IT Review

CPU

Central Processing Unit — Executes instructions and performs the computer's main calculations.

GPU

Graphics Processing Unit — Processes graphics and many calculations in parallel.

RAM

Random Access Memory — Temporary working memory for active programs and data; normally loses contents without power.

ROM

Read-Only Memory — Nonvolatile memory that retains stored instructions without power.

HDD

Hard Disk Drive — Stores data magnetically on spinning disks.

SSD

Solid-State Drive — Stores data in flash memory with no moving mechanical parts.

NVMe

Non-Volatile Memory Express — A protocol designed for fast access to nonvolatile storage, commonly SSDs over PCIe.

SATA

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment — An interface used to connect storage devices such as HDDs and SSDs.

USB

Universal Serial Bus — A standard connection for peripherals, data transfer, and power.

PCIe

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express — A high-speed connection for internal components such as graphics cards and NVMe SSDs.

PSU

Power Supply Unit — Converts incoming electrical power into the power needed by computer components.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System — Traditional firmware that initializes hardware and starts the boot process.

UEFI

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface — Modern firmware interface that initializes hardware and starts the OS boot process.

POST

Power-On Self-Test — Startup checks that test essential hardware before booting.

OS

Operating System — Manages hardware and provides services for applications and users.

GUI

Graphical User Interface — An interface using windows, icons, menus, and graphical controls.

CLI

Command-Line Interface — An interface where users type commands.

I/O

Input/Output — Data entering or leaving a computer or component.

VM

Virtual Machine — A software-based computer that can run its own operating system.

VMM

Virtual Machine Monitor — A hypervisor; software that creates and manages virtual machines and their hardware access.

RAID

Redundant Array of Independent Disks — Combines disks for performance, redundancy, or both, depending on the level. Not every level provides redundancy, and RAID is not a backup.

NAS

Network Attached Storage — A device or system that provides shared file storage over a network.

SAN

Storage Area Network — A specialized network providing block-level storage to servers.

NTFS

New Technology File System — A filesystem commonly used by Windows, supporting features such as permissions and journaling.

FAT

File Allocation Table — A family of filesystems that tracks file storage using an allocation table.

GPT

GUID Partition Table — A modern partition layout describing how a disk is divided into partitions.

MBR

Master Boot Record — A traditional disk layout whose first sector contains boot code and a partition table.

ISO

International Organization for Standardization; in the course's storage context, an ISO file is an optical-disc image used for installation or distribution.

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange — A character-encoding standard representing basic text characters as numbers.

UTF

Unicode Transformation Format — Encodings such as UTF-8 that represent Unicode characters as stored or transmitted data.

LAN

Local Area Network — Connects devices in a limited area such as a home, office, or campus.

WAN

Wide Area Network — Connects networks across large geographic areas.

WLAN

Wireless Local Area Network — A local network using wireless connections, commonly Wi-Fi.

NIC

Network Interface Card — Hardware that connects a device to a network.

MAC

Media Access Control — The data-link function associated with local network access; a MAC address identifies a network interface on the local network.

IP

Internet Protocol — Addresses and routes packets between networks.

IPv4

Internet Protocol Version 4 — IP version using 32-bit addresses.

IPv6

Internet Protocol Version 6 — IP version using 128-bit addresses.

TCP

Transmission Control Protocol — Provides reliable, ordered delivery of a byte stream with error recovery.

UDP

User Datagram Protocol — Sends datagrams with low overhead without guaranteeing delivery or order.

DNS

Domain Name System — Resolves domain names to records such as IP addresses.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol — Automatically provides IP configuration, such as an address, gateway, and DNS servers.

NAT

Network Address Translation — Translates IP addresses between networks, commonly allowing private devices to share a public address.

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol — Finds the MAC address associated with an IPv4 address on a local network.

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol — Carries network error and diagnostic messages; used by ping.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol — Transfers web resources between clients and servers.

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure — HTTP protected by TLS encryption and authentication.

SSH

Secure Shell — Provides encrypted remote login and command execution.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol — Transfers files; traditional FTP does not encrypt credentials or data.

SFTP

SSH File Transfer Protocol — Transfers files securely over SSH.

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol — Sends and relays email.

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol — Accesses and synchronizes email stored on a mail server.

VPN

Virtual Private Network — Creates a logical private connection over another network, commonly using an encrypted tunnel.

VLAN

Virtual Local Area Network — Logically separates a switched network into distinct broadcast domains.

