| Word | Description |
| False Rejects | False Rejects are when an authentication system fails to recognize a valid user. |
| Fan | A device designed to move air by sucking air into one side and pushing it out the other. Fans are a necessary part of most computing devices because microprocessors heat up when run at high frequencies. Fans move the hot air away and allow the microprocessors to be cooled off. Fans are also used in power supplies to keep them cool. |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions. Normally used to refer to a published list of frequently (or commonly) asked questions with answers. In practice FAQs are sometimes lists of questions that the author anticipated that people would want answered, and these do not always necessarily reflect real questions. Nevertheless an FAQ is normally a good source of information about a product or service. |
| fast Ethernet | Fast Ethernet is an upgraded standard for connecting computers into a local area network (LAN). It works just like regular Ethernet except that it can transfer data at a peak rate of 100 mbps. Also referred to as 100BaseT, fast Ethernet is more expensive and less common than its slower 10BaseT sibling. See also: Ethernet (10BaseT) |
| Fast File System | The first major revision to the Unix file system, providing faster read access and faster (delayed, asynchronous) write access through a disk cache and better file system layout on disk. It uses inodes (pointers) and data blocks. |
| Fast SCSI 2 | This version of SCSI transfers data at 10 megabytes per second. The connections all contain 50 pins. See also Fast-Wide SCSI 2. |
| Fast-SCSI | lain vanilla fast-SCSI never really existed, but was sometimes used as slang for Fast SCSI 2. This version of SCSI transfers data at 10 megabytes per second. The connections all contain 50 pins. See also Fast-Wide SCSI 2. |
| Fast-Wide SCSI 2 | This version of SCSI upped the pin count to 68, effectively doubling the signal speed of Fast-SCSI 2 to 20 megabytes per second. |
| FAT | File Allocation Table. More commonly referred to as FAT16 following the advent of FAT32. Uses 16-bit addressing. DOS and Windows 3.x machines commonly use FAT16. Although FAT is still in use, it is generally seen as having been superseded by NTFS. |
| FAT (File Allocation Table) | This is one way to index the contents of storage media, such as your hard drive. The operating system looks here to know where on the drive files are located. There are different flavors of FAT: the standard DOS flavor is called FAT-16; Windows 95 OSR2 and newer versions additionally supported FAT-32, which allows for larger hard drive partitions. |
| fat binary | fat binary When you see a download or another program labeled "fat binary," it means that the program is a little larger than a regular app. The reason? A fat binary program can take full advantage of two hardware platforms: the Macintosh and the Power Mac. |
| Fat Client | A client/server application that performs most of the processing itself rather than at a server. cf Thin Client. |
| FAT-16 | The original DOS File Allocation system. It uses a table to tell the OS where on a hard drive or other storage media each file is located. Due to the 16-bit nature of FAT-16, it is limited to hard drive partitions that are 2 GB in size. |
| FAT16 | File Allocation Table (FAT) based on 16-bit integer addressing, developed by Microsoft. FAT16 was the file system used by MS-DOS and Windows 3.1. FAT16 supports files of up to 2GB, and directories containing up to 65517 entries (files or folders). FAT16 has been superseded by FAT32. |
| FAT32 | File Allocation Table (FAT) based on 32-bit integer addressing. FAT32 was the file system natively used by Windows 95, 98, 98SE and Windows ME. FAT32 supports files of up to 4GB. FAT32 has been superseded by NTFS. |
| Fault Line Attacks | Fault Line Attacks use weaknesses between interfaces of systems to exploit gaps in coverage. |
| Fault Tolerance | The ability for a computer to tolerate (hardware) faults developing in one or more of its components, and to continue operating despite those faults. For example a RAID (if appropriately configured) is fault tolerant because it can withstand a disk failing without loss of data.. |
| Favorite | A method of storing and organizing selected URLs in Internet Explorer. See also Bookmark. |
| FBDIMM | Fully Buffered Dual In-line Memory Module. |
| FDD | 1. Floppy Disk Drive. |
| FDDI | Fibre Distributed Data Interface. One type of LAN technology. |
| FDisk | The program Microsoft operating systems MS-DOS and non-NT versions of Windows use to create partitions on hard drives. Technically, the program is called fdisk.exe. It uses a text-based interface. Windows 95b first added support for FAT-32 partitions into fdisk. Before that it only supported partitions up to 2 GB using FAT-16. This is also a slang term for wiping a drive out completely, as in “I’m going to F-Disk this drive if Windows crashes one more time!” There are several non-Microsoft equivalents to fdisk, but all serve similar purposes–to allow partitioning of hard disk drives. |
