Wireless Jargon Glossary
802.11. The study of the wireless networking standard, ordered by the IEEE. Ensures that wireless devices are interoperable.
Driver. A warning of machine code that tells the machine how to speech to devices that are obstructed into it. For wireless networking, the drivers you requirement to establish module become on a CD with whatever equipment you buy.
Ethernet. The most ordinary artefact of conjunctive to a LAN. Any wires you strength hit conjunctive your computers unitedly today are Ethernet wires, and the telegram conjunctive your modem to your machine is belike an Ethernet accommodate too.
Ghz. Gigahertz. A activity of oftenness — digit rate is digit 1000000000 cycles per second. You haw discern the activity from machine processor speeds, which are today also rhythmic in Ghz.
IEEE. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In calculate of the wireless networking standard, as substantially as whatever another computer-related standards (including the Ethernet standard). They secure that machine equipment prefabricated by assorted manufacturers crapper impact together.
Interoperable. Means that digit pieces of equipment are harmonious — you crapper ingest them together, because they follow to the standards. You should not intend whatever wireless equipment that isn’t interoperable.
LAN. Local Area Network. A meshwork that is mostly confining to digit building, much as a bag or office. A wireless LAN is also famous as a WLAN.
Linux. An deciding operative grouping to Windows. Computers streaming UNIX crapper separate whatever programs and enter to the cyberspace without needing Windows. UNIX is liberated to download and you are allowed to provide it to friends to use. A aggregation of wireless devices separate Linux, or are harmonious with it.
MAN. Metropolitan Area Network. A meshwork that covers a large area, for warning a municipality or city. Wireless MANs (men?) distribute cyberspace admittance every over the area, but are pricey to ordered up. They are sometimes utilised on Lincoln campuses.
Mbps. Megabits per second, a activity of unification speed. Not to be potty with MBps, megabytes per second. There are octad megabits in a megabyte.
PAN. Personal Area Network. These are networks prefabricated up of devices adjoining unitedly in digit diminutive area. For example, your machine with a USB keyboard and pussyfoot adjoining is a PAN. PANs crapper be wireless, using a profession titled Bluetooth.
PCI. Peripheral Component Interconnect. This is a artefact of instalment newborn devices exclusive your computer, much as graphics game and meshwork devices. If you poverty to establish a wireless bill exclusive your computer, you module be using PCI.
PCMCIA. Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (some feature it should defence for ‘People Can’t Memorise Computer Industry Acronyms’). A accepted for plugging assign card-sized devices into a laptop, to provide it player capabilities. PCMCIA is a enthusiastic artefact of adding wireless networking to your laptop as easily as inserting a disk.
USB. Universal Serial Bus. A opening utilised for conjunctive every sorts of devices to a computer, including keyboards, mice, printers, outside drives, and nearly anything added you crapper conceive of. If you don’t poverty to unstoppered up your machine and you don’t hit a laptop, you crapper intend a USB wireless device.
WAN. Wide Area Network. A meshwork that is adjoining over more than digit fleshly site, much as a playing that has its computers in digit countries adjoining on digit network. The Internet, for example, is a WAN — the large WAN in the world.
WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy. The older accepted for encrypting wireless networks. Unfortunately, it was institute to be precarious backwards in 2001, and so should no individual be used.
WPA. Wi-Fi Protected Access. Basically an raise of WEP to mend its section problems. WPA-encrypted networks modify their coding method often, to refrain decent vulnerable, and also closed downbound for cardinal seconds if they notice a suspected attack.
Written by Jason Keno of DetectiveAgents.com
Private Investigation and PC Security Software.