TechWords
access control
The mechanisms for limiting access to resources based on users’ identities and their membership in various predefined groups. Access control is used typically to control user access to network resources such as servers, directories, and files.
access control list (ACL)
A list that indicates which users or groups have permission to access or modify a particular file; the Windows discretionary access control list (DACL) and system access control list (SACL) are examples of access control lists.
ACL
See access control list.
Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI)
A COM-based directory service model that allows ADSI-compliant client applications to access a wide variety of distinct directory protocols, including Windows Directory Services and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), while using a single, standard set of interfaces. ADSI shields the client application from the implementation and operational details of the underlying data store or protocol.
Active Group, The
A standards organization, under the auspices of The Open Group, which is an open, customer-driven steering committee responsible for the ongoing development and management of ActiveX technologies and licensing.
active script
A script that can be implemented in various languages, persistent formats, and so on, that can interact with other ActiveX Controls.
active scripting
A Microsoft technology that uses COM to run third-party scripts in Microsoft Internet Explorer without regard to language and other elements of implementation. See also Active Server Pages; Automation; Component Object Model component; script; scripting engine.
Active Server Pages (ASP)
A server-side scripting environment that can be used to create dynamic Web pages or build Web applications. ASP pages are files that contain HTML tags, text, and script commands. ASP pages can call Component Object Model (COM) components to perform tasks, such as connecting to a database or performing a business calculation. With ASP, the user can add interactive content to Web pages or build entire Web applications that use HTML pages as the interface to your customers.
ActiveX
An umbrella term for Microsoft technologies that enable developers to create interactive content for the World Wide Web. A set of language-independent interoperability technologies that enable software components written in different languages to work together in networked environments. The core technology elements of ActiveX are the Component Object Model (COM) and distributed COM. These technologies are licensed to The Open Group standards organization, and are being implemented on multiple platforms. See also Component Object Model; Common Gateway Interface; distributed COM; Java.
ActiveX Controls
Reusable software components that incorporate ActiveX technology. These components can be used to add specialized functionality, such as animation or pop-up menus, to Web pages, desktop applications, and software development tools. ActiveX Controls can be written in a variety of programming languages including C, C++, Visual Basic, and Java.
ActiveX Data Objects (
A high-level data access programming interface to an underlying data access technology (such as OLE DB), implemented by using the Component Object Model (COM).
activity
A collection of COM objects that has a single distributed logical thread of execution. Every COM object belongs to one activity.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
A TCP/IP protocol for determining the hardware address (or physical address) of a node on a local area network connected to the Internet, when only the IP address (or logical address) is known. An ARP request is sent to the network, and the node that has the IP address responds with its hardware address. Although ARP technically refers only to finding the hardware address, and Reverse ARP (RARP) refers to the reverse procedure, the acronym ARP is commonly used to describe both. ARP is limited to physical network systems that support broadcast packets. It is defined in RFC 826. See also Reverse Address Resolution Protocol; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
See ActiveX Data Objects.
ADSI
See Active Directory Service Interfaces.
ADSI Provider
An application that makes itself available to ADSI client applications by providing an ADSI implementation.
agent
In client/server applications, a process that mediates between the client and the server. In Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), agent information consists of comments about the user, the physical location of the computer, and the types of service to report based on the computer’s configuration. See also catalog agent.
aggregation
A composition technique for implementing component objects whereby a new object can be built by using one or more existing objects that support some or all of the new object’s required interfaces.
alias
A name that maps part of a URL to a physical directory on the server. In general, an easily remembered name used in place of an IP address, directory path, or other identifier; also called a friendly name. See also host name; virtual directory; virtual server.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
A voluntary, nonprofit organization of
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
A coding scheme using 7 or 8 bits that assigns numeric values up to 256 characters, including letters, numerals, punctuation marks, control characters, and other symbols. ASCII was developed in 1968 to standardize data transmission among disparate hardware and software systems and is built into most minicomputers and all personal computers.
annotation file
For the FTP service, a summary of the information in a given directory. This summary appears automatically to browsers.
Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (anonymous FTP)
Makes it possible for a user to retrieve documents, files, programs, and other archived data from anywhere on the Internet without having to establish a logon name and password.
anonymous-only logons
Allows remote access by the IUSR_computername account. Remote users can connect to that computer without a user name or password, and they have only the permissions assigned to that account. Anonymous access is typically used for Internet sites.
