S - Get Rural Internet with Viasat

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Safari:

A web browser developed by Apple, based on the WebKit engine. First released in 2003 with Mac OS X Panther, a mobile version of Safari has been included in iOS devices since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Safari is the default browser on all Apple and MAC devices.

SAN:

Storage Area Network (SAN) is a network of storage devices that can be accessed by multiple computers. Each computer on the network can access hard drives in the SAN as if they were local disks connected directly to the computer. This allows individual hard drives to be used by multiple computers, making it easy to share information between different machines.

While a single server can provide a shared hard drive to multiple machines, large networks may require more storage than a single server can offer. For example, a large business may have several terabytes of data that needs to be accessible by multiple machines on a local area network (LAN). In this situation, a SAN could be setup instead of adding additional servers. Since only hard drives need to be added instead of complete computer systems, SANs are an efficient way to increase network storage.

Satellite:

Anything that orbits the Earth can be called a satellite. Even the moon is considered a satellite. In the case of artificial satellites used for communication, they are launched into orbit with rockets to serve as a conduit between different points on the ground. The Viasat-1 and Viasat-2 satellites receive internet signal from gateway antennas on the ground and transmits them to thousands of Viasat antenna dishes at residences and businesses around the country. Even rural America!

Satellite Internet:

A type of high-speed internet that utilizes a satellite 22,000 miles up in space to act as the conduit. The system sends information at the speed of light (186,282 miles per second) between your computer and the internet. Satellite internet does not rely on cable systems or phone lines, but rather a modem that is connected to a small dish installed on the exterior of your home or office.

Screenshot:

A screenshot or screen capture is a picture taken of your computer’s desktop. This may include the desktop background, icons of files and folders, and open web browser windows. It may also include whatever is being displayed by currently running programs. Screenshots are an easy way to save an image you see on the screen, such as an image, text article or webpage. However, because screenshots are saved in an image format, any text saved in a screenshot cannot be edited. Both the macOS and Windows operating systems make it easy to take screenshots. Just use the following keyboard shortcuts to capture the current screen displayed on your computer:

Mac OS X:
- Command-Shift-3: Saves a screenshot of the entire desktop to an image file on the desktop.
- Command-Shift-4: Saves a screenshot of a selection selected with the cursor to an image file on the desktop.
- Command-Control-Shift-3: Saves a screenshot of the entire desktop to the clipboard.
- Command-Control-Shift-4: Saves a screenshot or a selection selected with the cursor to the clipboard.
Windows XP:
- Print Screen: Saves a screenshot of the entire desktop to the clipboard.
- Alt+Print Screen: Saves a screenshot of the active window to the clipboard.

SCSI:

The Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) is a set of parallel interface standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) that allow personal computers (PCs) to communicate with peripheral hardware such disk drives, printers, scanners and other peripherals to computers. SCSI (pronounced “skuzzy”) is supported by all major operating systems (os).

Although not all devices support all levels of SCSI, SCSI standards are generally backward-compatible. That is, if an older peripheral device is attached to a newer computer with support for a later standard, the older device will work at the older and slower data rate. In personal computing, SCSI interfaces have been replaced, for the most part, by Universal Serial Bus (USB). SCSI is still used in server farms for hard drive controllers. A SCSI card, also called a SCSI host adapter, is a PC interface card that is installed in an expansion slot and used to connect storage devices and other computer attachments.

Search Engine:

A search engine is a website used for finding information on the internet. Examples of search engines are include Google, Bing and Yahoo!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

A methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the search engine results page (SERP) — including Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines The best way to improve SEO is to increase visitor traffic to the website by submitting the site to several search engines and web directories and get other websites to link to the website. Web administrators may also employ the use of social networking to help push out web links and help drive visiting traffic to the website.

