Glossary - H

Hacker

A hacker is a someone who breaks into computers. A hacker subculture has evolved and is often referred to as the computer underground. Hackers proclaim to be motivated by artistic and political ends, and apparently have no concern in using criminal means to accomplish them. A hacker could also be unrelated to computer security, such as a computer programmer or home computer hobbyists.

Hard disk drive (HDD)

HDD is a temporary or permanent storage device for large amounts of data. Data is magnetically read and written to platters within the hard disk drives protective cover.  The reading and writing of data is performed by read/write heads that float on air above the magnetically data charged platters.  The recorded data are stored in the magnetic layer even if the drive is disconnected from power. Therefore, the hard drives are being used in computers for storing of the operating system, application software and data. The amount of reading and rewriting of information for storage, is almost unlimited. The predecessor of hard disks is magnetic tape and floppy disk.  Hard disk drives are non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device, as such, their biggest competitors are the current SSD drives and USB flash drives, which use non-volatile, permanent flash memory.

Headset

A headset is an input/output audio device that includes a headphone or headphones and a microphone. Since each component uses a different line to connect with the computer, the data are transferred separately in the same manner as if two independent devices were used. But with USD headsets, data signals are transmitted via a universal serial bus, and only one cable is used for the data transfer. Headsets are mostly used by call center workers, drivers and by gamers, to facilitate comfortable conversation while using other devices such as a keyboard or mouse.

HealthTap

HealthTap is an Interactive Health company founded by Stanford Graduate School of Business alum Ron Gutman in 2010 to reinvent the way people all over the world take care of their health and well-being.

Hidden file and directory

A hidden file (or sometimes “invisible file”) is a file or directory that cannot be seen in a list of files by default. In order to view these elements, an option must be set in the file manager or Windows Explorer settings. The method is dependent on the operating system. In Unix® systems, hidden files may be used for storing program configurations while in Windows®, hidden files may be essential to run the operating system.

Hijacker

Hijacker is an application that attempts to take control of the user's homepage and replace it with one that the hijacker chooses. It is a low security threat, but is annoying. Most hijackers use stealth techniques or trick dialog boxes to perform installation.

Browser hijackers commonly do one or more of the following:

• Change your "search" page and passes all searches to a pay-per-search site
• Change your default home page to the company page. Sometimes the software changes them to a portal featuring porn sites.
• May transmit URLs viewed toward the company server

Hoax

A hoax is an attempt to purposefully dupe an audience into believing something is real, when it actually is not what it appears or claims to be. A hoax can be made by using only true statements but with different context or wording. A hoax is often carried out as a practical joke, to cause embarrassment, or to create awareness to prompt social change. Many hoaxes are motivated to poke fun at, educate or point out the absurdity of the target.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language, abbreviated HTML, is one of the languages ​​for creating pages on the World Wide Web that enables the publication of documents on the Internet. HTML is an application of a previously developed and extensive universal markup language: SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). The development of HTML was affected by the development of web browsers, which influenced the definition of the language.  

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Caillau collaborated on an interconnected information system for the CERN© physics research center near Geneva, Switzerland. At that time, the creation of documents typically used languages such as ​​TeX, PostScript, and SGML. Berners-Lee was aware that something simpler was needed. In 1990, Berners-Lee and Caillau designed the HTML protocol for transmission via a computer network: HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol or hypertext transfer protocol). In 1991, CERN© launched its own website. A rapid development of the Web soon followed, necessitating the definition of HTML standards.

HTML version 2.0 is the application of SGML characterized by a set of tags and attributes defined for this version. The tags are placed in parts of the text document, thus determining the formatting and placement of the referenced text. Tags are entered between angle brackets (<and>) and consist of an opening tag, some content, and a corresponding end tag.. For example <strong> is the opening tag for bold text and <strong> Instructions: </ strong> is the element containing the bold text. Part of the element content may be other inserted elements. Attributes are additional information that clarifies the properties of an element. Tags are usually paired, with the end tag identical to the opening tag, but with a slash before it. Some tags are unpaired, they have no content and do not use a closing tag. An example is a horizontal line:  <hr>. Generally, there are many more attributes tags and many ways to represent them. An easy way to create HTML pages is via an HTML editor with a GUI and pre-defined solutions for users who cannot write HTML code in a text editor. With an HTML editor, a user can simply design a page and the editor will generate the required HTML code. Well-known editors include Adobe® Dreamweaver® or Microsoft® Expression® Web (a more recent iteration of Microsoft® FrontPage®).

Hyperlink (link)

Hyperlink, also called a hypertext link or simply link, is a link between the parts (nodes) of hypertext documents or hypermedia documents. Basically, hyperlinks connect units of information from one location to another location over the Internet.

A hyperlink is a reference point for hidden text known as hypertext. Usually used as a cross-reference, readers click on hyperlinks to get more information. These navigational elements can take readers to another part of the same document or a completely new one, which may be located on an entirely different website.

Hyperlinks are the most basic part of all hypertext systems and are used in email, text editors, PDF documents and others venues. Websites like Yahoo!®, Google® and many others, are a collection of hyperlinks.