| C/C++ | C is a high-level programming language that was developed in the mid-1970s. It was... |
| Cable Modem | A cable modem is used for connecting to the Internet and is much faster than a... |
| Cache | This term is pronounced like "cash" -- not "catch," and definitely not "cash... |
| CAD | Stands for "Computer-Aided Design." Also known by engineers and architects as the... |
| Camera RAW | Most digital cameras process and compress the pictures you take immediately after... |
| Caps Lock | Caps lock is a feature nearly all keyboards have that, when active, capitalizes... |
| Captcha | A captcha is a challenge-response test that determines whether a user is human or... |
| Card Reader | "Card reader" is the generic term for an input device that reads flash memory... |
| Cc | Stands for "Carbon Copy." The term comes from carbon copying, in which a piece of... |
| CCD | Stands for "Charged Coupled Device." CCDs are sensors used in digital cameras and... |
| CD | Stands for "Compact Disc." CDs are circular discs that are 4.75 in (12 cm) in... |
| CD-R | Stands for "Compact Disc Recordable." CD-R discs are blank CDs that can record... |
| CD-ROM | Stands for "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory." A CD-ROM is a CD that can be read by a... |
| CD-RW | Stands for "Compact Disc Re-Writable." A CD-RW is a blank CD that can be written... |
| CDMA | Stands for "Code Division Multiple Access." CDMA is a wireless transmission... |
| Cell | A cell is a location in a spreadsheet defined by the intersection of a row and... |
| Certificate | An SSL certificate, or secure certificate, is a file installed on a secure Web... |
| CGI | Stands for "Common Gateway Interface." CGI is a set of rules for running scripts... |
| Character | A character is any letter, number, space, punctuation mark, or symbol that can be... |
| Checksum | A checksum is a calculated sum used to check the integrity of a file. It can be... |
| Chip | Technically speaking, a computer chip is a piece of silicon with an electonic... |
| Chipset | A chipset describes the architecture of an integrated circuit. This includes the... |
| CISC | Stands for "Complex Instruction Set Computing." This is a type of microprocessor... |
| Clean Room | A simple definition of this would be "the opposite of my bedroom." But technically... |
| Client | In the real world, businesses have clients. In the computer world, servers have... |
| Clip Art | Clip art is a collection of pictures or images that can be imported into a document... |
| Clipboard | The clipboard is a section of RAM where your computer stores copied data. This can... |
| CLOB | CLOB is short for "Character Large Object." It is a data type used to store large... |
| Clock Speed | Clock speed is the rate at which a processor can complete a processing cycle. It... |
| Clone | What do sheep, droids, and computers all have in common? They can all be cloned... |
| Cloud Computing | Cloud computing is a general term used to describe Internet services. These... |
| Cluster | In the computer world, a cluster can refer to two different things:
1) A group... |
| CMOS | Stands for "Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor." This technology is typically... |
| CMYK | Stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Black." These are the four basic colors used for... |
| Codec | No, this is not just a cheap rip-off of Kodak. The name "codec" is short for... |
| Command Prompt | A command prompt is used in a text-based or "command-line" interface, such as a... |
| Commercial Software | Computer software comes in three different flavors: freeware, shareware, and... |
| Compact Flash | Often abbreviated as simply "CF," Compact Flash is a type of flash memory. Compact... |
| Compile | When programmers create software programs, they first write the program in source... |
| Compiler | A compiler is a software program that compiles program source code files into an... |
| Component | Computers are made up of many different parts, such as a motherboard, CPU, RAM, and... |
| Computer | Technically, a computer is a programmable machine. This means it can execute a... |
| Computer Ethics | Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of a group or... |
| Configuration | In the computing world, when people talk about their computer configuration, they... |
| Contextual Menu | A contextual menu is a pop-up menu that appears when you right-click on a certain... |
| Control Panel | The Control Panel is a feature of the Windows operating system that allows the user... |
| Controller Card | The controller card, or simply "controller," is a piece of hardware that acts as... |
| Cookie | It seems like everyone who tries to explain what a cookie is just has to make a... |
| Copy | Many software programs allow you to copy data, such as text in Microsoft Word or an... |
| Copyright | Copyright protects an author's original work from being copied and republished by... |
| CPA | Stands for "Cost Per Action," and is used in online advertising. CPA defines how... |
| CPC | Stands for "Cost Per Click," and is used in online advertising. CPC defines how... |
| CPL | Stands for "Cost Per Lead," and is used in online advertising. CPL defines how... |
| CPM | Stands for "Cost Per 1,000 Impressions," and is used in online advertising. CPM... |
| CPS | Stands for "Classroom Performance System." CPS refers to a technology system that... |
| CPU | Stands for "Central Processing Unit." This is the pretty much the brain of your... |
| CRM | Stands for "Customer Relationship Management." This is a business term that... |
| Cron | Also known as a "cron job," a cron is a process or task that runs periodically on a... |
| Crop | When you crop an image or photo, you remove part of the image. This may involve... |
| Cross-Browser | Cross-browser means that a website is compatible with multiple Web browsers. This... |
| Crossplatform | Software that can run on multiple types of computer systems. For example, the... |
| CRT | Stands for "Cathode Ray Tube." CRT is the technology used in traditional computer... |
| CSS | Stands for "Cascading Style Sheet." Cascading style sheets are used to format the... |
| CTP | Stands for "Composite Theoretical Performance." CTP is used to measure the... |
| CTR | Stands for "Click-Through Rate," and is used in online advertising. Web publishers... |
| Cursor | The cursor on your screen can indicate two things: 1) where your mouse pointer is... |
| Cut | The Cut command removes a selected object and copies it to the clipboard. It... |
| Cyberbullying | Cyberbullying involves harassing, embarrassing, or threatening a young person via... |
| Cybercrime | Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet. This... |
| Cyberspace | Unlike most computer terms, "cyberspace" does not have a standard, objective... |