1.5 - utility software

Question 1

What is a system software

Answer 1

Software that governs computer system

Question 2

What does a system software do

Answer 2

Controls hardware, including peripherals
Allows the programs (applications) to run
Provides interface for user to interact with computer
Maintains the system

Question 3

What is an OS

Answer 3

Collection of programs that manage and controls the computer

Question 4

What does an OS do

Answer 4

Controls hardware computers
Provides platform for software to run on
Provides a user interface
Multitasking facilities
Manages the computers memory
Manages peripherals
Manages files
Manages users

Question 5

Examples of OS

Answer 5

Microsoft Windows
Apple OS
Linux
Android
IOS

Question 6

What is an interface

Answer 6

Program or collection of programs that allows user to interact with computer

Question 7

Types of interface

Answer 7

Graphical user interface - GUI
Mobile user interface - Mobile UI
Command line interface - CLI

Question 8

What is a GUI

Answer 8

Feature a desktop where everything is displayed, all objects represented by icons, interact using mouse and on screen pointer

Question 9

Characteristics of GUIs

Answer 9

Powerful and easy to use
Require lots of processing power

Question 10

What is a mobile UI

Answer 10

Similar to GUIs but respond to finger touch instead, found in smartphones and tablets

Question 11

What is a CLI

Answer 11

Text based, users control it by typing in commands

Question 12

CLI characteristics

Answer 12

Require little processing power
Extremely powerful
Difficult to use

Question 13

What is multitasking

Answer 13

Multitasking means to be able to run more than one program simultaneously. Modern operating systems are multitasking in that they allow several programs to run side-by-side

Question 14

What is needed for multitasking

Answer 14

the operating system can support multitasking
the computer has enough memory to hold more than one program in primary memory at the same time

Question 15

Why is managing memory important

Answer 15

To ensure that:
- more than one program can run at the same time
- more than one document can be opened at the same time

Question 16

What is paging

Answer 16

Way to manage memory
Memory split into sections called pages
When a program is run, it is loaded into memory. The operating system determines how much memory the program requires, and allocates enough pages to hold it and its documents. When the program is closed, the allocated pages are freed up for use by other programs.

Question 17

Is data contiguous in paging

Answer 17

The pages a program occupies may or may not be contiguous, but this does not matter. The operating system knows what each page occupies and fetches the data held in them when needed.

Question 18

What are peripherals

Answer 18

Peripherals are hardware devices connected to a computer, such as a monitor, printer, scanner or camera

Question 19

What is a device driver

Answer 19

Program operating system uses to control peripherals. Each device has its own driver

Question 20

Advantages to drivers

Answer 20

• any device can be used with the operating system, as long as a driver is available for it
• drivers can be updated, usually to give better performance or to remove a
  bug

Question 21

What does file handling software allow users to do

Answer 21

• create, modify and delete files and folders
• copy and duplicate files and folders
• move files and folders
• rename files and folders
• sort items into different orders, according to name, file type, date created and more
• search for particular files and folders
• restore deleted files
  -set access rights to files such as read only or edit

Question 22

What does user management allow

Answer 22

• individual users to be created and deleted
• access levels to be given to users, such as administrator rights or standard user rights
• auditing (keeping a log) of files a user creates, accesses, edits and deletes

Question 23

What does encryption software do

Answer 23

disguises the contents of files so they can only be understood by authorised users. The software uses a complex algorithm to scramble the content so that it appears to be gibberish. Only authorised users can descramble the content.

Question 24

What does utility software include

Answer 24

encryption software
defragmentation software
data compression software
backup software

Question 25

What is disc defragmentation

Answer 25

Over time, more and more files become fragmented, as do individual files. A fragmented disk takes longer to read from and write to, making a computer run slower. Defragmentation software takes the fragmented files and rearranges the segments so that they run contiguously. This decreases read/write time, thereby speeding up computer performance.

Question 26

What is fragmentation

Answer 26

When a file is stored on a hard disk it is actually stored not as a whole file, but as a series of segments. Sometimes the segments run together in sequence and sometimes the segments are split up over the disk

Question 27

What is data compression

Answer 27

Compression software reduces the size of a file stored on secondary storage.

Question 28

Why is data compression needed

Answer 28

Smaller files are easier to transmit across a network as they require fewer packets to be sent. Their reduced size also means more files can be stored in any given area of storage.

Question 29

Why backup

Answer 29

Data can be lost accidentally, or deliberately. A user may accidentally delete or overwrite a file, or a hard disk may fail, preventing access to any files stored on it. A hacker or malicious user may deliberately delete or overwrite data.

Question 30

What is a backup

Answer 30

To prevent data loss, regular copies of the data should be made. A copy of data is known as a backup. Backups can contain a copy of all files on a computer, or just ones specified by a user.
If data loss occurs, data can be retrieved from the backup. The software allows all backed-up files to be retrieved or just specified files.

Question 31

Two types of backup

Answer 31

Full
Incremental

Question 32

Full backup

Answer 32

A full backup involves making a copy of every file on the computer or network. They can require a lot of storage space and can be time consuming to make.

Question 33

Incremental backup

Answer 33

Incremental backups take a copy of any new files created since the last backup, or of any files that have been edited, such as user documents.

Question 34

Common way of backingup data

Answer 34

Most network managers make an initial full backup and then switch to daily incremental backups. This way all data is backed up and daily backups are small and less time-consuming.