ANSI
See American National Standards Institute.
Apartment model multithreading
The Component Object Model (COM) supports a form of multithreading called the Apartment model. The apartment is essentially a way of describing a thread with a message queue that supports COM objects. Apartment model multithreading enables multiple application threads—one for each apartment—to be managed by COM.
Apartment thread
A thread used to execute calls to objects of components configured as “Apartment threaded.” Each object “lives in an apartment” (thread) for the life of the object. All calls to that object execute on the Apartment thread.
API
See application programming interface.
applet
A small piece of code that can be transported over the Internet and executed on a client’s computer. This term is frequently used to refer to such programs in the form of embedded inline objects in HTML documents on the World Wide Web.
application
A computer program, such as a word processor or electronic spreadsheet; or a group of Active Server Pages (ASP) scripts and components that perform such tasks.
application programming interface (API)
A set of routines that an application uses to request and carry out lower-level services performed by a computer’s operating system. Also, a set of calling conventions in programming that define how a service is invoked through the application.
application root
The root directory for an application; all directories and files contained within the application root are considered part of the application. Also called an application starting-point directory.
application scope
A way of making data available to all users of an application from all pages of a Web application. A variable or an object instance is given application scope by storing it in the Active Server Pages (ASP) application object. Application scope is useful for global data, such as a global counter.
argument
A constant, variable, or expression passed to a procedure.
ARP
See Address Resolution Protocol.
array
A list of data values, all of the same type, any element of which can be referenced by an expression consisting of the array name followed by an indexing expression. Arrays are part of the fundamentals of data structures, which, in turn, are a major fundamental of computer programming.
ascii
In an FTP client program, the command that instructs the FTP server to send or receive files as ASCII text. See also ASCII.
ASCII
See American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
ASCII character set
A standard 7-bit code for representing ASCII characters by using binary values; code values range from 0 to 127. Most PC-based systems use an 8-bit extended ASCII code, with an extra 128 characters used to represent special symbols, non-English language characters, and graphic symbols.
ASCII file
Also called a text file, a text-only file, or an ASCII text file. An ASCII file contains characters, spaces, punctuation, carriage returns, and sometimes tabs and an end-of-file marker, but it contains no other formatting information.
ASP
See Active Server Pages.
ASP buffering
Functionality of ASP that temporarily stores all output generated by a script until script execution is complete, then sends it to a client.
associating
See file name extension mapping.
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)
A network technology capable of transmitting data, voice, video, and frame relay traffic in real time. Data, including frame relay data, is broken into packets containing 53 bytes each, which are switched between any two nodes in the system at rates ranging from 1.5 to 622 Mbps. ATM is defined in the broadband ISDN protocol at the levels corresponding to levels 1 and 2 of the ISO/OSI model. It is currently used in local area networks involving workstations and personal computers. See also Integrated Services Digital Network; International Organization for Standardization Open Systems Interconnection model.
asynchronous transmission
In modem communication, a form of data transmission in which data is sent intermittently, one character at a time, rather than in a steady stream with characters separated by fixed time intervals. Each transmitted character consists of a number of data bits (the character itself) preceded by a “begin character” signal called the start bit, and ending in an optional parity bit followed by 1, 1.5, or 2 “end character” signals, called stop bits.
ATM
See Asynchronous Transfer Mode.
atomicity
A feature of a transaction considered or guaranteed to be indivisible. Either the transaction is uninterrupted, or, if it fails, a mechanism is provided that ensures the return of the system to its state prior to initiation of the transaction.
attributes
In a database record, the name or structure of a field. The size of a field or the type of information it contains would also be attributes of a database record. In markup languages such as Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and HTML, a name-value pair within a tagged element that modifies certain features of that element.
auditing
The process an operating system uses to detect and record security-related events, such as an attempt to create, access, or delete objects such as files and directories. The records of such events are stored in a file known as a security log, whose contents are available only to those with the proper clearance. See also security log.
authentication
The process by which the system validates a user’s logon information. A user’s name and password are compared against an authorized list, and if the system detects a match, access is granted to the extent specified in the permission list for the user.
authentication certificate
See certificate, digital.
authorization
In relation to computers, especially to remote computers on a network open to more than one person, the right granted to an individual to use the system and the data stored on it. Authorization is typically set up by a system administrator, Web master, or site owner and checked and cleared by the computer. This requires that the user provide some type of identification, such as a code number or a password, that the computer can verify against its internal records. Also called permission or privilege.
automatic directory listing
Providing a directory listing by default when a URL without a file name is received; also called directory browsing.
