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We get it! Keeping up with technological jargon can be tricky and confusing! It can be extremely frustrating to understand what someone is trying to tell you when they begin using these foreign sounding words. To help you become familiar with the terminology of our technological devices, we’ve curated the following cheat sheet!

Desktop

Used to describe two different things. The first is a desktop computer, which we know this as being made up of the following separate components: a monitor (screen), a mouse, keyboard, and the computer hard drive tower. The second is what is commonly known as the screen of your monitor or laptop where you see your screen background photo and all your pinned apps and programs. It acts as your home page where you should be able to easily locate whatever you may be looking for (i.e. files, browser, email, etc.).

Browser

Your browser is what connects to the internet and opens webpages. It often has its own icon on the desktop of your computer and is commonly used to refer to applications like GoogleChrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, etc. Opening your browser gives you access to a Search Engine.

Search Engine

This term is an umbrella term used to make reference to an application on your device that allows you to access the internet. It can be any form of application, including but not limited to Google, Bing, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Ask.com, Yahoo, MSN, etc. It is here in the search engine that you can type an inquiry and search the web for your answer.

Software

A program or set of instructions that tell your device what to do. These can be any type of web browser, operating system (Microsoft Windows), drivers (allow your operating system to communicate with hardware like printers), and utilities (like anti-virus software). You often have to download these from external websites if they were not already included on your device. Be careful where you download software from and make sure you are downloading from reputable sources, preferably at the source of said software (i.e. if downloading Microsoft Office, make sure you are downloading it from the Microsoft Website, not a third-party website).

Hardware

Any physical component of your device that you require for it to function properly. It can be already be built into your computer like a hard drive for storing files and memory or the CPU – central processing unit, which acts like the brain of your computer. Or it can be an external feature, like keyboards, a mouse, printer, scanner, speakers, or USB thumb drive (memory stick).

Toolbar

Often located at the bottom of your screen, the toolbar is the bar/section on the desktop where you have your pinned icons and applications. For example, this is where you click the icon to access the internet, your email, connect to Wi-Fi, adjust the volume, or access a Microsoft Office application like Excel or Word. An example of one is seen below.

File Explore/Folders

This is an icon often found on your desktop or can be searched for in the search bar feature of your device. This icon allows you to access all documents, images, videos, or files that you have saved or downloaded on your device. You must open this icon to view any downloaded files from the internet as they will appear in the downloads folder for you to access, save, or discard. It is also here that you may view any saved files, like pictures, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, or Word documents. This icon looks like a yellow file folder and is often located on the toolbar of your desktop or as an icon directly on your desktop screen.

Malware

Short form of saying “malicious software”. This term is used to refer to any software that can cause damage to your device. This may affect your device through the clicking of suspicious links in emails or on the internet. Therefore, it is important to be sure that the link you are clicking is safe or has come from a reliable and real source.

Phishing

Occurring through emails and is a form of email fraud. This is when you receive an email from a source that appears to be trustworthy coming from an individual asking for help or offering you a great deal or new program for your device. Often a link to a website is involved or an attached file for you to save. However, these are not safe emails as their purpose is to gather personal and financial information from you that may be used in identity theft or in an attempt to steal your money.

Uploading

When you move or copy a file from your device onto another platform like social media, a website, or shared drop-box. For example, adding a photo to your Facebook page to share with your friends.

Downloading

When you copy data or a file from another source other than your own device, typically performed over the internet. For example, if you download an instruction manual from an appliance website for you to read, or you download pictures a relative sent you over email or Facebook.

Virus

A type of software capable of causing harm to files and programs on your device either by deleting them completely, stealing your information, or damaging the computer’s hard drive resulting in it no longer working appropriately. A virus can be acquired through clicking suspicious email links from senders, clicking ads on a website, or accessing an unsafe website.

Cookies

Cookies are files that contain small amounts of data, for example, a password to access a website, and they help improve your browsing experience. These are often saved on your computer’s web-browser to ease your access of these same sites in the future. It is important to clear these occasionally to improve the operation of your device as overtime, when cookies accumulate, they can slow down your device. They also open the door for these hackers to steal information about you. Although generally safe to use on notable websites, cookies are a way for these websites to tailor their website to you as they collect information about what else you have viewed so that they may easily show you similar things.

Cache

Is a feature on your device that stores data (i.e. passwords, usernames, frequently access websites) so that in the future you have faster and easier access to them. The purpose of your device’s cache is to make the browsing experience easier for you. It is a handy way to enable your computer to save frequently used passwords so you don’t have to constantly keep entering them when you access a website. However, if your device is running slower than normal, it may be a good idea to check your cached data and delete some of it as this may help speed up your computer. When too much data is accumulated, it runs the risk of slowing down the computer system.

Occasionally clearing your cache and cookies are an important part of practicing proper browser hygiene and ensuring your device and access to the internet runs smoothly.

