Knowledge base

Glossary

16 key terms explained in plain English — the concepts behind our reviews and guides.

AI Tools

Large Language Model (LLM): A neural network trained on large text corpora to understand and generate human-like language. LLMs power chat assistants, writing tools and coding assistants.
Prompt Engineering: The practice of crafting inputs (prompts) to get better, more reliable outputs from an AI model — using clear instructions, examples and constraints.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): A technique that lets an AI model pull in external documents at answer time, improving accuracy and reducing hallucinations.
Token: The unit of text an AI model processes — roughly a word piece. Pricing and context limits are usually measured in tokens.

VPN Kill Switch: A feature that blocks all internet traffic if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address from leaking.
No-Logs Policy: A commitment (ideally independently audited) that a VPN does not record your browsing activity or connection metadata.
WireGuard: A modern, fast and lean VPN protocol that offers strong security with less code than older protocols like OpenVPN.
Split Tunneling: A VPN feature that routes some apps or sites through the VPN while letting others use your normal connection.

Uptime: The percentage of time a hosting service keeps your site online. 99.9% uptime allows about 8.7 hours of downtime per year.
Content Delivery Network (CDN): A network of edge servers that cache your site closer to visitors, reducing load times globally.
SSL/TLS Certificate: A certificate that encrypts traffic between a browser and your site (the padlock and https://). Essential for trust and SEO.
Time To First Byte (TTFB): How long a server takes to send the first byte of a response — a key hosting performance metric.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Software delivered over the internet on a subscription basis, with no local installation or maintenance required.
API: An Application Programming Interface lets software talk to other software — enabling integrations and automation.

Earnings Per Click (EPC): An affiliate metric: average commission earned per click sent to a merchant. Used to compare and forecast program value.
Online Travel Agency (OTA): A platform like Booking.com or Expedia that aggregates flights, hotels and packages for online booking.