Glossary K-Z
(KPI) is a business metric used to evaluate factors that are crucial to the success of an organization or business unit.
A type of "digital signature", the unique MD5 hash value of e-files is generated from an algorithm to verify the integrity of data by creating a 128-bit message digest.
The "data about the data". For example, a if a document is considered to be data, its title, location, and subject are examples of metadata.
(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - A high-quality audio file format (.mid).
Used in computer forensic investigations and some electronic discovery investigations, a mirror image is a bit-by-bit copy of a computer hard drive that ensures the operating system is not altered during the forensic examination. May also be referred to as “disc mirroring,” or as a “forensic copy.” This term is debated for the technical correctness in that a normal viewing mirror actually shows an exact but reversed image.
(MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) is a standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about one-twelfth the size of the original file) while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played.
(Motion Picture Experts Group) - A video file format (.mpeg) offering excellent quality in a comparatively small size. Video files found on the Internet are frequently stored in the MPEG format.
Network-attached storage (NAS) is hard disk storage that is set up with its own network address rather than being attached to the department computer that is serving applications to a network's workstation users. By removing storage access and its management from the department server, both application programming and files can be served faster because they are not competing for the same processor resources. The network-attached storage device is attached to a local area network (typically, an Ethernet network) and assigned an IP address.
A file that remains unconverted from its original application. To open and/or view these files, the original application is often required to be installed on the local computer. Examples include Microsoft Word documents that maintain the .doc extension, or Microsoft Powerpoint documents that have the .ppt file extension. A common alternative is to convert the original data collection of various file types into a standard format for easier reviewing (TIFF or pdf).
(Optical Character Recognition): A computerized process that attempts to ""read"" individual characters from digital images of paper documents and place the output into a text file that can be associated with the original flat file.
A crucial portion of a large or complex project, expert project management ensures pre-determined policies are followed, issues are communicated, scope creep is addressed and controlled, and the overall performance reporting functions.
(Personal Folder File): The compressed email container where Outlook stores its information (unless Microsoft Exchange Server is utilized). A .pst file is created when an email account is established, and additional ones can be generated for backing up additional information.
(sometimes called source data) is data that has not been processed or converted for use. A distinction is sometimes made between data and information to the effect that information is the end product of data processing.
In a database, a record (sometimes called a row) is a group of fields within a table that are relevant to a specific entity.
(Request for Information) document generally outlining the scope of possible services and inviting detailed information from a potential vendor.
(Request for Proposal) document generally outlining the specific scope of an upcoming project with the expectation of a response addressing the needs and costs.
The process of statistically testing a data set for the likelihood of relevant information. Sampling can be useful in providing information to the court about the relative cost burden versus benefit of requiring a party to review certain electronic records.
A systematic evaluation of the security of a company's information system by measuring how well it conforms to a set of established criteria. A thorough audit typically assesses the security of the system's physical configuration and environment, software, information handling processes, and user practices.
Secure Hash Algorithm, a standard algorithm, that makes a larger (512-bit) message digest compared to MD5 hash value.
(Structured Query Language) - A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases.
(Tape ARchive) - A compression format commonly used in the transfer and storage of files on UNIX computers (.tar).
A thousand (specifically 1024) Gigabytes.
(Tag Image File Format) - A popular graphic image file format (.tif).
A situation where a customer's project has become dependent upon specific hardware or software, and the time and expense of changing vendors would strictly limit the customer's options.
(Waveform Audio) - A common audio file format for DOS and Windows computers (.wav).
A compressed file format (.zip). Many files available on the Internet are compressed or ""zipped"" in order to reduce storage space and transfer times.
