Terms & Commands
Terms
Hardware
| Term | Definition |
| Operating System (OS) | The piece of software which controls your CPU, and which you run applications on (e.g. Windows). |
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) | The brain of the computer, which controls other components. |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) | Controls graphics (what you see). Can be integrated into the CPU, or on a seperate card |
| Random Access Memory (RAM) | Temporary storage for the CPU. |
| Power Supply Unit (PSU) | Converts the electricity from the wall into the right form, to be used in the computer. |
| Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) | A connector for expansion cards and more. |
| PCI Express (PCIe) | The successor of PCI, used on modern systems. |
| (Navigation keys) NavKeys | Ins, Del, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down |
| Keyboard and Mouse (KB/M) | The device which you type on, and the device which you move the cursor with. |
| Hertz (Hz) | The frequency at which something operates (cycles per second). |
| Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) | A battery backup system that allows a system to run for a period of time after main power loss. These also provide “clean” power, preventing damage from unstable or dirty power. They are highly recommended for anyone who experiences frequent brown outs. |
| Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) | A return merchandise authorization (RMA), return authorization (RA) or return goods authorization (RGA) is a part of the process of returning a product to receive a refund, replacement, or repair during the product's warranty period. Both parties can decide how to deal with it, which could be refund, replacement or repair. |
| Qualified Vendor List (QVL) | List supplied by a system or motherboard manufacturer of parts tested and confirmed by that manufacturer to work in their hardware. |
Software
| Term | Definition |
| Personal Computer (PC) | A computer used for personal use. |
| WINE | A tool for running Windows applications on Linux/MacOS/BSD. |
| PlayOnLinux (PoL) | A tool that makes WINE easier to use. |
| Linux Distribution (Distro) | A version of the Linux operating system that is packaged with other components (e.g. Ubuntu). |
| Linux Desktop Environment (DE) | A collection of components which make up the GUI for Linux operating systems. |
| Super Key | The “Windows Key” but in Linux-speak |
| Teletype (TTY) | Terminal / console / text-only session |
| Basic Input Output System (BIOS) | Motherboard firmware that describes how the hardware should function and which operating system to boot. |
| [Unified] Extensible Firmware Interface ([U]EFI) | A type of BIOS used on newer computers. |
Malware
| Term | Definition |
| Malware | Malicious software. |
| Virus | A type of malware that spreads itself to infect more computers. |
| Trojan | A type of malware that misleads users into thinking that it is a legitimate program. Named after the Greek Trojan horse. |
| Worm | A type of malware that spreads itself. The difference between a worm and a virus is that a virus needs to be run on a host computer to spread, while a worm is independent. |
| Antivirus (AV) | A program that runs constantly in the background, scanning files on download, on access, or on a schedule |
| Anti-malware (AM) | A program that runs on demand to check for residual PUPs or other issues. |
| Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) | A generic term for an application that may not be malicious but is not wanted/intended regardless. |
Disks/Storage
| Term | Definition |
| Hard Disk Drive (HDD) | A storage device with spinning platters that is very cheap. |
| Solid State Drive (SSD) | A storage device with no moving parts that is very fast. |
| Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) | A set of storage drives which are combined to make them larger, more reliable, or faster. |
| Master Boot Record (MBR) | The partition table format that precedes GPT. Also called the DOS/MSDOS partition table. |
| GUID Partition Table (GPT) | A newer (better) partition table. |
| Bit (b) | A single 1 or 0 used by your computer. |
| Byte (B) | 8 Bits |
| Kilobyte (KB) | 1000 Bytes |
| Megabyte (MB) | 1000 Kilobytes |
| Gigabyte (GB) | 1000 Megabytes |
| Terabyte (TB) | 1000 Gigabytes |
| Kibibyte (KiB) | 1024 Bytes |
| Mebibyte (MiB) | 1024 Kibibytes |
| Gibibyte (GiB) | 1024 Mebibytes |
| Tebibyte (TiB) | 1024 Gibibytes |
Networking
| Term | Definition |
| Internet Protocol (IP) | The primary protocol used to transfer data over the Internet. |
| IPv4 address | A format of IP addresses, consisting of 4 sets numbers from 0-255 (e.g. 10.15.1.58) |
| IPv6 address | A format of IP addresses, consisting of 8 sets of hexadecimal numbers from 0-FFFF (e.g. fe80:3b71:ed9b:924e:f925:dfad:964a:5d26). |
| Media Access Control (MAC) address | A MAC address (hardware or physical address) is a unique, 12-character alhanumeric attribute that is used to identify individual electronic devices on a network. |
| Domain Name System (DNS) | The protocol that maps domains to IP addresses. |
| Hub | A hub is a repeater and is one of the simplest ways to create a network. A message sent by one host is sent to all other hosts. It operates at Layer 1 of the OSI model. |
| Bridge | A bridge is more intelligent than a hub. Packets sent are processed based on the MAC address (Hardware Address) inside them. They are forwarded only to their addressed destinations. It operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model. |
| Switch | A switch is similar to a bridge, the biggest difference between them being that bridges use software for their forwarding, while switches use hardware (lower latency in processing). Bridges only forward using one method (store and forward) while switches have multiple options. |
| Router | A router is a device that connects two or more networks or subnetworks. It serves two primary functions: managing traffic between networks by forwarding data packets to their intended IP addresses and allowing multiple devices to use the same Internet connection. It operates at Layer 3 of the OSI model. |
Other
| Term | Definition |
| Hexadecimal (hex) | Base-16 numbers, consisting of digits 0-F. |
| Microsoft (MS/MSFT) | The company that makes Windows and other products. |
Commands
Universal
| Shortcut | Action |
| Ctrl + A | Select All |
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + P | Print |
| Ctrl + S | Save |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + X | Cut |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + W | Close tab (in most web browsers) |
| Alt + Tab | Switch window |
| Alt + F4 | Closes program |
| Alt + Space | Window options |
| PrtScrn | Takes a screenshot of your entire screen and saves it to your clipboard (paste in eg. mspaint) |
| Alt + PrtScrn | Takes a screenshot of the active window and saves it to your clipboard (paste in eg. mspaint) |
| Home | Go to the start of a page |
| End | Go to the end of a page |
| PgUp | Go up a page |
| PgDown | Go down a page |
| Del | Deletes everything in front of the marker, not behind like Backspace does |
| Ins | In some programs, write over what you have already written if the marker is placed where there is already text |
| NumLock | Toggles the numpad between numbers and arrows/navkeys |
Windows-specific
| Shortcut | Action |
| WinKey + R | Run a command |
| WinKey + E | Start the explorer |
| WinKey + X | Open the Quick Link menu, which contains links to tools such as Device Manager and Event Viewer. |
| WinKey + ArrowKeys | Move a window around |
| Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Opens Task Manager |
Linux-specific
| Shortcut | Action |
| Alt + Drag | Moves windows, from any point, rather than just from the title bar |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Allows you to enter a 4-digit Unicode character code to type special characters |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste into a Terminal |
| Ctrl + Alt + T | Opens a Terminal |
| Ctrl + Alt + (F1-F6) | Allows you to enter TTY’s 1 through 6 |
| Ctrl + Alt + F7 | Allows you to enter TTY7, which is typically your GUI session. |
| Ctrl + Esc | In XFCE, open the Whisker Menu |
| Super | In Ubuntu Unity, open the Dash |