Module 2: The Web

Search Operators

A character, word, or symbol that focuses a web search. Also called a Boolean operator.

Cookie

A file created by a website and that stores information on your computer, such as your website preferences

Internet

A global collection of millions of computers linked together to share information.

cache

A holding area where your browser keeps a copy of each webpage you view. This temporary storage area helps speed up processing time.

Hits

A list of matched results from an Internet search.

general search engine

A nonspecialized search engine designed to find general results; general search engines include Google, Bing, and Yahoo!

Browser

A program, such as Microsoft Edge, that is designed to display webpages.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https)

A protocol used to make a secure connection to a computer; identified by the "https" prefix in a URL and often used by banks and retail stores.

IP address

A unique number that identifies every computer on the Internet; consists of four sets of numbers from 0 to 255 separated by periods, or dots, as in 216.35.148.4.

web portal

A website that combines pages from many sources and provides access to those pages. Also shortened to portal.

media sharing site

A website that enables members to manage media such as photos, videos, and music.

Content Aggregator

A website that gathers, organizes, and then distributes web content.

e-commerce

Business transactions that occur over an electronic network such as the Internet.

navigation bar

In a browser, a set of buttons or hyperlinks that allows visitors to move to any page within a website.

Blogs

Short for web log, an informal website consisting of date- or time-stamped articles, or posts, in a diary or journal format.

Crawlers

Software that combs the web to find webpages and add new data about them to a database. Also called spider.

Search Engine

Software used by search sites to locate relevant webpages by creating a simple query based on your search criteria and storing the collected data in a search database

home page

The main webpage around which a website is built that opens every time you start a browser.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

The most common way to transfer information around the web; when the URL for a webpage starts with http://, the web browser uses this protocol for transferring the information.

domain name

The portion of a URL or email address that identifies one or more IP addresses, such as cengage.com

Top-Level Domain

The three-letter extension after the period in a domain name, the TLD identifies the type of organization associated with the domain.

Plagiarism

To copy or use someone else's work and claim it as your own.

Terms of use and privacy statements

determine how a web site uses your browsing history

Wiki

A collaborative website where you and your colleagues can modify and publish content on a webpage.

website

A location on the World Wide Web that contains webpages linked together.

specialty search engine

A search engine that lets you search databases, news providers, podcasts, and other online information sources that general search engines do not always access.

Encryption

A security method of "scrambling" information as it is transmitted over a network.

webpage

A specially formatted document that can contain text, graphics, sound, video, and links

Protocol

A standardized procedure used by computers to exchange information.

breadcrumbs

A step in the path you follow to display a webpage

Citation

In a research paper, a reference to a source; usually in parentheses at the end of a sentence.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Technology used to encrypt data that helps protect consumers and businesses from fraud and identity theft when conducting commerce on the Internet.

CARS

The _____checklist helps you evaluate a Web page before you use it as an information source.

information literacy

The ability to find, evaluate, use, and communicate online information.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

The webpage address that identifies the location of the file on the Internet.

digital certificate

a technology used to verify a user's identity by using a digital key and that has been "signed" by a trusted third party. This third party verifies the owner and that the key belongs to that owner.