Activation Code: A unique identifier for a product usually composed of alphanumeric characters. For Freedom®, activation codes are used when creating premium nyms. When an activation code is exchanged for nyms, the number is removed from the database of available numbers.
ASCII: Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Designed to standardize the exchange of data between different hardware and software products. ASCII assigns a numeric value to letters, numerals, punctuation marks, control characters, and other symbols. ASCII represents 256 characters using an 8-bit coding scheme.
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Binary: A way to represent numbers and letters using 0 and 1. Almost all computers and digital electronics use the binary system because of its ease of implementation. Representing characters using the binary system can be confusing, because it takes a sequence of eight 0s and/or 1s to represent a single character. For example, the binary representation of the number 9 is 00111001.
Blowfish: Public domain encryption algorithm designed by Bruce Schneier. Blowfish was designed to encrypt data simply and quickly, while running in minimal amounts of memory on large microprocessors. Blowfish’s key length is variable and can be as large as 448-bit. Blowfish is optimized for programs where the encryption keys do not change often. When used on 32-bit systems (such as Pentium™ processors), Blowfish is significantly faster than DES encryption.
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Ciphertext: Data file encrypted with an encryption key. The data remains unreadable until it is converted into plaintext (decrypted) using the appropriate key.
Client: An individual user's computer when connecting to and sharing the resources of a network. The Freedom® client is the program that you install on individual computers that then connect to the Freedom network to create private connections. Client/server describes the relationship between two computer programs, where one program, the “client”, makes a request from another program, the “server”, which handles the request. Client programs usually exchange information with servers on the network. On a local area network or the Internet, a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer (called a server).
Cookie: A text file that WWW servers save on client computers. The server uses the file to identify users when they return to the site. Cookies not only aid web sites in identifying visitors, they allow users to customize their browsing experience. When you accept a cookie from a web site, your browser consults the cookie file each time you return to that site. Cookies also allow servers to monitor a user's browsing habits, including how many times the site is visited, as well as which files are viewed. Web sites that require user registration use cookies to store your name and password to accelerate future accesses to the site.
Cookie Jars: The storage containers used by the Freedom Cookie Manager. The acceptance of cookies is contextual, based on the nym that accepted them. Each nym is represented by a "Cookie Jar" that stores the cookies accepted by the nym. If you visit the same site with two different nyms, each will have a cookie for that site.
Cryptography: The art of converting (encrypting) data into an unreadable format, in order to protect it from unauthorized viewing. Data is encrypted using a key, a copy of which must be used to decrypt the data into a readable format (plaintext). Encrypted data is often referred to as ciphertext. Cryptography is becoming more common as the Internet is increasingly used for the transmission of sensitive information and for e-commerce (electronic commerce). One popular cryptography method is private/public key cryptography. People wishing to secure their message use the recipient's freely distributed public key to encrypt the data, which can only be decrypted using the unique private key. An alternative to private/public key pairs is symmetric key cryptography, in which both the sender and recipient posses the same key.
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Data: Pieces of information, such as messages or files, usually formatted in a specific way. Data can be numbers or letters.
Decryption: The process of decoding encrypted data to its legible format. Decryption requires a special key or password to restore the data to its original format.
DES: Acronym for Data Encryption Standard. A 56- or 64-bit symmetric key encryption method adopted by the U.S. government in 1976. As a symmetric key system, the secret keys must be securely distributed and controlled.
DESX: Variant of the Data Encryption Standard. DESX uses a technique called “whitening” to obscure the inputs and outputs to DES. DESX uses standard DES keys with an additional 64-bit whitening key to prevent the viewing of the input and output data to the DES key.
DNS: Acronym for Domain Name System. The Internet standard for host names and the resolution of domain name servers to their corresponding IP addresses. The Domain Name System automatically converts a text URL into its numerical IP address.
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E-Commerce: Abbreviation for Electronic Commerce. The purchase and sale of products or services through an electronic network, such as the Internet. E-commerce also includes the transfer of funds. The primary medium of communication between the consumer and the vendor is done through computers or other digital networks. The World Wide Web is becoming the primary forum for e-commerce, and is spawning a new term: e-business. E-commerce is also referred to as EC.
Email: An electronic text message sent over a computer network. The exchange of text messages and computer files over a communications network, such as a local area network or the Internet, usually between computers or terminals. Also expressed as e-mail. Mail sent using traditional postal carriers is often referred to as "snail mail".