While most search engines choose to list the most popular (high-traffic) websites first, SEO can also by achieved through a number of adjustments to the scripting language of each webpage to achieve a higher search engine ranking or search engine result (SER). The page’s title is the most important part of SEO, since it tells the search engine exactly what the webpage is about. The title must include accurate and relevant information about the webpage. It is also helpful to repeat important words periodically from the page title throughout the webpage to verify its accuracy, since search engines also scan the text of the pages indexed. In addition to the page’s text and content, web designers can employ the use of META tags to improve page ranking. These HTML tags can help distinguish a website. The META tags that most search engines read are description and keywords tags. Using META tags properly can significantly boost your search engine ranking.

Search Engine Ranking (SER):

In SEO and marketing terms, the rank (or ranking position) refers to where a website or page is ranked within search engine results. For example, if your website is about microphones,

When a person queries a keyword or website into a search engine, the ranking indicates where in the search results a webpage is listed (for example within the top 10 results, on the first page, the 50th page, etc. ). A web page rank within a search engine is also commonly called a position.

Search Engine Results Pages (SERP):

The web pages displayed by search engines in response to a search query. The main component of the SERP is a list of web pages that are relevant to the search phrase or keyword query entered by the user. SERP’s are displayed in order of relevance, often listed in order of popularity or web traffic. A SERP may also contain other results such as sponsored links or paid listings that are supplied by companies that bid on keywords. Getting listed in the top results of a SERP is a common goal of webmasters who want to drive more traffic to their websites.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN:

A SSL VPN is a type of virtual private network used on standard web browsers to provide secure, remote-access VPN capability. The Secure Sockets Layer protocol enables devices with an internet connection to establish a secure remote-access VPN connection between an individual device (servers, desktops, laptops and mobile devices) with the web browser through the VPN gateway.

SSL VPN systems like Cisco, Citrix, Juniper Networks or SonicWALL, use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) network connections to protect data transmitted between the endpoint device client software and the SSL VPN server through which the client connects securely to the internet. In contrast to traditional Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) VPN, a SSL VPN does not require the installation of specialized client software on the end user’s computer.

SER:

In SEO and marketing terms, the Search Engine Ranking (SER) refers to where a website or page is ranked within search engine results. For example, if your website is about microphones,

Serial Port:

A type of connection on a PC that is used for peripherals such as a mouse, gaming controller, modem and older printers. It is sometimes called a COM port or an RS-232 port, which is its technical name. There are two types of serial ports — DB9 (a 9-pin connection) and DB25 (a 25-pin connection). A serial port can only transmit one bit of data at a time, whereas a parallel port can transmit many bits at once. The serial port is typically the slowest port on a PC, if you find one at all. Most newer computers have replaced serial ports with much faster and more compatible USB ports.

SERP:

Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is a list of web pages displayed by search engines in response to a search query. The main component of the SERP is a list of web pages that are relevant to the search phrase or keyword query entered by the user. SERP’s are displayed in order of relevance, often listed in order of popularity or web traffic. A SERP may also contain other results such as sponsored links or paid listings that are supplied by companies that bid on keywords. Getting listed in the top results of a SERP is a common goal of webmasters who want to drive more traffic to their websites.

Server:

As the name implies, a server serves information to computers that connect to it. When users connect to a server, they can access programs, files and other information from the server. Common types of servers are web servers, email servers and local area network (LAN) servers. A single computer can have several different server programs running on it.

Shareware:

Unlike commercial software, which you have to pay for before you use it, with shareware, users can download a product for a trial period and then decide whether or not they want to keep it. If you want to keep the software after the trial period expires, you will be required to register the product and pay the shareware fee. As an extra incentive to pay for the software, many shareware programs disable certain features in the non-registered version and some will send periodic reminders for you to register the program after the trial period has expired.

Shareware programs are usually less expensive than commercial software programs, but they are often less expensive to develop as well. This is why shareware programs are typically not as robust as commercial software programs. However, there are numerous shareware programs such as system utilities, that can be very useful. The most common way to get shareware is via the internet.

Siri:

Siri is a built-in virtual “intelligent assistant” that enables users of Apple iOS, watchOS, macOS, HomePod and tvOS operating systems. The Siri assistant uses voice queries and a natural-language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations and perform actions to operate the mobile device and mobile apps by delegating requests to a set of Internet services. The software adapts to the user’s individual language usages, searches and personal preferences, with continuing use. Returned results are individualized.

