Q: I get so perplexed by all of the different computer terms I am expected to know. I was wondering if you had a sort of "cheat sheet" of essential technology terms? Thanks.
JD, Provo

A: I think that is a great idea. The fact is, these days small-business owners and managers need to be fairly proficient in both computer technology and computer language, so below are the basic IT/computer technology terms anyone working in a small business needs to know. Some you may know and be familiar with, others may be new, but all are fairly critical:

Firewall: A firewall is an Internet safety tool that blocks traffic in and out of your computer or network. They are used to protect your computer from spyware, adware, viruses and worms.

Spyware, Adware, Viruses and Worms: Spyware is software that is intended to usurp your computer without your consent. It slows down and hinders the operation of your computer, often by relaying information about your Web surfing habits to a host site. Like spyware, adware is also installed secretly on your computer. It allows for periodic popups of advertisements or otherwise downloads advertising onto your computer.

A virus is a self-replicating computer program that activates once the program is used. Then, like a real virus, it copies itself, only this virus infects other programs on your computer. A worm is a type of virus that may either continue to duplicate itself until it eats up all of your memory, delete files, send documents using email or do other nefarious acts.

Trojan Horse: Although a Trojan Horse cannot replicate itself as a virus can, this is a similarly nasty program. As the name suggests, this program may look legitimate, but once it gets onto your computer it makes your system vulnerable to intruders.

Cookies: A computer cookie is a packet of information that a host server sends to your Web browser and your browser sends back to the server whenever you contact that site. It is a way for a site to remember you.

PDFs, GIFs, JPEGs, and MPEGs: These are different files used by your computer. PDFs (Portable Document Format) are files created by the Adobe Acrobat program and are used for Internet document publishing. GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) and JPEGs (Joint Photographic Experts Group) are types of photograph/graphics files. MPEGs (Moving Pictures Experts Group) are video files.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language is a computer language used to create web pages.

Meta Tag: This is a type of HTML tag used to store information about a Web page. Search engines used to rely heavily on meta tags when ranking websites, but because some webmasters "stuffed" their meta tags with too many keywords, search engines such as Google began to veer away from heavy reliance on meta tags.

RAM and ROM: RAM (Random Access Memory) is a chip that is your computer's primary source of memory. Early computers had 64 kilobytes (kb) of RAM, whereas a computer today might have 512 megabytes (mb) or more. ROM (Read Only Memory) is a chip that your computer often uses when it boots up.

Cache: Pronounced "cash" not "catch, " a cache stores recent so that it can be accessed quickly.

File extension: These are the suffixes at the end of files indicating what type of file it is. Common file extensions include .wpd (word-processing document), .doc (document created by Microsoft Word), .exe (an executable file), .txt (a text file), .xls (Microsoft Excel), .mov (an Apple QuickTime movie), .mac (Macintosh Data) and .MP3 (an MPEG music file.). Also, PDF, GIF, JPEG and MPEG are file extensions.

Today's Tip: There is a lot to know and learn about what your computer can do to help you succeed in business. One way is to pick up one of the many excellent magazines out there that discuss computers today in easy-to-understand, plain English. For instance, a recent issue of PC World had an article titled 30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet (#14: "Become an E-Marketing Mogul.")