connects your computer to the Internet.

Network – Two or more connected computers.

Online – Successfully connected to the Internet.

PDF – Portable Document Format which is a common process of viewing a document electronically.  To view a PDF document, you must have installed the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer which is available online. 

Search Engine – A tool that allows you to easily search for specific content on the web.

Server – A computer connected to the Internet that provides (serves) information to the web.

SPAM – Unsolicited email.  Sometimes referred to as “junk mail”.

SSL – Secure Sockets Layer.  A security protocol for online activity that encrypts the content and thusallows for a safer transmission of sensitive data. 

Streaming – The process of seeing or hearing video or audio files while they are transferring, rather than waiting for the entire file to download.

URL – Uniform Resource Layer.  A unique address on the Internet most commonly referred to as the web site address.

Username – The unique name given to each subscriber of Efanz that is used to connect to the Internet.  In most cases, the username is the part of the primary Email address that appears before the “@” sign.