Glossary

2.5G

Second and a half generation cellular network, using the GPRS standard for data communication

2.75G

Second and 75% generation cellular network, using the EDGE standard for data communication

2G

Second generation cellular network, using the GSM standard

3.5G

Third and a half generation cellular network, using the HSPA standard

3G

Third generation cellular network, using the UMTS standard

4G

Fourth generation cellular network, based on the LTE standard

5G

Fifth generation cellular network, based on the 5G NR standard

5G NR

5G New Radio, a fifth generation mobile network standard, designed for 5G networks.

Alpha-numeric

A combination of alphabetical and numerical characters.

AP

Access point, a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network. Also called WAP.

APN

Access Point Name. The name of a gateway between a mobile network (GSM, GPRS, 3G, 4G and 5G) and another computer network, usually for connecting to the internet.

Asymmetric cryptography

Also called Public-key cryptography, type of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a Public key and a corresponding Private key.

Call diversion

Another name for Call forwarding.

Call forwarding

Also called Call diversion, is a telephony feature which redirects a telephone call to another destination (e.g. another phone number).

Call waiting

A telephone service which enables accepting a second incoming telephone call by placing an in-progress call on hold, and also permits switching between calls. This way, the incoming calls will not be rejected if already in a call, but instead will keep ringing, so that you have a choice whether you continue with the current one, or end the current one and pick the new one.

Caller ID

Caller identification, a telephone service, available in analog and digital telephone systems, including voice over IP (VoIP), that transmits a caller’s telephone number to the called party’s telephone equipment when calling.

Contextual menu

Also called context menu, shortcut, and pop up or pop-up menu, is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right-click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choices that are available in the current state, or context, of the operating system or application to which the menu belongs.

CRAM

In computer security, challenge-response authentication is a family of protocols in which one party presents a question (“challenge”) and another party must provide a valid answer (“response”) to be authenticated.

CRAM-MD5

A challenge–response authentication mechanism (CRAM) based on the HMAC-MD5 algorithm. It is often used in email software as part of SMTP Authentication and for the authentication of POP and IMAP users.

Determinate progress bar

The usual Progress bar, where the progress is represented in a percent format, with or without the textual representation of the percentage.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network.

Digital certificate

Also known as a Public key certificate or Identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the validity of a Public key.

DNS

Domain Name System, a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It translates domain names to the numerical IP addresses.

E-mail

Electronic mail, a method of transmitting and receiving messages using electronic devices.

EAP

Enterprise access point, an access point (AP) with features for enterprises and large networks.

EDGE

Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, standard used by 2G and 3G networks, to provide data communication, also known as Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS)

Email

A message sent through the E-mail communication system.

Filesystem

A method and data structure used to control how data is stored and retrieved. Technical name and method for the storage of files, usualy in a directory structure.

Gateway

A device which provides a connection between networks.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service, standard used by 2G and 3G networks, to provide data communication

GPS

Global Positioning System (GPS), One of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications, the standard for the second generation (2G) digital cellular (mobile) networks

Handset symbol

A handset is a component of a telephone that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party using the built-in transmitter. In the mobile phone technology, it is not present as a separate piece of equipment, being part of the phone itself, but it’s still used as a graphic symbol, to indicate placing or ending a telephone call.

HMAC

Keyed-hash message authentication code or hash-based message authentication code, a specific type of message authentication code (MAC) involving a cryptographic hash function and a secret cryptographic key.

HMAC-MD5

A type of HMAC, which is calculated udsing the MD5 cryptographic hash function.

HSPA

High Speed Packet Access, mobile data protocol family, for 3.5G networks

Identity certificate

Also known as a Public key certificate or Digital certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the validity of a Public key.

IM

Instant messaging, a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network.

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol, a protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. Together with POP3, it is one of the most common protocols for email retrieval. For sending messages, a different protocol, SMTP, is used.

Inbox

In the electronic mail (E-mail) communication system, the folder containing the received emails.

Indeterminate progress bar

A more recent type of Progress bar, used in situations where the extent of the task is unknown or the progress of the task cannot be determined in a way that could be expressed as a percentage. This type of bar uses motion or some other indicator to show that progress is taking place, rather than using the size of the filled portion to show the total amount of progress.

Internet

The global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks.

