Browse the Glossary - M (original) (raw)

• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) - Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is a server role in Active Directory that allows admins to manage and store information about resources from a network, as well as application data, in a distributed database.
• m-commerce (mobile commerce) - M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets.
• M.2 SSD - An M.2 SSD is a small form factor solid-state drive (SSD) that internally mounted storage expansion cards use.
• MacBook Air - MacBook Air is a thin, lightweight laptop from Apple.
• machine authentication - Machine authentication is the authorization of an automated human-to-machine or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication through verification of a digital certificate or digital credentials.
• machine learning engineer (ML engineer) - A machine learning engineer (ML engineer) is a person in IT who focuses on researching, building and designing self-running artificial intelligence (AI) systems to automate predictive models.
• machine teaching - Machine teaching is the practice of infusing context -- and often business consequences -- into the selection of training data used in machine learning (ML) so that the most relevant outputs are produced by the ML algorithms.
• machine-to-machine (M2M) - Machine-to-machine, or M2M, is a broad label that can be used to describe any technology that enables networked devices to exchange information and perform actions without the manual assistance of humans.
• Macintosh - The Macintosh, now called the Mac, was the first widely sold personal computer (PC) with a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse.
• macOS - MacOS is the computer operating system for Apple desktops and laptops.
• MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) - MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) is U.
• macro virus - A macro virus is a computer virus written in the same macro language used to create software programs such as Microsoft Excel or Word.
• macrotrend - A macrotrend is a pervasive and persistent shift in the direction of some phenomenon on a global level.
• magnetic field strength - Magnetic field strength is a measure of the intensity of a magnetic field in a given area of that field.
• magnetic storage - Magnetic storage has been around in many forms since 1888 by Oberlan Smith, who publicized his audio recording on a wire in Electrical World.
• magnetic stripe reader (magstripe reader) - A magnetic stripe reader, also called a magstripe reader, is a hardware device that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe located on the back of a plastic badge.
• magnetic tape storage - Magnetic tape is one of the oldest technologies for electronic data storage.
• magnetomotive force (magnetic potential) - Magnetomotive force, also known as magnetic potential, is the property of certain substances or phenomena that gives rise to magnetic field s.
• mail bomb - A mail bomb is a form of a denial-of-service (DoS) attack designed to overwhelm an inbox or inhibit a server by sending a massive number of emails to a specific person or system.
• mail server (mail transfer/transport agent, MTA, mail router, internet mailer) - A mail server -- also known as a mail transfer agent, or MTA; mail transport agent; mail router; or internet mailer -- is an application that receives incoming email from local users and remote senders and forwards outgoing messages for delivery.
• mainframe (big iron) - A mainframe (also known as 'big iron') is a high-performance computer used for large-scale computing purposes that require greater availability and security than a smaller-scale machine can offer.
• Malware quiz: Test your knowledge of types and terms - Malware trends are constantly evolving, but older techniques are still often used in cyber attacks today.
• man in the browser (MitB) - Man in the browser (MitB) is a security attack where the perpetrator installs a Trojan horse on the victim's computer that is capable of modifying that user's web transactions.
• man-in-the-middle attack (MitM) - A man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack is a type of cyber attack in which the attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other.
• managed detection and response (MDR) - Managed detection and response (MDR) services are a collection of network-, host- and endpoint-based cybersecurity technologies that a third-party provider manages for a client organization.
• managed hosting - Managed hosting is an IT provisioning model in which a service provider leases dedicated servers and associated hardware to a single customer and manages those systems on the customer's behalf.
• managed IT service - A managed IT service is an information technology (IT) task provided by a third-party contractor and delivered to a customer.
• managed network services - Managed network services are networking applications, functions and services that enterprises outsource to be remotely operated, monitored and maintained by a managed service provider (MSP).
• managed security service provider (MSSP) - A managed security service provider (MSSP) is an IT service provider that sells security services to businesses.
• managed service provider (MSP) - A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party company that remotely manages a customer's information technology (IT) infrastructure and end-user systems.
• management information systems (MIS) - Management information systems (MIS) is a department within an enterprise responsible for controlling the hardware and software systems that the organization uses to make business-critical decisions.
• manager self-service - Manager self-service is self-service platform that enables managers to get immediate access to employee information and initiate employment-related actions.
