netsec glossary

Firewall — a checkpoint between networks that decides what traffic is allowed through, and what gets turned away.

DNS — the internet’s phonebook; turns a name like thewittyswan.space into the numeric address computers actually use to find it.

TLS — the handshake that lets two computers talk privately, so whatever passes between them can’t be read by anyone listening in.

VPN — a private tunnel through a public network, making a connection look like it’s coming from somewhere else entirely.

Packet — the small, addressed envelope that all internet traffic actually travels in, broken apart and reassembled at the other end.