Sitemap:

An overview of the web pages within a website. Sitemaps of smaller sites may include every page of the website, whereas sitemaps of larger sites often only include pages for major categories and subcategories of the site. Sitemaps can be organized in a variety of ways, however, most use an outline form, with pages arranged by topic. This gives visitors an overall picture of how the site is organized and clearly defines all the resources the website has to offer. A properly designed website should allow visitors to navigate the entire site without using the sitemap, incorporating a sitemap gives users another means of locating specific web pages. For this reason, each page listed in a sitemap is typically linked to the webpage it represents. This allows visitors to quickly jump to any section of a website listed in the sitemap. While not required, sitemaps are HIGHLY encouraged for all websites. A sitemap allows the crawlers of your website to get to all areas of your site no matter the size. This helps with SEO and site submission because it makes it easier for search engines to find all the content on your website.

Skype:

A voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software application used for voice, video and instant messaging communications. Skype software allows user to make free calls, video calls or engage in chat over the internet with anyone else who is also using ;Skype. It is free and considered easy to download and use and works with most computers and mobile devices.

Sloped Roof Mount:

Typically Viasat installers mount the Viasat satellite Dish on the roof or side of your house, which is considered standard installation. The sloped-roof mount is the most common placement of the dish.

Software:

Otherwise known as computer programs, “software” refers to the applications that allow you to perform various task with your computer or electronic device. Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop are two common, popular examples of software.

Smartphone:

A handheld personal computer that combines standard mobile phone features with extensive computing capabilities. Most smartphones include high-speed access to the internet using both WiFi and mobile broadband. Most, if not all, smartphones are also built with support for Bluetooth and satellite navigation.

Unlike older cellular mobile phones, smartphones have advanced system software, much like a computer operating system, which allows them to perform multiple functions including SMS text messaging, email and web surfing capabilities, as well as the ability to display photos and play music and video files. Many smartphones now support 3rd-party applications or “mobile apps,” which users can install on the phone.

While smartphones are named because of their “smart” features, some may contend that the name has more to do with the intelligence required to use them.

Smart TV:

A digital television that is, essentially, an internet-connected, storage-aware computer specialized for entertainment. Smart TVs are available as stand-alone products but regular televisions can also be made “smart” through set-top boxes that enable advanced functions, which allow viewers to access and control features for streaming content from internet music and video services and connected devices.

SMS:

Short Message Service (SMS) is used to send text messages. SMS was originally created for phones that use GSM (Global System for Mobile) communication, but now all major cell phone systems support it. While SMS is most commonly used for text messaging between friends or co-workers, it has several other uses as well. For example, subscription SMS services can transmit weather, news, sports updates and stock quotes to a user’s phone. SMS can also notify employees of sales inquiries, service stops and other information pertinent to their business.

Text messages sent via SMS do not require the recipient’s phone to be on in order for the message to be successfully transmitted. The SMS service will hold the message until the recipient turns on the phone, at which point the message will be be sent to the recipient’s phone. Most cell phone companies allow you to send an unlimited amount of text messages every month for no charge.

SMTP:

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the protocol used for sending email over the internet through a set of commands that authenticate and direct the transfer of electronic mail. Your email client (such as Gmail, Mail.com or Outlook) uses SMTP to send a message to the mail server. The mail server then uses SMTP to relay that message to the correct receiving mail server. When configuring the settings for your email service, you usually need to set the SMTP server to your local Internet Service Provider’s SMTP settings (i.e. “smtp.yourisp.com”). However, the incoming mail server (IMAP or POP3) should be set to your mail account’s server, which may be different than the SMTP server.

Snapchat:

A mobile app available for iOS and Android that allows users to send messages to each other. Messages may be sent as plain text, photos or videos. Photos and videos sent via Snapchat can only be viewed once (or twice with the optional “replay” feature), while text messages disappear after a few minutes.