| Feature | A feature is something that a piece of hardware or software is designed to do. Many things that appear to be bugs are actually features. Often, a hardware or software developer will have to make a trade-off in functionality that causes some undesirable effects. If the developer is aware of this and accepts it, it is not a bug but a feature. |
| Fedora (operating system) | Fedora (pronounced /fəˈdɔrə/) is an RPM-based, general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat. The Fedora Project's mission is to lead the advancement of free and open source software and content as a collaborative community.[2] One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain software distributed under a free and open source license, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies.[3][4] Fedora developers prefer to make upstream changes instead of applying fixes specifically for Fedora—this ensures that their updates are available to all Linux distributions.[5] Fedora has a comparatively short life cycle: version X is maintained until one month after version X+2 is released. With 6 months between releases, the maintenance period is about 13 months for each version.[6] Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, says he uses Fedora because it had fairly good support for PowerPC when he used that processor architecture. He became accustomed to the operating system and continues to use it (as of 2008).[7] According to Distrowatch, Fedora is the second most popular Linux-based operating system as of early 2010, behind Ubuntu.[8] |
| female connector | A cable connector that has holes and plugs into a port or interface to connect one device to another. |
| Femtosecond (FS) | One quadrillionth of a second (1/1,000,000,000,000,000 seconds). See also picosecond. |
| Fiber Optic | A method of physical data transmission that is a newer alternative to sending electrical signals over copper wires. The way it works is by pulsing light down a strand of glass. These pulses represent binary code–so far that’s no better than copper. The advantage is that a single strand of fiber optic can carry thousands and thousands of different frequencies at once without data loss. |
| Fiber-Optic Cable | This is a cable made up of super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light. Because a fiber-optic cable is light-based, data can be sent through it at the speed of light. Using a laser transmitter that encodes frequency signals into pulses of light, ones and zeros are sent through the cable. The receiving end of the transmission translates the light signals back into data which can be read by a computer. Because fiber-optics are based entirely on beams of light, they are less susceptible to noise and interference than than other data-transfer mediums such as copper wires or telephone lines. However, the cables are fragile and are usually placed underground, which makes them difficult and expensive to install. Some fiber-optic cables are installed above ground, but if they break, they often need to be completely replaced, which is not cheap. While copper wires can be spliced and mended as many times as needed, it is much harder to fix glass fiber-optic cables. |
| Fibre Channel | The British spelling of “fiber”, i.e., “fibre” is used to describe this standard. Fibre Channel uses fiber-optic cable to connect computers or peripherals. It is much more expensive than standard copper cabling, and thus has been a niche product with lots of potential. Today it is used sparingly to connect RAID systems to computers, or to connect drives together within high-end RAID systems. |
| field | Definition: In a database, a field holds exactly one type of information about an item or subject. It is like one line written on an index card in an index card file. |
| FIELD SEARCHING | Ability to limit a search by requiring word or phrase to appear in a specific field of documents (e.g., title, url, link). See LIMITING TO FIELD. |
| File | A file is a collection of data stored in one unit, identified by a filename. It can be a document, picture, audio or video stream, data library, application, or other collection of data. The following is a brief description of each file type. Documents include text files, such as a Word documents, RTF (Rich Text Format) documents, PDFs, Web pages, and others. Pictures include JPEGs, GIFs, BMPs, and layered image files, such as Photoshop documents (PSDs). Audio files include MP3s, AACs, WAVs, AIFs, and several others. Video files can be encoded in MPEG, MOV, WMV, or DV formats, just to name a few. A library file is a unit of data that is referenced by a specific program or the operating system itself. These include plug-ins, components, scripts, and many others. An application is a program, or executable file. Programs such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Apple iTunes are both applications, but are also files. Files can be opened, saved, deleted, and moved to different folders. They can also be transferred across network connections or downloaded from the Internet. A file's type can be determined by viewing the file's icon or by reading the file extension. If the file type is associated with a specific application, double-clicking the file will typically open the file within the program. |