IP

Internet Protocol, the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite. Its routing function enables comunication in between networks, and essentially establishes the Internet. IP has the task of transmit data from the source host to the destination host, based on the IP addresses (IP address).

IP address

Internet Protocol address, a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1 that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol (IP) for communication.

IP telephony

Another name for VoIP, voice and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP).

IRC

Internet Relay Chat, a text-based chat system for instant messaging, designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but which also allows one-on-one communication via private messages, as well as chat and data transfer, including file sharing.

Jabber

The original name of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), the open technology for instant messaging and presence.

JID

Jabber ID, The original name of XMPP address. It’s in the form of user@example.com, similar to an e-mail address.

LTE

Long-term evolution, a fourth generation (4G) mobile cellular system, based on the GSM and UMTS standards

NAT

Network address translation, a method of mapping an IP address space into another. Its most popular use is to map local IP addresses to a public IP address, in order to receive back answers to requests towards servers in the Internet, sent by computers in a local network, behind a router.

Outbox

In the electronic mail (E-mail) communication system, the folder containing emails s to be sent.

PIN

Personal identification number, sometimes called redundantly a PIN number or PIN code, a numeric (sometimes Alpha-numeric) passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system.

PIN code

Another name for PIN.

PIN number

Another name for PIN.

POP

Post Office Protocol, a protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. Today, POP version 3 (POP3) is the most commonly used version. Together with IMAP, it is one of the most common protocols for email retrieval. For sending messages, a different protocol, SMTP, is used.

POP3

POP version 3, a protocol for retrieving emails.

Pre-shared key

A shared secret (password) which was previously shared between the two parties using some secure channel before it needs to be used.

Private key

One of the two keys which is part of the Public-key cryptography, one of which is public (the Public key), and one which is private (this one).

Progress bar

A graphical control element used to visualize the progression of an extended computer operation, such as a download, file transfer, or installation.

Public key

One of the two keys which is part of the Public-key cryptography, one of which is public (this one), and one which is private (the Private key).

Public key certificate

Also known as a Digital certificate or Identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the validity of a Public key.

Public-key cryptography

Also called Asymmetric cryptography, type of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a Public key and a corresponding Private key.

Roaming

When a mobile phone is being used outside the range of its native network and connecting to another available cell network, usually refering to using it in another country than the one the provider is from.

Router

A networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks, performing the traffic directing functions between networks and on the global Internet. A router is connected to two or more data lines from different IP networks. When a data packet comes in on one of the lines, the router reads the network address information in the packet header to determine the ultimate destination.

SIM

Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module, an integrated circuit (IC) used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices.

SIMPLE

Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions, is an instant messaging (IM) and presence protocol suite based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol, a signaling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating communication sessions that include voice, video and messaging applications. It’s one of the protocols used in VoIP.

SIP address

Your user ID for communicating using the SIP protocol. It’s in the form of user@example.com, similar to an e-mail address.

SMS

Short Message/Messaging Service, a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text messages.

SMTP

(The) Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. For retrieving messages, IMAP or the older POP3 are used instead.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer, a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network, now deprecated, in favour of TLS.

STUN

Session Traversal Utilities for NAT, a standardized set of methods, which represent a tool for communications protocols to detect and traverse network address translators (NAT) that are located in the path between two endpoints of communication.

TCP/IP

The Internet protocol suite, a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks.

TLS

Transport Layer Security, a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network, built on the now-deprecated SSL.

UMTS

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, a third generation (3G) mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard.

VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol, also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.

WAP

Wireless access point, another name for AP.

WEP

Wired Equivalent Privacy. Security algorithm for Wi-Fi networks, intended to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network. It’s considered to be weak from a security point of view, and it was superseded by WPA.

Wi-Fi

A family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves.

WPA

Wi-Fi Protected Access, security standard for Wi-Fi networks, more secure than the previous standard, WEP.

WPA2

Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2, security standard for Wi-Fi networks, more secure than the previous standard, WPA.

XMPP

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (originally named Jabber), an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. It has a decentralized structure, similar to e-mail.

XMPP address

Your user ID for communicating using the XMPP (originally named Jabber) protocol. It’s in the form of user@example.com, similar to an e-mail address. Also called JID (Jabber ID).