AP

Access Point — Connects wireless devices to a network.

CIA

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability — Three core security goals: keep information accessible only to authorized parties, protect it from improper alteration, and ensure authorized users can access it when needed.

AAA

Authentication, Authorization, Accounting — Verifies identity, determines allowed actions, and records activity or resource use.

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication — Requires two or more different types of authentication factors, such as a password plus a security key.

SSO

Single Sign-On — Lets a user sign in once and access multiple connected applications without separately signing in to each one.

IAM

Identity and Access Management — Policies and tools for managing digital identities and controlling access to resources.

ACL

Access Control List — A list of rules specifying which users or systems may access a resource or which network traffic is allowed or denied.

RBAC

Role-Based Access Control — Assigns permissions to roles and gives users access through their assigned roles.

PKI

Public Key Infrastructure — Systems, policies, and certificates used to manage public keys and establish trust in digital identities.

CA

Certificate Authority — A trusted entity that issues and digitally signs certificates linking identities to public keys.

AES

Advanced Encryption Standard — A symmetric encryption algorithm that uses the same secret key for encryption and decryption.

RSA

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman — A public-key cryptographic algorithm using a public/private key pair for operations such as encryption and digital signatures.

SHA

Secure Hash Algorithm — A family of algorithms that produces fixed-length hash values used to help check data integrity; hashing is not reversible encryption.

TLS

Transport Layer Security — A protocol that protects network communications through encryption, integrity checks, and authentication; used by HTTPS.

CVE

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures — A system of identifiers and records for publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

CVSS

Common Vulnerability Scoring System — A framework for rating the severity of vulnerabilities; a severity score is not a complete measure of an organization's risk.

EDR

Endpoint Detection and Response — Tools that monitor endpoint activity to detect, investigate, and respond to threats on devices.

XDR

Extended Detection and Response — Integrates detection and response across multiple security data sources, such as endpoints, networks, email, and cloud systems.

IDS

Intrusion Detection System — Monitors activity for signs of attacks and generates alerts.

IPS

Intrusion Prevention System — Detects suspicious activity and can automatically block or prevent malicious traffic.

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management — Collects and correlates security logs and events to support monitoring, alerts, and investigation.

SOC

Security Operations Center — A team or facility that monitors, investigates, and responds to cybersecurity threats.

DLP

Data Loss Prevention — Tools and policies that help detect and prevent unauthorized exposure of sensitive data.

AV

Antivirus — Software that detects, blocks, and removes malware.

IOC

Indicator of Compromise — Evidence suggesting a system may have been compromised, such as a known malicious file hash.

TTP

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures — Attackers' goals, methods, and detailed actions used to conduct attacks.

SaaS

Software as a Service — Ready-to-use software delivered over a network with the provider managing the application and infrastructure.

PaaS

Platform as a Service — A managed platform for building and running applications without managing underlying servers and operating systems.

IaaS

Infrastructure as a Service — Rented computing, storage, and networking resources; customers manage their OS and applications.

CSP

Cloud Service Provider — A company that supplies cloud computing services.

API

Application Programming Interface — Defined rules through which software requests functions or exchanges data with other software.

SDK

Software Development Kit — Tools, libraries, and documentation for building software for a platform or service.

SLA

Service Level Agreement — An agreement defining service commitments such as availability and support response times.

UPS

Uninterruptible Power Supply — Provides temporary battery power when normal power fails.

BYOD

Bring Your Own Device — A policy allowing personal devices to access organizational resources.

MDM

Mobile Device Management — Tools for centrally configuring, securing, and managing mobile devices.

BCP

Business Continuity Plan — A plan for keeping essential business operations running during a disruption.

DRP

Disaster Recovery Plan — A plan for restoring IT systems and data after a major disruption.

RTO

Recovery Time Objective — The target maximum time to restore a service: how long it can be down.

RPO

Recovery Point Objective — The target acceptable data loss measured in time: how much recent data can be lost.

MTBF

Mean Time Between Failures — Average operating time between failures of a repairable system; higher generally means more reliable.

MTTR

Mean Time to Repair — Average time required to repair a failed system; lower generally means faster repair.

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure — Written steps for performing a routine task consistently.

KPI

Key Performance Indicator — A measurement used to evaluate progress toward a goal.

EOL

End of Life — The end of a product's planned lifecycle; specific retirement milestones vary by vendor.

EOS

End of Support — When a vendor stops providing support for a product, typically including standard fixes and security updates.