Automation
A COM-based technology that enables dynamic binding to COM objects at run time. Automation was previously called OLE Automation and ActiveX Automation.
Automation object
An object that is exposed to other applications or programming tools through Automation interfaces.
bandwidth
The capacity of the transmission medium stated in bits per second (bps) or as a frequency (Hz). Generally, a higher bandwidth number indicates faster data-transfer capability. In communications, the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies in a given range. In computer networks, greater bandwidth indicates faster data-transfer capability and is expressed in bits per second (bps).
bandwidth throttling
Setting the maximum portion of total network capacity that a service is allowed to use. An administrator can deliberately limit a server’s Internet workload by not allowing it to receive requests at full capacity, thus saving resources for other programs such as e-mail.
Basic authentication
An authentication protocol supported by most browsers, including Internet Explorer. It is a method of authentication that encodes user name and password data transmissions. Basic authentication is sometimes called clear-text authentication because the Base-64 encoding can be decoded by anyone with a freely available decoding utility. Note that encoding is not the same as encryption. See also Integrated Windows authentication; encryption.
baud
A measure of data transmission speed. Commonly used to refer to the data transmission speed of a modem.
BIND
See Domain Name System.
binding
The way in which Microsoft Visual Basic code uses Automation to access objects in another application. See also Automation; static binding; dynamic binding.
Bits per second (bps)
The speed at which data bits are transmitted over a communications medium, such as a transmission wire or a modem.
Boolean
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of logical (true or false) values. Many languages directly support a Boolean data type, with predefined values for true and false; others use integer data types to implement Boolean values, usually (although not always) with 0 equaling false and “not 0″ equaling true. Queries with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR) are referred to as Boolean queries.
Boolean expression
An expression that yields a Boolean value.
Both-threaded
A component that supports Free- and Apartment-threading models. See also Apartment thread.
broken link
A reference to a resource that cannot be located because the URL is not valid, the resource the link points to doesn’t exist, or the server containing the resource is busy or is having other technical difficulties.
browser
Also called a Web browser. A client interface that enables a user to view HTML documents on the World Wide Web, another network, or the user’s computer; follow hyperlinks among them; and transfer files. One example is Microsoft Internet Explorer.
bulk data encryption
The encryption of all data sent over a network. See also encryption.
business rules
The laws, regulations, policies, and procedures that are encoded into a computer system. Also known as business logic.
bytecode
The executable form of Java code that executes within the Java virtual machine (VM). Also called interpreted code, pseudo code, and p-code.
CA
See certification authority.
cache
A special memory subsystem in which frequently used data values are duplicated for quick access. A memory cache stores the contents of frequently accessed RAM locations and the addresses where these data items are stored. When the processor references an address in memory, the cache checks to see whether it holds that address. If it does, the data is returned to the processor; if it does not, a regular memory access occurs. A cache is useful when RAM accesses are slow compared with the microprocessor speed, because cached memory is faster than main RAM memory.
call
To transfer program execution to some section of code (usually a subroutine) while saving the necessary information to allow execution to resume at the calling point when the called section has completed execution. When a subroutine call occurs, one or more values (known as arguments or parameters) are often passed to the subroutine, which can then use and sometimes modify these values.
callback function
A function provided by IIS that allows an ISAPI extension or filter to access IIS services.
caller
A client that invokes a method of an object. An object’s caller isn’t necessarily the object’s creator. For example, client A could create object X and pass this reference to client B, and then client B could use that reference to call a method of object X. In this case, client A is the creator, and client B is the caller.
catalog agent
An automatic software program that periodically opens all files in a designated set of directories and indexes their contents; also called a link crawler.
certificate, client
A digital certificate that functions in a way similar to a driver’s license or passport. Client certificates can contain detailed identification information about the user and organization that issued the certificate. See also certificate, digital.
certificate, digital
An encrypted file, containing user or server identification information, that is used to verify identity; also called an authentication certificate. When issued to users, a digital certificate is called a client certificate. When issued to a server administrator, it is called a server certificate. See also key pair; certificate, client.
certificate revocation list
A document maintained and published by a certification authority (CA) that lists certificates that have been revoked by the certification authority. See also certification authority.
certification authority (CA)
An entity that issues, manages, and revokes certificates.
