Definitions for Microsoft Windows, including terms about bugs or patches and words and phrases about Microsoft operating systems.
.NET Framework - .NET Framework is a managed execution environment for Windows that allows software developers to create a software application in one programming language and be assured the app can work with code written in other languages.
Active Directory functional levels - Active Directory functional levels are controls that specify which advanced Active Directory domain features can be used in an enterprise domain.
Active Directory tree - An Active Directory (AD) tree is a collection of domains within a Microsoft Active Directory network.
ActiveX - ActiveX is a set of object-oriented programming technologies and tools that Microsoft developed for Internet Explorer to facilitate rich media playback.
AppX file - AppX is the application distribution file format that was introduced with Microsoft Windows 8.
Azure Container Instances (ACI) - Azure Container Instances (ACI) is a service that enables a developer to deploy containers on the Microsoft Azure public cloud without having to provision or manage any underlying infrastructure.
Azure DevOps - Azure DevOps -- rebranded from Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) in 2018 -- is a software-as-a service (SaaS) platform from Microsoft designed to provide a comprehensive toolchain for developing and deploying software projects.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) - Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed container orchestration service based on the open source Kubernetes system, which is available on the Microsoft Azure public cloud.
Azure Migrate - Azure Migrate is a Microsoft service that helps an enterprise assess how its on-premises workloads will perform, and how much they will cost to host, in the Azure public cloud.
Azure Quantum - Azure Quantum is a full-stack cloud service designed to allow users remote access to quantum computers.
built-in administrator account - In the Windows operating system, the built-in administrator account -- the first account created when the OS was installed -- has the highest permissions of any profile on the computer system.
business continuity - Business continuity is an organization's ability to maintain critical business functions during and after a disaster has occurred.
clean architecture - Clean architecture is a software design philosophy that separates the elements of the design into ringed levels.
Client Access Server (CAS) - The Client Access Server (CAS) is a server role that handles all client connections to Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange 2013.
cmdlet - A cmdlet -- pronounced 'command-let' -- is a small, lightweight command that is used in the Windows PowerShell environment.
compliance as a service (CaaS) - Compliance as a service (CaaS) is a cloud service that specifies how a managed service provider (MSP) helps an organization meet its regulatory compliance mandates.
configuration service provider (CSP) - A configuration service provider (CSP) is a component of Windows client operating systems that shows IT professionals device configuration choices and allows them to apply the settings across multiple Windows OSes.
context menu (right-click menu) - A context menu is a pop-up menu that provides shortcuts for actions the software developer anticipates the user might want to take.
data recovery agent (DRA) - A data recovery agent (DRA) is a Microsoft Windows user account with the ability to decrypt data that was encrypted by other users.
diskpart (Disk Partition Utility) - Diskpart is a command line utility in Windows operating systems (OSs) that is used to manage disks, partitions, and volumes.
Exchange Online - Exchange Online is the hosted version of Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging platform that organizations can obtain as a stand-alone service or via an Office 365 subscription.
Exchange Web Services (EWS) - Microsoft Exchange Web Services (EWS) is an application program interface (API) that lets applications access items in a Microsoft Exchange email mailbox, such as calendars, contacts, and messages.
Group Policy - Group Policy is a management feature in Microsoft's Active Directory (AD) that enables network and system administrators to configure and assign user and computer settings in an AD environment.
Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) - Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is a Microsoft Management Console snap-in that provides a graphical user interface that enables Active Directory (AD) administrators to manage Group Policy Objects (GPOs) from one console.
HyperTerminal - HyperTerminal is a communications and terminal emulation program that came with the Windows 98 and Windows XP operating systems.
Internet Explorer (IE) - Internet Explorer (IE) is a web browser that formerly came bundled with the Microsoft Windows operating system.
IO.SYS - IO.SYS is a hidden executable binary file that processes instructions that tell the operating system (OS) how the computer is set up when it is booted or started.
kernel panic - A kernel panic refers to a computer error from which the system's operating system (OS) cannot quickly or easily recover.
kiosk mode (Windows assigned access) - Kiosk mode is a feature in Windows operating system (OS) that allows a device to run only specified applications and settings.
live USB (operating system on a stick) - Windows To Go is a feature of Windows 8 Enterprise edition that allows administrators to put a full blown copy of Windows 8 on an external USB 3.
Local Group Policy Editor - Local Group Policy Editor is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that provides a user interface for managing local Group Policy settings on a Windows computer.
MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) - MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) was a certification program offered by Microsoft and intended for people seeking entry-level jobs in an IT environment.
Microsoft Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) - The Microsoft Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) is a free utility administrators can use to move Active Directory objects, such as computers, users and groups, from one Windows Server Active Directory domain or forest to another.
Microsoft App-V (Microsoft Application Virtualization) - Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) is an application virtualization client that makes an application available to end users without installing it on a personal computer (PC).
Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit - Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit is a free utility IT can use to determine whether its infrastructure is prepared for a migration to a new operating system, server version or cloud-based deployment.
Microsoft Azure Data Lake - Microsoft Azure Data Lake is a highly scalable public cloud service that allows developers, scientists, business professionals and other Microsoft customers to gain insight from large, complex data sets.
Microsoft Azure Functions - Azure Functions is a serverless computing service, hosted on the Microsoft Azure public cloud, that streamlines the development of systems and applications.
Microsoft Azure Marketplace - The Microsoft Azure Marketplace is an online store that offers applications and services either built on or designed to integrate with Microsoft's public cloud.
Microsoft Azure Security Center - Microsoft Azure Security Center is a set of tools and services for securing virtual machines that run on the Azure public cloud.
Microsoft Azure Stack - Microsoft Azure Stack is an integrated platform of hardware and software that delivers Microsoft Azure public cloud services in a local data center to enable organizations to construct hybrid clouds.
Microsoft Click-To-Run - Microsoft Click-to-Run is a way to quickly install Microsoft products, including versions of Office 2010 and Office 2013.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Windows Defender ATP) - Microsoft Defender for Endpoint -- formerly Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection or Windows Defender ATP -- is an endpoint security platform designed to help enterprise-class organizations prevent, detect and respond to security threats.
Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Edge is a cross-platform browser created by Microsoft and installed by default on all new Windows devices.
Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) - The Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) is a feature that handles mailbox import, export, migration and restoration requests on Exchange Server.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) - Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is a cloud-based service that provides email filtering designed to protect organizations against spam, malware, and other email-based threats.
Microsoft Exchange Server - Microsoft Exchange Server is Microsoft's email, calendaring, contact, scheduling and collaboration platform.
Microsoft Hybrid Configuration Wizard - The Microsoft Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) is a tool provided by Microsoft to help organizations set up and configure a hybrid deployment between their on-premises Exchange Server and Exchange Online, which is part of Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Hyper-V Shielded VM - A Microsoft Hyper-V Shielded VM is a security feature of Windows Server 2016 that protects a Hyper-V second-generation virtual machine (VM) from access or tampering by using a combination of Secure Boot, BitLocker encryption, virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and the Host Guardian Service.
Microsoft Identity Manager - Microsoft Identity Manager -- also called Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 or MIM -- is an on-premises tool that enables organizations to manage access, users, policies and credentials.
Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based unified endpoint management (UEM) tool that aims to help organizations manage the mobile devices employees use to access corporate data and applications, such as email.
Microsoft Nano Server - Microsoft Nano Server is a lightweight version of the Windows Server operating system that was introduced with Windows Server 2016 for use as an OS layer for virtualized container instances.
Microsoft Network Policy and Access Services (Microsoft NPAS) - Microsoft Network Policy and Access Services (Microsoft NPAS) is a server role in Windows 2008 and Windows Server 2012 that allows administrators to provide local and remote network access.
Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center - The Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center is the web-based portal administrators use to manage user accounts and configuration settings for the Office 365 subscription services, including Exchange Online and SharePoint Online.
Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection - Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is Microsoft's optional cloud-based service that scans and filters email to protect subscribers from malware in attachments and hyperlinks to malicious websites.
Microsoft Office 365 suite - Microsoft Office 365 suite is a hosted, online version of Microsoft Office software.
Microsoft Office Delve - Microsoft Office Delve is a search engine and discovery tool for the Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite.
Microsoft OneDrive - OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is an online cloud storage service from Microsoft.
Microsoft Outlook on the web (formerly Outlook Web App, OWA) - Outlook on the web is the browser-based email client for users to access email, calendars, tasks and contacts from Microsoft's on-premises Exchange Server and cloud-based Exchange Online.
Microsoft Planner - Microsoft Planner is a web-based visual task management application that enables enterprise teams to create, assign and organize work in order to execute projects.
Microsoft Power Apps - Power Apps is a suite of Microsoft products that enable both developers and nontechnical users to build custom applications to fulfill various business needs.
