0-9

1337 (written in ASCII) – From the word Leet, derived from the word elite
2 – too, or to
4 – For

A

AFAICR/S/T – As far as I can recall / remember / see / tel
AFAIK – As far as I know
AFK – Away from keyboard
ANFSCD – And Now For Something Completely Different. Used to change the subject of conversation.
ASAP – As soon as possible
ASL – Age / sex / location
ATEOTD – At The End of the Day
ATM – At the moment
AWOL – Absent Without (Official) Leave
AYBABTU (also abbreviated as AYB) – All your base are belong to us (from the video game Zero Wing)

B

B2B – Business to Business
B& and/or B7- Banned
BBIAB – Be back in a bit
BBL/S – Be back later / shortly / soon
BCNU – Be seein’ you
Blog – Also known as web log or an online journal
BOFH – ~censored~ operator from hell
Bot – Any type of automated software in chatrooms and web-cataloging software
BRB – Be right back
BSOD – Blue Screen of Death
BTDT – Been there done that
BTW – By the way
Bump – Increment (For example, C’s ++ operator.)or a backronym for “Bring Up My Post”

C

Crawl – To retrieve a web page along with the hyperlinks that reference it
Crapplet – A poorly written computer application
CU – See you (later)
CYA – See ya OR Cover Your Ass
Cyber (prefix) – A term used to connect the subsequent word loosely to the world of computers or the Internet or sex over a computer
Cyberspace – Virtual reality, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other kinds of computer systems. Science fiction author William Gibson popularized the term in his novel Neuromancer. Gibson used the word to describe a virtual world of computer networks that his cyberpunk heroes ‘jacked into’

D

DFTT – Don’t feed the trolls
DGAF – Don’t Give A ~censored~
DIAF – Die in a fire
DILLIGAF/D/S – Does it look like I give a flip / ~censored~ / damn / ~love~
DND – Do not disturb
DOA – Dead on arrival. Refers to hardware that is broken on delivery.

E

EOF – End Of File
EOM – End of Message
EOL – End of Life. Device or hardware that is at the end of its product life cycle.
EQ – EverQuest
ETA – Estimated time of arrival

F

FAQ – Frequently Asked Question(s)
FFS – For ~censored~’s sake
Flamer – Someone who makes inflammatory, abusive or directly offensive comments. Similar to, but not quite the same as an Internet troll[3]
FMCDH – From My Cold Dead Hands
FOAD – ~censored~ off and die
FOAF – Friend of a friend
FTL – For the loss
FTW – For the win
FU – ~censored~ you
FUBAR – ~censored~ up beyond all recognition / repair (from military slang; pronounced “foo-bar”)
FUD – Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (the purposeful spread of misinformation)
FWIW – For what it’s worth
FYI – For your information

G

GBTW – Get back to work
GF – Great/good fight/girlfriend
GFU – Good for you
GFY – Go ~censored~ yourself
GG – Good game, used at or near the conclusion of a gaming match
GJ – Good job, often used in online gaming when a teammate performs an act benefitting his team, such as killing an opponent or enabling that kill
GMTA – Great minds think alike
Godwin’s Law – Dictates that the longer a thread, the more likely someone will post a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler
Gratz – Congratulations
GTFO – Get the ~censored~ out
GTG or G2G – ‘Got to go’ or ‘Good to go’
GR -Good Race
GR8 – Great

H

HAND – Have A Nice Day
Handle – Name used in online chat, (AKA nick(name), alias, screen/user name)
HF – Have fun
Haxor or H4x0r (1337) – Hacker
Hit – A request made to the web server, (noun) the results of an internet search, (verb) loading a Web page. Hits are not equivalent to visitors of a webpage.
Home page – The website’s introduction page, starting point, and guide. The technical term is “index”
Hot list – A collection of publicly available URLs (World Wide Web site addresses), sometimes available as text files.
HTH – Hope this / that helps
H8 – Hate

