This is a system that transfers data between networks.

This is a program that helps a user find information on a service or on the Net. Certain engines are more powerful than others, of course, and some are so powerful that they may bury you in data. With practice, you can make searches easier by knowing which engine to choose for a particular search and how to narrow your query.

Short for Serial Line Internet Protocol, this is one of the programs that can help your desktop computer become a live entity on the Internet. See PPP.

You know how mad you get when a telemarketer calls you up early Saturday morning, disturbing your sleep? Well, spam is just as annoying, and we're not talking pink luncheon meat here. To "spam" is to bombard e-mail channels or newsgroups with unwanted messages, advertisements, or other junk mail. It's rude, rude, rude.

Short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, TCP/IP is one of the main protocols that determines how data is transferred over the Internet.

This program allows you to log in to one computer system from another system. If you have several Internet accounts, you might dial into one of them and then use that first account as a jumping off point to TELNET to the rest of your accounts. There are also many public databases (e.g., libraries) that require a TELNET program to access them.

Developed by AT&T labs, this is a very popular computer operating system that has been instrumental in the development of the Internet.