| File System | Most people have several thousand files on their computer's hard disk, so imagine how hard it would be to find anything if the files were not organized. Fortunately, all hard disks use a file system, which organizes all the files on the disk. The file system is created when you initialize or format your hard disk. It sets up the root directory and subsequent directories beneath it. The file system allows you to create new files and folders, which are added to different parts of the "file tree" on your hard disk. For example, your hard disk probably has separate folders for programs, documents, pictures, music, and movie files. Within these folders, there are likely other folders that futher organize your files. All these folders (or directories) are organized by your computer's file system. There are also several folders your computer's operating system uses to store system files, such as startup data and system preferences. Some of these folders are invisible to the user, but are recognized by the computer's file system. Older Windows machines used a file system called FAT32, while newer Windows computers use NTFS. Macintosh computers used the HFS file system for a long time, but now use an updated version of HFS, called HFS+. Though you typically don't need to know all the details of your computer's file system, it is nice to know that it is always working to keep your files organized. |
| File Transfer Protocol (FTP) | A TCP/IP protocol specifying the transfer of text or binary files across the network. |
| Filename | A filename is a text string that identifies a file. Every file stored on a computer's hard disk has a filename that helps identify the file within a given folder. Therefore, each file within a specific folder must have a different filename, while files in different folders can have the same name. Filenames may contain letters, numbers, and other characters. Depending on the operating system, certain characters cannot be used since they conflict with operators or other syntax used by the operating system. Different operating systems also have different limits for the number of characters a filename can have. While older operating systems limited filenames to only 8 or 16 characters, newer OS's allow filenames to be as long as 256 characters. Of course, for most practical purposes, 16 characters is usually enough. Filenames also usually include a file extension, which identifies the type of file. The file extension is also called the "filename suffix" since it is appended to the filename, following a dot or period. For example, a Microsoft Word document may be named "document1.doc." While technically the filename in the preceding example is "document1" and "doc" is the extension, it is also acceptable to refer to "document1.doc" as the filename. In some cases, the filename may even refer to the file's directory location, i.e. ("\My Documents\School Papers\document1.doc"). You can name a file by clicking on the file's icon or filename, waiting for a second, then clicking on the filename again. As long as the file is not locked, the filename will become highlighted, and you can type a new name for the file. You can also name a file the first time you save it from a program or by selecting "Save As..." from the program's File menu. |
| filter | Refers to: 1) a program that has the function of translating data into a different format (e.g., a program used to import or export data or a particular file); 2) a pattern that prevents non-matching data from passing through (e.g., email filters); and 3) in paint programs and image editors, a special effect that can be applied to a bit map. |
| Filtering Router | An inter-network router that selectively prevents the passage of data packets according to a security policy. A filtering router may be used as a firewall or part of a firewall. A router usually receives a packet from a network and decides where to forward it on a second network. A filtering router does the same, but first decides whether the packet should be forwarded at all, according to some security policy. The policy is implemented by rules (packet filters) loaded into the router. |
| FIND | Tool in most browsers to search for word(s) keyed in document in screen only. Useful to locate a term in a long document. Can be invoked by the keyboard command, CTRL-F (CMD-F on a Macintosh). |
| Finder | The Finder serves as the primary graphical user interface (GUI) for Macintosh computers. It includes the desktop, icons, a menu bar, and the Dock. The Finder allows users to open windows and manage files and folders. While the Finder is technically a Mac OS X application, it automatically loads at startup and is always running. |
