CompTIA A+ Acronyms: Essential Guide for IT Certification

AC

Alternating Current

ACL

Access Control List

ACPI

Advanced Configuration Power Interface

ACT

Activity

ADSL

Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line

AES

Advanced Encryption Standard

AGP

Accelerated Graphics Port

AHCI

Advanced Host Controller Interface

AP

Access Point

APIPA

Automatic Private Internet Protocol Addressing

APM

Advanced Power Management

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol

ASR

Automated System Recovery

ATA

Advanced Technology Attachment

ATAPI

Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

ATSC

Advanced Television Systems Committee

ATX

Advanced Technology Extended

AUP

Acceptable Use Policy

A/V

Audio Video

BD-R

Blu-ray Disk Recordable

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System

BNC

Bayonet-Neill-Concelman or British Naval Connector

BSOD

Blue Screen of Death

BTX

Balanced Technology Extended

CAD

Computer Aided Design

CAPTCHA

Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart

CAS

Column Access Strobe

CCFL

Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp

CD

Compact Disc

CD-ROM

Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory

CD-RW

Compact Disc-Rewritable

CDFS

Compact Disc File System

CERT

Computer Emergency Response Team

CFS

Central File System or Common File System or Command File System

CGA

Computer Graphics and Applications

CIDR

Classless Inter-Domain Routing

CIFS

Common Internet File System

CMOS

Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

CNR

Communications and Networking Riser

COMx

Communication Port (x=Port Number)

CPU

Central Processing Unit

CRT

Cathode Ray Tube

DAC

Discretionary Access Control

DB-25

Serial Communications D-Shell Connector, 25 Pins

DB-9

9 Pin D Shell Connector

DC

Direct Current

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service

DDR

Double Data Rate

DDR RAM

Double Data Rate Random-Access Memory

DDR SDRAM

Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory

DFS

Distributed File System

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DIMM

Dual Inline Memory Module

DIN

Deutsche Industrie Norm

DLT

Digital Linear Tape

DLP

Digital Light Processing or Data Loss Prevention

DMA

Direct Memory Access

DMZ

Demilitarized Zone

DNS

Domain Name Service or Domain Name Server

DoS

Denial of Service

DRAM

Dynamic Random Access Memory

DRM

Digital Rights Management

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line

DVD

Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc

DVD-RAM

Digital Video Disc-Random-Access Memory

DVD-ROM

Digital Video Disc-Read-Only Memory

DVD-R

Digital Video Disc-Recordable

DVD-RW

Digital Video Disc-Rewritable

DVI

Digital Visual Interface

DVR

Digital Video Recorder

ECC

Error Correcting Code or Error Checking and Correction

ECP

Extended Capabilities Port

EEPROM

Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

EFS

Encrypting File System

EIDE

Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics

ELP

Electroluminescence Panel

EMI

Electromagnetic Interference

EMP

Electromagnetic Pulse

EPROM

Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

EPP

Enhanced Parallel Port

ERD

Emergency Repair Disk

eSATA

External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment

ESD

Electrostatic Discharge

EULA

End-User License Agreement

EVGA

Extended Video Graphics Adapter/Array

EVDO

Evolution Data Optimized or Evolution Data Only

Ext2

Second Extended File System

exFAT

Extended File Allocation Table

FAT

File Allocation Table

FAT12

12-Bit File Allocation Table

FAT16

16-Bit File Allocation Table

FAT32

32-Bit File Allocation Table

FDD

Floppy Disk Drive

Fn

Function (referring to the function key on a laptop)

FPM

Fast Page Mode

FRU

Field Replaceable Unit

FSB

Front Side Bus

FTP

File Transfer Protocol

FQDN

Fully Qualified Domain Name