Definitions and abbreviations used in IT

Glossary

Admin-C (administrative contact)
The admin-C is the administrative contact of a domain beside its owner (owner-C). The admin-C must always be a natural person whereas the owner-C can also be a corporate body.
ADV
The ADV (Auftragsdatenverarbeitung) stands for "commissioned data processing". It concerns the ascertainment, processing and use of personal data. A commissioned data processing agreement can be concluded inside the MembersArea under the menu item "Customer Data -> Commissioned data processing agreement".
Autoresponder
An autoresponder automatically replies to any email that arrives in your inbox, e.g. when you are on vacation. You can specify a custom message.
Backup
A backup is a copy of all existing data that can be restored in the case of data loss.
Blacklist
Blacklisting describes a method to block unwanted entities (e.g. email senders, IP addresses, programs etc.) and to explicitly deny them to have access to a particular service. For instance, all email addresses on a blacklist will be rejected by spam filters.
Browser
A browser is a program that is used to view websites (e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Safari).
Brute force
Brute force is a method frequently used by hackers. This involves trying to find out other people's passwords by intensively trying out all possible variants (trial and error) within a short time frame. The attempts are usually automated and performed by respective computer programs (bots). To protect yourself against brute force attacks, secure passwords (consisting of a random sequence of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers and special characters) should always be used. Another option is to limit the tolerated failed attempts from the server's or software's side.
CalDAV
CalDAV is a protocol to access, manage and synchronise remote calendar data. A corresponding calendar can be created inside our WebMail client.
Captcha
Captcha stands for "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart". Therefore, Captcha is a method to determine whether a data input has been manually made by an actual human or automatically by a computer program (bot). On the Internet, Captcha is mostly used as a spam protection method. For this purpose, a randomly generated image is shown to the user, which can only be identified or solved by real humans. This can be a kind of puzzle or a prompt to select multiple pictures of a prescribed topic as well as reading off and entering pictorial character sequences, which are mostly indecipherable for machines. If the solution is correct, access to the respective service or resource is granted, and the data input is accepted. Captcha is very often used on websites to prevent spam entries in guestbooks and comment sections, as well as to protect contact and sign-up forms.
CardDAV
CardDAV is a protocol to access, manage and synchronise remote address book data. A corresponding address book can be created inside our WebMail client.
Catch-all address
So-called catch-all addresses are email addresses without an alias -> @yourdomain.com. In this case, no emails will get lost, even if the sender sends the email to an address of your domain that doesn't exist (e.g. "helo@..." instead of hello@..."). We usually advise against catch-all addresses since they are very vulnerable to spam.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
CDN is a network of interconnected servers and nodes that are dispersed over many places. Such a network is designed for delivering huge amounts of data. Its scaling capacities ensure that the data is optimally delivered regardless of a huge number of hits and high bandwidth usage. One of the most known CDN providers is Cloudflare.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
The common gateway interface is a standard that allows programs on the web server to generate websites with dynamic content. Examples are Perl, Python and PHP.
CHMOD
You can use the CHMOD (change mod) command to change the permissions of files and folders. The default permissions are 644 for files and 755 for folders. The CHMOD can be customised with an FTP program.
CHOWN
The CHOWN (change owner) command is used to change the ownership privileges of files and folders. The default owner is the same as the FTP user. If files and folders were created by PHP scripts (with PHP executed as Apache module), they get the PHP user (www-data) as their owner. Server-induced processes, in turn, use the administrative user (root). You can change the owner of files and folders inside the KAS panel or via the WebFTP client.
Client
A client is a program/software that establishes a connection to a remote server to access data or services provided by that server. The communication between client and server is part of a network. Commonly, a single computer within a network is also called a client.
Cloud
A cloud is a centrally available infrastructure or resource that can be accessed via the Internet or from inside a network. A cloud provides disk space, computing power and/or application software. Regardless of their location and the devices they use, users can have access to the data and services that are stored inside the cloud.
CMS (Content Management System)
A content management system is software that allows you to create and manage websites online via browser access. The software must be installed on your account beforehand. In our ALL‑INKL.COM web hosting plans, we provide you with a simple tool to install and set up the most popular CMS automatically (e.g. WordPress, Joomla, Typo3 and Drupal).