We compiled some need to know tips for when you are using your internet browser. Hope this helps while you are navigating this vast space!

1. Be wary of suspicious links or websites!

Try to avoid suspicious websites! When accessing a website, look out for a padlock symbol in the address bar or it may say “SECURE” in the address bar itself. These mean that the website has been validated as safe. If you click this word or symbol the website will provide you with a description of its settings as depicted in the image. In addition, when browsing on the internet, ads or popup windows may appear. Avoid clicking on these as they may contain malware that can damage your device and risk exposing any personal information on your device.

2. Is your computer running slow? Try deleting your cookies, cache, and browsing history

If your internet browser is running a little slower than normal this tip may help! Just like the cookies we eat, our online cookies (and cache and browsing history) make us and our browsers a little sluggish! When using Google Chrome as your web browser, click on the upright ellipses, which often lie to the right of the address bar, hover your mouse over “More tools”, and then click “Clear browsing data”. This will open a new tab in your browser that brings you to the browser’s “Settings” page and the second image will appear asking you to select what you would like to clear. You can select to clear all data, or specific items like just your computer’s cookies and/or cache. You can also adjust the time range that you are deleting to ensure you remove all stored, unnecessary data from your browser.

3. Access your most frequented websites faster

If you find yourself always looking at the same websites or want easier and faster access to specific websites like Facebook, your email, a clothing or grocery store, or your online banking you should bookmark it. There are 2 ways to do this. The first, and easiest way, is by clicking the star symbol that is on the right-hand side of the address bar. A pop-up will appear asking what you would like this bookmark to be titled and where you would like it to be located (the folder). Give it an easy to identify title and save it to your “Bookmarks Bar” this will appear underneath your address bar every time you open your internet browser.

Another way to do this is by clicking on the upright ellipses, then hovering your mouse clicker over “Bookmarks”. The pop-up that appears will give you the option to “Bookmark this tab…”, click this and give the bookmark a name and location for you to find it like in the first image.

Also make sure the “Show bookmarks bar” is check marked to ensure you see your bookmarks under the address bar. You can only add a select number of bookmarks to the bookmark bar, however, the remaining bookmarks can be found by clicking on the upright ellipses, hover over “Bookmarks” and then select the bookmark you wish to access, illustrated under the vertical arrow in the photo.

4. Changing your home screen search engine

When you want to browse the internet, it first opens to a home screen with a specific search engine (i.e. Google Chrome, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, etc.). This opening screen can be changed to one of your choosing by clicking on the upright ellipses, then selecting “Settings”. A new tab will open in your browser. Select “Search engine” on the left-hand-side menu, then change the search engine to one of your choosing in the drop down-list titled “Search engine used in the address bar”. This search engine can be Google, Bing, Facebook, The Weather Network, or any website of your choosing. You can add a website by selecting “Manage search engine”, then select “Add” and add the address of your preferred website.

5. Have you mistakenly closed a window you didn’t mean to close?

Don’t worry! Closing the wrong tab or window when browsing the internet happens to all of us! There is an easy way to get back your website (or multiple websites) by clicking on the vertical ellipses which are found to the right of the address bar. Hover your mouse over “History” and then you can select what recently closed page, or pages you would like to reopen. If you had multiple tabs open on the internet window that you closed, you can open all of them at once by selecting the option that shows multiple tabs. For example, in the image shown, you would select “3 tabs” to reopen all of the closed tabs at once.

6. Be careful about what you download!

Never download software or file from any website that you are not familiar with or haven’t researched. Sometimes these third-party websites can install malware onto your device and hack into your information. Instead, ensure that you are downloading an app, software or file directly from the source it claims to originate from. For example, if you are downloading a software for your Apple laptop, make sure you are downloading it from the Apple website. If you are downloading an app like Zoom, make sure it is directly from the Zoom website, not another link and website you find while browsing the internet.

7. Adjust the privacy and security settings on your device

To help limit the amount of information websites can collect about you while you are browsing the internet, you can modify your privacy and security settings. Click on the upright ellipses and click “Settings”. Then select “Privacy and Security” from the left menu bar and then “Site Settings”. In this new window that opens you can make adjustments to what permissions you give websites access to. You can change the settings of your location, camera, and microphone so that websites must ask permission before using these device features. This helps limit risk and prevent the possibility of these websites accessing these features without your knowledge.

8. Be careful with email links!

Always be suspicious if you ever receive an email containing a link in it. If possible, ask the sender to verify that they actually sent the email and if it is a legitimate and safe link. If you are unable to ask the sender and you were not expecting to receive the link for a specific purpose, do not click and open the link! These types of emails are referred to as “phishing emails”. They are meant to trick people into clicking a supposed “deal” or “winning” that the link claims you have received, and instead they install a virus or type of malware onto your device. It is better to be safe than sorry and avoid clicking links in emails or while browsing the internet that are unfamiliar to you and seem too good to be true.

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