P

P
(On a digital camera) programmed autoexposure, a mode in which the camera chooses both the lens aperture and the shutter speed.

P2P
Abbreviation for PEER-to-PEER.

package
An object containing files and instruction for distributing software.

packet
A group of consecutive characters sent from one computer to another over a network.

packet filters
In firewalls, the technology used most often to control traffic.

packet radio
The transmission of data (in packets) by radio.

Packet Storm
A nonprofit group of security professionals who provide information necessary for securing networks by posting new security information on a global network of Websites.

packet-switched network
Computers connected to the Internet use a packet-switching network to transmit data packets from one attached device to another.

PAD
An encryption algorithm used to encrypt or "padlock" a message.

page
A section of memory that is accessible at one time.

page fault
The situation that arises when the computer needs to access an area of memory that has been swapped out to disk.

page frame
An indication of the edges of the paper displayed by your computer's software.

page layout software
Software specially designed for camera ready copy.

page printer
A printer that forms, in its digital memory, a graphical image of the whole page, or requires the computer to do so, before printing it out.

pagination
To divide a document into pages for printing.

paint program
One type of program for drawing pictures on a personal computer.

PAL (Phase-Alternate-Line)
The type of analog color TV signal used in Great Britain and other countries.

palette
A floating window containing specialized tools or setting controls.

Palm
A line of handheld computers and organizers, beginning with the pioneer Palm Pilot in 1996.

Palm Pilot
A popular hand held computer made by Palm Computing, Inc., of Santa Clara, CA.

palmtop
A computer that you can hold in one hand while using it.

pan
Move the viewing area left or right to see additional sections of the scene.

Pantone Matching System (PMS)
A color matching and calibration system developed by the Pantone company.

paper jam
A situation in which paper cannot feed through a printer because ot has gotten stuck.

paper sizes
A set of standard sizes of paper used everywhere excepet in the United States.

parallel
1. Conducting electricity along more than one path at the same time. 2. Transmitting different parts of the same data along more than one wire at the same time. 3. Using one than one CPU at the same time.

parallel columns
Adjacent columns of printed text in which the second column is not a continuation of the first.

parallel port
An output device that lets a computer transmit data to another device using parallel transmission--that is, several bits sent at the same time over separate wires.

parallel printer
A printer that connects to a computer's parallel port.

parallel processing
Computation carried out at the same time on different CPUs, or on a CPU that can execute more than one instruction at the exact same time.

parameter
A symbol that will be replaced in a procedure, function, or method by supplied values when the procedure is called.

parens
Parentheses.

parent
An object that gives its properties to a newly created object.

parental controls
Software options enabling parents to control what websites their children access.

parentheses
The characters (), also called round brackets.

parity
The property of whether a number is odd or even.

parsing
The analysis, by computer, of the structure of statements in a human or artificial language.

Jeffrey Lee Case Parson
Created the B variant of the Blaster worm. Click here for more info.

Part 15 device
A radio transmitter that is allowed to operate without a license under the terms of part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission regulations (known to lawyers as 47 CFR 15). Examples include wireless communications devices, cordless telephones, and wireless intercoms.

partition
A part of a hard disk that is treated by the computer as if it were a separate disk drive.

Pascal
Programming language developed by Niklaus Wirth in the early 1970s.

Pascal, Blaise
A French mathematician, who in 1642, built a mechanical adding machine, that was one of the early forerunners of calculators and computers.

Pascal notation
A way of running words together, with capitalized first letters.

passive attack
On a cryptographic system, a method that starts with some information about plaintexts and their corresponding ciphertexts, and then determines more information about the plaintexts.

passive countermeasures
Procedures used to prevent network resources from being taken over by crackers as clients for a DoS attack.
Examples:
1. Configure the router to do egress filtering.
2. Using a firewall that exclusively.
3. Disallowing unnecessary ICMP, TCP, and UDP traffic.

passive FTP
A variation on FTP in which all connections are initiated by the client, not the server.

passive matrix
An older type of liquid crystal display that produces lower contrast than newer Active Matrix displays.

passive wiretapping
A type of wiretapping that is not active but rather attempts merely to observe the traffic flow to gain desired knowledge, whether it be snooping for a password or just logging traffic.

passphrase
Text string consisting of several words and numbers that a user enters to access a computer, network, or an application.

password
A secret sequence of typed characters that is required to use a computer system, thus preventing unauthorized persons from gaining access to the computer.

Password authentication Protocol (PAP)
One of the earlier forms of authentication for gaining access to a network.

Password Cache
A temporary copy of a password.

paste
To transfer material from a holding area into the document you are editing.

patch
Verb: To correct a defective piece of software by modifying one or more of the files on which it resides, rather by installing a complete corrected copy.
Noun: Updated system software created to close security gaps discovered after the software has been released to the public.

patent
Legal protection for the design of a machine or mechanical process, preventing others from using the same idea without the inventor's permission.

path
A designation that specifies how to find a file on a disk that has more than one directory.

PATRIOT Act of 2001
Act whose original intent was to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and elesewhere and to enhance law enforcement investigation tools.

payload
Associated with a computer virus, it is the malicious software content that the virus executes.

PBX (Private Branch Exchange)
A type of internal telephone switchboard, typically circuit-switched networks, found in corporations.

PC 97
A standard promoted by Microsoft in 1997 for personal computers to run Windows 95 or 98.

PC 98
A standard promoted by Micorsoft in 1998 for personal computers to run Windows 98.

PC 99
A standard promoted by Microsoft and Intel in 1999 for personal computers to run Windows 98 and 2000.

PC 100, PC 133
The special bus used by the Pentium III to communicate with RAM, at 100 or 133 MHZ depending on the model.

PC 2001
A specification issued by Intel and Microsoft for the design of legacy-free computers.

PC Card
A newer name for PCMCIA expansion cards.

PC compatibility
The ability of a computer to run the same programs and use the same hardware accessories as the original IBM Personal computer or newer computers of the same general type.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interface)
An improved bus for PC compatible computers.

PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
An organization that defines standards for connecting peripherals to miniaturized computers such as notebooks and laptops.

PCX
A standard format for graphic files developed by ZSoft, manufacturer of a popular paint program called PC Paintbrush.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
A pocket sized, special purpose personal computer that lacks a convnetional keyboard.

PDF (Portable Document File)
A document that maintains its formatting and displays correctly on any output device.

PDP-10
One of an earlier series of minicomputers produced by Digital Electronic Corporation (DEC).

peak
A way of measuring the voltage of alternating current from zero volts up to the most positive point.

peak-to-peak
A way of measuring the voltage of alternating current from the most positive to the most negative point.