| Finger | An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Many sites do not allow incoming Finger requests, but many do. |
| Fingerprinting | Sending strange packets to a system in order to gauge how it responds to determine the operating system. |
| FiOS | Stands for "Fiber Optic Service." FiOS is a data communications service provided by Verizon that uses fiber optic cables to transfer data. FiOS is called a "Fiber to the Premises," or FTTP service, since it brings fiber optic data transmission to residential homes as well as businesses. Since fiber optic technology sends data via pulses of light, it is the fastest method of transferring data. While FiOS is currently used primarily for Internet access, it can also be used for digital cable and voice over IP (VoIP) services. For this reason, FiOS is considered to be a potential competitor to both cable and Internet Service Providers. |
| Firefox | A free internet browser. Firefox is a graphical web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and is based on the Mozilla browser. It is cross platform (so runs on a wide range of software platforms), and is widely regarded as the most popular alternative to Internet Explorer. |
| Firewall | A program (or set of programs and/or hardware) that prevents unauthorised access to a network or to an individual computer. See also: SPI. |
| Firewire | Firewire is a cross platform standard for the transmission of serial data between peripherals. Developed by Apple and defined by the IEEE 1394 standard, Firewire is available for all computers. The IEEE 1394 standard allows for transfer speeds of up to 400 mbps, the IEEE 1394b standard allows for transfer speeds of up to 800 mbps. |
| Firmware | Firmware is a software program or set of instructions programmed on a hardware device. It provides the necessary instructions for how the device communicates with the other computer hardware. But how can software be programmed onto hardware? Good question. Firmware is typically stored in the flash ROM of a hardware device. While ROM is "read-only memory," flash ROM can be erased and rewritten because it is actually a type of flash memory. Firmware can be thought of as "semi-permanent" since it remains the same unless it is updated by a firmware updater. You may need to update the firmware of certain devices, such as hard drives and video cards in order for them to work with a new operating system. CD and DVD drive manufacturers often make firmware updates available that allow the drives to read faster media. Sometimes manufacturers release firmware updates that simply make their devices work more efficiently. You can usually find firmware updates by going to the "Support" or "Downloads" area of a manufacturer's website. Keeping your firmware up-to-date is often not necessary, but it is still a good idea. Just make sure that once you start a firmware updater, you let the update finish, because most devices will not function if their firmware is not recognized. |
| flame | An insulting message exchanged via e-mail or within network newsgroups; a series of messages like this are called "flame wars". |
| Flash | 1. Non-volatile memory. Flash devices allow data to be stored without power being applied (unlike conventional RAM). However, Flash is slower to access than RAM and can wear out. 2. Macromedia Flash. Depending on the content, this can refer to the Macromedia Flash player, Composer or Flash File (see .swf). Flash has become a popular and widely supported means for delivering graphics and animation over the internet. Flash was originally developed by the company Macromedia, hence the name "Macromedia Flash". Macromedia was subsequently bought by Adobe, so Flash is now more commonly referred to as "Adobe Flash". |
| Flash Drive | Flash drives have many names — jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and USB keychain drives. Regardless of what you call them, they all refer to the same thing, which is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection. Flash drives are typically no more than two to three inches in length and less than an inch in width. Their size and shape may resemble a thumb or a small pen (which is where the names "thumb drive" and "pen drive" come from). Flash drives are also very thin, often having a depth of less than a centimeter. Because of their small form factor, they are highly portable and can easily fit in a pocket or on a keychain (hence the name "keychain drive"). Early flash drives could store only a few megabytes of data, but modern flash drives can store several gigabytes of information. Since they are small in size but have large storage capacities, flash drives have replaced most previous portable data storage mediums such as floppy disks and removable hard disks like Zip disks. Because they have a built-in USB connection, flash drives also don't require a special disk drive to be used. Instead, they can be used on any computer with a USB port, which nearly all modern computers have. |
