Encryption and Decryption

Internet

An interconnected computing system capable of sending or receiving data

Computer network

A sequence of directly connected computing devices that connect a sender to a receiver

World Wide Web

A system of linked pages, programs, and files that uses the Internet

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time

Cloud

A term used to describe places to store data on the Internet

Path

The process of finding a path from sender to receiver

Routing

The process of finding a path from sender to receiver

Scalability

The ability of the Internet to keep working as it grows

Redundancy

The inclusion of back-up elements in case one part fails

Protocol

A set of rules that specify the behavior of a system

IP address

A unique number assigned to each device on a computer network

Packet

A small chunk of any kind of data and metadata that is passed through the Internet as a unit

Encryption

The process of encoding data to prevent unauthorized access

Decryption

The process of decoding data that has been encrypted

Public key encryption

A type of encryption that uses a pair of keys, only one of which is published

Symmetric encryption

The encryption scheme that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption

Firewall

A security system that controls the kinds of connections that can be made between a computer or network and the outside world

Keylogging

A kind of malware that records every key pressed by a user

Rogue access point

A wireless access point that gives access to a secure network without the authorization of the network administrator

Antivirus

Software designed to scan files and Internet transmissions looking for malware

DDoS attack

Uses a virus to flood a server with many requests from many computers at once so that users of that server are denied service

Computer virus

Software designed to harm or take partial control over a computer

SSL/TLS

A standard for encrypted information transfer on the Internet

Sampling rate

The number of samples measured per second

Crowdsourcing

Using the Internet to get a lot of people to help solve a problem

Analog data

Data with values that change smoothly in discrete intervals

Lossless compression

Data compression algorithms that are reversible, allowing reconstruction of the original data with no loss in quality

Lossy compression

Data compression algorithms that are not fully reversible, allowing reconstruction only an approximation of the original data

Computing innovation

A concept that can be physical, non-physical software, or conceptual, but must include a program as an integral part of its function

Binary sequence

A string of ones and zeros, also called a bitstream

Byte

Eight bits

Floating point

Used to represent very large or very small numbers using powers of two

Digital divide

Unequal access to computers and the Internet based on various factors

Word

A single unit of data that can only have one of two values