I

IANAL – I am not a lawyer
IBTL – In before the lock
IDC – I don’t care
IDK – I don’t know
IIRC – If I recall / remember correctly
IIUC – If I understand correctly
IMO/IMHO/IMNSHO/IMAO – In my (humble / honest / not so humble / arrogant) opinion
Information superhighway – The Internet (AKA: I-way, infobahn)
IONO – I don’t know
IOW – In other words
IRC – Internet Relay Chat
IRL – In real life
ITYM – I Think You Mean
IWSN – I want sex now
IYKWIM – If you know what I mean

J

Jaggy – Aliased computer graphics
JK or j/k – Just kidding, or joke
JFGI – Just ~censored~/Freaking Google It

K

k or kk – OK
KISS – Keep it simple stupid.
KS(ing) – Kill-Steal(ing)
KOS – Kill on sight
KTHX – OK, thanks
KTHXBAI or KTHXBYE – OK, thanks, goodbye, used either to cut short a conversation or to express displeasure with being cut short

L

L2P – Learn to play; an admonishment to MMORPG players who are incompetent and/or whine
L8R – Later, L8R also sometimes abbreviated as L8ER is commonly used in chat rooms and other text based communications as a way of saying good bye.
Lag – Slang term for slow Internet speeds or high Internet latency; Lag is sometimes due to a server problem, but more frequently due to the connection between client and server. A slow or intermittent connection may often be referred to as laggy
Lamer – A know-nothing, one who is lame.
Leet – Often spelled as l33t or 1337 in ASCII form. It originally meant elite
LFG – Looking for group
LFM – Looking for more
LM(F)AO – Laughing my (frigging) ass off
LMIRL – Let’s meet in real life.
LMK – Let me know
LOL – Laughing out loud, laugh out loud
LTNS – Long time no see
Lurker – Someone who frequents a Usenet group without participating in discussions

M

MMORPG, MMO – Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game
MMOFPS – Massive Multi-player Online First Person Shooter
MOTD – Message of the day
MS – MapleStory, an MMORPG
MTFBWY – May The Force be with you
MUD – Multi-User Dungeon
MUSH – Multi-User Shared Hallucination
MYOB – Mind your own business
M8 – Mate

N

NE1 – “Anyone”
NFI – “No ~censored~ Idea”
Newbie, noob, or n00b – An inexperienced user of a system or game,or an annoying person.
NIFOC – Naked In Front Of Computer
NM – (Sometimes written N/M) Not much, Never mind or no message, used on message boards or in e-mails to indicate that everything is already said in the subject line.
NP – No problem
NSFW – Not safe for work. Warning about content that may get the viewer in trouble with his employer or co-workers.
NVM, NVMD, or nm – Nevermind, not much

O

O RLY – Oh really?
OIC – Oh, I see
OFN – Old ~censored~ news
OMG – Oh my god
OMFG – Oh my ~censored~ god
OMW – On my way or Oh my word
OP – Original poster / Operator / Outpost
OS – Operating system
OT – Off topic
OTOH – On the other hand
OTP – On the phone or One true pairing

P

P2P – Peer to peer, or pay to play
PAW – Parents are watching
PEBKAC/PEBCAK – Problem exists between keyboard and chair
Ping – From the popular network monitoring tool, used as a greeting similar to “Are you there?”.
PITA – Pain in the arse / ass
PLMK – Please let me know
PMSL – Pissing myself laughing
POS – Piece of ~love~, or parent over shoulder.
POTS – Plain old telephone service
POV – Point of view
PPL – People
PTKFGS – Punch the Keys For God’s Sake
pr0n – Intentional misspelling of porn
PW – Persistent World (gaming)
pwned – Intentional misspelling of owned

Q

QFT – Quoted for truth. Used on internet message boards to show agreement from a previous message