Encryption: The process of transforming data into an unreadable code to secure it from unauthorized viewing. Encryption converts plaintext into ciphertext using a key, a copy of which must be used for decryption. Encryption is primarily used for security, but it is also used for authentication, to ensure that the sender is actually who they claim to be. Two main types of encryption exist: private/public key encryption and symmetric encryption.
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Freedom®: A flexible suite of features and services from Zero-Knowledge® that serve to secure and protect individual online privacy.
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Header: A block of information that precedes and identifies the data that follows, such as a block of bytes in communications, a file on a disk, a set of records in a database, or an executable program. When used for email, headers identify the message sender and the routing.
HTTP: Acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A client-server protocol that formats and carries World Wide Web traffic between a computer's browser and the server it accesses. The HTTP protocol is documented at http://www.w3.org.
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IMAP: Acronym for Internet Message Access Protocol. An Internet email server protocol that allows users to connect to the server, view the message headers, then choose which email messages to retrieve. IMAP allows the user to retrieve messages from more than one computer.
IP: Acronym for Internet Protocol. A subset of the TCP/IP protocol. It administers the separation of data into packets, the routing of packets from sender to recipient, and the reconstruction of the packets to their original format. On occasion, IP routers may "drop" packets to alleviate network congestion. "Dropped" packets are re-requested by the recipient and sent to complete the data reassembly.
IRC: Acronym for Internet Relay Chat. A service that allows users to participate in real-time conversations with other Internet users. Invented in 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen of Finland. IRC uses channels, maintained by the IRC server, to transmit user messages on dedicated topics. When a user joins an IRC channel, their messages are transmitted to all other users who are present in that channel.
ISP: Acronym for Internet Service Provider. Company or organization that enables you to connect to the Internet. ISPs can be small, local organizations, or large multinational corporations. Users typically connect to an ISP via modem. Also referred to as access providers or service providers.
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LAN: Acronym for Local Area Network. A network regrouping computers and other hardware within reasonably close proximity to each other. The network's devices are connected using a communications link that allows the devices to share their resources and interact with each other. Typically, the network devices are referred to as nodes. Nodes connect to the network with cables allowing them to exchange data.
Local Host: The name used to refer to a web server making a TCP/IP request to itself. For example, if your computer is a web server, and you want to browse a page contained on your server, you would request that page from the local host. TCP/IP messages to local host never actually go out to the Internet.
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Message Headers: Identifying characteristics at the beginning of a message that provides information such as message length, data format, and block identification number. Message headers can help to identify the sender and routing information.
MIME: Acronym for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. SMTP can only handle ASCII code. MIME is an extension of the SMPT protocol that allows the attachment of binary files to email messages, such as graphics, sound, and video files. Prior to the introduction of MIME, attachments had to be converted to ASCII format, then converted back to the original binary file. MIME works across multiple computer platforms and most email programs are MIME-compliant.
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Newsgroup: Internet forum dedicated to discussions on a specified range of subjects. A newsgroup contains articles (original messages) and follow-up posts. Articles with all the follow-up posts (which are all supposed to be related to the main subject) are called a thread. Newsgroup names are composed of a series of words, separated by periods, indicating the newsgroup's hierarchy within a larger topic. Since 1995, most newsgroup postings are archived and can be read using a variety of search engines.
NFS: Acronym for Network File System. The method used on a network to make shared remote disk drives appear as if they are local. NFS uses UDP rather than TCP. For example, if your computer is connected to a network, you probably have remote network drives identified as part of your computer. These remote drives appear and operate as if they are local to your computer.
NIS: Acronym for Network Information Service. A method of maintaining network information, such as names, passwords, and locations in a centrally located database. Enables processes on any network node to locate resources by name.
NNTP: Acronym for Network News Transfer Protocol. The protocol that manages the broadcast of Internet newsgroups.
Nym: A pseudonymous digital identity. Nyms exist on the Internet exactly the same way as regular online identities, without revealing the real-world identity. Nyms are active, inactive, or expired. Inactive nyms can be reactivated or deleted. Expired nyms are removed from the Freedom Nym Server and are not available to any other Freedom user.
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Packet: Units of information sent from one computer to another over a network. When transferring a file over a network, the file is broken down into multiple, numbered packets. To preserve bandwidth, packets have a set maximum size that is usually smaller than the actual file(s) requested. Network congestion sometimes requires that packets be dropped in transit, then re-requested by the recipient before being rebuilt into the originally requested file.