| Flash Memory | Flash memory is a type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Whew, that's a mouthful. The name comes from how the memory is designed -- a section of memory cells can be erased in a single action or in a "flash." A common use of flash memory is to store the BIOS settings in a computer's ROM. When the BIOS needs to be changed, the flash memory can be written in blocks, rather than bytes, making it easy to update. Most modems use flash memory for the same reason. Though flash memory was orginally used inside computers, it has invaded many other areas outside the box. Flash memory cards used for digital cameras, cellular phones, networking hardware, and PC cards. Though the memory's read/write speed is not lightning fast, it is nice to be able to tote around a little card rather than a cumbersome hard drive. |
| flash ROM | This jargon refers to ROM chips that can be reprogrammed with new BIOS instructions after the chips have left the factory. Such ROM chips are technically called EEPROMs. |
| Flat File | A flat file database is a database that stores data in a plain text file. Each line of the text file holds one record, with fields separated by delimiters, such as commas or tabs. While it uses a simple structure, a flat file database cannot contain multiple tables like a relational database can. Fortunately, most database programs such as Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro can import flat file databases and use them in a larger relational database. Flat file is also a type of computer file system that stores all data in a single directory. There are no folders or paths used organize the data. While this is a simple way to store files, a flat file system becomes increasingly inefficient as more data is added. The original Macintosh computer used this kind of file system, creatively called the Macintosh File System (MFS). However, it was soon replaced by the more efficient Hierarchical File System (HFS) that was based on a directory structure. |
| Flat Screen | This typically refers to a CRT monitor that is made more flat than a standard tube by using more than one electron gun. It is most useful to professionals who rely on the precision of their monitors. It is also better for the standard user because a straight light across the monitor looks straight and not curved. This can also refer to flat panels and projection screens, which are also flat. |
| Floating Point | As the name implies, floating point numbers are numbers that contain floating decimal points. For example, the numbers 5.5, 0.001, and -2,345.6789 are floating point numbers. Numbers that do not have decimal places are called integers. Computers recognize real numbers that contain fractions as floating point numbers. When a calculation includes a floating point number, it is called a "floating point calculation." Older computers used to have a separate floating point unit (FPU) that handled these calculations, but now the FPU is typically built into the computer's CPU. |
| Flooding | An attack that attempts to cause a failure in (especially, in the security of) a computer system or other data processing entity by providing more input than the entity can process properly. |
| FLOPS | FLOPS is an acronym that means "Floating Point Operations Per Second." FLOPS is a measurement unit that defines the number of floating point operations a processor can perform each second. It is a means of measuring the raw processor's floating point unit, or FPU. |
| Flowchart | A flowchart is a diagram showing the individual steps and sequence of those steps in a procedure or system. It provides a graphic pictorial representation of the sequence of steps. |
| Folder | Just like real world folders, folders on your hard drive store files. These files can be documents, programs, scripts, libraries, and any other kind of computer file you can think of. Folders can also store other folders, which may store more files or other folders, and so on. Folders allow people to organize their files in a way that makes sense to them. For example, a college student might store all her photos in a folder named "Pictures," all her papers in a folder named "School Work," and all her financial information (including the tens of thousands of dollars in student loans) in a folder named "Finances." All these folders might reside within a folder called "My Documents." The computer's operating system also uses folders to store data such as system files, library files, and user preferences. Often, the folders that the system uses are locked, meaning users cannot alter their contents. While folders can store several gigabytes of data, folders themselves hardly take up any space on the hard drive. This is because the folders are really just pointers to files and other folders, telling the computer where they are located. The compilation of folders on your hard drive make up the "directory structure," or overall organization of your hard drive. For this reason, folders are also referred to as "directories." Thank goodness for folders, because without them our hard drives would be pretty cluttered! |
