Upload
The process of transferring information from a computer to a web site (or other remote location on a network).
URL
Uniform Resource Locator.
1. The protocol for identifying a document on the Web.
2. A Web address (e.g., www.census.gov). A URL is unique to each user.
USB
Universal Serial Bus. An industry standard for connecting different compatible
peripheral devices across multiple platforms. Devices include printers, digital
cameras, scanners, game pads, joysticks, keyboards and mice, and storage
devices. USB peripherals offer the use of plug-and-play convenience by eliminating
the need to turn off or restart the computer when attaching a new peripheral.
Users can connect USB peripherals whenever they need them. For example, a
user producing a newsletter could easily swap a digital camera for a scanner-without
any downtime. Small, simple, inexpensive, and easy to attach, USB supports
simultaneous connection of up to 127 devices by attaching peripherals through
interconnected external hubs.
USB hub
A multiple-socket USB connector that allows several USB-compatible devices
to be connected to a computer.
User friendly
A program or device whose use is intuitive to people with a nontechnical background.
Virus
An unauthorized piece of computer code attached to a computer program or portions
of a computer system that secretly copies itself from one computer to another
by shared discs and over telephone and cable lines. It can destroy information
stored on the computer, and in extreme cases, can destroy operability. Computers
can be protected from viruses if the operator utilizes good virus prevention
software and keeps the virus definitions up-to-date. Most viruses are not
programmed to spread themselves. They have to be sent to another computer
by e-mail, sharing, or applications. The worm is an exception, because it
is programmed to replicate itself by sending copies to other computers listed
in the e-mail address book in the computer. There are many kinds of viruses,
for example: Boot viruses place some of their code in the start-up disk sector
to automatically execute when booting. Therefore,
when an infected machine boots, the virus loads and runs.
File viruses attached to program files (files with the extension “.exe”). When
you run the infected program, the virus code executes. Macro viruses copy their
macros to templates and/or other application document files. Trojan Horse is
a malicious, security-breaking program that is disguised as something benign
such as a screen saver or game.
Window
A portion of a computer display used in a graphical interface that enables
users to select commands by pointing to illustrations or symbols with a mouse.
“Windows” is also the name Microsoft adopted for its popular operating system.
World Wide Web
A network of servers on the Internet that use hypertext-linked databases and
files. It was developed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist,
and is now the primary platform of the Internet. The feature that distinguishes
the Web from other Internet applications is its ability to display graphics
in addition to text.
Word processor
A computer system or program for setting, editing, revising, correcting, storing,
and printing text.
