Application - Subclass of computer software that performs a task or set of tasks, such as word processing or drawing.

ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange, an encoding system for converting text into the binary number code that the computer understands.

Backup - The process of making an additional copy of data so that in case the original data is lost, destroyed or corrupted, there is still an access to the copy of the data. It is very important to backup important data as a hard disk is not designed to work forever. However, most people do not back up their data.

Bandwidth - The channel capacity for information transmission. Bandwidth determines the amount of data that can be sent along the networked wires. It is mostly important for Internet connections since the greater the bandwidth is the faster the download is.

Binary Code - Numeral system that is composed of two symbols, usually 0 and 1. This is the most fundamental language a computer understands and knows to interpret.

BIOS - Acronym for basic input/output system. It is a built-in firmware code run by an IBM compatible PC when first turned on. It is the BIOS that prepare the computer for use by the software stored on different media (e.g. hard drives, USBs, and CDs). This process is what is known as booting up.

Bit - Short for “binary digit”, is the basic unit of computer data.

Boot - To start up a computer.

Boot Sector - A sector of a data storage device that continues the process of booting programs (normally, the operating systems).

Browser - Software application used to navigate the Internet. Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are examples of the most common browsers for accessing the World Wide Web.

Bug - Malfunction in a computer program caused by an error or a defect in the equipment.

Byte - Unit of measurement of data storage. The msajority of the computers use grouping of eight bits, called bytes, to symbolize one character of data or instructions. For instance, the word “home” has four characters, and it would be represented by four bytes.