| Font | A font is a specific typeface of a certain size and style. For example, one font may be Arial 12 pt bold, while another font may be Times New Roman 14 pt italic. Most word processing programs have a Font menu that allows you to choose the typeface, size, and style of the text. In order to use a font, you must have it installed on your computer. Windows provides access to fonts using the Fonts control panel. The Mac OS stores fonts in a Fonts folder and includes a separate "Font Book" application for managing fonts. |
| Footprint | This refers to the general size of something, whether physical or virtual. The footprints of small Internet appliances are compared against those of larger PCs, as are smaller LCD screens vs. CRT screens. Different operating systems and programs have their own footprints in the amount of bytes they typically take up on a hard drive, or the amount of physical memory they consume while running. |
| Forest | A forest is a set of Active Directory domains that replicate their databases with each other. |
| Fork Bomb | A Fork Bomb works by using the fork() call to create a new process which is a copy of the original. By doing this repeatedly, all available processes on the machine can be taken up. |
| Form Factor | Typically this refers to the compatibility among PC motherboards, cases, and power supplies. A motherboard, case, and power supply with the same form factor can be used together. Some examples of form factors are AT, ATX, Baby AT, or NLX. Some cases, power supplies, and even motherboards will work in multiple form factors. This is commonly seen in older computer cases that will work with AT or ATX motherboards. |
| Form-Based Authentication | Form-Based Authentication uses forms on a webpage to ask a user to input username and password information. |
| Format | The term "format" has several meanings, related to 1) disk formatting, 2) page formatting, and 3) file formats. 1) Disk formatting In order for storage media, such as a hard drive or flash drive to be recognized by your computer, it first needs to be initialized, or "formatted." Formatting a disk involves testing the disk and writing a new file system onto the disk. This enables the computer to read the disk's directory structure, which defines the way files and folders are organized on the disk. You can use a disk utility program to format or reformat a disk. This will create a blank, empty disk for storing your files. Therefore, only format disks that don't contain important data or make sure you have backed up your data before reformatting a disk! When you reformat a disk, it will appear to be empty. This is because the directory structure has been rewritten, making the entire disk space available for writing new data. However, the old files are still on the disk. They just don't show up since they are no longer included in the directory structure. So if you accidentally format a disk (which is pretty hard to do), you may be able to retrieve your files using a disk utility such as Norton Disk Doctor or DiskWarrior. 2) Page formatting The term "format" can also be used to describe the page layout or style of text in a word processing document. When you format the layout of a page, you can modify the page size, page margins, and line spacing. When you format the text, you can choose the font and font size, as well as text styles, such as bold, underlined, and italics. 3) File formats A file format refers to the way data is saved within a file. For example, some files are saved in a plain text format, while others are saved as binary files. Software developers often create proprietary file formats for their programs, which prevents the files from being used by other applications. |
| Forward Lookup | Forward lookup uses an Internet domain name to find an IP address |
| Forward Proxy | Forward Proxies are designed to be the server through which all requests are made. |
| FPU | Stands for "Floating Point Unit." The first computer processors were far better at dealing with integers than with real numbers (a.k.a. floating point numbers). So a separate FPU processor was developed to handle the floating point calculations. That way, when the CPU encountered a floating-point expresion (ie. 1.62 * 0.87359), it would send the calculation to the FPU. Since the FPU is specifically designed to handle floating-point math, it computes expressions involving real numbers more efficiently. While the first floating point units used to be manufactured as individual chips, they are now typically integrated into the CPU. |
| FQDN | Fully Qualified Domain Name. The full name assigned to an individual computer on a network. Consists of the hostname (i.e. the computer name) prefixed to the domain name. |
| Fragment Offset | The fragment offset field tells the sender where a particular fragment falls in relation to other fragments in the original larger packet. |
