Certified - CompTIA IT Fundamentals+

In this episode, we’ll cover the first batch of foundational terms and acronyms you need to recognize for the ITF Plus certification. These acronyms begin with the letters A through D and include essential concepts in access control, protocols, operating systems, certificate management, and infrastructure.
These glossary terms often appear in multiple-choice questions or scenario prompts on the exam. You won’t need to configure or troubleshoot these technologies, but you do need to know what they stand for and what they relate to. Each term will be presented with three concise, spoken-word sentences to reinforce recognition and clarity.
Access Control List, or A C L, defines a set of rules used to control access to resources like files or networks. It determines which users or systems can access specific items and what actions they are allowed to perform. A C Ls are often associated with permissions and firewalls.
Automated Certificate Management Environment, or A C M E, is a protocol used to automate the issuing and renewing of digital certificates. It is commonly used by tools like Let’s Encrypt to manage HTTPS certificates without manual steps. A C M E improves web security by making encryption easier to maintain.
Artificial Intelligence, or A I, refers to the simulation of human intelligence by machines and software. A I is used in tasks like speech recognition, data analysis, and automation. While not deeply tested on the ITF Plus exam, you should recognize the acronym and its basic meaning.
Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment, or A I D E, is a security tool that scans systems for unauthorized changes. It creates a database of file hashes and can alert administrators if anything changes unexpectedly. A I D E is often used on Linux systems for system integrity monitoring.
Application Programming Interface, or A P I, is a set of rules that allows different software components to communicate with each other. A P I s let developers build on top of existing systems by providing predefined functions and commands. You’ll often hear A P I in the context of apps talking to cloud services.
Advanced Reduced Instruction Set Computer Machine, or A R M, is a processor architecture designed for efficiency and low power usage. A R M chips are common in smartphones, tablets, and embedded systems. It’s important to know that A R M is different from desktop x eighty six architectures.
Basic Input Output System, or B I O S, is firmware stored on the motherboard that runs when the computer first turns on. It initializes hardware components and starts the operating system loading process. Older systems use B I O S, while newer ones may use U E F I.
Certificate Authority, or C A, is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates to verify the identity of websites and services. A C A helps ensure secure communication by validating that a public key belongs to the right owner. This term appears often in discussions about HTTPS and encryption.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment, or C I slash C D, is a practice used in software development to automate testing and deployment. It allows code to be merged and delivered frequently with fewer errors. While not tested in depth, the acronym may appear in cloud or DevOps contexts.
Common Internet File System, or C I F S, is a network file-sharing protocol that allows systems to access files over a network. It is based on the older Server Message Block standard. You may see C I F S referenced when connecting to shared drives.
Center for Internet Security, or C I S, is an organization that develops best practices and benchmarks for securing systems and networks. C I S guidelines are often used in compliance and risk assessments. On the exam, just know that C I S promotes security standards.
Content Management System, or C M S, is a type of software used to create, manage, and publish digital content like websites or blogs. Examples include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. You should associate C M S with web content editing and publication.
Central Processing Unit, or C P U, is the primary component of a computer that performs most of the processing tasks. It executes instructions and handles calculations that run applications. Every computing device, from phones to servers, contains a C P U.
Comma-Separated Value, or C S V, is a simple file format used to store data in a tabular form. Each line of a C S V file contains values separated by commas. These files are often used for importing or exporting data to spreadsheets and databases.
Common UNIX Printing System, or C U P S, is a printing system for Unix-like operating systems. It manages print jobs and queues and supports various printer drivers. You may see C U P S used in Linux environments.
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, or C V E, is a standardized naming system for known security flaws. Each vulnerability receives a unique C V E number for reference and tracking. Cybersecurity tools and vendors often list issues using their C V E identifier.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System, or C V S S, provides a way to assign a numeric score to the severity of a security vulnerability. Higher scores indicate greater risk. C V S S helps organizations prioritize which issues to fix first.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or D H C P, is a protocol used to automatically assign I P addresses to devices on a network. It eliminates the need for manual configuration of each device. D H C P is commonly used in both home and enterprise networks.
Destination Network Address Translation, or D N A T, is a technique that changes the destination address of packets as they pass through a router or firewall. It is often used to forward traffic to internal servers. D N A T is one form of Network Address Translation.
