scroll

Since most computer monitors are not big enough to display an entire Web page (or any computer file), one has to scroll to see the whole file. Scroll bars appear at the right side and bottom of a document to allow you to scroll.

search engine

Search engines are Web sites that search the Web for information. Find out how to use search engines.

secure

If transfer of information over the Internet is secure, it means that encryption software is used to protect the information and prevent it being read or tampered with.

server

A server is a computer that provides part of the functionality of the Internet. A Web server sends Web pages to your computer when you click a link on the Web, and an e-mail server sends and receives your e-mail for you.

shareware

Shareware is a term used to describe software you can download for free over the Internet. You are usually required to pay a small fee if you continued using shareware after a trial period. Find out more about shareware.

Shockwave

Shockwave (also known as Shockwave & Flash) is a browser plug-in that gives you sound, video, and animation on Web pages. Find out more about Shockwave.

smiley

Smileys are used to smile in text-only e-mail messages. They are usually composed of a semi-colon, a dash, and a right-hand bracket, like this:
        ;-)

A smiley is a kind of emoticon.

SMTP

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is a standard way (protocol) for sending e-mail messages over the Internet. Find out more about e-mail.

snailmail

Snailmail is a derogatory term applied to conventional mail sent with a stamp. While paper mail is certainly much slower than e-mail in reaching its destination, it certainly isn't as slow as a snail!

spam

Spam is the unsolicited, mass distribution of commercial e-mail or newsgroup messages. Find out more about spam.

SSL

SSL is a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting documents securely over the Internet. It involves encryption. SSL is short for secure sockets layer.

streaming

Streaming is a technology that allows you to play a video or audio file as it downloads to your computer. Find out more about streaming.

stylesheet

A stylesheet is a file that contains formatting infomation about a Web page. Stylesheets allow for the separation of structure and layout in markup languages such as HTML.

subscribe

When you subscribe to a newsgroup, your newsgroup software keeps track of that newsgroup for you, and remembers what messages you've already read. It's free. Find out more about newsgroups.

surf

To surf the Web is to read Web pages.

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