Passphrase: A secret sequence of characters that must be entered before using a computer, program, or file. The passphrase identifies specific users and prevents the unauthorized viewing or modification of the computer, program, or files. Passphrases should never be easy to guess, like birthdays, or names of friends or family. The best passphrases combine upper- and lower-case letters with numbers, spaces, and special characters.
Ping: Acronym for Packet Internet Groper. Ping is a TCP/IP network diagnostic program. Ping sends packets to a specific IP address (or URL) and waits for them to be echoed back. The echoed packet informs you of network and remote server status. Ping usually measures the time of the packets' round-trip and displays the percentage of returned packets. The network diagnostics include address validity, congestion, errors, and the availability of a host server. When you ping a Freedom Server, a lower response time represents a faster connection. Usually, servers that are geographically close to you have lower ping times, but other factors, such as network traffic, can affect ping response time.
Plaintext: Data in ASCII format. Supported by most programs and operating systems. In cryptography, refers to any data that is not encrypted. Encrypted data is called ciphertext.
POP: Acronym for Post Office Protocol. A commonly used client/server protocol to receive email, where your email is held for you by your Internet Service provider (ISP). When you connect to your ISP and check your email, the server downloads the messages to your computer. Usually, the messages are not kept on the server after they are downloaded (unlike many web-based email services). The POP protocol is supported by most email programs. The standard format for POP accounts is username@domain (for example, rtfm@zeroknowledge.com).
Port (input/output port): A connection that allows data to be transferred between an input/output device and the processor. Internet servers use ports to differentiate the multiple processes that occur at the same time. Ports may also be dedicated solely to input or to output.
Port Number: A number that directs data packets to a specific process on an Internet server. Many low port numbers are referred to as "well-known" port numbers, and they are permanently assigned to specific Internet activities. For example, HTTP data is reserved to port number 80 and SMTP email uses port number 25. There are 65,535 port numbers available for use with TCP and the same amount for UDP.
PPP: Acronym for Point-to-Point Protocol. A TCP/IP protocol used for communications through telephone and leased-line WAN connections. PPP offers greater data integrity and security as opposed to SLIP, however the network's overhead cost is larger.
Private Key: One of two keys used in private/public (asymmetric) key cryptography. Users receive messages encrypted with their public key and decrypt them using their secret private key. The private key can also be used to digitally "sign" a message, ensuring the authenticity of the sender. When someone uses their private key to sign a message, they encrypt a portion of the original message that the recipient decrypts using the sender's public key. If the public key decrypts the scrambled portion of the message, the recipient knows that the sender is who they claim to be. Private/public key cryptography is the more flexible of the two main encryption types (the other being symmetric key) because the key used to encrypt a message is available to all, but only one person holds the private key (key management is easier than with symmetric encryption). Ensuring the secrecy of the private key is easier when it does not have to be distributed, as is the case for symmetric encryption.
Public Key: One of two keys used in private/public (asymmetric) key cryptography. Users release their public key, which is used to encrypt messages that can only be decrypted using the user's private key. Private/public key cryptography is the more flexible of the two main encryption types (the other being symmetric key) because the key used to encrypt a message is available to all. Ensuring the secrecy of the private key is easier when it does not have to be distributed, as is the case for symmetric encryption.
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Remote System: A computer or network that a user accesses remotely, using a modem or other network connection.
Remote Terminal: A terminal (or computer acting as a terminal) located at a site that is different from the computer being connected to. Modems and telephone lines are the primary method for remote terminals to communicate with the host computer.
RFS: Acronym for Remote File System. RFS allows a user to locally mount a disk that is located elsewhere on the network and use it as if it were a local disk. Using RFS, files can be created, viewed, deleted, and modified (depending on access restrictions) as if they were located on the local computer.
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Security: General expression referring to methods used to ensure that the contents of a computer are not be viewed or modified. Security is emphasized for computers and systems that have multiple users. Many security methods include the use of encryption and passwords.
Server: On a LAN, the computer that runs administrative software, controlling access to the network and its resources, such as printers and remote drives. The Internet (and other large networks) are composed of many servers to process commands from client computers. When an Internet user downloads a file, the command is sent from the client to a server that initiates the file transfer. For example, if you do your banking online, when you log on to verify your account balance, a client program in your computer passes the request along to a server program at the bank.