CGI
See Common Gateway Interface.
class
In Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), the formal definition of an object. The class acts as the template from which an instance of an object is created at run time. The class defines the properties of the object and the methods used to control the object’s behavior. See also Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition.
class factory
An object that implements the IClassFactory interface, which allows it to create objects of a specific class.
class ID (CLSID)
A universally unique identifier (UUID) that identifies a COM component. Each COM component has its CLSID in the Windows registry so that it can be loaded by other applications.
class restrictions
A general term sometimes used for access control by IP address filtering and hostname filtering.
client
On a local area network or the Internet, a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer, called a server. Also, an application or process that requests a service from some process or component. A client facilitates a connection to server computers, and manages and presents information retrieved from those sources. In a client/server environment, the workstation is usually the client computer. When referring to COM objects, a program that accesses or uses a service provided by another component.
client tier
In the three-tier Web application model, the application or process that requests services from the middle tier, which typically incudes a Web server and business processes. See also middle tier; data source tier.
client/server architecture
A model of computing whereby client applications running on a desktop or personal computer access information on remote servers or host computers. The client portion of the application is typically optimized for user interaction, whereas the server portion provides centralized, multiuser functionality.
CLSID
See class ID.
clustering
Connecting two or more computers together for the purpose of sharing resources and request load. Each member computer of a cluster is called a node. The nodes in a cluster may either have their own storage devices or share a common device. Typically, clustering will involve support for load balancing, fault tolerance, and failover. See also load balancing; node; fault tolerance; failover.
codepage
A codepage is used by the system to encode and interpret string characters. Codepage formats are not the same for each language. Some languages such as Japanese and Hindi have multi-byte characters while others like English and German only need one byte to represent each character. Each codepage is represented by a unique integer. In IIS, the default codepage is the same as CP_ACP. IIS supports Web files saved in UTF-8 format or ANSI format. See also CP_ACP, UTF-8.
colocation
Installing and maintaining a computer at an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that belongs to another company or group. For example, a company might colocate one of their servers at an ISP to save costs, or to make large-scale upgrades easier.
COM
See Component Object Model.
commit
The phase in a transaction when all interactions are finalized and the persistent state of the underlying database is changed.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
A server-side interface for initiating software services. The specification that defines communications between information services (such as an HTTP service) and resources on the server’s host computer, such as databases and other programs. For example, when a user submits a form through a Web browser, the HTTP service executes a program (often called a CGI script) and passes the user’s input information to that program through CGI. The program then returns information to the service through CGI. Any software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard. CGI applications always run out-of-process. See also server.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) bin directory
The directory on a server where CGI script programs are stored. Commonly called CGI-bin or CGI-scripts.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script
A program that allows a server to communicate with users on the Internet. For example, when a user enters information in a form on a Web page, a CGI script interprets the information and communicates it to a database program on the server.
Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)
A specification developed by the Object Management Group in 1992 in which pieces of programs (objects) communicate with other objects in other programs, even if the two programs are written in different programming languages and are running on different platforms. A program makes its request for objects through an object request broker, or ORB, and thus does not need to know the structure of the program from where the object comes. CORBA is designed to work in object-oriented environments.
communications protocol
A set of rules or standards designed to enable computers to connect with one another and to exchange information with as few errors as possible. Some communications protocols contain other protocols, such as hardware protocols and file transfer protocols. Examples include Hypertext Transfer Protocol, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Systems Network Architecture (SNA).
compile time
The time during which a program is translated from source language into machine language.
Component Object Model
The object-oriented programming model that defines how objects interact within a single application or between applications. In COM, client software accesses an object through a pointer to an interface—a related set of functions called methods—on the object.
