Glossary of Terms
Glossary of Terms
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See Page Not Found Error.
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Your account contains your domain, billing and payment information. For more information, please see What You Should Know About Your Active Web Hosting Account.
This is an FTP mode setting otherwise known as port mode. This allows your FTP program to connect to an FTP server using an unprivileged port (a port greater than 1024) to connect. Your FTP program will notify the server which port it's using. This means that you must allow connections to ports over 1024 if you have a firewall. This is the preferred mode for Active Web Hosting FTP servers.
Active Server Pages (or ASP) is a scripting language that allows you to create interactive web pages. In order to use ASP you must be hosted on a Windows 2003 Server and this support enabled. While Active Web Hosting uses Windows 2003 Server for the web server, ASP support is not currently available for customer use.
An affiliate is someone who agrees to place an advertisement on their web site and who will gain monetary or other payment for each successful sign up or click. Affiliate programs vary. Most programs will also require sign-up so that you can track your earnings. For an example, please see the Active Web Hosting Affiliate Program.
Apache is a web server which delivers web pages to your web browser. Some scripts and other items may rely on some of the special configuration options that are only found in Apache and not in other web servers. Active Web Hosting's CGI Server operates using Apache.
An FTP mode setting which tells your FTP program to upload the selected file as a text file. This means that it is assumed there are no special characters in the text file other than plain keyboard characters. Some scripts require that you upload some of the files in this mode.
See Active Server Pages.
An auction is a system where people place a product or service up for bid for a specific amount of time, and other people place a bid, i.e. respond by making an offer of how much they are willing to pay for the item or service. The person who's bid is the highest at the end of the auction wins the auction and therefore agrees to pay the price they specified in their own latest bid. People can use their Active Web Hosting web space to store images of the items they wish to sell on an auction and link to this picture. This is called hotlinking. For more information, please see What is Hotlinking and can I do this from my site?
audio files are binary files which you can upload to your web server for your visitors to hear. These files may be embedded into the web page, or provided as a link to the file itself. Examples are mp3, wav, rm, and wma. You can not upload or store audio files on your CGI server, however. For more information, please see Allowable Content & Files and File Types Allowed On The CGI Server.
An auto responder is a system on Active Web Hosting's e-mail server that will automatically send a specific message to anyone who sends e-mail to a specific address on your domain. This is done unattended and automatically so that you do not have to answer each message yourself. To learn more about setting up an auto responder for one or more of your e-mail addresses, please see How do I set up an Auto Responder using WebMail?
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Bandwidth is the amount of data that is transmitted from the web server to a visitor's web page. Some may have encountered advertising for a certain amount of allowable bandwidth for web hosting, or even unlimited bandwidth. Some hosting companies even may charge for bandwidth usage beyond a set amount. At Active Web Hosting we do not charge for bandwidth usage, however this is not to be confused with having unlimited bandwidth. Our bandwidth is regulated to a certain amount of usage per domain automatically. To learn more about our bandwidth limits and policies, please see What is bandwidth and what are your limits?
A banner is usually a graphic which is displayed on a web page to advertise or announce a particular item, service or occasion, etc. Banners range in size, but the most common are horizontal banners that are 468 (width) x 60 (height) pixels in size.
A banner ad is a banner (see above) which is specifically used to advertise a product or service.
A binary file is a file that can not be read intelligibly with a plain text editor. If you try to read a binary file in a text editor, all you'll see is a jumble of letters, numbers, symbols and blocks. Binary files can be in the form of executable, archive, image, audio or video files. Certain binary files are not allowed on the server and non-web image binary files of any kind are not allowed on the CGI server. For more information, please see Allowable Content & Files and File Types Allowed On The CGI Server.
An FTP mode setting which tells your FTP program to upload the selected file as a binary file. Some scripts require that you upload some of the files such as images in this mode.
See web log.
See robot.
See web browser.
