Word of The Day

Pop-up ads are a form of online advertising on the world wide web intended to increase web traffic or capture email addresses. It works when certain web sites open a new web browser window to display advertisements. The pop-up window containing an ... advertisement is usually generated by JavaScript, but can be generated by other means as well. A variation on the pop-up window is the pop-under advertisement. This opens a new browser window, behind the active window. Pop-unders interrupt the user less, but are not seen until the desired windows are closed, making it more difficult for the user to ... (view more)

Universal Serial Bus (USB) provides a serial bus standard for connecting devices, usually to a computer, but it also is in use on other devices such as set-top boxes, and game consoles. USB: Overview A USB system has an asymmetric design, consisting ... of a host controller and multiple devices connected in a tree-like fashion using special hub devices. There is a limit of 5 levels of branching hubs per controller. Up to 127 devices may be connected to a single host controller, but the count must include the hub devices as well. A modern computer likely has several host controllers so the total ... (view more)

Definition: Annoy (like the French ennui, a word traced by etymologists to a Latin phrase, in odio esse, to be "in hatred" or hateful of someone), to vex or affect with irritation. In the sense of "nuisance," the noun "annoyance" is found in the ... English "Jury of Annoyance" appointed by an act of 1754 to report upon obstructions in the highways. Annoyance is an unpleasant mental state that is characterized by such effects as irritation and distraction from one's conscious thinking. It can lead to emotions such as frustration and anger. See also irritation. An annoyance is a stimulus that can ... (view more)

The Control Panel is part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface (GUI) menu. It is accessible from the Start Menu, which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls, such as: adding hardware, adding/removing ... software, controlling user accounts, changing accessibility options, and more. The Control Panel is accessed by going into Start -> Settings -> Control Panel on Windows 95, 98, and Me and directly from Windows XP. Control Panel Categories in Windows XP In Windows XP, the following Control Panel options are present: Accessibility Options: allows ... (view more)

On many computer operating systems, " SuperUser " is the term used for the special user account that is controlled by the system administrator. SuperUser: Unix and Unix-like In Unix-style computer operating systems, root is the conventional name of ... the user who has all rights or permissions in all modes (single- or multi-user). The user root can do many things an ordinary user cannot, such as changing the ownership of files and binding to ports numbered below 1024. Generally, it is not good practice for anyone to use root as their normal user account, because simple typographical ... (view more)

A CD key, or product key is a specific software-based key for a certain computer program and is used to identify that the copy of the program is original. For official products the key might be used offline, at other times with software like ... Windows, it is registered online to prevent multiple people using the same key. The term CD key likely comes from the fact that the key is usually on the case or the CD. Computer games and Window Install discs come with CD keys to verify that the disc has been not been illegally copied. The key itself consist of a series of numbers and/or letters. This ... (view more)

In computing, phishing (also known as carding and spoofing) is the act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business with a real need for ... such information in a seemingly official electronic notification or message, such as an email or an instant message. It is a form of a social engineering attack. The term phishing comes from the fact that Internet scammers are using increasingly sophisticated lures as they "fish" for users' financial information and password data. With the growing ... (view more)

A CD / DVD recorder is a compact disc drive that can be used to produce discs readable in other CD / DVD-ROM drives. A DVD recorder similarly produces DVD discs playable in stand-alone video players or DVD-ROM drives. They are generally used for ... small-scale archival or data exchange, being slower and more materially expensive than the moulding process used to mass-manufacture pressed discs. The recorder encodes (or burns) data onto a recordable CD-R, DVD-R or DVD+R disc (called a blank) by selectively heating parts of an organic dye layer in the disc with a laser in its write head. This ... (view more)

The Moving Picture Experts Group ( MPEG ) is a working group of ISO/IEC charged with the development of video and audio encoding standards. Since its first meeting in 1988, MPEG has grown to include approximately 350 members from various industries ... and universities. MPEG's official designation is ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11. MPEG (pronounced EM-peg) has standardized the following compression formats and ancillary standards: MPEG-1: Initial video and audio compression standard. Later used as the standard for Video CD, and includes the popular Layer 3 (MP3) audio compression format. MPEG-2: ... (view more)

Malware Malware , or "malicious software" is a generic term used to describe various types of malevolent programs. Below are some of the most common forms of malware. Virus Viruses have used many sorts of hosts. When computer viruses first ... originated, common targets were executable files that are part of application programs and the boot sectors of floppy disks. More recently, most viruses have embedded themselves in e-mail as Email attachments, depending on a curious user opening the viral attachment. In the case of executable files, the infection routine of the virus arranges that ... (view more)