Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary or type the term on which you want to search.

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SMTP

(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) a method of transferring electronic mail between computers over the Internet.

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snail mail

a slang term used to describe tangible physical letters or packages delivered by the postal service. The term came into being when email became popular. Snail mail is so named because of its slow delivery time as opposed to email. A snail address is the place where snail mail is received.

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sniff

to monitor information packets en route over a network using hardware and/ or software. A device or system designed for this purpose (called a sniffer) may be used both by unscrupulous people trying to gather data for the purpose of theft or unauthorized entry to a system, or by a network system manager for legitimate monitoring purposes.

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SNMP

(Simple Network Management Protocol) a set of protocols used for communications software and devices such as switches and routers connected to a TCP/IP.

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socket

a receptacle for a wide variety of electrical connectors. see slot.

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software

information used by a computer and stored in one of several storage media. Software is the data that enables a user to produce meaningful work. Although the disk containing such data is considered hardware, the actual data, being intangible, is termed software. Software is synonymous with the term application, which refers to a program that actually produces results for a user such as a spreadsheet or word processing program. System software refers to an operating system such as Windows or Linux. The terms application, utility, and program are often used to describe software.

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software engineer

a software developer or programmer who is focused primarily on design rather than the actual writing of code.

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software license

permission from the manufacturer, developer, distributor, or copyright holder of a software program for an individual to use the program. When a person purchases a program, the copyright holder usually grants the user a limited-use license in exchange for the price of the program. Such a license allows for the personal use of the product but not the right to reproduce or sell it. see license.

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software piracy

the unauthorized reproduction and/or selling of software. see piracy.

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SOHO

(Small Office Home Office) often refers to individuals working from home (and the many resources available to them), one of the largest markets for computers, supporting devices, and software.