S

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)

A fast communications bus that allows multiple devices to be connected to a computer.

SDP (Session Description Protocol)

Protocol used with QuickTime Streaming Server; an SDP file contains information about the format, timing, and authorship of the live streaming broadcast.

search domain

Domain that provides the TCP/IP configuration with a domain name or list of domain names to use in the event that one is not specified in an IP search or request.

Section 508

The section of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act that requires any electronic information developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Secure Empty Trash

A Mac OS X 10.4 feature that repeatedly overwrites deleted files when the Trash is emptied, making the files nearly impossible to recover.

share point

A server volume that can be mounted by a network user.

sheet

Modal dialog attached to a particular document window.

single-user mode

Mode in which Mac OS X is started without the multiuser components or graphical user interface. Single-user mode is enabled by pressing Command-S at startup.

SLP (Services Location Protocol)

A networking protocol used to discover and advertise TCP/IP-based services, such as personal file sharing, personal web sharing, or USB printer sharing. Some of these discovered services are viewed in the Finder by choosing Go > Connect to Server (Command-K).

SMB (Server Message Block)

A networking protocol that allows a computer on a network to access Windows and Samba file servers and view the items on them as though they were stored locally.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

A networking protocol used to send electronic mail using a mail server.

Spotlight

Desktop search technology introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 for searching file data and metadata.

SSH

Program to log in to another computer over a TCP/IP network, and execute commands on the remote computer. SSH provides authentication and secure communications over unsecure channels.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)

An Internet protocol that allows you to send encrypted, authenticated information across the Internet.

standard user

A user account type in which a user can use a basic set of applications and tools. It is limited to making configuration changes that only affect the user's own account; a standard user cannot make changes to system-wide settings or use Directory Setup and NetInfo Manager to change configurations. Also called normal user.

subnet mask

A filter used to determine what part of an IP address identifies a network and what part identifies an individual host machine.

superuser

Another name for root.

See also [root (user)]

System Administrator

Long name for root.

See also [root (user)]

System Preferences

Application used to configure system settings and preferences in Mac OS X.