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A cache is a directory or files that stores information to be used later. For example, your web browser may store the pages you visit in a directory called a cache on your hard drive. If you revisit the page again, the web browser may use files from the cache directory on your hard drive to show the contents of the page, instead of downloading them again via internet. This can greatly speed up how fast you see the page. However, if the page has changed, the browser may or may not update the files in the cache. If you are having problems viewing or using a web page. It is best to delete the files in your web browser's cache and try viewing the page again. This will force the web browser to download all the files from the web site again and give you a fresh update of the site.
Cascading Style Sheet or CSS is a file usually with the extension of .css that you can use with your web pages to easily format your pages without having to edit every page. You can have specific settings for your web page background, text, link and fonts, tables, forms, buttons, lines, etc. If you implement Cascading Style Sheets in a simple line in every page of your site, then you can just change the .css file and the whole site will reflect these changes. This is a big time-saver especially for large sites. For more information, please see Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Introduction and Guide to Cascading Style Sheets.
A CGI server is a special server set up specifically so you can securely run scripts. Active Web Hosting provides each customer one special CGI Server per domain to run scripts on. This is a separate server from where you upload your web site files. For more information, please see our CGI Frequently Asked Questions
The cgi-bin directory is a directory on your CGI Server which allows you to place scripts you wish to run. For more information on this directory, please see What is the cgi-bin directory for?
The internet can allow people to chat in groups. There are many servers and chat scripts out there which can allow this. Active Web Hosting does not provide a chat server for customers. It is strongly recommended that customers seek other servers or methods if they wish to start a chat group. Some of these include IRC Chat.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA is a law passed in 1998 that ensures that all web sites must comply with regulations to preserve the privacy rights of children under 13 years of age, including not taking personal information such as addresses and phone numbers (and other personally identifiable information) from children without a parent or guardian's consent. Some forum scripts will be installed with options which help you comply with this law. This is something all web site owners must comply with in all areas of their site especially if they are gathering information from their visitors. Please see the COPPA web site and the How to Comply With The Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule from the US Federal Trade Commission for more information.
When you upload script files to your server, the installation instructions for the script may require you to change some of the files permissions. This is also referred to as chmod. You can do this in nearly any FTP program by right clicking on a file and selecting chmod, properties, attributes, or a similarly related word. For more information on how to do this in a specific program, please see our FAQs on FTP Programs.
A client is basically a program which communicates with the server. Two common clients are E-Mail Clients or programs and FTP Clients or programs.
The Common Gateway Interface (also referred to as CGI) is an interface that allows scripts written in perl or php for example, to be executed. For more information on CGI, please see I'm new to CGI. Where do I start?
Content refers to any item you display on your web page, including but not limited to text, images, scripts, audio, and video. For more information on what types of content are allowed on Active Web Hosting's servers, please see Allowable Content & Files.
A Content Management System is an all-in-one script package that lets you run an entire web site. Features vary from one system to another. However, the most common features include a newsboard or blog on the main page, web links, user registration, polls, upload/download file area, and sometimes a forum and more. We have a few tutorials for some of the more popular systems in our Script Installation section of our FAQ.
When you create artwork or a web site that contains all your own material, and nothing derived from anyone else's work, you are automatically the copyright owner of the content you create yourself. Copyright gives you the legal right to stop anyone else from claiming the work as their own and distributing it or displaying it on your web site without your permission. For more information on copyright please see The United States Copyright Office web site.
A counter is a script you can use to keep track of how many people visit your web site. This is usually shown at the bottom of the first page to a web site. You can get instructions on where to download and install a counter for your site here.
cPanel is a hosting control center that allows people with hosting accounts to control their FTP, e-mail, directories and other options that are part of their hosting package. Active Web Hosting does not use cPanel as we have our own hosting control system which is accessible from the Account Administration Page.
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A database is a place that you can store information, or data. Some scripts such as forums store everything from user log-ins, configuration and posts visitors make to the forum, for example. You can often access the information in a database with a scripting language such as PHP. Active Web Hosting supports MySQL type databases and each domain gets one database to store information in. For more information, please see our MySQL Database section of our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (or DMCA) is a special law passed in 1998 to curb piracy of software and other internet-based technology and/or files. For more information, please see Wiki Digital Millennium Copyright Act page.
