Hacker - A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular. The term is often misused in a pejorative context, where "cracker" would be the correct term.

Hash Value - A shortened unique identifier for a string of text, generated by applying a formula to the string in such a way that is extremely unlikely that some other string will produce the same hash value.

Header - Information that appears at the top of e-mail messages, and newsgroup articles that contains data about the sender and the message. The date and time the message was created, the computer path through which the message travelled and other information.

Header Tag - An HTML tag which is commonly used for page headers.

Helper Application - A stand-alone software program that a Browser uses to handle certain incoming files.

Hex Code - The binary code name for a color used in HTML.

Hidden Text - Text which is invisible to the human eye because it is the same color as the background.

Hit - A request from a browser for a single item from a Web server. An overused term when discussing traffic on a Web site, e.g. "We get 500,000 hits per month." Calling one page from a server could result in dozens of "hits" because each graphic is interpreted as a hit. In reality, counting only the "index.htm" page or "default.htm" page would be a more accurate gauge of traffic.

Home Page - A place on the Web where any person, company or organization can display information.

Host - A computer that allows users to communicate with other host computers on a network. Individual users communicate by using client programs, such as electronic mail, Telnet and FTP. Every computer on the Internet with its own IP address is designated as a host.

Hotbot - One of the top 15 search engines.

Hotspot - Areas in a Web document or graphic that are hyperlinks to other pages or URLs. E.g. banners, adverts, menus

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) - Is the prevailing presentation level standard for authoring World Wide Web documents. In its most basic form, it resembles the early word processing codes of the early 1980s.

HTML Link - A link from one page to another.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) - The language convention of the Web, used to deliver HTML documents. The (main) protocol used to communicate between Web servers and Web browsers (clients).

HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) - The secure version of HTTP.

Hyperlink - A means of "jumping" from one information site to another on the same or a different network server.

Hypertext - A link between one document and other related documents elsewhere in a collection. By clicking on a word or phrase that has been highlighted on a computer screen, a user can skip directly to files related to that subject.