| Fragment Overlap Attack | A TCP/IP Fragmentation Attack that is possible because IP allows packets to be broken down into fragments for more efficient transport across various media. The TCP packet (and its header) are carried in the IP packet. In this attack the second fragment contains incorrect offset. When packet is reconstructed, the port number will be overwritten. |
| Fragmentation | This occurs when a hard drive writes a file in multiple segments instead of in a physically contiguous area. A higher level of fragmentation means that most files are fragmented, and many files contain lots of fragments. A low level of fragmentation implies that more files are in one piece, and that if files are fragmented they are only in a few fragments. For example, say you have two files, file A and file B and you write them both to a hard drive. A low level of fragmentation may be represented by: AAAABBBB. A high level of fragmentation may be represented by: AABBABABA. Fragmentation is caused by deletion of small files, and then trying to fit larger files into the leftover spaces. Over time it is a common occurrence that is unavoidable in most file systems. |
| Frame | In the computer world, a frame can be many different things. The different definitions of "frame" are listed below: Some Web sites use HTML frames, where the pages are broken up into various areas. Each area consists of an independent Web page. Frames allow the multiple Web pages to all show up in the same page. Graphics and desktop publishing programs also use frames. In these programs, frames are rectangular areas meant for inserting graphics and text. They allow users to place objects wherever they want to on the page. In video and animation, frames are individual pictures in a sequence of images. For example, a Flash movie you see on the Web may play 12 frames per second, creating the appearance of motion. Most video is shot at 24 or 30 frames per second, or FPS. FPS is often measured in 3D games as a way of checking how fast the graphics processor of a computer is. |
| frame buffer | frame buffer The memory on a graphics card that stores information not being displayed onscreen is called a frame buffer. This memory buffer stores rendered frames offscreen; they are then converted by the RAMDAC and displayed. See also: double buffering, RAMDAC |
| Frame Relay | A packet-based communications method for connecting networks. Nowadays it is commonly used to interconnect remote offices over the Internet or private LANs. Frame relay has no error checking, and assumes that devices on either side will be able to check for errors themselves. A frame relay connection can use an ISDN line for slow speeds, or can be over a T1 line or better if faster speeds are needed. To get a frame relay line installed you contact your phone company or Internet Service Provider. |
| Free Software Foundation | Organisation aiming to promote the development of free software. See also GNU. |
| FreeBSD (Free Berkeley Software/Standard Distribution) | A UNIX-like operating system that runs on the Intel x86 platform and is based on an OS developed at University of California at Berkeley. It is now a no-cost operating system, and the source can be downloaded and modified. |
| Freeware | Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment. However, the great part about freeware is that you never have to pay for it. No 30 day limit, no demo versions, no disabled features -- it's totally free. Things like minor program updates and small games are commonly distributed as freeware. Though freeware does not cost anything, it is still copyrighted, so other people can't market the software as their own. |
| FRESHNESS | How up-to-date a search engine database is, based primarily on how often its spiders recirculate around the Web and update their copies of the web pages they hold, and discover new ones. Also determined by how quickly they integrate new sites that web authors send to them. Two weeks is about as good as most search engines do, but some update certain selected web sites more frequently, even daily. |
| Front-end | The part of a program or process that the user interfaces with and controls. See also back-end. |
| Frozen | While "frozen" describes the state of Minnesota from November to March, it also refers to an unresponsive computer. When a computer does not respond to any user input, it is said to be frozen. When a computer system freezes, or "locks up," the screen stays the same and does not change no matter what buttons you press on your mouse or keyboard. You can tell if you computer has frozen if the cursor will not move when you move the mouse. A computer typically freezes due to a software malfunction that causes the operating system to "hang." This may happen because of many possible reasons, including a memory leak, an infinite calculation, or another reason. A computer can also freeze because of a hardware malfunction, such as a bad RAM chip or a processor error. Since computers are not supposed to freeze, a software crash is often due to a software programming error or unrecognizable input. Fortunately, modern operating systems, such as Mac OS X are designed so that if one program crashes, it will not affect other programs and the computer will not freeze. If your computer does freeze, you will need to restart the computer to make it function again. You can typically force your computer to shut down by holding the power button for several seconds. And remember - since most computer freezes happen unexpectedly, it is a good idea to save your work frequently! |