A discount program is a program we have at Active Web Hosting that will allow you to pay less for your web hosting services. You may already qualify for a discount program. To find out, click here.
A DNS or domain name server is a computer that will match a name of a domain, such as www.yourdomain.com to the actual IP address such as ###.###.##.# (where # represents numbers 0 - 9) so that the web browser can view the site. Every internet address is actually an IP address. To make things easier to remember, the domain name server accepts the domain name as it would the actual address of the web site and then sends your browser to the correct web site. This domain name server has an address of it's own and some hosting providers may need this DNS address in order to finish transferring a domain name from one hosting server to another.
A domain is basically a group of computers on the internet that are treated as a unit. For example, all .com sites are part of the ".com" domain.
A domain name is a specific easy-to-understand name the refers to a specific server or computer on the internet. Instead of visitors trying to remember your web site as it's actual address on the internet, which could be something like http://###.###.##.#/ where # represents numbers 0 - 9, your visitors can instead type in the domain name of your site, for example: http://www.yourdomain.com/
A domain name server or DNSis a computer that will match a name of a domain, such as www.yourdomain.com to the actual IP address (such as ###.###.##.# (where # represents numbers 0 - 9) so that the web browser can view the site. Every internet address is actually an IP address. To make things easier to remember, the domain name server accepts the domain name as it would the actual address of the web site and then sends your browser to the correct web site. This domain name server has an address of it's own and some hosting providers may need this DNS address in order to finish transferring a domain name from one hosting server to another.
Domain parking refers to buying a domain but not a web server to store your actual web site files on. This is often used for those who want to reserve a particular domain name but do not have a web site created for that domain. You can use Active Web Hosting to park your domain by purchasing your domain and then not uploading any files to your web space. We provide a default page for every new domain online. When you are ready, you can upload you web site to via FTP.
When you obtain files off the internet, you have completed a download. This is essentially the transfer of a file from a web, or FTP site to your computer's hard drive.
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See Electronic Mail.
An e-mail address is an address used to specify who receives the e-mail message. You can set up as many e-mail addresses as you choose. For more information, please see How To Create, Delete, Change, or List E-Mail Accounts.
An editor is a program that lets you edit files. There are text editors and html editors, for example, that let you edit your web site HTML files or your CGI scripts. For more information and some links to some good editors, please see Create A Web Page and Text Editors You Can Use To Create CGI Scripts.
Electronic Mail, also referred to as E-Mail, is a message or letter you receive with an E-Mail Client or Program.
Encryption is a secure method by which data to and from a web site is encoded to the point where anyone trying to intercept the transmission would not be able to decode or understand the data being transferred. This is desirable for sending sensitive data such as name, address, and billing information in business transactions.
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The Fair Use Copyright Law is probably the most misunderstood and misused law on the internet. This law was originally intended for educators and reporters to quote passages of text for reference or educational purposes. However, in the digital age, it's been used as an excuse to illegally distribute images, full text, and other files without the original author's prior permission. For more information on how to stay legal, please see Copyright Fair Use Law 107
Feedback is a message usually sent via e-mail from a web site from a visitor. It can contain a question, comment or a suggestion about the web site, Some site owners opt to just provide a link to their e-mail address, or they may provide a form for the visitor to fill out called a feedback form. You can send feedback message usually from an e-mail, contact, or feedback link if one is provided on a web site.
A file can be any type of item that is uploaded to your web server or found on your hard drive. Examples of files can be audio (.wav or .mp3), video (.wmv or .mpeg), index.html or other .html, .css, or images (.gif, .png, .jpg), etc.
A file attachment is a file that is included with an e-mail message. Your e-mail program will not usually run or display anything that comes included with an e-mail message marked as an attachment. It is best not to open an attachment unless you are expecting it and can trust the person who sent it to you. Some file attachments can carry damaging viruses, spyware or Trojan Horse programs.
