Digital Media and Online Communication Concepts

A collection of flashcards covering key terminology and concepts related to digital media, online communication, and computer science.

Digital media

Shows how images and sounds are stored as 0s and 1s in computers.

Knowledge society

How new information systems can change human society.

Automated teller machines (ATMs)

Let you check your bank balance and get cash anywhere in the world.

Digital rights management (DRM)

Methods that stop copying and show users why the original is better.

Moderators

People or systems in a forum that keep order.

Plagiarism

Using someone else’s work as your own.

Virus

A program made to damage software on your computer.

Worm

Software that works in the background and harms your programs.

Trojan

Looks like real software but secretly damages your computer.

Ransomware

Stops a user from using their computer by locking it until a ransom is paid.

Spam

Unwanted emails or messages sent to many people.

Hoaxes

Messages meant to trick or mislead.

Phishing

A type of hoax trying to get users' private info like credit cards or PINs.

The golden rule

Treat others as you want to be treated.

Strings

Sequences of characters.

Prototype

A small, simple version of a bigger program.

Comments

Notes in code to explain to humans.

Maintenance

Keeping programs correct and useful over time.

Algorithm

Step-by-step instructions to solve a problem.

Ubiquitous

Everywhere around us.

Precedence

The order in which operations in a calculation happen.

Lists

Data storage that can hold many items at once.

Self-Documenting Code

Code that explains itself using meaningful variable names.

Data

Numbers or strings stored in a variable.

Meeting 3 Selection

Program action depends on conditions.

Boolean blocks

Give either true or false.

Selection (Branching)

Program can do an instruction or skip it depending on a condition.

Unary operator

Operator acting on one value.

Netiquette

Online behavior rules (etiquette).

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions.

Firewall

Program that blocks unauthorized access but allows your own online use.

Spammer

Person who sends spam.

Index variable

A variable used to access one item in a collection.

Data transmission

The process of sending data from one point to another.

Attenuation

Loss of signal strength as it moves away from its source.

Wavelength

Length of one wave cycle.

Electromagnetic radiation

A wave whose peaks and troughs decrease over distance as energy dissipates.

Routing (Switching)

Mechanisms to find a path to the destination and connect links so data can be delivered.

Forwarding

Directing data from an incoming link to an outgoing one.

Packet-switched network

No continuous path is established between end systems.

Segmentation

Small broken pieces of data.

Packets

Segments carried inside data envelopes.

IP address

Address stored in the packet header.

Switches

Devices that control packets using Ethernet (MAC) addresses.

Routers

Devices that perform packet switching using IP addresses.

Gateway

Ensures data is compatible between a local network and the wider internet.

Protocol

Rules and formats for data exchange between computers.

Virtual circuit

A logical connection between end devices that makes them appear directly connected.

LAN

Local Area Network.

WLAN

Wireless Local Area Network.

Smart technology

Everyday objects equipped with IoT features.

Encryption

Transforming plaintext into ciphertext.

Decryption

Reversing encryption to recover plaintext.

Confidentiality

Keeping messages secret through encryption.

Brute-force attack

Trying every possible key until the correct one is found.

Man-in-the-middle attack

An attacker intercepts or alters information between sender and receiver.

Integrity

Preventing messages from being changed without the receiver knowing.

Authentication

Proving the identities of sender and receiver.

Biometric data

Derived from unique physical features.

Positive identification

Checking if someone is in a specific group.

Negative identification

Checking if someone is not in a specific group.

False match (False accept)

Biometric data from different people judged as the same.

False non-match (False reject)

Biometric data from the same person judged as different.

Usability principles

Principles guiding the design of systems to improve user experience.