Busting Acronyms in IT (Information Technology)

It may feel as though acronyms have only just appeared with the rise of the Millennials with their “LOL”s and “FTW”s – but acronyms in IT have been used since the dawn of the first ever PC.
With technology being as complicated as it is, by abbreviating terminology in IT to simple letters it was felt we had created our own code to communicate. The problem is, nobody else understands it.
Let’s start with the basics. Your keyboard.
“Esc” is as simple as it seems – Escape. But we all knew that one, right?
“Alt” means to alternate. You can use this button with your “tab” on the keyboard to change to your last visited screen. Try it!

Now let’s move on to some more commonly used acronyms.
“RAM” is Random Access Memory. This is the memory in your PC which is more commonly referred to as the “short-term” memory in your brain, rather than the long term – which would be your hard drive. It helps read and write your data which need quick thinking responses. The more RAM, the faster you can run your programmes.
“URL” is Uniform Resource Locator. It means the web address, as simple as that!
“HTTP” and “HTTPS” – yes, there is a difference between the two. Look at the top of your internet page in the URL bar, is it HTTP or HTTPS? The S in HTTPS means “secure” which means they have a certificate to ensure safe browsing. The rest of the letters mean HyperText Transfer Protocol and is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.

Ok, let’s step it up to networking.
“LAN” is your Local Area Network. This refers to multiple PCs connected together in the same building, office or even residence.
“WAN” is your Wide Area Network. This refers to multiple locations and is typically linked via leased lines. Many businesses use their WAN to relay data to staff, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various locations around the world.
“VPN” is your Virtual Private Network. It allows you to use your private network across a public network securely. It creates what is referred to as a secure tunnel so your data can be shared anywhere with you as if you were connected to your private network.

When it comes to your IT, we are here to give you the knowledge and to stop the jargon. We speak to our clients as humans, we allow you to focus on running your business. So, you can leave the IT to AAG.