When you upload some scripts to your CGI server, some of these scripts may ask you to change the file permissions. These file permissions determine who may or may not execute, write to or even view a file. File permissions are usually split up into groups such as user (meaning only the domain owner), group (meaning only those set up in the domain owner's group in the server configuration), or other/all/world (meaning everyone who visits the site). Furthermore, the file permissions also are split up to determine what can be done with the file such as read, write, or execute. Most often you will use an FTP program and chmod or properties selection to change a file's permission settings.
A file's size is basically how many bytes a file takes up on a server. Meaning how much space it will use on the server. Active Web Hosting does not restrict the amount of space you can take up on your server, as long as these files do not cause your site to use a lot of bandwidth (see definition above).
Some scripts may require you to upload some files using a certain File Transfer Mode or FTP mode. This is a mode or setting you can adjust in your FTP program. Two examples are ASCII Mode and Binary Mode.
File Transfer Protocol is also called FTP and is the protocol used when you upload your web site or script files to the server. You use what is called a FTP Program to upload these files. For more information, please see What is FTP and how do I use it?
A filter is normally used in e-mail programs to determine what messages you retrieve from the server, and/or where those messages would be stored in the program. You can also set up filters in Web Mail as well. For more information, please see our E-Mail Filtering section.
Form mail is also called a web form or feedback form. This is a form on a web page that visitors fill out to send feedback or comments, questions and suggestions to the site owner. For more information on setting up your own web-based email form, please see How To Use Form Mail For Visitor Feedback E-Mail.
A forum is a place where visitors can log in with a personal account and read and post messages. It is like a community bulletin board. There are many forum scripts which can be installed that allow your visitors to communicate with each other. Please see our Script Installation section for some forums you can use on your site.
Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) is a list of questions that customers often would ask when they need more information on a topic. By providing these questions online, it gives everyone immediate access to answers to help them with nearly any issue. Please see our complete Frequently Asked Questions Page.
Microsoft's FrontPage (and FrontPage Express) are web site HTML editors which you may use to design, build, maintain and upload your web sites. For more information, please see Uploading Your Web Pages Using FrontPage 2002.
Some scripts may require you to upload some files using a certain FTP mode or File Transfer Mode. This is a mode or setting you can adjust in your FTP program. Two examples are ASCII Mode and Binary Mode.
Some FTP servers require that you are set to a certain FTP mode. This is a mode or setting you can adjust in your FTP program. Two examples are Passive Mode and Active Mode.
The ftp server is the server you log into using an FTP program and where you upload your web page files. This is not to be confused with the CGI server where you upload your php, perl and other scripts.
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When a someone visits your web page, it is considered a hit. There are counters that will count all the hits or just visits to your web page. There is a difference between a hit and a visit. A hit is counted every time your page is loaded into someone's browser, even if it's the same person that saw the page several times. A visit is calculated only if the person hasn't seen that page in a pre-determined amount of time. Please see the definition for counter above for more information.
A host is a computer which stores your web page files and sends them to people who visit your domain using a web browser. In this way, your pages and files are available 24/7 to anyone with an internet connection. You do not need to be online with your computer running for someone else to see your web pages once you have uploaded your files to the host computer's server.
A person who is sharing your domain with you, and who had their own FTP upload space which to upload their own web pages separate from yours. You can allow people to share your domain, but it is recommended that you encourage them to purchase their own hosting package with us as they will receive more features. For more information, please see Adding, Editing and Deleting Others Hosted On Your Domain.
See host.
When you or someone else links directly to an image or file, making it look as if it was part of another web page not stored on your own domain's web space, this is known as hotlinking. Active Web Hosting does support this practice, although some site owners may not want this to occur from their site. Advantages are that you can display signature images or photos for auctions on another web site without having to provide a text link to the item. Disadvantages are that some people may do this to display your images on their site without your permission, as if it was a part of their web site. For more information, please see What is Hotlinking and can I do this from my site? and How To Tell If Someone Is Directly Linking (Hotlinking) To Your Files.