Component Object Model (COM) component
A binary file containing code for one or more class factories, COM classes, registry-entry mechanisms, loading code, and so on. See also Component Object Model; distributed Component Object Model.
concurrency
The appearance of simultaneous execution of processes or transactions by interleaving the execution of multiple pieces of work.
connected user
A user who is currently accessing one of the services of a Web server.
connection pooling
A performance optimization based on using collections of pre-allocated resources, such as objects or database connections. Pooling results in more efficient resource allocation.
content type
The type of file (such as text, graphic, or sound), usually indicated by the file name extension (such as .txt, .gif, or .wav, respectively).
control
In a graphical user interface (GUI), an object on the screen that can be manipulated by a user to perform an action. Perhaps the most common controls are buttons that a user can click to select an option, and scroll bars that a user employs to move through a document or position text in a window.
cookies
A means by which, under the HTTP protocol, a server or a script can maintain information on the client computer. Cookies are small text files which are stored in the user’s browser by the Web server. Cookies contain information about the user such as an identification number, a password, how a user shopped on a Web site, or how many times the user visited that site. A Web site can access cookie information whenever the user connects to the server.
CORBA
See Common Object Request Broker Architecture.
counters
See Counters Component (a simple COM object ships with IIS) or Performance Counters (used to measure system performance).
Counters Component
An installable component of IIS that allows you to create, store, increment, or retrieve any number of individual custom counters. Not to be confused with the Performance Counters installed with Windows to monitor system performance.
CP_ACP
The system ANSI CodePage. There is also a system OEM CodePage, CP_OEMCP. See also codepage.
crawler
See spider.
CryptoAPI
See Microsoft Cryptographic API.
cryptography
A field science involving the transmission of information in an encoded form so that only an intended recipient can decode the information and reveal its meaning. Encoded information is commonly said to be encrypted.
cursor
An onscreen indicator, such as a blinking underline or rectangle, that marks the place at which a keystroke will appear when typed. In applications and operating systems that use a mouse, the arrow or other onscreen icon that moves with movements of the mouse. Also, a piece of software that returns rows of data to the application. A cursor on a resultset indicates the current position in the resultset.
cycle
In logging, to close an existing log file and start a new one.
daemon
A networking program that performs a housekeeping or maintenance utility function without being called by the user. A daemon sits in the background and is activated only when needed, for example, to correct an error from which another program cannot recover.
Data Encryption Standard (DES)
A specification for encryption of computer data developed by IBM and adopted by the
datagram
A self-contained, independent entity of data carrying sufficient information to be routed from the source to the destination computer without reliance on earlier exchanges between the source and destination computer and the transporting network. See also frame; packet.
data provider
Software that implements Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB) methods and interfaces.
data source
The name that applications use to request a connection to an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data source. It specifies the computer name and (optionally) database that the data source name (DSN) maps to. A system data source is a data source that is available to anyone using the computer. Data sources that will be used with a Web server need to be system data sources.
Data Source Name (DSN)
The logical name used by Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) to refer to the drive and other information required to access data. The name is used by Internet Information Services for a connection to an ODBC data source, such as a SQL Server database.
data source tier
A logical layer that represents a computer running a Database Management System (DBMS), such as a SQL Server database. See also client tier; middle tier.
DAV
See Distributed Authoring and Versioning.
DCOM
See distributed COM.
deadlock
In operating systems or databases, a situation in which two or more processes are prevented from continuing while each waits for resources to be freed by the continuation of the other.
debugger
A software tool used to detect the source of program or script errors, by performing step-by-step execution of application code and viewing the content of code variables.
default document
Sometimes called a default home page. The file sent by a Web server when it receives a request for a URL that does not specify a file name. This document can be generated automatically by the server, or it can be a custom file placed in that directory by the administrator.
default gateway
In TCP/IP, the intermediate network device on the local network that has knowledge of the network IDs of the other networks in the Internet, so it can forward the packets to other gateways until they are delivered to the one connected to the specified destination.
DES
See Data Encryption Standard.
design time
The time during which a user builds an application in the development environment by adding controls, setting control or form properties, and so on. In contrast, during run time, a user interacts with the application.
Design-time ActiveX Controls
Visual authoring components that help a developer construct dynamic Web applications by automatically generating standard HTML and scripting code. They are analogous to wizards. Design-time ActiveX Controls exist at design time, and not at run time.
developer isolation
A feature of some software that provides a way for an application developer to create and test scripts without a connecting to a Web server.