CNAME (Canonical Name)
CNAME is an alias record for an already existing domain. Multiple CNAME records can point to the same hostname.
Composer
Composer is a package manager for PHP and is available at ALL-INKL.COM in the plans with SSH.
Cronjob
With a cronjob, a file can be called up automatically at a specific time. This allows you, for example, to automatically create a backup of the database every night.
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)
A DDoS is almost the same as a DoS, but in contrast, the attack originated not only from a single IP address, but from countless constantly changing IP addresses. This makes it more difficult to defend against the attack, as blocking the IP addresses in question is useless. In that case, limiting the server-sided number of allowed connections per IP can be helpful, among other possible measures. In order to preemptively avoid downtimes from DoS and particularly DDoS attacks, it's advisable to use a CDN service that provides a bandwidth that exceeds the attackers' capacities.
DENIC
DENIC is the name of the German registry for .de domains. It was founded in 1997, with its headquarters in Frankfurt/Main.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
DKIM is a method to prevent email content from being spoofed or manipulated on its way to the recipient. For this purpose, a DKIM record that contains a key is defined in the DNS settings of the sender domain. For every email that is sent from this domain, a digital signature is added to the email header. The recipient server can now check and prove the email's authenticity. If the email or its content has been altered, the signature in the header no longer matches the email, and the email can be recognised as spoofed or manipulated.
Domain
The address under which your website is publicly reachable is called a domain. A domain consists of the top-level domain (e.g. .de, .com or .net) and the domain name itself. Domains are maintained by central registries (Network Information Centres).
Domain Name System (DNS)
The domain name system (DNS) is one of the most important services on the Internet. Its major task is to resolve domain names into the related IP address. The necessary information is stored on the so-called nameservers.
DoS (Denial of Service)
A denial of service is an attack on a domain or a server's IP address. The perpetrators generate a very high number of simultaneous requests in quick succession to continuously exhaust the server-side connection limit, which causes an overload or downtime of the server or website(s). The first-choice measure to stop the attack is to block the IP address from which the attack originates.
DSGVO
The DSGVO (Datenschutz-Grundverordnung) is the German term for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR standardises the rules concerning the ascertainment, processing and use of personal data.
Dynamic Domain Name System (DDNS)
DDNS allows to automatically update the IP address a domain name is pointing to after that IP address has changed. Most Internet service providers allocate dynamic IP addresses that change daily, so DDNS is very useful in this case. Even if the current IP address is unknown to the user, the computer remains accessible via the same domain name.
Email Header
The email header involves all information about an email's delivery. It contains the sender address, the sending server, and the date and time when the email was created. The email header can additionally contain information about the recipient server, the recipient address, incl. carbon copies (CC), as well as information if the email was forwarded or directly delivered and if any filtering mechanisms were effective.
Firewall
A firewall is a software-based security system to protect against unauthorised access from outside (e.g. cyber-attacks).
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
The file transfer protocol is a method for transferring files via networks. It is used to transfer files between a server and a local computer or between two servers. With FTP, you can create, list and read folders as well as rename and delete files and folders.
Git
Git is a version control system that can be used in all web hosting plans, including SSH access.
Greylisting
With this spam filtering method, the receiving server requests unknown email servers to attempt to deliver the email again the first time they try to deliver it. The email is, therefore, neither accepted nor generally rejected for the time being, i.e. figuratively speaking, it is "greylisted". Spam-sending servers usually don't comply with the request to resend the email, whereas other mail servers do, and the email will be accepted and delivered.
Hack
A hack is a "burglary" on a digital level. One or more unauthorised persons infiltrate a private, protected area (e.g., an external computer network or a website) to steal private or classified data, manipulate systems for specific reasons, or implant viruses and malicious code. For this purpose, the hackers exploit existing security holes to get access. Therefore, it is very important to hold externally accessible systems and applied web software up to date to fix possibly existing and known security holes. Implementing firewalls and other security software can also provide better protection against hackers.
Hostname
A hostname is the name of a computer in a network.
HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
HSTS is a security mechanism for HTTPS connections. It can be used to set a time during which the website visitor's browser should only connect to the server via encrypted connections. All up-to-date browsers support this feature.
htaccess
The .htaccess file is a configuration file which is used to modify various PHP and web server settings. You can add directory protection or define rules, for instance.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
HTML is a text-based markup language primarily used to build websites with static content.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
HTTP is a protocol for transferring data over a network. It is mainly used to access websites with a browser and to transfer other data from the World Wide Web (www) into the browser.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
HTTPS is the SSL/TLS encrypted version of HTTP.
ICANN
The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a nonprofit organisation based in California. The ICANN administrates and coordinates the allocation of top-level domains and controls the assignment of IP address blocks.
ImageMagick
ImageMagick is a software suite for image editing and can be used on our servers with PHP running in CGI/FPM mode.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)
IMAP allows access to and management of received emails. The post office protocol (POP) only allows the download of the received emails from the server, whereas IMAP leaves the emails on the server. That enables you to synchronise the emails between multiple clients and from several locations.
IP (Internet Protocol)
The Internet protocol is a network protocol. The IP address is the number that clearly identifies computers and other devices within an IP network. With the help of nameservers, domains are allocated to IP addresses.
Java
Java is a multi-platform programming language and is used to develop software. Java is part of Java Technology, which contains the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installation and, therefore, the possibility to execute Java-based software is only available in our Managed Server plans.
JavaScript
JavaScript (formerly called LiveScript) is a scripting language which has been originally developed for web browsers to allow the implementation of dynamic content into HTML websites. JavaScript uses .js as the file extension.
KAS (Kundenadministrationssystem)
Kundenadministrationssystem is the German term for customer administration system. The KAS panel is an interface where you can technically administrate your account on the server. There, you can create databases, email accounts, and subdomains or change DNS settings, for instance.
KK (Konnektivitäts-Koordination)
Konnektivitäts-Koordination is the German term for connectivity coordination. It describes the procedure of transferring domains from one provider to another. The DENIC originally used the term, but it is used by other network information centres within German-speaking countries nowadays. A KK request is the agreement of a domain owner to transfer the domain to another provider.
Let's Encrypt
Let's Encrypt is a certification authority based in San Francisco that issues free SSL/TLS certificates which are used to encrypt websites via HTTPS. Any administrative procedure like issuing, signing and renewal is automated.
Login
The process of logging in. Using the related login data (username and password), you can log in to administration panels or authenticate yourself to use a specific service you've signed up with or which is part of your web hosting plan.
Mailing List
The mailing list is a means of sending circular emails to a closed group of people. The email recipients can subscribe to a circulation list and can also unsubscribe from the list. The mailing list is configurable and can be reached under a separate email address to which every subscriber can email other subscribers. The mailing list software deployed in our KAS panel is Majordomo.
Malware
Malware is a collective term for all types of malicious software like viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware or adware. The major gateways of entry are infected email attachments and compromised websites.
Managed Server
Managed Servers are servers that are entirely available for your own web projects. Unlike web hosting plans, you don't share the server with other customers. Managed Servers are entirely set up, maintained and monitored by our system administrators. This means that you don't need to do this on your own. As a customer, you can demand the entire service (e.g. telephone support, regular software updates, server monitoring) and have carried out custom configurations and individual server settings.
MariaDB
MariaDB is a relational database system created from a MySQL fork. Therefore MariaDB also uses the same SQL syntax.
MembersArea / Members Area
The Members Area is the panel where you can administer your contract. You can register domains, edit your contact details, change your hosting plan or view your invoices.
mod_rewrite
The Apache module mod_rewrite is installed by default on all our servers. It enables you to rewrite URLs by defining specific rewrite rules inside the .htaccess file.
MySQL
MySQL is a relational database management system, and together with PHP, it provides the basis for many websites with dynamic content.
Nameserver
Nameservers store the information needed to resolve domain names/hostnames into the related IP addresses, e.g. all‑inkl.com is resolved into 85.13.128.193.
NIC (Network Information Centre)
Network information centres are the central registries for domain names and are independent of each other. There's a NIC for every top-level domain with separate registration guidelines.