• managerial grid model (The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid model) - The managerial grid model was developed by Robert R.
• Manchester encoding - In data transmission, Manchester encoding is a form of digital encoding in which a data bit's state -- 0 or 1 -- is represented by the transition from one voltage level to another.
• mandatory access control (MAC) - Mandatory access control (MAC) is a security strategy that restricts the ability individual resource owners have to grant or deny access to resource objects in a file system.
• Mandela Effect - The Mandela Effect is an observed phenomenon in which a large segment of the population misremembers a significant event or shares a memory of an event that did not actually occur.
• manufacturing execution system (MES) - A manufacturing execution system (MES) is an information system that connects, monitors and controls complex manufacturing systems and data flows on the factory floor.
• marcom (or marcomm) - Marcom (sometimes spelled 'marcomm') is an abbreviation for 'marketing communications.
• MariaDB - MariaDB is an open source relational database management system (DBMS) that is a compatible drop-in replacement for the widely used MySQL database technology.
• market basket analysis - Market basket analysis is a data mining technique used by retailers to increase sales by better understanding customer purchasing patterns.
• market concentration - Market concentration is the distribution of a given market among the participating companies.
• market development funds (MDF) - Market development funds (MDF) are a resource that a vendor grants to its indirect sales channel partners to help the channel with sales and marketing programs.
• marketecture (marchitecture) - Marketecture (also known as marchitecture) refers to non-technical descriptions of a company's products or services that let various stakeholders understand the product's core functionality and how it works with other products as part of a broader ecosystem.
• marketing automation - Marketing automation is a type of software that allows companies to effectively target customers with automated marketing messages across channels including email, websites, social media and text messages to generate sales leads.
• marketing campaign management - Marketing campaign management is the planning, executing, tracking and analysis of direct marketing campaigns.
• marketing stack - A marketing stack, also called a marketing technology stack, is a collection of technologies used by marketers to perform, analyze and improve their services.
• marketing-qualified lead (MQL) - A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a website visitor whose engagement levels indicate they are likely to become a customer.
• Marketo - Marketo is a comprehensive marketing software-as-a-service platform designed to automate and streamline marketing tasks across multiple digital channels.
• Markov model - A Markov model is a stochastic method for randomly changing systems that possess the Markov property.
• Martian address (Martian packet) - A Martian address is a source or destination IP address that apparently does not exist on Planet Earth and is, thus, invalid and/or non-routable.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a charted set of human requirements that are important for an individual to achieve complete development and self-actualization.
• mass (m) - Mass (symbolized m) is a dimensionless quantity representing the amount of matter in a particle or object.
• Massachusetts data protection law - What is the Massachusetts data protection law?The Massachusetts data protection law is legislation that stipulates security requirements for organizations that handle the private data of residents.
• massive open online course (MOOC) - A massive open online course (MOOC) is a typically free web-based distance learning program that's designed for large numbers of geographically dispersed students.
• Master Boot Record (MBR) - The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the information in the first sector of a hard disk or a removable drive.
• master data - Master data is the core data that is essential to operations in a specific business or business unit.
• material requirements planning (MRP) - Material requirements planning (MRP) is a system for calculating the materials and components needed to manufacture a product.
• maturity grid (maturity model) - A maturity model is a matrix for evaluating an organization's level of progress towards a goal.
• Maven - Maven is a project management build tool used mostly in Java development.
• maximizer - A maximizer is an individual who consistently seeks the optimal outcome for any endeavor.
• maximum segment size (MSS) - The maximum segment size (MSS) is the largest amount of data, specified in bytes, that a computer or communications device can handle in a single, unfragmented piece.
• maximum transmission unit (MTU) - The maximum transmission unit (MTU) is the largest size frame or packet -- in bytes or octets (eight-bit bytes) -- that can be transmitted across a data link.
• MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) - An MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) is a credential that proves that an individual has a complete set of skills required to perform a particular IT job role, such as enterprise or virtualization administrator.
• McKesson Corp. - McKesson Corp.
• MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) - MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) was a certification program offered by Microsoft and intended for people seeking entry-level jobs in an IT environment.
• MD5 - The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) hashing algorithm is a one-way cryptographic function that accepts a message of any length as input and returns as output a fixed-length digest value to be used for authenticating the original message.