Domain Name System, or D N S, translates human-readable domain names like example dot com into numerical I P addresses. It allows users to access websites using names instead of numbers. D N S is a foundational part of how the internet works.
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Effective Group Identifier, or E G I D, is used by operating systems to determine group-based permissions for a running process. It is separate from the user's primary group ID. E G I D helps control what resources a process can access based on group membership.
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux, or E P E L, is a repository of additional software packages for Red Hat-based Linux systems. It provides access to open-source tools that are not part of the base distribution. E P E L is often used when configuring Linux servers.
Effective User Identifier, or E U I D, determines the actual user permissions of a process at a given time. It may differ from the real user ID if a program uses privilege escalation. E U I D is important for managing access control in Unix-like systems.
Forward Error Correction, or F E C, is a method of sending extra data along with a message to detect and fix errors. It is used in data transmission systems like wireless and satellite communication. F E C improves reliability without requiring retransmission.
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, or F H S, defines the directory structure and content layout for Unix and Linux systems. It ensures consistency across different Linux distributions. Understanding F H S helps with navigation and system management.
Fully Qualified Domain Name, or F Q D N, is the complete domain name that specifies a device's exact location in the DNS hierarchy. It includes the hostname and domain, such as server dot example dot com. F Q D N is often used in configuring servers and certificates.
File Transfer Protocol, or F T P, is a standard method for transferring files between computers over a network. It can be used with or without encryption. F T P is often replaced by more secure alternatives like S F T P.
Filesystem in Userspace, or F U S E, allows non-privileged users to create their own filesystems without modifying kernel code. It is often used to mount virtual or encrypted filesystems. F U S E enhances flexibility in managing storage.
General Data Protection Regulation, or G D P R, is a European Union law that governs how personal data must be handled. It emphasizes user consent, transparency, and data rights. G D P R compliance is critical for organizations handling European customer data.
Group Identifier, or G I D, is a numeric value used by Unix-like systems to define a group of users. Permissions can be applied based on group membership through the G I D. It works alongside user identifiers to manage access rights.
G N U is Not Unix, or G N U, is a recursive acronym for a free software operating system project. It provides tools and components used in Linux systems. G N U software follows open-source principles and licensing.
G N U Privacy Guard, or G P G, is a tool for encrypting files and communications using public key cryptography. It ensures that messages can be read only by intended recipients. G P G is widely used for secure email and document encryption.
G N U Privacy Guard 2, or G P G 2, is an updated version of the original G P G tool with newer cryptographic standards and enhancements. It provides improved support for smart cards and secure key storage. G P G 2 is backward-compatible but more secure.
GUI D Partition Table, or G P T, is a modern disk partitioning scheme used by newer systems in place of the older M B R. It supports larger disks and more partitions. G P T is required for booting in systems using U E F I firmware.
Grand Unified Bootloader, or G R U B, is a boot manager that loads operating systems on startup. It allows users to select from multiple installed systems or kernels. G R U B is commonly used in Linux environments.
Graphical User Interface, or GUI, is a visual way of interacting with a computer using windows, icons, and menus. It contrasts with command-line interfaces that require text commands. Most modern operating systems rely on GUI for usability.
Globally Unique Identifier, or GUI D, is a long unique number used to identify objects, files, or components across systems. GUI D s are used in databases, software, and hardware management. Their uniqueness helps avoid collisions or duplication.
Hashed Message Authentication Code, or H M A C, is a type of message authentication using a cryptographic hash function and a secret key. It is used to verify both data integrity and authenticity. H M A C is widely used in secure communication protocols.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or H T T P, is the protocol used for accessing websites and transferring data over the web. It is the foundation of how web browsers and servers communicate. H T T P lacks encryption unless combined with S S L or T L S.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon, or H T T P D, is a program that runs as a web server using H T T P. It listens for requests from clients and serves content in response. Common examples include Apache and N G I N X.
Infrastructure as Code, or I a C, is the practice of managing infrastructure through scripts and configuration files. It allows automated deployment and consistency across environments. I a C is often used in cloud and DevOps workflows.
This concludes Episode 8 of the ITF Plus PrepCast. You’ve now heard over 45 key acronyms, each explained clearly for recognition on the exam. Up next, we’ll move into Episode 9 with terms from E through N.