Monday, August 25, 2003		ITerminology

Wardriving: The act of driving around in a vehicle with a laptop computer, an antenna, and an 802.11 wireless LAN adapter to exploit existing wireless networks. Set on promiscuous mode, the wireless adapter, typically a NIC, will receive packets within its range. Wardriving exploits wireless networks that have ranges that extend outside the perimeter of buildings in order to gain free Internet access or illegal access to an organization’s data. One safeguard against wardriving is using the WEP encryption standard.

Proximity operator: A type of operator used by some search engines to improve search constraints by instructing the search to look for words that are within a short distance of each other in a document. For example, using a search engine that supports proximity operators, querying the phrase "cable NEAR modem" will instruct the search engine to look in documents for instances of the words "cable" and "modem" that are near each other. Different search engines will specify different distances that the words must be within.

IRTF: Short for the Internet Research Task Force, an organization that forms research groups to explore developments in Internet protocols, applications, architecture and other technology. The organisation is chartered by the Internet Architecture Board.

MPOE: Short for minimum point of entry, the closest practical point to where the cables of a telecommunications service carrier (i.e., a phone or cable company) cross a property line or where its wiring enters a multi-unit building. The MPOE of a multi-unit building is typically 12 inches inside the building’s foundation.