An .htaccess file is a file you can use on your CGI server to change how the server works. There are many uses for this type of file including password protecting directories changing php configuration and banning IP addresses. For more information on using .htaccess files, please see our .htaccess File section in our FAQ.
An HTML Editor is a program much like a text editor but with features to aid in designing web pages. These features can include drag-and-drop web page items, color syntax highlighting, and easy tag insertion. For more information on creating a web page and a list of HTML editors to try, please see Web Site Creation and Design.
htpasswd is actually a program that allows you to password protect a directory on your CGI server. There is also an easy script that makes use of this program. For more information, please see our How To Password Protect A CGI Directory tutorial.
Most all web pages are written in a scripting language called HyperText Markup Language. This is the code that makes up the web page and uses different tags enclosed in <> to notify the web browser to display items in a certain way. For more information, please see our tutorial Create A Web Page.
The HyperText Transfer Protocol is the method which hypertext files such as those written using HTML are transferred across the internet from a client to a server.
An encrypted and secure form of the HyperText Transport Protocol. This is used most often on web sites that need to send and receive sensitive personal data such as name, address, and billing information.
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When you keep a file on your server specifically to link to it from other sites that are not part of your domain, this is referred to as image hosting. You can do this for auctions or forum signature graphics. For more information, see hotlinking.
ImageMagick is a set of command line programs that allow manipulation of images from the command line. It can be used from a script on your CGI server as well. For more information, see the ImageMagick web site.
An image is a picture or graphic that is displayed on a web site. They come in many format types including GIF, JPG (or JPEG) and PNG.
Intellectual Property is the ownership of an idea or invention. The exact definition and more information can be found at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Intellectual Property Laws cover brand names, TV and Movie characters and props, and anything else that can be patented, trademarked or otherwise protected by it's owners.
An Internal Server Error is also known as an "500 Error". You may see this error if you are attempting to view a page created by a script that is not working properly. For more information, please see Error 500: 'Internal Server Error' When Running CGI or Perl Scripts.
Known also as an IP Address or sometimes just "IP", an Internet Protocol Address is a unique number that is assigned to virtually all computers that are connected to the internet. This number usually looks something like ###.###.##.# where the #'s represent numbers 0 - 9.
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A keyword is usually a one-word description used by search engines to find a site on the internet, for example. Keywords are usually defined in an HTML document's <meta> tag. Keywords are a good way to increase the chances of your web site being found by people using search engines to find information.
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A link is a piece of text (a word, title or sentence) that is highlighted and when clicked on, will take you to another page or web site. For more information on how to create links, please see our tutorial Create A Web Page.
A log (or log file) is a file that is on your web server which gives you information on where your visitors came from before visiting your site, what files were accessed and what files and directories were accessed the most. Log files can be quite useful in finding information that you can use to further enhance your site, or stop people from hotlinking. For more information, please see How To View Your Web Server Logs and How To Tell If Someone Is Directly Linking (Hotlinking) To Your Files.
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An mp3 file is a music audio file that can be played on most computers using a audio or media player. It is a common file format and brings CD-quality sound to your computer. However, mp3 files are also used to distribute music illegally. Please be sure you own any file you place on your server. Active Web Hosting allows mp3 files on the web server but not the CGI server. For more information, please see Allowable Content & Files, Allowable Content & Files and File Types Allowed On The CGI Server.
MySQL is a common database server which is a part of your Active Web Hosting account should you wish to use it. This allows you to store data and use this data to make your site more interactive. For more information, please see our MySQL Database section.
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When something is said to be offline, it usually means that it is not connected to the internet. Servers can be offline, meaning you will not be able to connect to them using your web browser, email program and/or FTP program. If a web page is offline, then it means that the site is not available for people to view.
When something is said to be online, it usually means that it is available on the internet for everyone to access. If a server is online, it means you can connect to web pages, retrieve email and/or connect via a FTP program. If a web page is online, then it means that the site is available for everyone to view.
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A Page Not Found Error is also referred to as a "404 Error". This means that the page does not exist on the server and can not be displayed. This can occur if the web site owner has renamed the filename of the page, moved the page to another directory on the site, or has removed or deleted the page altogether.
