Axram - M


MAC. Media access control. This is a sub layer of networking protocols that allows the computers on a network to take turns sending data on the physical network medium. This layer is also responsible for ensuring that the data reaches the other computer without any errors
MacBinary II. Because of its forked file structure, transferring Mac OS files to non-Macintosh computers is problematic. MacBinary was developed as a means of preserving this structure without sacrificing portability. It combines the data and resource forks and Finder information of a file into a single document, which is then suitable for transport via FTP, the World Wide Web and electronic mail or for storage on computers that run different operating systems, such as Unix or Windows. It is similar to BinHex, but MacBinary produces binary files as opposed to ASCII text. Thus, MacBinary files take up less disk space than BinHex files, but older applications and servers are more likely to corrupt them.
Machine language. A “low-level” computer language that communicates directly with the computer hardware. Programs are written in binary; each instruction corresponds to a single computer operation. Often, an assembly language is used to make the machine language codes more understandable by computer programmers.
Macro. A symbol, name, or key that represents a list of commands, actions, or keystrokes. Many programs allow you to create macros so that you can enter a single character or word to perform a whole series of actions.
Macro assembler. A program that lets you construct assembly language macros. An assembly language macro is an instruction that represents several other machine language instructions at once.
Macro virus. A macro is a piece of code that can be embedded in a data file. Some word processors (e.g., Microsoft Word) and spreadsheet programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel) allow you to attach macros to the documents they create. In this way documents can control and customize the behavior of the programs that created them or even extend the capabilities of the program. A macro virus is a virus that exists as a macro that is attached to a data file. In most respects macro viruses are like all other viruses. The main difference is that they are attached to data files rather than executable programs. By some estimates 75% of all computer viruses now in existence are macro viruses. See Viruses in Depth
Mail relaying. A practice in which an attacker sends e-mail messages from another system’s e-mail server in order to use its resources and/or make it appear that the messages originated from the other system.
Malicious code. Software that fulfills the deliberately harmful intent of an attacker when run on a computer. For example, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are malicious code.
Malicious user. A user who intentionally accesses a system with the intent to cause harm to the system or to use it in an unauthorized manner.
Malware. Software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system, without the owner's consent. Malware is commonly taken to include computer viruses, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. Malware should not be confused with defective software, that is, software which has a legitimate purpose but contains errors or bugs.
MIME. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension. A standard for transmitting various file formats (usually multimedia) across the Internet. In the Internet, it is a standard that defines the method in which files are attached to SMTP messages.
MPEG. Moving Picture Expert Group. An industry association set up to fix standards for the digital storage and playback of moving video, particularly with regard to compression.
MS-DOS. Microsoft Disk Operating System. The most widely used operating system for personal computers, also simply called DOS. To organize disks and data, it uses a tree-like directory structure wherein files can be stored inside directories and subdirectories.
Multicast. A point-to-point means of transmitting data, especially useful for multi-viewer video. Standard TCP connections are unicast, that is, single sender and single recipient - to send a data stream to 10 viewers would require 10 separate data streams. An alternative is broadcast, which is single point to every recipient but the traffic goes to more viewers than have requested it, hence affecting their links into the network. Multicast is point to multipoint, which means a single stream from a server goes simultaneously to the set of recipients that it is intended for.
Multimedia. Relating to video, audio, and graphics. Multimedia software combines two or more media for presentation or analysis purposes. Large multimedia applications are often stored on CD-ROM devices because of the size and memory requirements.
Multitasking. The capability for one machine to run two or more programs at the same time. Multitasking is commonly used for background operations, such as printing, fax and data communications, and complex calculations.
Multi-user. Relating to multiple users. A program or operating system that supports more than one user at the same time. A multiuser database, for example, allows numerous computers to access the data at the same time. Multiuser software uses a network to connect users to the data.

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