A glossary of terms used on the Internet and their non-technical explanations.

  • Apache A popular type of server, based on Open Source code. We use Apache servers.
  • ASP (Active Server Pages) ASP is a proprietory type of code, developed by Microsoft. Our servers do not support this type of code.
  • Bandwidth Each time someone views a page on your site it has to be sent via telephony to their computer, similarly when you download or send e-mails from your domain, view web statistics etc. The amount of telephony resources (in Megabytes or Gigabytes) that is consumed is counted against your total bandwidth allowance.
  • CGI (Common Gateway Interface) This is a scripting language you can use to perform functions on your website. CGI scripts are kept in the cgi-bin which is only accessible to functions on your website.
  • FrontPage Extensions When installed on your domain (at your request) these can be used in conjunction with the FrontPage programme on your computer to construct and publish html pages to your website.
  • FTP (File Transfer Protocol) A means of transferring files from your computer to your website, or from your website to your computer. There are many FTP programmes available, some free and some paid.
  • Linux An operating system for Apache web servers. There are many variants of Linux operating systems, some Open Source, some proprietory. Our servers use the proprietory Red Hat Enterprise Linux system.
  • Mail Scanner A virus scanning system installed on the server to help protect you from receiving incoming mail which contains a virus. It also checks outgoing mail to make sure that you do not inadvertently (if your computer has been compromised) send outgoing mail which contains a virus via your domain's mail service.
  • MySQL A popular database delivery and management system, based on Open Source code. Our servers use MySQL databases.
  • MS SQL A proprietory database delivery and management system, licensed by Microsoft for use on Windows web servers.
  • PHP (Pre Hypertext Processor) A very popular and highly adaptable scripting language that allows you to deliver a dynamic website for your visitors e.g. Shopping Cart, Forum etc.
  • PHP MyAdmin A system for web based administration of MySQL databases. We supply PHP MyAdmin for our customers.
  • POP3 (post Office Protocol) The most widely used protocol for downloading or sending e-mails.
  • SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) A system used for sending (outgoing) e-mails from your web address or ISP.
  • Spam Assassin A programme installed on the server aimed at reducing the amount of Spam (junk mail) that you receive.
  • SSH (Secure Shell Access) A way of accessing your website from a terminal window on your computer and executing instructions from a command line interface. We make this access available only to very experienced users. Because your site is on a shared server you will not have full root access.
  • SSI (Server Side Includes) This feature allows you to carry out certain script functions on your website for delivery on the page. People used to PHP will be aware of the 'include' command, but with SSI the same command can be used to import information to an html based page from another file.
  • Unix Another Operating System used on Apache web servers. Still widely in use, but overtaken by Linux in scope of usage.
  • WebMail An online programme that allows you to login with your e-mail user name and password to view your latest e-mails before they are downloaded from the server. Useful when you are away from your base of operations.
  • Web Space The amount of memory space that is allocated on the server for your usage for storage of your website files.
  • Web Stats A statistical programme that you can access online to provide full details of pages visited, bandwidth used, images viewed etc. Allows you to track visitors to your site and where they go in your site after their arrival. We provide Aw Stats as it is informative and easy to understand..