BEC - Information Technology Flashcards
BEC - Information Technology
Which IT personnel roles should always be segregated?
Operators
Programmers
Librarians
BEC - Information Technology
What are the duties of a systems analyst?
Designs or purchases IT system
Responsible for flowcharts
Liaison between Users and Programmers
Note: Think IT Manager
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What is the primary duty of a Systems Administrator?
A Systems Administrator controls database access.
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What are the duties of a Systems Programmer?
Writes- Updates- Maintains- & Tests software- systems- and compilers
BEC - Information Technology
Which duties should a Systems Programmer NOT have?
In order to maximize internal control- a Systems Programmer should NOT have application programming duties/abilities or be an Operator on the system.
BEC - Information Technology
What are the duties of a Systems Operator?
Schedules and Monitors Jobs
Runs IT Help Desk
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What duties should a System Operator NOT have?
For internal control purposes- they should not be a Programmer on the system.
BEC - Information Technology
If it is not possible to segregate duties in an IT System- what actions should be taken to compensate for internal control purposes?
Include Computer Logs.
Control Group should review the logs.
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What is the purpose of a Management Information System (MIS)?
To assist with decision making.
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What is an Accounting Information System (AIS)?
A type of Management Information System (MIS) that processes accounting transactions.
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What are the characteristics of an Executive Information System (EIS)?
Specialized for Company Executive needs
Assists with Strategy Only
No Decision-Making Capabilities
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What are the characteristics of an Expert System (ES)?
Computer uses reasoning
Structured
No human interpretation needed
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What are the characteristics of a Decision Support System (DSS)?
Computer provides data
Gives Interactive Support
Human interpretation needed
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What are the characteristics of an Ad Hoc computer report?
User initiates the report.
The report is created upon demand.
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When are Exception reports generated?
Exception reports are produced when Edit Tests- Check Digits- or Self-Checking Digits identify a problem
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What is a query?
A type of Ad Hoc report- initiated by a user.
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What is End-User Computing?
The User develops and executes their own application.
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What is the primary benefit of E-commerce?
E-commerce makes business transactions easier.
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What are the risks of E-commerce?
Compromised data or theft.
Less paper trail for auditors.
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What are the benefits of Electronic Data Interchange?
Uses globally-accepted standards
Efficient
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What is a File Server?
A file server stores shared programs and documents.
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What is the purpose of a Database?
Located on a File Server- a Database allows users to share documents.
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What is the purpose of a LAN (Local Area Network)?
It connects computers in close proximity.
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What is the purpose of a WAN (Wide Area Network)?
It connects computers that are far apart.
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What are the characteristics of a VAN (Value-Added Network)?
Privately-owned Network
Serves as 3rd Party Between 2 Companies
Routes EDI Transactions
Accepts wide range of Protocols
Very Costly
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What is the purpose of a Firewall?
Prevents unauthorized access to a network.
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What are the characteristics of a virus?
Takes over a computer
Needs a host program to run
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What are the characteristics of a computer worm?
Takes over multiple computers
Doesn’t need a host program to run
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What is the purpose of Automated Equipment Controls?
They prevent and detect hardware errors.
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What is RAM?
Random Access Memory.
Internal memory in the computer used during immediate processing.
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What is a CPU?
Computer Processing Unit
It processes commands within a computer.
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What is Job Control Language?
It schedules and allocates system resources.
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What are examples of input devices?
Keyboard
Mouse
Scanner
Magnetic Ink Reader
Magnetic Tape Reader
EDI
Point of Sale Scanner
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What are examples of Output Devices?
Speakers
Monitors
Printers
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What are the characteristics of Magnetic Tape storage?
Sequential Access - Sorts data in order
Slower data retrieval
Header Label prevents Operator error by loading wrong tape
External Labels prevent accidental destruction by operator
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What are the characteristics of Magnetic Disks?
Random Access - Finds data in random spots
Faster data retrieval
Uses Boundary Protection for data
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What is a Gateway?
Connects one network to another
Note: the Internet is connected by Gateways
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What are Parity Checks?
A control that detects internal data errors.
A bit is added to each character- it checks to see if a bit was lost.
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What is an Echo Check?
Transmitted data is returned to the sender for verification (it echoes back to the sender)
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What is a Change Control?
It authorizes program changes and approves program test results.
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What is security software?
Software that controls access to IT systems.
Note: Don’t confuse this with anti-virus software
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What is the purpose of a Digital Signature?
It confirms a message has not been altered.
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List the types of computers from smallest to largest
PDA/Smartphone/Tablet
Microcomputer - PC- Laptop (cost-effective)
Minicomputer - Like a Mainframe- but smaller
Mainframe - Large computer with terminals attached
Supercomputer - Very powerful and very big
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What are the units of computer data from smallest to largest?
Bit - 1 (on) and 0 (off)
Byte - 8 bits to a byte/character
Field - group of related characters/bytes (i.e. Name- Zip Code- Serial #)
Record - Group of related fields (i.e. Member name- address- phone number)
File - Group of related records (i.e. Membership directory)
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What is the duty of a design engineer?
Determine language used for a specific computer- on a computer-to-computer basis
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What are object programs?
Programs written in base computer language- not similar to English.
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How can source programs be recognized?
They are written in a language close to English.
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What is the purpose of a Compiler?
Takes Source language (English) and converts to Object (Computer) Language
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How does Online Analytical Processing work?
It uses a Data Warehouse to support management decision making.
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What is Data Mining?
Using artificial intelligence and pattern recognition to analyze data stores within a Data Warehouse.
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What is the purpose of online transaction processing?
To process a company’s routine transactions.
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What are the characteristics of batch processing?
Data held- updates multiple files all at once
Leaves a better audit trail
Uses Grandfather-Father-Son backup (3 levels of backup kept in 3 locations)
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What does an output control check for?
Checks to see if output data is valid- distributed and used in an authorized manner.
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What does a processing control check?
Checks if data processing produced proper output
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What is a hash total?
An input control number- a meaningless sum of values included in the input.
Example would be summing a list of SSNs to make sure the data is the same once entered as it was prior to input into the system.
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What is a validity check?
Checks to see if data in existing tables or files belongs in the set
For example- is there a # in an alpha-only field or a letter in a numeric-only field
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What is a limit check?
Checks to see if numbers surpass a certain limit- i.e. in an age field is the number greater than 110.
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What is a check digit?
An input control that adds an identification number to a set of
digits - usually at the end
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What is a field check?
An input check that prevents invalid characters- i.e. checks for alphabetic letters in a SSN field
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What is a Hot Site?
A disaster recovery system where if the main system goes down- a Hot Site is ready to take over immediately.
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What is a Cold Site?
If a main system goes down- a Cold Site will take time to get set up and running.
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What is the most common database language?
SQL - Structured Query Language
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What is a Data Definition Language?
Defines SQL Database
Controls SQL Tables
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What is a Data Manipulation Language?
Queries SQL Database tables
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What is a Data Control Language?
Controls Access to SQL Database
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What are the characteristics of a Relational Database?
Logical structure
Uses rows and columns similar to spreadsheet
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What are the characteristics of a Hierarchical Database?
Has various levels
Uses trees to store data
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What are the advantages of a database?
Data is more accessible
Reduced redundancy
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What are the disadvantages of a database?
Cost of installation
Skilled personnel required to maintain
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What are the components of a database?
Desktop client
Application Server
Database Server
Think: Your desktop computer runs applications and saves to a database