R

Rehi (or merely re) – Hello again
RL – Real Life[3]
RO(T)FL – Rolling on (the) floor laughing
RO(T)FLMAO – Rolling on (the) floor laughing my ass off
RO(T)FLOL – Rolling on (the) floor laughing out loud
RSN – Real soon now (used sarcastically)
RTFB – Read the ~censored~ binary (or book)
RTFS – Read the ~censored~ source
RTFM/RTM – Read the (~censored~) manual

S

SCNR – Sorry, could not resist
sk8/sk8r – skate/skater
Smiley – Another name for emoticons
SMH – Shaking my head
SNAFU – Situation normal: all (~censored~/[3]fouled) up
Snail mail – Normal paper mail service
SOHF – Sense of humor failure
Spider – The program behind a search engine
STFU – Shut the ~censored~ up
STFW – Search the ~censored~ web

T

TANSTAAFL – There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
TBF – Time between failures
TBH – To be honest
TG – That’s great
TGIF – Thank god it’s Friday
TH(N)X, TNX or TX – Thanks
TIA – Thanks in advance
TINC – There Is No Cabal, a term discouraging conspiracy theories
TMI – Too much information
TOS – Terms of service
TTBOMK – To the best of my knowledge
TTFN – Ta ta for now
TTT – To the top, used in forums to bump a thread
TTYL – Talk to you later (also spelled TTUL, T2UL or T2YL)
TTYTT – To Tell You The Truth
Tweedler – One who has deep love for all computer related technology and gadgets
TWIMC – To Whom It May Concern
TY – Thank you
TYT – Take your time
TYVM – Thank you very much

U

U – You
UTFSE – Use the ~censored~ search engine

V

W

w00t, w00T or WOOT – First two express exuberance, the latter is a backronym for the term “We Own the Other Team”.
W/ or W/O – With or without
WB – Welcome back
W/E – Whatever
WRT – With respect / regard to
WTB – Want to buy
WTF – What the ~censored~
WTG – Way to go
WTH – What the hell
WTS – Want to sell
WTT – Want to trade
WUG – What you got?
WoW – World of Warcraft (game)
WUBU2 – What (have) you been up to?
WUU2 – What (are) you up to?
WYSIWYG – What you see is what you get
W8 – Wait

Y

YARLY – Yeah Really
YHBT – You have been trolled
YKW – You know what?
YMMV – Your mileage may vary.
YTMND – You’re The Man Now, Dog
YW – You’re welcome.
YOYO- You’re On Your Own.

Z
ZOMG – An intentional misspelling of the acronym shorthand for “Oh My God/Gawd” and pronounced “Zoh My God/Gawd” This version is mainly used in jest or to ridicule people who use abbreviations like OMG and OMFG

Posted in Internet | 2 Comments | 2 Comments »

