100+ Technology Words

September 25, 2023

As life becomes more inundated with technology, many tech terms inevitably creep into our vocabulary. We might even use or hear technology words without precisely knowing what they mean. In this article, we’ll go through the most common tech terms so you can better understand what they are.

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Words Related to Computers

Table of Contents

Search Engines

What do Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo have in common? Well, all three are search engines. A search engine is an online program that lets you find information about your chosen topic on the internet. For instance, you need “technology words” for an essay that you’re writing. So you go to Google, type the keyword, and the search engine (Google) will present you with a list of websites discussing your entered query.

A/B Testing

You don’t hear A/B testing that often compared to other technology words in this list, but it is a crucial strategy for digital marketers. As its name implies, it involves creating and testing multiple versions of a landing page or an online. They do this to determine which one is more effective.

Social Media Platform

Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Instagram are all social media platforms. They allow you to connect with other users and post photos and videos.

Web Browser

Most people think that a web browser and search engine are the same, but it’s not. For instance, you might have a Chrome (web browser), but your search engine of choice is Bing. A web browser is a software that is programmed to retrieve and display websites. In short, you would only be able to use a search engine if you have a web browser. Keep in mind that some browsers, like Chrome, have set their own search engine as the default.

ISP

Another tech term you might already be familiar with is ISP, which is short for Internet Service Provider. Your ISP is the cable company, cell phone provider, or satellite service you use to connect to the internet. The ISP determines the reliability of your connection and the speed at which you can access data on the internet.

Web Server

Most people think that a web server and a web browser are the same, but that’s not the case. Although both are software programs, a web server’s function is to find the appropriate data based on the query that you’ve provided to the browser.

Think of it this way: the web browser is the middleman in every online search. Every time you ask a browser to find information on a particular topic, it will ask (or make a request) to the server. Once the data is collected, the browser will present it to you.

Fun Fact: There are millions of servers linked together worldwide, and large tech companies own most large servers.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data your internet connection can handle at a given moment. It is a measure of the volume of data, not the speed. For instance, let’s use roads as an analogy. A four-lane road has twice the bandwidth of a two-lane road.

Firewall

A firewall is a program or piece of hardware that protects your computer by shielding it from unnecessary internet traffic. Most home computers use packet filtering firewalls. This type of software firewall checks incoming data for its source and destination. If the data does not meet programmed requirements, it is discarded.

HTML

If you are in a basic computer class, your teacher might have already discussed what HTML stands for – Hyper Text Markup Language. Its function is to set a web page’s structure and style (font style, color, etc.), albeit limited. Keep in mind that HTML is not a programming language (like C++ or Python). It is not designed for programming logic.

Algorithm

In computing, an algorithm is a program or equation used to solve a problem or to perform and complete tasks. Modern computer algorithms use several inputs to perform their computations with precision.

A basic algorithm sorts or searches based on your input. More sophisticated algorithms use past inputs and queries to provide more dynamic output results. Keep in mind that a slight variation in any input can produce a surprisingly different result.