| FSB | Front Side Bus. |
| fsck | The system utility fsck (for "file system check") is a tool for checking the consistency of a file system in Unix and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux. Generally, fsck is run automatically at boot time when the operating system detects that a file system is in an inconsistent state, indicating a non-graceful shutdown, such as a crash or power loss. As the command must be tailored specifically to the design of the file system, the exact behavior of various fsck implementations will vary. Typically, fsck utilities provide options for either interactively repairing damaged file systems (the user must decide how to fix specific problems), automatically deciding how to fix specific problems (so the user doesn't have to answer any questions), or reviewing the problems that need to be resolved on a file system without actually fixing them. A system administrator can also run fsck manually if there is believed to be a problem with the file system. Because running fsck to repair a file system which is mounted for read/write operations can potentially cause severe data corruption/loss, the file system is normally checked while unmounted, mounted read-only, or with the system in a special maintenance mode that limits the risk of such damage. A journaling file system is designed such that tools such as fsck do not need to be run after unclean shutdown (i.e. crash). The UFS2 Filesystem in FreeBSD has background fsck, so it is usually not necessary to wait for fsck to finish before accessing the disk. The Microsoft equivalent programs are CHKDSK and SCANDISK. |
| FSF | Free Software Foundation. See also GNU. |
| FTP | FTP File Transfer Protocol. A popular protocol used for transferring files across networks. cf SFTP, PASV. FTP can be used to transfer files from an FTP client (i.e. the software that runs locally on a computer) and an FTP server. An FTP server accepts connections from FTP clients. FTP servers require clients to authenticate using a simple username and password. However many FTP servers allow what is known as anonymous access, whereby users do not need to identify themselves (and enter "anonymous" as their username). Almost all operating systems come with at least a simple FTP client. For example Windows provides a command line FTP client, which can be used to transfer files to and from an FTP server. With a traditional FTP client individual commands are issued to list files, upload or download individual files (see FTP command list in the relevant links below). There are also many GUI applications which provide a more intuitive interface and allow files to be copied without knowledge of the individual FTP commands. |
| Full Duplex | Data can be sent and received simultaneously and at the same speed. cf Half Duplex. |
| Full parity | This is synonymous with full duplex, but most often used when describing dial-up modem communications standards. |
| Function key (F1, F2, etc.) | One of the set of 12 keys at the top of a standard computer keyboard. These keys are labelled F1 through F12. The keys are basically general purpose extra keys so that programmers can assign the keys to special functions in their programs. One handy and common use of F3 in applications is to “Find again,” or find the value again for which you most recently searched. |
| Fuse | A device used to protect devices from excessive electrical current. It contains a conductor that melts and breaks the current flow when too much electricity flows through it. Once a fuse is blown it must be replaced with another one to close the circuit and allow electricity to flow again. |
| Fuzzing | The use of special regression testing tools to generate out-of-spec input for an application in order to find security vulnerabilities. Also see "regression testing". |
| FW | 1. Abbreviation for Firewall. 2. Forward (or Forwarded). Often used as a prefix to an e-mail subject ("FW:") to indicate that the email has been forwarded. |
| FWIW | Abbreviation: For What Its Worth. |
| FX | 1. Foreign Exchange. FX refers to the foreign exchange market, where currencies are bought and sold. 2. Short for "Effects", .sometimes used as an abbreviation for "Special Effects". |
| FYI | Abbreviation: For Your Information. An abbreviation often used on emails or forwarded material to indicate that what is being forwarded is for information and does not necessarily require action. |