OPcache
OPcache is a caching system for PHP. It can be installed on our ALL‑INKL.COM Managed Servers and activated in our PREMIUM and BUSINESS plans.
Owner-C (Owner Contact)
The owner-C is the owner of a domain and, therefore, a contractual partner of the respective registry (NIC). Unless the owner is a natural person, the respective corporate name, including its legal form, must be stated.
Perl
Perl is a free, multi-platform programming language. The files usually have the extensions .cgi or .pl and must be stored in the "cgi-bin" folder by default. Those files also need CHMOD 755.
Phishing
Phishing is a form of Internet fraud. Phishing means the sending of emails under a false name. Those emails pretend to be sent on behalf of banks, online shops, etc. and contain fake and counterfeited weblinks. Scammers try to attain your login data that way.
PHP
PHP is a free programming language which is used to create websites with dynamic content. The file extension is .php.
Policyd-weight
Policyd-Weight is a spam filtering method that examines emails based on different criteria for spam characteristics and evaluates them by a point rating system. This is done by analysing the transport protocol and the inquiry of several spam databases. The email will be rejected and classified as spam if a fixed score value is exceeded.
POP3 (Post Office Protocol)
POP3 is a protocol that allows the client to receive and download emails from the mail server. A permanent connection to the server is not necessary. The connection between the client and the server is established on demand and is disconnected afterwards.
Port
The several ports are used to address the various services of a server. HTTP uses port 80, and FTP uses port 21 for instance.
Procmail
As an email delivery agent, Procmail is software used to realise the server-side filtering of emails. It allows the definition of custom filter rules based on various properties or to automatically presort incoming emails.
Provider
A provider is a service company that offers various technical solutions for money that enable you to use online services, e.g. internet access, web hosting or email.
Provider change
A provider change is the procedure of transferring an already registered domain from one provider to another.
Python
Python is a cross-platform programming language. The files usually have the extension .py and need CHMOD 755.
Registrar Lock
Ein Registrar Lock ist eine Providerwechselsperre bei den Domainendungen .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info und wird automatisch von der Registrierungsstelle eingestellt. Der Registrar Lock dient in erster Linie der Sicherheit, damit eine Domain nicht ohne das Einverständnis des Domaininhabers den Provider wechseln kann. Hat eine Domain den Status "REG LOCK" ist es für einen fremden Provider nicht möglich, diese Domain zu übernehmen.
Reseller
If you want to sublease your web space or sell domains to your own customers, you need a reseller contract. In this case, you are a hosting provider yourself.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO describes various measures to optimise websites for search engines and beneficially influence the ranking of websites within the search engine index. In the search results, the website then appears at a more preferable position.
Shared Server
Shared servers are hosting servers that are used by multiple customers. This is one of the reasons why web hosting plans are much cheaper than Managed Servers, which are used by only one customer alone.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
SMTP is an email exchange protocol in computer networks. It is mostly used for sending and forwarding emails.
Spam
Spam refers to unsolicited and usually unwanted emails, often with advertising content.
SpamAssassin
SpamAssassin is a spam filtering tool that examines emails based on different criteria for spam characteristics and evaluates them by a point rating system. The email will be classified as spam if a fixed score value is exceeded. Unlike policyd-weight, SpamAssassin also analyses the email content.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
SPF is a spam protection method which can be used to prevent scammers from sending emails with false sender addresses or from pretending to be another sender. To use SPF, a record needs to be added to the DNS settings of the sender domain. The record defines which servers are authorised to use the mail addresses of the respective domain to send emails.
SSH / Secure Shell
SSH is a network protocol that can be used to establish a secure and encrypted connection to a remote device. Among other things, this is used to access the command line of a remote device and use it from your own computer.
SSI (Server Side Includes)
SSI are simple script commands that are usually included in HTML sites. SSI allows the integration of static file content as well as dynamic output data of another program or script. The file extensions for HTML sites, including SSI commands, are .shtml and .shtm
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) / TLS (Transport Layer Security)
SSL is an encryption protocol for data transfers on the Internet. TLS is a standardised and advanced version of SSL. The more known term SSL is still used.