Users find plenty of ways to run into trouble, from gunking up their system with shareware to leaving it exposed to attackers to forgetting about using surge protectors. Share this list with your own users so they can sidestep preventable problems like these. We all do dumb things now and then, and computer users are no exception. Inadvertently pressing the wrong key combination or innocently clicking OK in the wrong dialog box can change important settings that alter a computer’s behavior or even crash the system. Nervous newbies are often fearful that one wrong move might break the computer forever. Luckily, short of taking a sledge hammer to the box, the consequences aren’t usually quite that dire. Even so, users often do create problems for their computers and for your network. Here’s a description of common missteps you can share with your users to help them steer clear of preventable problems. #1: Plug into the wall without surge protection Here’s one that actually can physically destroy your computer equipment, as well as the data it holds. You may think your systems are in danger only during an electrical storm, but anything that interrupts the electrical circuit and then starts the current back again can fry your components. Something as simple as someone turning on an appliance that’s plugged into the same circuit (especially a high voltage one such as a hair dryer, electric heater, or air conditioner) can cause a surge, or a surge may be caused by a tree limb touching a power line. If you have a power outage, you may experience a surge when the electricity comes back on. You can protect your systems against damage from power surges by always using a surge protector, but it’s important to be aware that most cheap surge protectors will survive only a single surge and need to be replaced afterward. An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is better than a surge protector; it has a battery that keeps power flowing smoothly even when there’s an outage, to give you time to gracefully shut down. #2: Surf the Internet without a firewall Many home users plug their computers right into their spiffy new cable or DSL modems and hop onto the Internet without realizing that they’re putting themselves at risk from viruses and attackers. Every Internet-connected computer should be protected by a firewall; this can be a firewall built into the broadband modem or router, a separate firewall appliance that sits between the modem/router and the computer, a server at the network’s edge running firewall software, or personal firewall software installed on the computer (such as ICF/Windows Firewall built into Windows XP or a third-party firewall program like Kerio or ZoneAlarm). One advantage of personal firewalls on laptop computers is that they’re still with you when you take the computer on the road and plug into a hotel’s DSL or cable port or connect to a wireless hotspot. Just having a firewall isn’t enough, though. You must also be sure it’s turned on and configured properly to protect you. #3: Neglect to run or update antivirus and anti-spyware programs Let’s face it: Antivirus programs can be a royal pain. They’re always blocking some application you want to use, you often have to disable them to install new software, and they have to be updated on a regular basis to do any good. Seems like the subscription is always expiring and prompting you to renew it–for a fee, in many cases. But in today’s environment, you can’t afford to go without virus protection. The malicious programs that AV software detects–viruses, Trojans, worms, etc.–can not only wreak havoc on your system but can spread via your computer to the rest of the network. In extreme cases, they can bring down the whole network. Spyware is another growing threat; these are programs that install themselves on your computer (usually without your knowledge) and collect information from your system that is then sent back to the spyware program’s author or vendor. Antivirus programs often don’t address spyware so it’s important to run a dedicated spyware detection and removal program. #4: Install and uninstall lots of programs, especially betas You like to be on the cutting edge, so you often install and try out new software. Beta programs are usually free and give you a chance to sample neat new features before most people. There are also many freeware and shareware programs made available as Internet downloads by their authors. We know you’d never do it, but some users even install pirated software or “warez.” The more programs you install, the more likely you are to run across ones that either include malicious code or that are poorly written and cause your system to behave improperly or crash. The risk is greater with pirated programs. Even if you install only licensed, final-release commercial software, too many installations and uninstallations can gunk up the registry. Not all uninstall routines completely remove program remnants and at the least, this practice can cause your system to slow down over time. You should install only the programs that you really need, stick with legitimate software, and try to minimize the number you install and uninstall. #5: Keep disks full and fragmented One of the results of installing and uninstalling lots of programs (or adding and deleting data of any kind) is that it fragments your disk. Disk fragmentation occurs because of the way information is stored on the disk: On a new, clean disk, when you save a file it’s stored in contiguous sections called clusters. If you delete a file that takes up, for example, five clusters, and then save a new file that takes eight clusters, the first five clusters’ worth of data will be saved in the empty space left by the deletion and the remaining three will be saved in the next empty spaces. That makes the file fragmented, or divided. To access that file, then, the disk’s read heads won’t find all the parts of the file together but must go to different locations on the disk to retrieve it all. That makes it slower to access. If the file is part of a program, the program will run more slowly. A badly fragmented disk will slow down to a crawl. You can use the disk defragmenter built into Windows (Programs | Accessories | System Tools) or a third-party defrag program to rearrange these pieces of files so that they’re placed contiguously on the disk. Another common cause of performance problems and application misbehavior is a disk that’s too full. Many programs create