S

Adam Ankiewicz of the Desert Rose Adult High School contributed to the coding of this web site, March, 2007.

S
(On a digital camera) shutter priority autoexposure, the mode in which the user sets the shutter speed (exposure time) and the camera chooses the lens opening (f-ratio). 2. Chatroom talk meaning "smiling."

s/ac
Chatroom abbreviation for sex/age check.

s/Mime (Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension)
A Mime protocol version supporting encryption.

Sad Mack
The icon of a frowning Macintosh computer that announces the MAC has found a hardware problem and cannot finish booting.

Safe frequency
The frequency done on a particular computer at which the maximum possible system loss would be bearable.

safe mode
A way of running Windows with many special hardware drivers disabled, to work around problems with improperly installed hardware or software.

safeguard
A feature, procedure, process, or technique intended to mitigate the effects of intrusion risk but that rarely if ever eliminates all risk.

Samba
A widely used, free, open-source software package for linking Unix systems to Windows file and printer sharing, and for achieving various other kinds of interoperability between networks.

sampling rate
The number of times per second that sound waves are sampled and digitized.

sandbox
A security feature preventing programs from damaging the system they run on.

sanitize
To erase a storage device, such as a computer hardrive, so thoroughly that no residual data can be collected from the device.

Sans Institute
Likely the largest information security training and certification source in the world. Go here to find more information.

sans-serif
A typeface that does not have serifs.

SAP
A large developer of e-business software.

saturation
The intensity of a color.

save
To transfer information from the computer's memory to a storage device such as a disk drive.

Save As
To save a document or drawing under a different name.

scalable
Able to be used on a large or small scale without any changes.

scalable font
A font that can be used to print characters of any size.

scalar
A quanity represented by a single number.

scalar processor
A computer that operates on only one piece of data at a time.

scale
To change the size of a graphical object without changing its shape.

scan converter
A device that accepts video signals from a computer and converts them into standard television format.

scanf
The formatted input procedure in the programming language C.

scanner
A device that enables a computer to read a printed or handwritten page.

scattergraph
A graph that shows points of data plotted on an x-y coordinate system.

Scavenging Techniques
Used by crackers who dial up to the Internet hoping to find connections left dangling when somebody else abruptly hung up. 2. The term is also used to describe the activity of hunting for residual data on erased devices.

scissors
A tool available in paint and photopaint programs that allows you to define an area of the picture that you wish to seperate from its surroundings.

SCO
A software company based in Lindon, Utah, that has sued IBM and other companies, claiming that it owns copyright to part of the code in the open-source operating system Linux.

SCR (silicon controlled rectifier)
An electronic component that functions as a latching switch for direct current.

scratch disk
A disk or tape that one can erase and reuse at any time because it does not contain anything that needs to be kept for future use.

screen
A monitor.

screen estate
Space on a computer screen, especially when thought of as a limited resource.

screen saver
A program that is activated by the operating system after a predetermined period of inactivity by the user. Screensavers serve two purposes: 1. To prevent burn-in on the monitor. 2. Lock access to a computer system after a period of inactivity.

screen shot
An image of the current screen, saved as a bitmap.

script
A file containing commands to be executed.

scriptkiddie
Inexperienced crackers who rely on prefabricated software to perform computer exploits.

scroll
1. To move information across a screen as if the screen were a window or porthole through which you are looking.
2. To type gibberish rapidly and repeatedly in order to disrupt a discussion in a chat room.

scroll bar
The bar at the right hand side and/or the bottom of a window that enables you to scroll the window.

Scroll Lock
A key on the PC keyboard that toggles the keyboard between two modes.

SCSI Small Computer Systems Interface, "scuzzy"
A standard way of interfacing a computer to disk drives, tape drives, and other devices that require high speed transfer.

SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory)
A type of RAM chip whose output is synchronized with the system bus, making data available more quickly on the central processing unit.

SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
A type of high speed network connection provided through ordinary telephone lines.

search and replace
To work through a file, changing every occurence of a particular sequnce of characters into some other sequence of characters.

search engine
A computer program that searches through large amounts of text or data.
seat
To insert an integrated circuit (IC) or a printed circuit board into a computer.

SECAM A type of analog color TV signal used in France.

secondary mouse button
The mouse button used to call up the action menu>

second-generation computers
Computers made with discrete transistors in the 1950s and 1960s.

section sign
The symbol used to mark sections of texts for reference.

sector
Part of a track on a disk.

Secure Digital Card (SD card)
A type of flash memory non volatile storage card that incorporates a cryptographic security system to prevent copyright violations, often used in digital music players.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
A network protocol running on top of TCP/IP that assists in improving the safety of Internet communications and serves as a standard for encrypted client/server communications between network devices.

SecureID
A system involving a small, portable, device generating a one-time password at set intervals, and a software component on an access device synchronized with this password-generation mechanism.

security
Protection.

Security Account Manager
On Microsoft Windows and NT, a storage device used to store account data.

Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks (SATAN)
Security tool used by network adminstrators in recognizing network related security problems.

Security Policy Checklist
A list developed by security experts using questions dealing with a number of security issues.

Security Zones
Zones on the Internet with suitable security levels.

seed
A number that is used to start a series of seemingly random numbers.

seek time
The average time taken by a disk drive to seek from one track to another.

seepage
The inadvertant distribution of data through uncontrolled holes in the security perimeter.

segmentation fault
An error in a program causing it to try to access a memory address that does not belong to it.

select
To tell the computer you are ready to work with an object.

selection area
The selected part of an image.

selection sort
Algorithm for sorting the elements of an array by first selecting the lowest-valued item, then the next lowest, and so on.

selection tools
(in graphics programs)tools provided to define an area or choose an object to be worked with.

semiconductor
A material that is neither a good conductor of electricity nor a good insulator, and whose conduction properties can therefore be manipulated easily.

Sendmail
Widely used program that implements the SMTP mail delivery protocol on most UNIX and Linux systems.

send to back
In some graphical editing environments, a command that puts an object or window "at the back" so that other objects or windows are allowed to overlap it.

send to front
In a graphical editing environment, a command that brings the selected object to the front of all objects.

sensitive
A classification of information, which if lost or compromised, can cause damage to an organization.

Separation of Duties
This principle prevents any part of the computer system from being under the control of a single person.

seperator pad
In any printer of fax machine that takes loose sheets of paper, a stationary pad across which the paper passes when it is being fed in, to introduce friction and help separate the top sheet of paper from the rest.

sequential-access device
A data storage device in which it is necessary to read through all preceding records before the computer finds the record it is looking for.

serial
Method of transmitting data one bit at a time over a single wire.

serial bus
A system for rapid communication among components of a computer using a minimum number of wires.

serial mouse
A mouse that is attached to a serial port of a computer.

serial port
A connection by which a computer can transmit data to another device using serial transmission--that is one bit at a time.