FTP Passive Mode is a more secure FTP mode setting than active mode. This mode lets you connect to an FTP server even behind a firewall.
A password is a secret code known only to you that is needed to log into an account or server. A password usually is made up of a certain number of letters and/or numbers. It's best to use passwords that have obscure meanings or random letters and numbers.
A path is simply the list of directories that lead to a file.
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\something.dll or /usr/bin/perl for
example. A path is often needed in some script files so that the script can find
commands or files it needs in order to run.
PHP is also referred to as PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, which is a scripting language you can embed into HTML documents to create a more interactive web site. PHP also will allow you to connect to a database. For more information, please see What is PHP?
An advertisement or web page content that is revealed in a small browser or normal window after you close your main browser window is referred to as a pop-under window.
An advertisement or web page content that is displayed in a separate (usually smaller) window from your browser. These are seen in front of or on top of the web browser page and usually has it's own exit button.
A program that prevents pop-up windows from being displayed. Some web browsers also have pop-up blockers as part of the web browser itself or as a plug-in or extension.
The main or default e-mail account is often referred to as a postmaster account. Every domain usually has to have such an account. This account will catch any mail that is sent to non-existing accounts on a domain. For more information, please see The Postmaster Account: What It Is And How To Use It.
The Post Office Protocol, or often referred to as POP is the method by which email is transferred from a POP server to your e-mail program or client.
Often referred to simply as perl, this is a scripting language which is used on a CGI server to allow you to make your web pages more interactive and do things you can not normally do with plain HTML. For more information, please see More Information About CGI, Perl, and Other Scripting Languages.
Professional Services are services by professionals who can give help, resources, and information to users. At Active Web Hosting, we have a growing Professional Services directory.
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A redirect is when a visitor is automatically taken to another web page or site automatically. Most browser support redirects. These are usually placed in <meta> tags and will take the visitor to another site either immediately or within a specified amount of time. Common uses are to take visitors to a new site if an old site was moved, or to automatically direct the visitor to the domain's main page from pages that used to be, but are no longer on the server.
A referral is someone who has been sent to a site by someone and who successfully signs up, mentioning who informed them of the offer. For example, at Active Web Hosting, you can earn money for referring them to us by telling them about us and having them sign up for an account. Please see information on our Referral Program.
The register_globals is a variable used in php and determines how you refer to some of the system variables out of the php environment, such as GET and POST. Some scripts require it to be turned on while Active Web Hosting's servers has this setting turned off. You can learn how to turn this on, please refer to How To Get register_globals To Work.
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A script is text code that is run through a parser such as perl or php, which then allows the visitor to view and interact with a web site.
A search engine is a site that allows you to search the entire site's database or the entire internet. Examples of search engines are Google and Yahoo.
Secured Sockets Layer or SSL is a protocol by which data can be sent in encrypted form from a visitor's web browser to the originating site. This is a secure way most business sites use to safeguard the customer's billing and other important information.
Active Web Hosting provides access to a program called SendMail, which allows you to accept input from your web site and sends it to your e-mail address. To learn how to use SendMail, please see How To Use SendMail In Your Web Site Forms.
A server is a program that communicates with a client. The server will send to the client whatever information the client requests. An example of servers are email, ftp, and web servers such as Apache.
The server status will show you how long the server was up, and what the traffic (ie. requests to web pages on the server) was like. For an example, please see our System Status page.
Macromedia shockwave flash is a plug-in or add-in for web browsers that allows you to view animation and sound. It also refers to the file format used for these types of files. You can use shockwave flash files on your web site, as long as they are on your web server and not on your CGI server. For more information, please see Allowable Content & Files
A shopping cart script allows you to take credit card and other payments from your web site visitors. Normally shopping carts are part of a Merchant Account package, which you can obtain from places on the internet. There are also some shopping cart scripts and services on the internet to help small businesses accept payments.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is the means by which you can send e-mail from your account to another e-mail account via an SMTP server.
