INDEX

AAA server A server that provides authentication, authorization, and accounting security services. Standards for such servers include RADIUS and TACACS+. (See authentication and authorization in the hard copy dictionary.)
above the fold The top portion of a Web page which can be seen without scrolling. The term is adopted from newspapers where it refers to the top half of the front page.
acceptable use policy A policy established for a computing resource (e.g. a Web site) that describes how users may access and use the facility. Among other issues, an acceptable use policy typically addresses who may use the resource, the purposes for which the resource may be used, how much of the resource (memory, computing capacity) may be used, copying and publication of content, security requirements, and privacy requirements.
access profile The information maintained by an AAA server for each user. It includes information needed for authentication and accounting. It also specifies the user's access privileges for authorization by the AAA server. (See authentication and authorization in the hard copy dictionary.)
access URL A URL used by a payment switch (which see) to enable delivery of a purchased product. The access URL contains the name of the server which can provide the product, the identification of the product, an identification of the buyer (e.g. the buyer's IP address), an expiration date for the access URL, and a digital signature for the access URL.
active attack An attempt to break security by altering information. An active attack may or may not require decrypting the information attacked. See passive attack and replay attack.
ad See advertisement.
ad auction A service that allows Web publishers to sell previously unsold ad space at the last minute for whatever the market will bear. Advertisers are able to buy space at exceptionally low cost-per-thousand. See advertisement.
ad inventory All the advertising space available for sale on a given Web site. See advertisement.
ad management service bureau A company that serves Web publishers by delivering advertisements (See ad serving system) on the publisher's Web site and reporting on the ads that were served (See impressions) and how many times user's clicked on them (See click-through rate). Also see third-party ad management.
ad network A company that contracts with a number of Web sites to sell advertising space on the sites. See advertisement and run of network.
ad request The request to an ad server to display an advertisement within a Web page. For many possible reasons the ad may fail to display. See ad serving system.
ad serving system A system which inserts ads (usually banners) into Web pages when the pages are accessed by a user. The Web page and the ad may be served (i.e. delivered) by entirely different companies using geographically separated servers. The system requires that the designated Web pages have links embedded in them that correspond to certain sizes of ads and to certain categories of products or services. Often the company delivering the Web page receives compensation for attracting users who view the advertising but has little or no control or interest in the specific advertising messages delivered. Often the company operating the ad serving system is not advertising any of its own products or services but is acting as a middleman between the advertiser and the company that supplies the Web pages. See impression. See link in the hard copy dictionary.
ADC Automatic Data Capture. The general capability of gathering status, location, and identifying information without human intervention. ADC reduces the need for manually keying in data and the risk of inaccuracies. Technologies used in ADC include bar coding, magnetic stripes, smart cards, machine vision, biometric identification, voice recognition, optical character recognition, and Radio Frequency Identification.
address locator A type of service available from a number of Web sites that provides the addresses and phone numbers of individuals and businesses input by the user.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A technology for providing high transmissions speeds for video and voice to homes over ordinary copper telephone wire. It will be most cost- effective in areas with low market penetration of "cable" TV. In areas with higher penetration coax is expected to be more cost-effective.
advertisement A message from a company (the advertiser) to potential customers that attempts to influence or reinforce the customers' attitudes and/or behavior toward purchasing the advertiser's products or services, or towards obtaining more information, including further marketing messages, from the advertiser. Advertising is usually not requested by the user but is embedded within information or entertainment that the user has chosen to see or listen to. Traditional media for delivering advertising include newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. On the Internet, advertising is most commonly delivered by E-mail or in the form of banners embedded in Web pages. Advertisers almost always pay the media or content providers for "space" or "placement" within the content that attracts customers.
advertising The planning for, development of, and placement of advertisements. Also, the set of advertisements placed by a merchant in a given campaign.
advertorial An advertisement that appears to be editorial content. In printed media advertorials are generally labeled as advertising but on the Web their purpose is often disguised.
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce A group set up by the U.S. Congress under the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 to recommend a plan for taxing sales made over the Internet.
AEI Automatic Equipment Identification. The general capability of identifying movable equipment without human intervention. See Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the hard copy dictionary.
affiliate program A marketing program, usually automated, in which a Web merchant recruits other Web sites to place the merchant's banners and buttons on their sites in return for commissions on sales to customers who click on the ads.
affinity card A type of credit card, first marketed in 1985, which ties into a special consumer interest. Affinity cards include product benefit cards which provide bonuses for usage, lifestyle cards which usually contribute a portion of each transaction to a specific charity, and personality cards which feature images on the card associated with a particular celebrity.
AH See IP authentication header.
applet An application written in Java (which see) and inserted in an HTML program.
application-centric EDI An update to traditional electronic data interchange (EDI) that uses secure transmission methods to facilitate the exchange of information between secure applications, typically residing at different companies (e.g. vendor and customer). Deployment of such secured applications over their intranets and Internets is faster, less costly, and more effective than traditional EDI. See electronic data interchange, information security, transmission, application, intranet, and Internet in the hard copy dictionary.
Application Service Provider (ASP) A company that hosts an application and data for one or more customers, providing the hardware, software, infrastructure, and basic maintenance. The provider supports remote access to the application by the customer, usually over the Internet. The provider usually has expertise in the specific application hosted and may provide enhancements to it. Advantages to the customer, versus running the application in-house, include guaranteed performance, a robust data center, in-depth support from a skilled staff, and better economics. See application and Internet in the hard copy dictionary.
ASP See Application Service Provider
audit trail Information on the significant steps in the progress of a transaction which allows an auditor to determine that there are no errors in the reporting of the transaction. In electronic commerce a good audit trail can help resolve programming errors and discrepancies in the how a transaction is recorded by the parties to the transaction.
automated crime The use of a software program to invade a system, commit a crime (e.g. illegal transfer of funds) and erase all traces of the crime, usually within a small fraction of a second.
automated fuel terminal (AFT) Allows purchasers of gasoline to "pay at the pump" with a thermal printer installed at every pump.