Glossary

P

package or packaged object In OLE, a piece of information from a file that you have linked or embedded in a different file.

packet Chunk of information transmitted on a network or other communications line.

Paint Graphics editor that comes with Windows.

pane Section of a window.

parallel port Connector on your computer used for parallel communications. You connect most printers to the parallel port.

parity Simple method of error detection in which the value of one bit is calculated from the values of a group of bits.

partition Logical section of a hard disk. Windows XP can read and write NTFS, FAT32, and FAT partitions.

Partition Magic Disk partitioning program available from PowerQuest.

passport See Microsoft .NET Passport.

password hint Word or phrase used to remind you of your password if you forget it, but that doesn't give the password away to anyone else.

Password Policy Settings that control whether user accounts need passwords, how complex they need to be, and how often people have to change them.

password reset disk Floppy disk that you can use if you forget your user account password.

pasting Copying the information on the Clipboard to the location of the cursor in the active application.

path or pathname See file address.

payload Infectious part of a virus or worm program.

PC Card Credit-card-sized adapter cards used mainly in laptops. They fit in PC Card slots. Formerly called PCMCIA.

PC file transfer cable See null-modem cable.

PCI Peripheral Connect Interface, a standard type of expansion slot or card that fits into a PCI slot.

PCMCIA See PC Card.

PCX file Graphics file with extension .pcx.

peer-to-peer network Network on which all computers can function as both clients and servers.

peripheral Hardware device that is attached to your computer, such as a printer or modem.

Peripheral Connect Interface See PCI.

permission Security setting that controls what a user or group of users can do with a file, folder, printer, shared folder, or registry key. On local area networks, control users and groups throughout the network.

personal certificate Cryptographic information that identifies you when viewing Web sites or sending e-mail. Stored in files with the extension .pfx.

PGP Pretty Good Privacy, a method of sending secure e-mail.

Personalized Menus Start menu, Programs menu, and their submenus, with less frequently used commands omitted.

PIF file Program Information File with the extension .pif, containing configuration information for a DOS program.

ping Test message sent to find out whether another system will respond. Ping is also the name of a program that sends pings on the Internet; Windows comes with a Ping program.

pinned Displayed at the top of the left side of the Start menu. You can pin a program to the Start menu, so it always appears there.

pixel Single dot that can take on any color on the screen or in a graphics file.

pixelated image Graphics image in which the rectangular dots are visible.

Places bar Vertical toolbar with icons for places where you might want to find or save a file (such as My Documents, My Computer, and My Network Places). The Places bar appears on the left side of many Save As and Open dialog boxes.

playlist List of audio or video tracks in the order in which you want to play them.

Plug and Play Type of device that can communicate with Windows to provide its own configuration information.

plug-in Program that "plugs in" to your browser program, adding new features to the browser.

plus box Small plus sign in a box that appears to the left of an item in a list, to show that the item contains subitems.

pointer scheme Set of shapes that the mouse pointer assumes.

pointer See mouse pointer.

pointer trail Shadowy trail left behind the moving mouse pointer.

Point-to-Point Protocol See PPP.

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) Communications protocol used by Virtual Private Networking.

POP or POP 3 Post Office Protocol 3, a program on a mail server that stores your incoming e-mail until you retrieve it by using Outlook Express or another mail client.

POP server See incoming mail server.

port Connector on your computer to which you can connect a cable. See parallel port; serial port, USB port. On the Internet, ports are numbered addresses on a computer used for specific types of communication (for example, 80 for Web pages).

port replicator Docking station that contains only additional ports.

portrait Print orientation in which lines of print are parallel to the short side of the paper.

Post Office Protocol See POP.

power management Settings that automatically turn off computer components to save electricity.

Power Meter Icon in the notification area of the taskbar that shows whether the computer is connected to AC power or running on batteries.

power scheme Group of settings that define when and if Windows should turn off the power to parts of your computer.

Power Users group Built-in group to which standard accounts belong.

PPP Point-to-Point Protocol, a communications protocol for computers connected to the Internet by telephone lines.

PPP account Internet account that uses the PPP communications protocol; the most popular kind of Internet account.

PPPoE PPP over Ethernet, a communications protocol used by many DSL and cable Internet accounts between your computer and the ISP. Other ISPs use PPPoA (PPP over ATM).

PPTP See Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol.

preference Setting or option that controls the way you want a program to work.

Pretty Good Privacy See PGP.

primary DNS See domain name server.

primary partition Or Primary DOS partition. Section of a hard disk that stores the main DOS or Windows file system.

print job Document sent to a printer.

print server Computer to which a shared printer is attached.

printer driver Printer control program.

printer port See parallel port.

Printers And Faxes folder Folder in which Windows stores printer drivers for the printers you have installed.

printing to a file Capturing a printer-ready form of the document in a file for later printing.

private key One of a pair of cryptographic keys: you use your private key to decode messages you receive that were encoded with your public key and to encode messages you want to sign.

process See task.

profile Group of settings stored with a name. See color profile; hardware profile; user account.

Profiles folder See user profile.

Program Compatibility Wizard Wizard that determines whether a program needs to run in compatibility mode.

program file File containing a program, usually with the extension .exe or .com.

Programs menu Menu displayed when you choose Start | All Programs, showing a list of programs you can run.

project In Windows Movie Maker, file that contains all the graphic, video, and audio files to be used to make a movie, with filename extension .mswmm.

property Setting that affects how an object works. You can set the properties of many objects by right-clicking the object, choosing Properties from the menu that appears, and changing the settings on the resulting Properties dialog box.

proportional spacing Typeface design in which letters in the typeface are different widths.

protocol Setting that identifies the way information is passed between computers on the network.

proxy server Gateway program that provides caching, logging, and other service when translating between a LAN and the Internet.

PS/2 port Standard keyboard or mouse connector.

public key One of a pair of cryptographic keys: you use a person's public key to encode a message so that it can be decoded only with the person's private key and to verify signed messages.

public-key cryptography Cryptography system that uses pairs of keys, one public and one private to the key's owner. Two forms are commonly used: PGP and S/MIME.

pull-down menu Box onscreen with a downward-pointing triangle button at its right end, usually appearing in a dialog box.