Usually exclusively a script that searches web pages and enters the information into a search engine's database. See robot.
A piece of software that is installed (often without the knowledge of the site visitor) which will run on your computer and report back to the author information such as sites you visit, maybe your name, IP address or other personal or general information. Usually spyware is used as a means to "pay" for "freeware" programs or games.
See Secure Sockets Layer.
When you first sign up for hosting and your domain goes online for everyone to view, you are given a startup page by default, which will state that your site is "coming soon". This is so that there is at least something present in case someone visits your new domain. If there was no startup page, then visitors would get a Page Not Found Error.
A sub-domain is an addition to your domain name, such as newsite.yourdomain.com (where yourdomain.com would be your actual domain name). For more information, please see How To Add A Sub-Domain.
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A template is a pre-coded web page but without any content written in, which is used to create other pages on a web site. Using templates can speed up the process of designing a web site. For more information, please see Web Site Creation and Design.
A Trojan Horse in internet terms is a program that will appear to be useful or interesting, but when run may cause data loss or other computer problems. While sometimes considered a virus, it's important to note that a Trojan Horse will not replicate itself or send itself to others as a real virus will. Nonetheless, these programs can cause a great deal of damage and down time for computer users and servers alike. These programs often are found in e-mail file attachments, or can even enter the computer as spyware or through a pop-up window if a user clicks a button to agree to install the program.
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A Uniform Resource Locator is a web site address that you type into the address bar of your web browser.
Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail, often very commonly known as spam, is an e-mail message that appears in your inbox in your e-mail program which you did not ask for, and which did not come from someone you know. Spam is a very common problem for all internet users. For more information on Spam and how to filter it out of your e-mail, please see our Spam section of our E-Mail FAQs.
The process of transferring files from your computer's hard drive to the ftp or CGI server.
See user name.
A unique name or alias that is used to log into a web site, ftp or CGI server or a database. This is often required along with a password.
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Video files are files that display moving pictures and often sound from a web site or from a link. Examples of video files would be shockwave flash, MPEG and WMV files. For more information on what files are allowed on Active Web Hosting's servers, please see Allowable Content & Files File Types Allowed On The CGI Server.
A Virus is a destructive program that will replicate itself, attach itself to e-mail messages and resent itself to people in your address book or others. Viruses normally enter your computer via e-mail messages if you open file attachments or view HTML style e-mail messages from people you do not know. Viruses can also enter your computer via web sites pop-up windows if you click to install a program on your computer, or if you download a computer off the internet and did not scan it for viruses with a virus scanner program beforehand.
A visitor is someone who views your web site in their web browser.
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See Universal Resource Locator (commonly called a URL).
A web browser, also known as just a browser is a program visitors use to view a web page. Some examples of popular web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, and Opera.
A web blog is another term for blog. These are journals that people keep on their web site. These journals are often contain day-to-day life-stories, opinions or editorials. We have tutorials for a few web log scripts in our Script Installation FAQs.
A web page is the information you see in the main window of your web browser.
A web server is a program that sends information from a web site to your web browser. See also server.
A web site is a collection of web pages which are linked together and have the same theme.
Web mail is a web site you can go to and access your e-mail through your web browser instead of an e-mail program or client. A web mail site will allow you to send and receive e-mail, set up spam filters and more. For more information, please see our Web Mail section.
When someone wants to look up information on a domain, like who owns the domain and their contact information, they generally go to a WHOIS database. There are a number of them on the internet, including Network Solutions and TuCows.
A Windows 2003 Server is a web server which transmits web site pages to a visitor's browser. Please also see server. Active Web Hosting's web server uses a Windows-based server.
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A zip file is an archive file. These files appear as one single file that can be easily downloaded, but contain many files and possibly directories. To extract the files and any directories in the archive, you need an unzip program such as WinZip. Some operating systems such as Linux and Windows XP have a way to unzip programs built in, either by typing a command at the command line and the file name of the archive, or by right clicking on the file in a file manager and selecting to extract the files from the archive.