O
Oakley Protocol
Cites a sequence of key exchanges and describes their services, particularly authentication and identity protection.

OASIS
(Organization for the Advancement of Structures Information Standards) An organization working on the development of e-business standards in areas such as web services.

Ob-
"Obligatory."

obelisk
A symbol, shaped like a dagger, used to mark footnotes.

object
A data item that has procedures associated with it.

object code
The output of a compiler. A program written in machine instructions recognizable to the CPU, rather than a programming language used by humans.

object linking and embedding (OLE)
A method of combining information that is processed by different application programs, such as inserting a drawing or a portion of a spreadsheet into a word processing document.

object-oriented graphics
Graphical images that are represented as instructions to draw particular objects, rather than as light or dark spots on a grid.

object-oriented programming
A programming methodology in which the programmer can define not only data types , but also methods that are automatically associated with them.

object program
A program that has been translated into machine language, and is read to run.

OBO
Abbreviation for "or best offer," often usen when advertising things for sale on the Internet.

obscenity
Sexually explicit material that can be prohibited by law.

octal
A way of writing numbers in base-8 notation.

octet
A group of exactly eight bits, regardless of whether eight bits represent a character on any particular computer.

octothorpe
The character #, the pound sign. Originally, it was a map makers's representation of a village with eight fields (thorpes) around a central square.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
A company that assembles complete pieces of equipment from parts.

OEM character set
The native character set of the IBM PC.

off-by-one error
A programming error caused by doing something the wrong number of times.

offset
The distance, in computer memory, between one location and another.

offset printing
A way of printing on paper by means of ink transferred by a rubber roller from another surface.

Ogg Vorbis
A format for encoding compressed digital audio that is non-proprietary, with better sounding quality than MP# format.

ohm
The unit of measure of electrical resistance.

Ohm's law
A basic law describing the behavior of electricity.

OLAP (Online Analytic Processing)
Performing analysis of multidimensional hiearchial data.

OMG (Object Management Group)
A consortium of hundreds of computer companies that develop standards for software components to interact with each other. Click here for more information.

On-Access Scanner
Relates to the constant monitoring of the file system on workstations and servers.

on-board
Included within a piece of equipment.

On-Demand Scanner
Tool used for the manual scanning of selected areas on a computer, including entire drives or certain folders.

One-time Password
Passwords used for one authentication process. They are uses primarily in security critical environments.

one-way hash function
A function whose inverse is very hard to calculate.

onionskin
A translucent drawing layer placed on top of a reference image for purposes of tracing.

online
Connected through a computer or available through a computer.

Online File Swaping
Users swap or share files online with others, usually without paying royalties.

online trading
The buying and selling of stocks or other securities through the Internet.

OOC
Abbreviation for "out of character," used in role playing games and the like to indicate that a person's comment is not part of the imaginery situation.

opacity
Inability to be seen through.

opcode
Short for Operations Code, which is the part of an instruction in machine language to specify the operation to be performed.

open
To call a document or file up fom disk in order to work with it.

open architecture
A computer architecture whose details are fully made public so that other manufacturers can make clones and compatbible. Open Relay
An SMTP email server permitting outsiders to relay email not for or from local users.

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
A gateway-routing protocol created for IP networks thta implements the "shortest path first" (or link-state) algorithim. Routers use the algorithms to forward routing information to all other OSPF routers on the Internet by calulating the shortest path to each router, based on a connection graph of the network as it is "seen" by each router.

Open Software Foundation (OSF)
Founded in 1988 to develop an open, interoperable standard for UNIX operating systems.

open source
Software users should be able to view the source code and make changes to it to correct glitches or produce value-added features.

open source software
Software whose source code is published so that a variety of people can add contributions.

Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Model
Defines Internet function through a vertical stack of seven layers.

Open Type
A format for type fonts on personal computers developed by Microsoft in the late 1990s as a combination of TrueType and Adobe Type 1.

Opera
A popular independent web browser created by Opera software.

operands
The items on which a mathematical operation is performed.

operating system
A program that runs a computer and makes it possible for users to enter and run their own programs.

operating system software
Software managing the computer hardware.

operations research
The mathematical modeling of repetitive human activities, such as those involved in traffic flow, assembly lines, and military campaigns.

Operation Sun Devil of 1990
A nation-wide raid carried out by the U.S. Secret Service as part of an online investigation into the cyberwar between the Legion of Doom (LoD) and the Masters of Deception (MoD).

optical character recognition (OCR)
The recognition of printed or handwritten characters in an image of a piece of paper.

optical disk
A high density storage device that stores information by etching tiny groves in platic with a laser.

optical zoom
A change in the field view of a digitl camera achieved by changing the focal length of the lens.

option buttons
Small circles in a dialog box, only one of which can be chaosen at a time.

Option key
A key on the Macintosh keyboard labeled "Opt" that acts as another kind of shift key, allowing special characters to be typed quickly.

opt out
To choose not to receive mass e-mailings.

Oracle
A leading producer of database software.

Orange Book
1.The official standard for compact disks that can be recorded by the user.
2. A standard from the U.S. Computer Security Council (an arm of the National Security Agency). It defines criteria for trusted computer products and describes four trust levels, designated as A, B, C, and D.
D is a nonsecure system.
C1 requires a user to logon but does not prohibit group ID.
C2 requires individual logons with a password and an audit mechanism.
B1 requires Department of Defense security clearance.
B2 requires secure communication links between the system and users and gives assurance that system testing is performed regularly and clearances are maintained.
B3 requires that the system be characterized by a viable mathematical model.
A1 requires a system characterized by a proven mathematical model.

ORB (Object Request Broker)
A system that allows object to connect to other objects over a network. See CORBA.

order of magnitude
A factor of 10 difference in size.

.org
A suffix intended to indicate that a web or email address belongs to a non-profit organization.

OR gate
A logic gate whose output is 1 when either or both of the inputs is 1, as shown in the table: Inputs Output
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

orphan
1. The last line of a paragraph if it appears by itself as the first line of a page.
2. A computer product that is no longer supported by its manufacturer.

orthogonal
Meeting at right angles.

OS/2
A multitasking, virtual memory operating system for 386 and higher PC-compatible computers.

OS/360
The operating system released with the IBM 360 in the 1960s.

oscilloscpe
An instrument for viewing sound waves or electical wave forms.

outdent
To mark the first line of a paragraph by letting it extend into the left margin.

outline
A graphical image showing only the edges of an object.

Outlook
Popular email and calendar software provided as part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Outlook Express
The email software provided with Microsoft Windows and also made available by Microsoft for other operating systems.

Out-of-Band Management
Refers to a method of accessing network firewalls, routers, switches, or servers allowing security technicians to configure and manage these devices through dial-up lines instead of using the devices' regular network connection.

output
The information that a computer generates as a result of its calculations.

output device
A device that shows, prints, or the results of a computer's work.

overflow
The error condition that arises when the result of a calculation is a number too big to be represented in the available space.

overlaid windows
Windows that can overlap.

overwrite
To write over information that is already on a disk.

own
To break into a computer and control it.