Microsoft Power Automate - Microsoft Power Automate, formerly called Microsoft Flow, is cloud-based software that allows employees to create and automate workflows and tasks across multiple applications and services without help from developers.
Microsoft Schannel (Microsoft Secure Channel) - The Microsoft Secure Channel, or Schannel, is a security support package that facilitates the use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption on Windows platforms.
Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) - Microsoft Software Assurance is a software maintenance program that helps organizations gain access to the latest software versions and releases, without incurring additional licensing costs.
Microsoft Store - The Microsoft Store -- formerly called the Windows Store -- is an online marketplace for consumers to buy and download a variety of items.
Microsoft System Center - Microsoft System Center is a suite of software products designed to simplify the deployment, configuration and management of IT infrastructure and virtualized software-defined data centers.
Microsoft System Center 2012 - Microsoft System Center 2012 is a bundled suite of systems management products that offers tools to monitor and automate virtualized environments, including private clouds based on Microsoft Hyper-V.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) - Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a Windows product that enables the management, deployment and security of devices and applications across an enterprise.
Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Teams is cloud-based team collaboration software that offers core capabilities, including business messaging, calling, video meetings and file sharing.
Microsoft Windows 10 Shared PC Mode - Microsoft Windows 10 Shared PC Mode is an operating system feature that allows IT administrators to configure computers for multiple user access.
Microsoft Windows Azure Active Directory (Windows Azure AD) - Microsoft Windows Azure Active Directory (Windows Azure AD or Azure AD) is a cloud service that provides administrators with the ability to manage end-user identities and access privileges.
Microsoft Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) - Microsoft Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is a service in Microsoft Windows operating systems (OSes) that allows download from and upload of files to Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) web servers and Server Message Block (SMB) file servers.
Microsoft Windows Credential Guard - Microsoft Credential Guard is a security feature in Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) that isolates user credentials, such as login information, from the rest of the operating system.
Microsoft Windows Defender Device Guard - Windows Defender Device Guard is a security feature for Windows 10 and Windows Server designed to use application whitelisting and code integrity policies to protect users' devices from malicious code that could compromise the operating system.
Microsoft Windows Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) - Microsoft Windows Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is a command-line tool that allows IT administrators to service Windows desktop images and virtual hard disks prior to deployment to users.
Microsoft Windows Features on Demand - Microsoft Windows Features on Demand is a feature that allows system administrators to add or remove roles and features in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, and later versions of the client and server operating system to alter the file size of those operating systems.
Microsoft Windows File Explorer - Microsoft Windows File Explorer is a graphical file management utility for the Windows operating system (OS).
Microsoft Windows Hello - Microsoft Windows Hello is a biometric identity and access control feature that supports fingerprint scanners, iris scanners and facial recognition technology on compatible devices running Windows.
Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) - The Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment, or Windows RE, is a simplified, scaled-back version of the Windows operating system that is used to boot the system when Windows 8.
Microsoft Windows Server OS (operating system) - Microsoft Windows Server OS (operating system) is a series of enterprise-class server operating systems designed to share services with multiple users and provide extensive administrative control of data storage, applications and corporate networks.
Microsoft Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) - Microsoft Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a series of Microsoft components that allow native Linux 64-bit Executable and Linkable Format (ELF64) binaries to run on the Windows kernel in the Windows 10 operating system (OS).
Microsoft Windows Update - Microsoft Windows Update is a security service for Windows users that, once activated, automatically searches for and installs updates.
Monad Manifesto - The Monad Manifesto is a document written by Jeffrey Snover in 2002 that outlined his idea for a new Windows systems administration tool named Monad, which was changed to Windows PowerShell.
perpetual software license - A perpetual software license is a type of software license that authorizes an individual to use a program indefinitely.
Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) - The Preboot Execution Environment or PXE (commonly pronounced as pixie) is a client-server environment that enables network computers to boot over the network interface card (NIC), instead of from a CD-ROM or hard disk.
Process Explorer - Process Explorer is a free Windows task manager and system monitoring tool that details which programs in a user's system have a specific file or directory open.
remote code execution (RCE) - Remote code execution (RCE) is when an attacker accesses a target computing device and makes changes remotely, no matter where the device is geographically located.
remote desktop connection broker - A remote desktop connection broker is software that allows a remote desktop client to connect to a remote desktop host or server.
Remote Desktop Services (RDS) - Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is an umbrella term for features of Microsoft Windows Server that allow users to remotely access graphical desktops and Windows applications.