DHCP
See Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
DHTML
See Dynamic HTML.
dial-up
Of, pertaining to, or being a connection that uses the public switched telephone network rather than a dedicated circuit or some other type of private network. Also called a slow link.
Dial-up Networking
A component of the Windows operating system that makes it possible for users to connect to remote networks such as the Internet or a private network.
Digest authentication
An authentication method that sends user name and password information over the network as a hash value. See also authentication; hash value; hash value comparison.
digital signature
The part of a digital certificate that contains an encryption key that uniquely identifies the holder of the certificate. See also certificate, client; key pair.
directive
An instruction to the Active Server Pages (ASP) script engine that specifies properties, such as script language, for the selection of a script.
directory browsing
A feature that automatically provides a default Web page of available directories and files to browsers that submit a URL that does not specify a particular file.
directory replication
The copying of a master set of directories from a server (called an export server) to specified servers or workstations (called import computers) in the same or other domains. Replication simplifies the task of maintaining identical sets of directories and files on multiple computers, because only a single master copy of the data must be maintained. Files are replicated when they are added to an exported directory, and every time a change is saved to the file.
directory service
Middleware that locates the correct and full network address from a partial name or address typed into a dialog box. See also middleware.
disconnected recordset
A recordset in a client cache that no longer has a live connection to the server. If something must be done with the original data source, such as updating data, the connection will need to be re-established.
discovery mechanism
A way of finding other servers on the network.
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)
An extension to the HTTP 1.1 standard that facilitates access to files and directories through an HTTP connection. Remote authors can add, search, delete, or change directories and documents and their properties.
distributed COM
A wire protocol that enables software components to communicate directly over a network.
Distributed interNet Application Architecture (DNA)
Microsoft’s architecture for Web applications.
distributed processing
A form of information processing in which work is performed by separate computers linked through a communications network. Distributed processing is usually categorized as either plain distributed processing or true distributed processing. Plain distributed processing shares the workload among computers that can communicate with one another. True distributed processing has separate computers perform different tasks in such a way that their combined work can contribute to a larger goal. The latter type of processing requires a highly structured environment that allows hardware and software to communicate, share resources, and exchange information freely.
DLL
See dynamic-link library.
DNS
See Domain Name System.
domain
In Windows, a collection of computers that share a common domain database and security policy. Each domain has a unique name. See also domain, Internet.
domain controller
For a Windows 2000 Server domain, the server that authenticates domain logons and maintains the security policy and the master database for a domain.
domain, Internet
The highest subdivision of a domain name in a network address, which identifies the type of entity owning the address (for example, .com for commercial users or .edu for educational institutions) or the geographical location of the address (for example, .fr for
domain name
An address of a network connection that identifies the owner of that address in a hierarchical format. For example, www.whitehouse.gov identifies the Web server at the White House, which is a government agency. See also Domain Name System.
Domain Name System (DNS)
The system by which hosts on the Internet have domain name addresses (such as microsoft.com) and IP addresses (such as 172.21.13.45). The domain name address is used by human users and is automatically translated into the numerical IP address, which is used by the packet-routing software. DNS is also the acronym for Domain Name Service, the Internet utility that implements the Domain Name System. DNS servers, also called name servers, maintain databases containing the addresses and are accessed transparently by the user.
Domain Name System (DNS) reverse lookup
Finding the IP address that corresponds to a domain name.
Domain Name System (DNS) spoofing
Assuming the DNS name of another system by either corrupting a name-service cache, or by compromising a domain-name server for a valid domain.
download
In communications, the process of transferring a copy of a file from a remote computer to the requesting computer by means of a modem or network.
DSN
See Data Source Name.
DWORD
The Win32 API designation for a 32-bit integer.
dynamic binding
Binding (converting symbolic addresses in the program to storage-related addresses) that occurs during program execution. The term often refers to object-oriented applications that determine, during run time, which software routines to call for particular data objects. Also called late binding.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
A TCP/IP protocol that enables a network connected to the Internet to assign a temporary IP address to a host automatically when the host connects to the network.
dynamic HTML (DHTML)
A set of innovative features in Internet Explorer version 4.0 and later that can be used to create HTML documents that dynamically change their content and interact with the user. By using DHTML, authors can provide special effects on a Web page without relying on server-side programs.