• MDI/MDIX (medium-dependent interface/MDI crossover) - MDI/MDIX is a type of Ethernet port connection that uses twisted-pair cabling to link two networked devices.
• mean time to detect (MTTD) - Mean time to detect (MTTD) is a measure of how long a problem exists in an IT deployment before the appropriate parties become aware of it.
• mean time to innocence - Mean time to innocence is the average elapsed time between when a system problem is detected and any given team's ability to say the team or part of its system is not the root cause of the problem.
• Meaningful Use - In the context of health IT, meaningful use is a term used to define minimum U.
• meaningful use stage 3 - Meaningful use stage 3 is the third phase of the federal incentive program that details requirements for the use of electronic health record systems by hospitals and eligible healthcare professionals.
• mebibyte (MiB) - A mebibyte (MiB) is a unit of measurement used in computer data storage.
• mechanical refrigeration - Mechanical refrigeration, often referred to simply as refrigeration or air conditioning, is a process by which heat is removed from a location using a human-made heat exchange system.
• medical imaging (radiology) - Medical imaging, also known as radiology, is the field of medicine in which medical professionals recreate various images of parts of the body for diagnostic or treatment purposes.
• medical scribe - A medical scribe is a professional who specializes in documenting patient encounters in real time under the direction of a physician.
• medical transcription (MT) - Medical transcription (MT) is the manual processing of voice reports dictated by physicians and other healthcare professionals into text format.
• Meditech (Medical Information Technology Inc.) - Meditech (Medical Information Technology Inc.
• meet-in-the-middle attack - Meet-in-the-middle is a known plaintext attack that can greatly reduce the number of brute-force permutations required to decrypt text that has been encrypted by more than one key.
• megabits per second (Mbps) - Megabits per second (Mbps) are units of measurement for network bandwidth and throughput.
• megabyte (MB) - A megabyte is a unit of data capacity that is equal to 1,000,000 bytes in decimal notation (base 10) or 1,048,576 bytes in binary notation (base 2).
• megabytes per second (MBps) - Megabytes per second (MBps) is a unit of measurement for data transfer speed to and from a computer storage device.
• megahertz (MHz) - Megahertz (MHz) is a unit multiplier that represents one million hertz (106 Hz).
• Melissa virus - Melissa was a type of email virus that initially become an issue in early 1999.
• memorandum of understanding (MOU) - A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a formal agreement that outlines plans for a common line of action between two or more parties.
• memory - Memory is the electronic holding place for the instructions and data a computer needs to reach quickly.
• memory dump - A memory dump is the process of taking all information content in RAM and writing it to a storage drive as a memory dump file (*.
• memory management - Memory management is the process of controlling and coordinating a computer's main memory.
• memory management unit (MMU) - A memory management unit (MMU) is a computer hardware component that handles all memory and caching operations associated with the processor.
• memory paging - Memory paging is a memory management technique used to control sharing of memory resources belonging to a computer or virtual machine (VM).
• memristor - A memristor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in a circuit and remembers the amount of charge that has previously flowed through it.
• MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) - A MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) is a miniature machine that has both mechanical and electronic components.
• menu - A menu is a set of options presented to the user of a computer application to help them find information or execute a function.
• mesh network topology (mesh network) - A mesh network is a network in which devices -- or nodes -- are linked together, branching off other devices or nodes.
• message authentication code (MAC) - A message authentication code (MAC) is a cryptographic checksum applied to a message in network communication to guarantee its integrity and authenticity.
• message passing interface (MPI) - The message passing interface (MPI) is a standardized means of exchanging messages between multiple computers running a parallel program across distributed memory.
• messaging security - Messaging security is a subcategory of unified threat management, or UTM, focused on securing and protecting an organization's communication infrastructure.
• meta description tag - A meta description tag is a snippet of HTML code in a web page header that summarizes the content that's on the web page.
• metadata - Often referred to as data that describes other data, metadata is structured reference data that helps to sort and identify attributes of the information it describes.
• metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) - The metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, pronounced MAWS-feht) is the most common type of field-effect transistor (FET).
• metamorphic and polymorphic malware - Metamorphic and polymorphic malware are two types of malicious software (malware) that can change their code as they propagate through a system.