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ISP
Glossary:
POP
POP stands
for Post Office Protocol. POP is used to download email from the
ISP provider's email server. Most ISPs offer either POP or the
newer protocol, IMAP to subscribers. POP3 does not require the
SMTP to send email from the subscriber's email client.
Telnet
The Telnet
protocol is a service for internet service providers that
provides a means to connect into the ISP. It is sometimes used
for updating Web sites, and frequently used as a method of
connecting into a shell account. It is however extremely
insecure with how it handles passwords. More modern protocols
like SSH should be considered instead.
FTP
FTP stands
for File Transfer Protocol. It is an ISP service that
essentially just provides a way to connect to the ISP. It is
frequently used as a means of updating Web sites. It is however
extremely insecure with regards to how it handles passwords.
More modern methods like WebDAV should be considered instead.
When shopping for an ISP, ones that do not offer more secure
alternatives to FTP should not even be considered.
IMAP
IMAP stands
for Internet Message Access Protocol. This protocol works like
POP except that it keeps your email on the ISP provider's mail
server until you decide to move it. IMAP service can cost more
than POP because your account may take up additional disk space
as your email remains on the ISP's email server.
Shell
Account
Some ISPs
offer shell accounts. A shell account is a special type of ISP
service: it is essentially text-only access to the Internet. You
may wonder why anyone would want such a thing. After all, while
e-mail is mostly textual anyway, the Web is a different animal.
Consider though that a blind user doesn't care about pictures on
a Web site, but still may need its underlying information. Many
blind users rely on shell accounts working in conjunction with
special screen readers. Many users also enjoy the virus
protection shell accounts provide.
X-Face
X-Faces
were devised to make both e-mail and Usenet news a little more
human-friendly. They are ISP-neutral and will work with any ISP
provider that provides an e-mail and/or a Usenet ISP service.
They do require a savvy e-mail / Usenet application to create
and display them properly, though. When an e-mail message or
Usenet news item has an X-face attached, it will be displayed as
a small monochromatic image (usually somewhere in the header) by
applications that support them when viewing the owning message
or item. Sometimes they feature miniature portraits of the
author, but more often they're used just to give a little
insight into the author's personality.
APOP
The old
POP3 protocol is probably the most popular ISP service for
receiving e-mail. Unfortunately it is by default very insecure
with regards to how it handles passwords. APOP is an option that
fixes POP3's password insecurity, improving overall internet
service provider safety and ISP security. Note though that it
does nothing for e-mail privacy -- only e-mail security.
Something like S/MIME or PGP is required to improve privacy,
too. Note also that if SSL is being used, APOP isn't needed.
SSL
SSL stands
for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a special type of ISP service
used to encrypt communications between an ISP and a user. This
is done not just for privacy, but also ISP safety. Unfortunately
not all ISPs support SSL yet, so check with an ISP provider
before making any commitments. Keep in mind that while e-mail
sent and/or received via SSL will be encrypted for its trip to
and/or from the ISP, it will not be encrypted for the remainder
of its journey and will thus still be potentially open to
snooping. To really protect e-mail one needs something like
S/MIME or PGP.
Internet
Service Provider
There are
many different types of ISPs (Internet Service Providers). There
are local ISPs and national ISPs. There are ISPs that focus on
different types of connections, like modem dial-in, ISDN, ADSL,
DSL, or broadband. There are business ISPs and residential ISPs.
There are even ISPs that offer different access methods, like
graphical (PPP/SLIP) or text-only (shell). Be sure to compare
ISPs before choosing one.
WebDAV
Some ISPs
provide WebDAV access to hosted Web pages. WebDAV (sometimes
called DAV) is a type of ISP service that can be used to mount
ISP resources as if they were installed locally. It provides all
the benefits of FTP, but is significantly more secure. While a
discount ISP will typically not offer WebDAV, a better ISP
provider usually will. Remember that a free ISP offering only
FTP access will end up costing you money if your account is
cracked.
Picons, AOL
Buddy Icons, and .Mac Icons
PIcons, AOL
Buddy Icons, and .Mac Icons are similar to X-faces, but there
are a couple important differences. First, they're stored in a
master database (in the case of PIcons this database can be
mirrored by each individual ISP provider as a regular ISP
service). Second, they're in color. Third, (in the case of
PIcons only) they can represent companies and organizations in
addition to individuals. Savvy programs can display PIcons, AOL
Buddy Icons, or .Mac Icons with e-mail messages or Usenet news
items instead of (or in addition to) X-faces. PIcons are an open
standard while AOL Buddy Icons and .Mac Icons are proprietary
and only available to certain ISP users.
SSH
SSH stands
for secure shell. It is an ISP service used for connecting into
the ISP. It is often used for updating Web sites, and heavily
used as a method of connecting into a shell account. When
shopping for a shell account in this day and age, only ISP
providers with SSH should be considered. A free ISP offering
only Telnet access will end up costing you money if your account
is cracked.
SMTP
SMTP stands
for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. SMTP is used to send email
from one mail server to another. SMTP work in conjunction with
POP to send and receive email. Some ISP providers do not use
SMTP because of spam issues, which may overtax their servers.
Syndication
Better ISPs
provide an interesting ISP service: the ability to syndicate Web
content. Calendar event type information can be syndicated
through a technology called iCalendar. Journal entries or news
event type information can be syndicated through either a
technology called RSS (RDF Site Syndication) or a related
technology called Atom. While traditional syndication is
text-only, due to the popularity of the iPod music player more
and more podcasts (RSS with attached audio files) are appearing.
Many dynamic Web servers have the built-in capability to
automatically syndicate appropriate content making the whole
process effortless.
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