In order to share your “snaps” with other users, you must first add them to your friend list. You can add friends by their username, from your Address Book, by their Snapcode (a personalized icon) or by searching for nearby Snapchat users. Once you have added friends to your list, you can send and receive snaps from them. Snapchat also includes a “Story” feature which allows you to add snaps to your personalized story. These snaps can be viewed by your friends and followers for a period of 24 hours. Instead of sending a photo or video to 20 of your friends, you can just add it to your Snapchat Story and all your friends can view it. This is a free social media networking service available to use via the internet at the Official ;Snapchat.com website or as a mobile app.

Snapshot:

While the term “snapshot” is often used in photography, it is also a computing term that refers to a copy made of a disk drive at a specific moment in time. Snapshots are useful for backing up data at different intervals, which allows information to be recovered from different periods of time.

A hard drive snapshot includes the full directory structure of a hard disk, including all folders and files on the disk. This type of backup may also be referred to as a “disk image.” Disk images allow the full disk to be restored in case the primary disk fails. Many backup programs that create snapshots also allow specific files to be recovered from the snapshot, instead of having to restore the complete backup. Since snapshots are mainly used for backup purposes, it is wise to save the snapshot to a secondary hard drive, removable drive or optical media, such as CDs or DVDs.

SNMP:

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used for exchanging management information between network devices. For example, SNMP may be used to configure a router or simply check its status. There are four types of SNMP commands used to control and monitor managed devices: 1) read, 2) write, 3) trap and 4) traversal operations.

The read command is used to monitor devices, while the write command is used to configure devices and change device settings. The trap command is used to “trap” events from the device and report them back to the monitoring system. Traversal operations are used to determine what variables a certain device supports.

SNMP has no authentication capabilities, which means it is not a very secure protocol. For this reason, SNMP is often used for monitoring networks rather than managing them.

Social Networking:

Social networking (also known as social media) sites allow users to be part of a virtual online community. The most popular sites are currently Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat &Twitter. These sites provide users with simple tools to create a custom profile with text and graphics. A typical profile includes basic information about the user, at least one photo (avatar) and possibly a blog or other comments published by the user. Advanced profiles may include videos, photo albums, online applications or custom layouts. After creating a profile, users can add friends or followers, send messages to other users and leave comments directly on friends’ profiles.

Thanks to social networking websites, users can share their lives with other people without needing to develop and publish their own home pages. Social media also provides an important linking element between users that allows friends to communicate directly with each other. Because people often have friends from different geographical locations and different periods in their lives, social networking sites provide an opportunity to keep in touch with old friends, colleagues and classmates and a chance to meet new people as well. It is important to remember; that people you might not know or follow may also be able to view your profile page. Therefore, if you join a social networking site, it is a good idea to review the privacy settings for your account and to use discretion in what you publish on your profile.

Soft Copy:

A document saved on a computer. It is the electronic version of a document, which can be opened and edited using a software program. The term “soft copy” is most often used in contrast to hard copy, which is the printed version of a document. Soft copies can be sent via email or over a network connection, which makes them a more efficient and cost effective option than using hard copies for communications. The downside to using soft copies is that they require a computer and software to open and can be accidentally deleted or altered.

Spam:

Originating from the name of Hormel’s canned meat product, “spam” now also refers to junk email or irrelevant postings to a newsgroup or community bulletin board. The unsolicited email messages you receive about refinancing your home, losing those pesky extra pounds or helping out a poor Nigerian prince are all considered spam. Spamming other people is the most notorious violations of internet etiquette (or “netiquette”).

Spoofing:

The word “spoof” means to hoax, trick or deceive. Therefore, in the tech world, spoofing refers tricking or deceiving computer systems or other computer users. This is typically done by hiding one’s identity or faking the identity of another user on the internet. Spoofing can take place on the internet in several different ways. One common method is through email, which involves sending messages from a fake email address or faking the email address of another user. Fortunately, most email servers have security protocols that prevent unauthorized users from sending messages. However, spammers often send spam messages from their own SMTP, which allows them to use fake email addresses. Therefore, it is possible to receive email from an address that is not the actual address of the person sending the message. Spoofing can also be done by faking an identity, such as a fake online username. Users may also fake their age, gender, occupation and location. Another way spoofing takes place is via IP spoofing. This involves masking the IP address of a certain computer system. By hiding or faking a computer’s IP address, it is difficult for other systems to determine where the computer is transmitting data from. Because IP spoofing makes it difficult to track the source of a transmission, it is often used in denial-of-service attacks that overload a server. This may cause the server to crash or become unresponsive to legitimate requests. Most software security systems have been developed that can identify denial-of-service attacks and block their transmissions.

