5 The Internet and its Uses

the world-wide interconnection of networks; the internet makes use of TCP and IP protocols

a massive collection of web pages and is based on hypertext transfer protocols (http and https)

software that connects to a domain name server (DNS) to locate IP addresses; a browser interprets HTML web pages sent to a user’s computer so that the user can read documents and watch multimedia

the language used to design, display and format web pages, and to write http(s) protocols

a text-based address for a web page

http with extra security (such as SSL) applied

highlighted text or an image that is activated by clicking and links to further text, images, a web page or a website

a server that looks up domain names for websites (for example, www.hoddereducation. com) in order to find the IP addresses that a computer needs to locate the web servers (for example, 07.162.140.19)

a text file sent from a website to a user’s browser; it is used to remember user preferences each time they visit the website

settings or options stored in cookies that can remember customised web pages or indicate browsing history to target adverts

a cookie that is stored temporarily on a computer; it is deleted when the browser is closed or the website session ends

a cookie that is stored on the user’s hard drive and only deleted when the expiry date is reached or the cookie is deleted by the user

an area of memory in a website where items a user wishes to purchase are temporarily stored; items remain in the basket until payment is made or the session has ended

currency (a system of money) that exists in electronic form only; it has no physical form and is essentially data on a database

a form of digital currency that uses a chain of decentralised computers to control and monitor transactions

the protection of data/information by use of coding; it usually involves encryption and decryption

a decentralised database where all transactions are stored; it consists of a number of interconnected computers but not a central server

a digital record of the date and time that a data block is created in blockchain networks

the algorithm used in blockchain networks to confirm a transaction and to produce new blocks to add to the chain; special users called miners complete and monitor transactions on the network for a reward

a ‘trial and error’ method used by cybercriminals to crack passwords by finding all possible combinations of letters, numbers and symbols until the password is found

a text file containing a collection of words used in a brute force attack

an attempt to eavesdrop on a wired or wireless network transmission; cybercriminal often use packet sniffing or access point mapping / wardriving to intercept data

a method used by a cybercriminal to examine data packets being sent over a network and to find the contents of a data packet, which are sent back to the cybercriminal

using a laptop, antenna, GPS device and software to intercept Wi-Fi signals and illegally obtain data; sometimes called Access Point Mapping