SLIP: Acronym for Serial Line Internet Protocol. The method used to transmit IP data packets through standard telephone lines, using a modem. SLIP is not as fast or efficient as PPP, but it supports error detection and correction, meaning that data packets can be dropped due to network congestion and re-requested.
SMTP: Acronym for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The TCP/IP protocol regulating the transmission of electronic messages from one computer to another over a network. This is the Internet protocol used for email.
Socket Number: The appending (combining one number with another in sequential order) of an IP address and a port number. The IP address refers to the physical computer and the port number refers to the service being used on that computer. When the sender and recipient port numbers are paired, it specifies a unique client-server connection on the Internet
Sockets: A software interface that negotiates communication between an Internet application and the TCP/IP stack. Sockets consist of node addresses and port numbers that identify the socket's service.
Spam: Unsolicited bulk email usually of a commercial nature and sent to multiple recipients. Spam also appears as a newsgroup article, cross-posted to multiple newsgroups. The electronic equivalent to junk mail. Spam is considered a serious abuse of Internet services. There are several tools available to filter out and limit spam from filling your mailbox.
SSL: Acronym for Secure Sockets Layer. A method of establishing a secure communications channel between client and server. SSL helps to prevent the interception of sensitive information, and is usually used in financial and commercial transactions. Using public key encryption, SSL offers security for private information as well as authentication. Secure transmission of private information is considered important for the development of e-commerce.
Symmetric Encryption: An encryption system, where the person encrypting the message uses the same key as the person decrypting the message. Key management and secrecy is paramount to maintaining the integrity of the encrypted data. If the key is compromised or shared, anyone could encrypt and decrypt messages. Sender and receiver must be properly coordinated to ensure that the correct key is used in order to have secure communications. Also called secret-key, single-key, and one-key encryption.
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TCP: Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol. An error-free method of sending data between two computers. For TCP to function, a valid connection must be established between sender and recipient (much like using a telephone). TCP supports guaranteed data exchange between the two parties, which means that if data packets are dropped during transmission, the requesting program can re-request them to complete the transaction.
TCP/IP: Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A popular communications protocol supported by most operating systems and computing platforms. The multi-platform nature of TCP/IP allows most any computer user to communicate with others even if they do not have compatible computers.
Telnet: An Internet protocol that allows a user to log onto a remote computer using a terminal interface. The telnet connection is real-time and acts as if the remote computer were local. Telnet is one of the supported TCP/IP protocols.
Trigger Information: Information that, when detected, prompts the user for instructions on how to proceed. Freedom scans outgoing data and alerts you if any trigger information is detected. You can choose to cancel the message, edit it, or let it pass as is. The trigger information helps Freedom protect you from accidentally releasing personal information that might compromise your online privacy and security.
Triple DES: Triple Data Encryption Standard, a more secure implementation of standard DES. Each message is encrypted three times with different keys. Also referred to as 3DES.
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UDP: Acronym for User Datagram Protocol. An Internet transport protocol that does not require a connection. Operates above the IP protocol. Useful for small Internet data transfers, such as DNS and NFS.
URL: Acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. A text address for an Internet server. URLs correspond to IP addresses. The links between URLs and IP addresses are kept in the DNS lookup table. An URL is used to locate a specific item or resource on the Internet (such as a file or a web page). The URL also specifies the protocol to use to locate the desired item (for example, HTTP or FTP). Pronounced "earl".
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WAN: Acronym for Wide Area Network. A network of computers that spans vast distances and managed by public carriers. The Internet is the best example of a WAN: it is provided (and managed) by many public carriers and is available throughout the world.
Web-based Email: A popular, and often free, service provided by many Internet operators. Web-based email accounts are popular because they allow people to have a single address, regardless of how, or where, they connect to the Internet. For most web-based email accounts, you only need a web browser to access your messages. Usually, the messages are stored on the operator's server rather than downloaded to your computer (unlike the POP protocol).
More (optional) information on web-based email services.
WinSock: Abbreviation for Windows Sockets. Microsoft's implementation of the sockets interface.
WWW: Acronym for World Wide Web (also known as the web). A network of servers on the Internet that provides information and hypertext links in the form of pages that use the HTTP protocol. Originally intended as a way of displaying graphical images on the Internet, the WWW is the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (also known as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics). The WWW uses URLs to locate specific pages and files. WWW pages are usually written in HTML format. The WWW is the ultimate research tool, the new frontier for commerce, and a fabulous way to waste time.