Note: This page has moved to https://eblocker.org/en/docs/computer-and-internet-glossary
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Content lock
Providers of (e.g.) journalistic content have a legitimate right – and of course the necessity – to make money with their offers. Many providers offer users to pay for the content directly, individually or per subscription – or just to accept that the called up site contains advertisement.
Some providers reserve the right to lock the cost-free service if the user uses an ad-blocker. This lock is also called “content lock”.
eBlocker’s aim is not to destroy the business plan of Internet providers. However, we do block ads from advertising networks for these kind of sites, because nowadays the ad banners are used for profiling. We do not help to avoid the named content lock. Instead we recommend to honor high-quality content on a fair basis, so independent quality journalism is permanently preserved for all of us.
Cookies
Cookies typically contain data about visited websites, that the web browser of this websites saves on your computer and uses the next time you visit the same website again. Cookies however are not fundamentally bad. They can increase the user comfort e.g. if you do not have to sign up again after already having visited the website. Cookies can also be used to recognize the same individual on different websites, so personality profiles can be generated comprehensively.
These tracking cookies are blocked from your eBlocker, so that they cannot even get into your computer.
DHCP server and DHCP lease
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enables the automatic integration of network devices into all networks. A central server – in such case the router - assigns the network configuration to all devices. The lifetime of this assignment is called lease time. The administrator can choose the existence of the lifetime at the router settings. The lease time can be indicated in seconds, days or even weeks. If the DHCP server is changed during operation, all computers/devices must be disconnected from the network once, so every device can be notified by the new DHCP server and thus receives a DHCP lease.
Digital certificate
A digital certificate uses cryptographic methods, to verify the details to a communication partner obligatory. For example, if a certain website is actually run by the named company. Digital certificates are usually issued by trustworthy certification authorities that verified the details and take responsibility for the correctness.
DNS Server
The DNS server (Domain Name System) is some sort of telephone book for the Internet. It translates the server names from URLs and from email addresses to numerically IP addresses. The webserver is identified and spoken to through the IP address.
LAN cable
The LAN cable (Local Area Network) or also called Ethernet cable, is a network cable that is required for connecting the computer and other devices to your local net. Ethernet cables are often yellow colored. The supplied Ethernet cable of eBlocker is obviously orange colored!
Malicious software
Malicious software is the generic term for dangerous computer programs like viruses, worms or Trojans. Malicious software can get into your computer by visiting infected websites or by opening infected emails. Even banner ads that appear on websites which appear as trustworthy may contain the so called “malware” in short. Not every malware is immediately noticed (or at all). The best way to protect yourself from malware is to keep your system as up to date as possible; no opening of suspicious emails that are send from dubious sources; using the latest antivirus program and of course, using your eBlocker.
Network mask
With help of the IP address the network mask defines which other IP addresses belong to the local net. That means which addresses can be reached directly. All other IP addresses that do not belong to one network mask, do not belong to the local network and can only be reached through the router.
Price discrimination
Price discrimination describes a price policy on the Internet, where you get different prices for the same product depending on from which device you want to buy the product. The price is set dynamically according to the known data of the user with the aim to maximize their revenue.
Referrer
If you open a website, your browser sends you an according request for the website you want to visit. This request not only contains the URL, but also many other meta-files for requests. Amongst other things the browser transmits from which website the new request was send from. This indication is called „HTTP-referrer“ or in short „referrer“.
It has the legitimate right, to see insights which sites have been visited by the user and thus can optimize their offers accordingly. The referrer can also be used in a comprehensive way, so personality profiles can be created and connected.
SSL Encryption
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption is a method of data encryption. In connection with the certificates, it ensures, that no changes can be made to the data on the way from the server to a browser and the data exchange can not be read by unauthorized persons.
If an Internet user logs into a forum or an online shop, his registration data and texts can easily be viewed and later misused when sent without SSL encryption. If the connection is protected by SSL, it would take a relatively high effort to decrypt this encryption.
Tor Network
The Tor network is used to disguise your original IP address and to provide anonymous Internet surfing. Suppose you have a certain page you want to visit and therefore you enter the URL into the web browser. Your IP address is sent directly to the page you want to visit. However, if you use Tor, you will be directed into the Tor network, which is made out of many other IP addresses from different computers. The Tor network will send an IP address to the page that it chooses randomly out of all the other IP addresses floating around the Tor network. This is how your real IP address is disguised.
Tracker – Data collector
Most of the time trackers are service providers for advertising industries. Every time a user opens a site that is being tracked, the tracker gets a notification that a user has been tracked successfully.
Through according cookies or other techniques, the tracker can recognize the user even through many different websites again and again and thus generate a detailed protocol of the Internet behavior. All trackers make their money by providing these personality profiles to advertising industries. The advertising industries can now generate target oriented advertisement and place them on sites that are visited frequently by the user.
openPVN
OpenVPN is an open-source software application that implements virtual private network (VPN) techniques for creating secure connection.
VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data across the public network as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network.