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  • Finger
    A program that you point at the username of someone on a networked system. It uncovers that person's full name, most recent log-in time, and other information. It's also used as a verb, meaning to apply the program to the user name.
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  • Firewall
    An internetwork gateway that restricts data communication to and from a computer network and protects the network's resources against threats from outside the firewall. A firewall is usually placed between a public network, such as the Internet, and an organization's private, internal network in order to implement the organization's security perimeter and enforce the organizations security policy. Many types of firewalls are commercially available.
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  • Flame
    A (often) largely personal attack against the author of a USENET posting. People who post flames are known as "flamers".
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  • Footer
    A formatting style designated in HTML by a specific tag and used at the end of an HTML file.
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  • Framework
    Foundation upon which a company may build their current and future communications infrastructure. Usually consists of a set of components that work together to solve a business problem.
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  • Freeware
    Freeware is a class of software that you can download, pass around, and distribute without payment. However, it's still copyrighted, so you can't turn around and decompile it or sell it as your own.
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  • Front office
    A merchant's system containing a store and its contents. It generates electronic offers, and validates electronic receipts. See also back office.
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  • Front-office server
    A Web server that is typically run by a merchant. It may be a Web store or a fulfillment server.
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  • FTP
    File transfer protocol is the method used on the Internet to copy a file from one computer to another. Using FTP, you can search through directories on computers around the world, locate a file, and transfer a copy of it to your machine.
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  • Fulfillment
    The act of delivering electronic goods, such as software or electronic documents, electronically or shipping physical goods by traditional means.
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  • Fulfillment server
    Used in the context of Web stores that sell electronic goods, such as electronic documents or software. Unlike physical goods, which must be shipped by traditional means, digital goods can be delivered to the buyer's computer over the Web immediately upon purchase. A commerce service provides buyers of electronic goods with Digital Receipts, which contain a URL that identifies where the purchased goods can be located.
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