nanny program [parental control software] - Program designed to screen out Web sites that feature pornography and other material not suited for young children and teenagers.

NetBEUI {NET-boo-ee} [NetBIOS Extended User Interface] - A network transport protocol that adds capabilities to NetBIOS. It is used by Microsoft and IBM network operating systems such as Windows NT and LAN Manager.

NetBIOS {NET-by-ose} [Network Basic Input/Output System] - An applications programming interface used in conjunction with other programs to transmit messages between applications running on PCs hooked to a local area network.

netiquette - Internet etiquette. An oxymoron.

netizen - Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet, or someone who uses networked resources.

network – Several computers, hooked together to share devices, send files back and forth, run programs or access data.

Network Neighborhood - In Windows, a desktop folder that contains other computers on the network. Here, you can connect to their shared drives, folders and printers.

newbie - Someone who is new to computers or the Internet.

newsgroup - Discussion group of people, using e-mail, that focuses on a specific subject.

NNTP [Network News Transfer Protocol] - Transfer protocol which routes newsgroup e-mail from server to server.

nonrepudiation - inability, of the sender of a message, to deny having sent the message. A regular hand-written signature provides one form of nonrepudiation. A digital signature provides another.

notebook - A small laptop computer, about the size of a standard three-ring binder.

Notification Area - Located on the Task Bar in Windows, next to the clock, the Notification Area displays system messages and alerts.

NSFNet [National Science Foundation Network] - A high-speed network funded by the National Science Foundation that formed the original backbone of the academic part of the Internet. NSFNet extends across the continental United States and outwards to Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Midlevel networks are attached to this backbone and university and local networks attach to those.

nybble - one half of a byte, or four bits.