Search Engine: A tool for locating information on the Internet by topic. Popular search engines include Yahoo, AltaVista, and HotBot.

Security Certificate: Information that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection. Security Certificates contain information about its ownership, issuer, valid dates, and an encrypted "fingerprint" that can be used to verify the contents of the certificate. In order for an SSL connection to be created, both sides must have a valid Security Certificate.

Server / Client: A computer or software package that provides a specific kind of service to client software on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software (such as a WWW server) or to the machine that the software is running on (such as a mail server). A single server machine may have several different server software packages running on it.

Shareware: Software that is available on a limited free trial basis. Some shareware applications are fully featured products, while others may have disabled features to encourage purchase of the full ("registered") version.

Shell Account: A software application that allows use of another machines' Internet connection. Users do not have a direct Internet connection; instead, an Internet connection is made through a host computer's connection.

Signature File: An ASCII text file containing the text for someone's signature. Most email programs will automatically attach a signature file to all messages sent, eliminating the need to repeatedly type a closing.

Site: A single web page or a collection of related Web pages.

SLIP: (Serial Line Internet Protocol) - A standard for using a telephone line (or serial line) and a modem to connect a computer to the Internet. SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP.

SMTP: (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) - The main protocol used to send email on the Internet. STMP consists of a set of rules for how the sending and receiving programs should interact.

SNMP: (Simple Network Management Protocol) - A set of standards for communicating with devices connected to a TCP/IP network, such as routers, hubs, and switches. Software for managing devices via SNMP is available for every kind of commonly used computer and is often bundled along with the device they are designed to manage.

SRS: (Shared Registry Server) - The central system for all accredited registrars to access and register/control domain names.

Spam (or Spamming): To send a message or advertisement to a large number of people who did not request the information, or to repeatedly send the same message to a single person. "Spamming" is considered very poor Netiquette. CAUCE (The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email) is an organization dedicated to removing spam from the Internet.

SQL: (Structured Query Language) - A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases. Each application will have its own version of SQL-implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases will support a common subset of SQL.

SSL: (Secure Sockets Layer) - A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communication across the Internet. SSL is used mostly, but not exclusively, in communications between web browsers and web servers. A URL that begins with "https" instead of "http" indicates an SSL connection will be used.

Subscribe: To become a member of a mailing list, newsgroup, or other online service.

Sysop: (SYStem OPerator) - Someone responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network. A System Administrator (or Sysadmin) decides how often system maintenance should be performed, and the Sysop performs those tasks.