IT Glossary: computer jargon explained G - I

Gbyte
Giga Byte. A “byte” is 8 bits of digital information and can be thought of like a character (e.g. the letter “A”) in a text document.  A “Giga Byte” is one thousand, million bytes. This term is used to indicate the size of a file. See also KByte, Mbyte.

Geek
A fore-shortening of the “computer-geek”. Used to describe a person who has a string love of computers, spends a lot of time online and conducts most social interaction through their computer.

GIF
Graphics Interchange Format. A file format for image files.

GPRS
General Packet Radio Service. A service that allows you to send and receive information across a mobile telephone network. Not to be confused with GPS (Global Position System).

Hacker
Someone who access, or “hacks into”, computer systems that they have no right of access to. This is often done for criminal profit – for example to obtain other people’s financial details or sensitive company information. Hackers may also want to use a company’s server to store their own information – or maybe they just want to cause mischief.

Most hackers use “social engineering” techniques to obtain user names and password information.

Hard Disc/Hard Drive
A computer’s main storage area for programs and data. Data store on the hard disc will be retained even when the computer is switched off, unlike RAM which loses its contents when the power is off. Most PCs are fitted with a single hard disc which is usually allocated the letter “C” ( known as the “C-drive” or C: ). The hard disc can be partitioned into more than one area, which case each partition will be allocated a different drive letter.  You can also fit more than one hard disc to a computer and again each partition on each disc will be allocated a unique drive letter.

Some people erroneously refer to the man “box” that makes up the computer as the hard drive. This is not the case – the hard drive is actually just one of many components inside this box.

Hardware
The physical parts that make up a computer – including the screen, printer etc. Hardware is distinct from the software that runs on the computer.  The hardware also includes the main box that makes up the computer.

Homepage
The first page of any website. Clicking on the Home option within a website should always return you to this homepage. You can also set a personal homepage in your browser. This is the page that your browser will initially go to when you start it up.

Homepage Hijacker
This is a popup advert which asks you to click a link and then changes your personal homepage. The next time you start your browser you’ll automatically see the advertiser’s website rather than your homepage. You can usually reset the homepage manually but sometimes hijackers use more complex methods to change this which can make it more awkward to reset.

HTML
Hyper Text Markup Language. This is the code format used to create text documents that will be viewed as web pages on your browser. HTML code looks like ordinary text surrounded by blocks of special code embedded within brackets and others symbols. These codes control the appearance of the text on a web page and set things such as font style, font colour, text position on the page and so on.

HTTP
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This is the language, or “protocol” used by computers to send and receive web pages over the internet. Almost every website address, or URL, starts with http:// indicating that this is the protocol used for the pages that follow.

Hub
A simple device used as a central point to connect several computers to form a network. Although these still have uses they are frequently replaced by a similar looking device called a switch.

Hyperlink
A word or phrase on a web page which, when click on, will cause your browser to view a different part of the web page, or a new web page altogether. Hyperlinks are usually identified by underlining the word or phrase. Also known simply as a link.

IDE
Integrated Drive Electronics. An interface standard for a computer hard disk. This is has been largely replaced by EIDE (Extended IDE) and more recently SATA.

Install
To extract a program from a downloaded file or from an installation CD-ROM to the hard disc on your computer. Most programs need to be installed before you can run them.

Internet
A vast network of interconnected computers that comprises the World Wide Web.

Intranet
A private network of computers, usually used within a company or organisation. Customers or anyone else outside the organisation cannot usually view things that are placed on the Intranet.

IP
Internet Protocol. A set of rules that governs how computers communicate of the Internet.

IP Address
Internet Protocol Address. A number given to each computer on a network that uniquely identifies it on that network.  An IP address can be thought of as similar in concept to a telephone number in that it is unique on the network to which it applies.

ISP
Internet Service Provider. A company that provides you with a connection to the Internet. For example, Zen or BT.

IT
Information Technology. Anything to do with computers is often referred to as IT.