Subdomain
Domains are divided into a specific hierarchy. A subdomain is a domain that lies below an existing domain in the hierarchy. A subdomain formally consists of the domain name and an additional prefixed name, e.g.: example.yourdomain.com
Tech-C (Technical Contact)
The tech-C is the technical contact partner and handler of a domain.
TLD (Top Level Domain)
Top-level domains are the highest level in the international domain name system (DNS) hierarchy. They are divided into generic TLDs like .com, .net or .org and country-specific TLDs like .de (for Germany), .at (for Austria) or .jp (for Japan). There are also so-called newTLDs. Those are TLDs for certain topics, cities or specific sectors like .racing, .school or .london
Traffic
Traffic is the data stream that is transferred within and between networks. The amount of data is time-referenced (e.g. by month) and is usually given in Megabyte or Gigabyte.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
In the case of two-factor authentication, a mere login with a username and password is not sufficient. The authentication is realised on two levels / in two steps. The input of the conventional login data (username + password) and the ensuing input of a one-time password (OTP PIN), which is generated using a respective app on a verified mobile device (smartphone or tablet). So even if strangers come into possession of your login data, they cannot login unless they have access to the respective mobile device.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A URL shows a definite address under which a specific resource can be accessed via the Internet or in a computer network. This resource usually represents a website but can also represent other data sources. A URL always starts with the transport protocol (e.g. http or ftp), followed by :// and the domain.
user.ini
Die Datei .user.ini ist eine Konfigurationsdatei, mit der verschiedene Einstellungen von PHP verändert werden können.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A Virtual Private Network can be used to establish a private network connection via a public network (such as the Internet). This connection can be additionally secured with an encryption. At ALL‑INKL.COM, our WebDisk (network drive) is also available via an encrypted VPN connection.
Web Server
A web server is a kind of software which handles domain requests and allocates the results via HTTP. The web server used by us is Apache HTTP Server. In a broader sense, the term "web server" is sometimes used for the computer itself.
WebDAV
WebDAV stands for "Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning" and is a network protocol used to deploy and synchronise files and folders on the Internet. WebDAV also provides a version control. Our servers do not support WebDAV by default, but you can install software that supports WebDAV, e.g. ownCloud and Nextcloud. You can set up and use a network drive, depending on your web hosting plan. You can find tutorials for that here: WebDisk (Online Storage)
WebDisk (Online Storage)
WebDisk is a network drive that allows you to mount your web space or particular folders on your local computer. Our WebDisk uses the Samba (SMB) protocol for data transfer. An encrypted connection can be established via a VPN. Additionally, you can access your WebDisk account with a browser-based file manager. ALL‑INKL.COM WebDisk is accessible here: WebDisk
WebFTP
WebFTP is our browser-based FTP client and is accessible here: WebFTP
WebMail
WebMail is our browser-based email client and is accessible here: WebMail
Whitelist
Whitelisting describes a method to prevent reliable entities (e.g., email senders, IP addresses, programs etc.) from being blocked and explicitly allow them access to a particular service. For instance, all email addresses on a whitelist will be ignored by spam filters.
Whois
Whois is a service used to request information about domain owners and IP addresses stored inside the registry databases. The respective NIC decides which information is publicly available and which is not.
World Wide Web (WWW)
The World Wide Web (or just the Web) involves all websites on the Internet. The www can be accessed via a web browser's HTTP / HTTPS protocol. Initially, the www mostly provided static HMTL websites that were just passively viewable. However, since the turn of the millennium, the so-called "Web 2.0" has become increasingly popular, representing the entirety of websites with dynamic content. The contents of these websites are changeable and customisable by users, and users can also communicate with each other via these websites.
XLIST
The so-called XLIST method is also known as "special_use folders". Email clients like Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. use different folder names for the default IMAP folders ("Sent", "Drafts", "Trash", and "Spam"). So, if different email clients are used, it can lead to having multiple folders for the same purpose, e.g. one folder named "Spam" and another named "Junk". But if XLIST is activated, every XLIST-supporting email client is forced to use the same folder names. The folders that have to be used by the clients can be directly defined on the mail server.
Zone-C (Zone Contact)
The zone-C is a domain's nameserver administrator and supervises the domain owner's nameservers. In most cases, the zone-C is equal to the hosting provider.

To the top