temporary files and need extra free space on the disk to operate. You can use Windows XP’s Disk Cleanup Tool or a third-party program to find and delete rarely used files, or you can manually delete files to clear space on your disk. #6: Open all attachments Some folks just can’t help themselves: Getting an e-mail message with an attachment is like getting an unexpected gift. You just have to peek inside to see what it is. But just as that package left on your doorstep could contain a bomb, that file attached to your mail message could contain code that will delete your documents or system folder or send viruses to everyone in your address book. The most blatantly dangerous attachments are executable files–those that run code–with extensions like .exe, .cmd, and many others (see Code: http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/fileextview.htm for a list of file extensions for different types of executables). Files that aren’t themselves executables, such as Word .doc files and Excel .xls files, can contain embedded macros. Scripts (Visual Basic, JavaScript, Flash, etc.) aren’t directly executed by the computer but are run by other programs. It used to be that you could assume plain text (.txt) or graphics (.gif, .jpg, .bmp) files were safe, but not anymore. File extensions can be spoofed; attackers take advantage of the Windows default setting that doesn’t display common file extensions to name executables something like greatfile.jpg.exe. With the real extension hidden, it shows up as greatfile.jpg. So the recipient thinks it’s a graphic, but it’s actually a malicious program. You should open attachments only when they’re from trusted sources and only when you’re expecting them. Even if the mail with the attachment appears to come from someone you trust, it’s possible that someone spoofed their address or that their computer is infected with a virus that sent the attachment to you without their knowledge. #7: Click on everything Opening attachments isn’t the only type of mouse click that can get you in trouble. Clicking on hyperlinks in e-mail messages or on Web pages can take you to Web sites that have embedded ActiveX controls or scripts that can perform all sorts of malicious activities, from wiping your hard disk to installing a backdoor program on your computer that a hacker can use to get in and take control of it. Clicking the wrong link can also take you to inappropriate Web sites that feature pornography, pirated music or software, or other content that can get you in trouble if you’re using a computer on the job or even get you in trouble with the law. Don’t give in to “click mania.” Think before you click a link. Links can also be disguised in phishing messages or on Web sites to appear to take you to a different site from the ones they really point to. For example, the link might say www.safesite.com, but it actually takes you to www.gotcha.com. You can often find out the real URL by hovering over the link without clicking it. #8: Share and share alike Your mother taught you that it’s nice to share, but when you’re on a network, sharing can expose you to dangers. If you have file and printer sharing enabled, others can remotely connect to your computer and access your data. Even if you haven’t created any shared folders, by default Windows systems have hidden “administrative” shares for the root of each drive. A savvy hacker may be able to use these shares to get in. One way to prevent that is to turn off file and printer sharing–if you don’t need to make any of the files on your computer accessible across the network. This is especially a good idea if you’re connecting your laptop to a public wireless hotspot. You can find instructions on how to do so at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1277222,00.asp. If you do need to make shared folders accessible, it’s important that they be protected by both share-level permissions and file-level (NTFS) permissions. Also ensure that your account and the local administrative account have strong passwords. #9: Pick the wrong passwords That brings us to another common mistake that can expose you to attacks: picking the wrong password. Even if you don’t belong to a network where the administrator forces you to select strong passwords and change them regularly, you should do so. Don’t pick passwords that are easy to guess, such as your birthdate, loved one’s name, social security number, etc. Longer passwords are harder to crack, so make your password at least eight characters long; 14 is even better. Popular password-cracking methods use “dictionary” attacks, so don’t use words that are in the dictionary. Passwords should contain a combination of alpha, numeric, and symbol characters for best security. A long string of nonsense characters may create a password that’s tough to crack, but if you can’t remember it, you’ll defeat the purpose by writing it down (where an intruder may be able to find it). Instead, create a phrase you can remember easily and use the first letters of each word, along with logical numbers and symbols. For example: “My cat ate a mouse on the 5th day of June” becomes “Mc8amot5doJ.” #10: Ignore the need for a backup and recovery plan Even if you follow all these suggestions, an attacker may crash your system or your data may be corrupted or get wiped out by a hardware problem. That’s why it’s essential that you always back up your important information and have a plan for recovering from a system failure. Most computer users know they should back up, but many never get around to it. Or they make an initial backup but don’t update it regularly. Use the built-in Windows backup program (Ntbackup.exe in Windows NT, 2000, and XP) or a third-party backup program and schedule backups to occur automatically. Store backed up data on a network server or removable drive in a location away from the computer itself, in case of a natural disaster like flood, fire, or tornado. Remember that the data is the most important thing on your computer. The operating system can be reinstalled and so can applications, but it may be difficult or impossible to recreate your original data. (See “10 ways to protect your data” for additional suggestions.) Nonetheless, you can save time and frustration by backing up your system information too. You can create mirror images of your disks using popular ghost or clone programs. This will allow you to restore the system quickly instead of going through the tedious installation process.

