| Cookie | A cookie is a piece of data which often includes an unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site you visit, stores as a file on your computer, identifies you as a unique user and track your web usage. There are two commonly known types of cookies. One is called a "session" or "non-persistent cookie." It is a cookie that only exists as long as your session on the web site lasts and expires as soon as you leave the web site. It is used to facilitate your activities within that site. The second type of cookie is a "persistent cookie". It exists beyond the life of your session and may live for months or years. A persistent cookie is created in order to recognize users when they return to a website. It enables the site to offer a customized experience tailored to that user - such as remembering your name and password on protected login pages. Some cookies are "good" cookies, used for legitimate purposes, such as storing preferences, account information and remembering the choices you have made on the site. Some cookies are "bad" cookies. Bad cookies are used to track your browsing habits, purchase history, etc. For example, most of the ads that you see on web sites do not come from the site that you are viewing, but from sites that provide ads to many sites. When the advertising site displays the ad, it can send cookies on your computer. This lets the advertising company track your web usage over a range of sites and profile your browsing habits. |
| DNS server | Domain Name System server. A computer that keeps a database of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. When a computer sends a domain name to a DNS server, the server returns the IP address for that domain. |
| firewall | A firewall is a barrier between your network and the Internet, through which only authorized traffic can pass. This can be either a software or hardware firewall. Software: The program is installed onto your computer to control access between your computer and the internet. Hardware: This is a piece of equipment that connects to the outside of your computer. The Hardware Firewall (Router) Connects to your DSL/Cable modem then to the internet giving you the most protection. |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol. A standard protocol for copying files to and from remote computers over TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet. FTP uses ports 20 and 21. FTP is commonly used to download programs and other files to your computer from other servers. It is also used to upload Web page files to your own Web site. |
| hacker | A person who attempts unauthorized access of other people's computers for the purpose of obtaining information on those computers or to do damage to those computers. |
| HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocol. A set of rules for requesting pages from a web server and transmitting pages (including text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) to the requesting Web browser. HTTP uses TCP port 80. |
| HTTP proxy server | HTTP proxy server is a proxy allowing to work on the Internet with HTTP and (not always) FTP protocols. It can carry out caching of information downloaded from the Internet. Now HTTP proxy servers are the most widespread. Their support (ability to use them) is included into many programs: browsers, download managers etc. However, their support is not realized at a level of an operating system – in order to use them, you should configure all programs, which should use proxies, in an appropriate way. |
| HTTP proxy servers types | Conditionally HTTP proxy servers by their anonymity level could be divided onto several types. Proxy of each type is designed to solve its specific tasks, however they have much in common, and their abilities coincide in many features. It depends on purposes, which a proxy is used for, so an anonymity requirement is not always an essential one. Transparent Proxies These proxies are not anonymous. They don't hide IP-address of a client and let a web server know that you are surfing through a proxy server. The task of such proxies, as a rule, is information caching and/or support of Internet access for several computers via single connection. Such proxies are not applicable for security and privacy while surfing on net. You can use them only for network speed improvement. Anonymous Proxies These proxies don't show your real IP but change the request fields so it is very easy to detect that you are using proxy. High Anonymous Proxies These proxy servers do not pass an IP-address of a client and don't send any variables indicating that you are using proxy server to host and look like real browser. |
| HTTPS | HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. A variation of HTTP that uses encryption to transmit data securely (secure HTTP). HTTPS uses TCP port 443. |
| IP address | Internet Protocol address. A 32-bit numeric address assigned to hosts that use TCP/IP. The address for a host must be unique on the network. IP addresses are usually expressed as four decimal numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255, separated by periods. For example, 127.0.0.1. |
| Java applet | A small program that runs in a restricted environment that is managed by your browser. Most Java applets are used to add multimedia effects, interactivity, or other functionality to a web page, but they can be used for malicious purposes. |
| JavaScript | A scripting language that is similar to, but less capable than, Java. JavaScript code can be included in web pages to add interactivity and other functionality. |
| port number | A logical communications channel to be used by a particular TCP/IP application. Each application has unique port numbers associated with it. By convention, some protocols use a well-known port number (for example, HTTP uses port 80), although this is configurable. |
| proxy cascade (proxy chain) | Proxy chain (cascade) is a connection of 2 or more proxy servers. To make a proxy chain you can use as many proxy servers as you can or want. |
| proxy server | A proxy server is a kind of buffer between your computer and the Internet resource(s) you are accessing. The data you request come to the proxy first, and only then it transmits the data to you. A proxy server receives a request for an Internet service (such as a web page request) from a user. If the proxy server is also a cache server, it can use its local cache of previously downloaded web pages to provide the page without forwarding the request to the Internet. If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page from the server on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the original request and forwards it to the user. |
| SOCKS Proxy Server |
SOCKS is a networking proxy protocol that enables hosts on one side of a SOCKS server to gain full access to hosts on the other side of the SOCKS server without requiring direct IP-reachability. SOCKS is often used as a network firewall, redirecting connection requests from hosts on opposite sides of a SOCKS server. The SOCKS server authenticates and authorizes requests, establishes a proxy connection, and relays data between hosts.SOCKS allows to work with any (version Socks 4 - with TCP, Socks 5 - with TCP and UDP) protocols. A socks proxy simply transfers data from a client to a server, not penetrating into this data contents (therefore it can work with HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP3, NNTP, etc.). As SOCKS transfers all data from a client to a server, nothing adding from itself, from the point of view of a web-server, a socks proxy is a client. Therefore anonymity of this type of proxy servers is very high. There are two major versions of SOCKS: SOCKSv4 and SOCKSv5. |
| TCP/IP | Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP is the standard method of sending data on the Internet. It is based on data packets that have a set format, including to and from addresses. Generally refers to the Internet Protocol Suite, which includes TCP and IP, as well as several other protocols used by computers to communicate with each other. TCP/IP is the standard protocol used on the Internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in intranets and extranets. TCP/IP is a two-layered program. The higher layer, Transmission Control Protocol, manages the assembling of a message or file into smaller packets that are transmitted over the Internet and received by a TCP layer that reassembles the packets into the original message. The lower layer, Internet Protocol, handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination. |