NOTE: To secure your identity, you should always make sure you know who you are communicating online with before giving out any private information.

Speed Tests:

Tests that measure internet latency, download and upload speeds. There are several online ways to test your internet connection bandwidth to locations around the world with an interactive broadband speed test with free services like Measurement Lab and Speedtest by Ookla.

Spotify:

A music streaming service developed by Swedish company Spotify Technology that provides DRM-protected content from record labels and media companies. Spotify is a freemium service; meaning basic features are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality and music downloads, are offered via paid subscriptions. This service available to use via the internet at the Official ;Spotify.com website or as a mobile app.

Spyware:

Malicious programs that gather data from your hard drive, the websites you visit or your keystrokes. To protect your computer from spyware, you should make sure that any adware that you install on your computer is from a reputable company and always read the privacy agreement that comes with it.

SSL Certificate:

A file installed on a secure web server that identifies a website. This digital certificate establishes the identity and authenticity of the company or merchant so that online shoppers can trust that the website is secure and reliable. In order to verify that these sites are legitimate ; and they are who they say they are, the companies and their websites are verified by a 3rd party, such as Verisign or Thawte. Once the verification company establishes the legitimacy of an organization and the associated website, they will issue an SSL certificate. This digital certificate is installed on the web server and will be viewable when a user enters a secure area of the website. You can tell that you are visiting a secure page when the URL starts with “https” rather than “http”. To view the certificate, click the lock icon near one of the edges of your browser window.

SSL certificates typically expire every one to three years. If the certificate is not renewed in time, you may see an alert box pop up that says “This website’s certificate has expired.” This error has nothing to do with you or your computer, but is displayed because the web server you connected to has not renewed its SSL certificate. While this does not necessarily mean the site is fraudulent, it does show that the site is less than professional and may have not been updated in awhile.

SSL VPN:

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN is a type of virtual private network used on standard web browsers to provide secure, remote-access VPN capability. The Secure Sockets Layer protocol enables devices with an internet connection to establish a secure remote-access VPN connection between an individual device (servers, desktops, laptops and mobile devices) with the web browser through the VPN gateway.

Standard Installation:

Typically, Viasat installers mount the Viasat satellite Dish on the roof or side of your house or by using a pole mount, which is considered standard installation. When standard installation is not possible or if your installer determines that standard installation will not give you the best connection, a non-standard option may be recommended, which includes under eave or non-penetrating roof option.

Streaming:

An online technology that allows music or video to your computer or smart device through the internet as a continuous stream, instead of saving it to the hard drive. Sites like Apple Music, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Netflix, Pandora & Spotify use streaming technology. With streaming media, a user does not have to wait to download a file to play it. Because the media is sent in a continuous stream of data it can play as it arrives. Users can pause, rewind or fast-forward, just as they could with a downloaded file, unless the content is being streamed live.

Media is usually streamed from prerecorded files but can also be distributed as part of a live broadcast feed. In a live broadcast, the video signal is converted into a compressed digital signal and transmitted from a web server as multicast, sending a single file to multiple users at once. Streaming media is transmitted by a server application and received and displayed in real-time by a client application called a media player. A media player can be either an integral part of a browser, a plug-in, a separate program or a dedicated device, such as smart phone or TV or an Amazon Alexa or Echo. Frequently, video files come with embedded players. YouTube videos, for example, run in embedded Flash players. While streaming media technologies have improved significantly, the quality of streamed content is still dependent upon the user’s connection speed.

Storage Area Network (SAN):

A network of storage devices that can be accessed by multiple computers. Each computer on the network can access hard drives in the SAN as if they were local disks connected directly to the computer. This allows individual hard drives to be used by multiple computers, making it easy to share information between different machines.