Posted in Computer Maintenance, Internet | Leave a Comment | No Comments »

Whenever a web browser is used to connect to a remote web server it includes a User Agent string that contains details about browser and operating system. This tweak allows you to add or remove additional information from this string.

Changing user agent string is needed when online security is a concern or to bypass web services access restriction for certain type of web browser.

For example, Adobe Reader download site will display different download page according to the web browser that visiting the site, limit or auto pick up Adobe Reader version for the OS type in the user agent string, force Adobe Updater to manage Adobe Reader download progress. So, by changing the user agent string, one can directly download any Adobe Reader version of any platforms or languages with Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, without using the Adobe Updater or Opera web browser!

Another use for changing the user agent data is the ability to read restricted websites and forums.
Some websites & forums will not allow you to read their content without registering first. This requirement gets really annoying and frustrating when you go through it over and over again. But you might or might have not noticed is that these pages are being cached by search engines, because they’re specially designed to allow access to specific search engine’s bots. So, all we have to do is get that page to think that you’re a bot and you do that by changing your user agent. Here’s how you do it:

Mozilla Firefox:

For people using Firefox, changing their user agent is very simple. All you have to do is download and install User Agent Switcher add-on. Then you can simply add different user agents and switch between them directly from the browser.

Internet Explore:

Internet Explorer 6 SP2 on Windows 2000 and IE 7 for Windows XP:

Start > Run > Regedit

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent

Create theVersion key of REG_SZ type (string type) or edit it if it already exists. Give it one of the following values: Firefox/2.0.0.4 for Firfox , “Googlebot/2.1 (+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)”, without the quotes for Google Bot.

IE7 in Windows Vista

Copy Paste the following code into Vista’s command prompt:

%windir%\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD “HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent” /v Version /d “insert user agent here” /f

To revert back to original user agent string value:

%windir%\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe DELETE “HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent” /v Version /f

Note: Some services may not work correctly by changing your user agent, such as Windows update.

Opera 9.21:

1. Type opera:config in the Opera address bar and press ENTER,
   
2. Type Spoof UserAgent ID in the text-box next to Show All
   
3. Change the Spoof User Agent ID to any one of these supported user agent string:

1 = Opera (default user agent string of Opera)
2 = Mozilla
3 = Internet Explorer
4 = Mozilla, Opera not mentioned
5 = Internet Explorer, Opera not mentioned

1. Save the change made before exit and restart Opera 9.21

Commonly used user agents

Googlebot 2.1:

* Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1; +http://www.google.com/bot.html)

* Googlebot/2.1 (+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)

* Googlebot/2.1 (+http://www.google.com/bot.html)

Slurp, Yahoo Bot:

* Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Yahoo! Slurp; http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/slurp)

* YahooFeedSeeker/1.0 (compatible; Mozilla 4.0; MSIE 5.5; http://my.yahoo.com/s/publishers.html)

* Yahoo-MMCrawler/3.x (mms dash mmcrawler dash support at yahoo dash inc dot com)

Firefox:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.11) Gecko/20071127 Firefox/2.0.0.11

Opera:

Opera/9.20 (Windows NT 6.0; U; en)

IE 7:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1)

To view your current Agent String click here, you’ll also find a list of all user agents by following that link.

 

Posted in Internet | 2 Comments | 2 Comments »