Computer Hardware/Software Flashcards
What is an input device? Give an example.
An input device is any piece of computer hardware that provides data. An example would be a mouse, keyboard, or scanner.
What is an output device? Give an example.
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results of data processing. An example would be a printer.
What’s the difference between an input and an output system?
Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it.
What does CPU stand for and what does it do?
CPU-Central Processing Unit; CPUs are the main calculating chip in a computer.
What are the two major companies that make CPUs?
AMD and Intel
Which of the major CPU companies is usually cheaper?
AMD
Which of the major CPU companies spends more on advertising?
Intel
What is the Blue Man Group and what line of product did they advertise for on Intel commercials?
The Blue Man Group was a music group that became a pop icon after advertising for Intel Pentium products.
What is a quadcore?
A quadcore CPU is a calculating chip that has four parts to it, making it able to process more data faster. The more cores, the better.
What are the two motherboard sizes?
ATX and MicroATX
What is the purpose of a heatsync and fan?
It cools down the CPU.
Why does a heatsync and fan have so many ridges on it?
There are so many ridges on a heatsync and fan because the more surface area on it, the more it can help cool the CPU down. More heat can disperse with more surface area.
What does GPU stand for?
Graphic Processing Unit
The _____ _____ holds the CPU to the motherboard.
CPU Socket
What is the difference between software and hardware?
Hardware are the physical parts of a computer while the software is the actual programs that the computer runs.
The _____ can be compared to as a human nervous system.
Motherboard
What is the purpose of a motherboard?
A motherboard is the interface to which everything connects to inside a computer.
True of False: AMD has a bigger market in the USA. If False, explain.
False, Intel pays more for advertising, so therefore, has a larger market of customers in the USA.
Give two examples of coolant computers use.
Liquid Coolant and Air Coolant (from fans)
What is the purpose of thermal paste?
Thermal paste connects the heatsync and fan to the CPU so the fan can cool the chip through heat conduction.
What is RAM and what does it do?
RAM is Random Access Memory and it stores the currently running programs.
How many gigabytes does a faster computer have, approximately?
about 16 gb
What is the advantage of having more gb of RAM?
The more gb of RAM you have, the faster the currently running programs will run.
What is the purpose of flash memory?
Flash memory saves long-term memory.
Cell phone memory, camera memory, and flash drives are examples of _____ _____.
Flash Memory
True or False: Optical drives is the general term for all drives. If True, give an example of one, and if False, explain.
True; example: CD ROM drive, blue ray drive, etc.
Disks inside an HDD spin at _____ rpm.
72
1 tb = _____ gb
1,000
What does HDD stand for?
Hard Disk Drive
What is the purpose of a hard drive?
A hard drive permanently stores long-term data or information.
_____ and _____ _____ work together to store the memory of a computer.
RAM; Hard Drives
_____ is the cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard.
SATA
The two types of cables are _____ and _____.
Ribbon and SATA
What is the most commonly used type of cable now? Why did it take the place of the other kind?
SATA cable is most often used now. This is because it takes up less space in a computer and runs faster and more efficiently.
What are the two things sent through ribbon or SATA cables?
Power and Data
What does a power supply do?
A power supply has many wires coming out of it which makes it possible to perform its job of providing power to the computer.
CD ROM drives are used to…
put data onto CDs
What is a peripheral?
Anything you add onto a computer with cables: printer, scanner, mp3 player, speakers, sound interface, etc.
Internal card readers add _____ _____ and an extra _____ _____ for cheap.
card slots; USB port
What are graphics cards?
They are the part of your computer that controls and enhances how graphics (pictures, videos, programs, animation, 3D) are displayed on your computer.
Why were people so afraid of Y2K?
Computers were programmed to write the date as 19_ _. People were afraid that when the year 2000 hit, it would confuse the computers and make them all crash, making traffic lights, banks, airports, etc, fail. They believed that this crisis would be like the end of the world because they were so dependable upon technology by that time.
Define malware.
malicious ‘infections’ in a computer
Name five early viruses.
the centipede, walker virus, crash, ambulance, and the brain A
What was the first ever made virus?
the Brain A
What is a virus? How does it attack a computer?
A virus needs a host (like a link, file, image, or other program). It attaches onto a file and then begins to assault the computer.
What is a worm?
A worm is a computer infection that infects by getting through a programming weakness or firewall.
What is a trogen horse?
A type of malware found after a successful virus attack.
It disguises itself and then attacks the computer once its opened.
What is a botnet?
A botnet is a group of computers used to send spam or attack something. It is used for some evil activity.
What is the purpose of a botnet?
A botnet isn’t used to destroy your computer, but to use the power of your computer to harvest or attack something.
Do you always know you are part of a botnet?
No, your computer can be infected without you realizing it.
Is Conficker a worm, virus, or trogen horse?
a worm
How does Conficker enter your computer?
through maulfunctions
Every time Conficker is updated, it become a(n) _____ program.
sneakier
Why do people think Ukrainians made Conficker?
Every time the program senses a Ukrainian keyboard layout, it self-destructs. In Ukraine, it is illegal to target a fellow citizen.
True of False: Anyone with the right channels and enough money for contacting the owners can rent Conficker and use it as a weapon. If False, explain.
True
The _____ _____ hacked the phone system.
Blue Box
_____ are like backbone servers of big processes that run specific machinery and usually sit in the wall.
PLCs
How many supercomputers are there in the world that run the internet?
9
If Conficker was used to target PLCs, what would happen if they were destroyed?
The internet would fail and would take a long time to recover, making things VERY inconvenient.
Why hasn’t Conficker been used as a weapon?
It has been used for money instead.
Did Conficker create a botnet?
Yes
What is a keylogger?
A keylogger is a program that records the strokes you use on a keyboard, making it possible to find out passwords and other information.
How did our government attack the Iranian nuclear program?
By using a botnet to speed up the reactors, the government made the plant literally melt down.
Steve _____ didn’t like the name iPod at first, though the name later grew on him.
Jobs
Why are hackers so difficult to find?
They use servers around the world, the programs they make are often highly encrypted, and because they live overseas in areas where its not illegal to write malware
How far did the first email travel?
10 feet
What are Microsoft’s two main products?
Windows and Office
Does an operating system act as the master control system?
Yes
_____ other programs fun inside operating systems.
All
What is Linux?
a free and programmable operating system
What is a workstation?
A nerdy term for a computer.
What are bullets often used for?
to make organized lists
What is a bullet list?
a bullet list is a list with dottie things that make the page look pretty and more organized. the dottie things (bullets) can be changed
What does BIOS stand for and what does it do?
BIOS stands for the Basic Input Output System. It helps the computer read the operating system from either the CD ROM drive or HDD.
What is the nomenclature formula?
=sum(column letter row number:column letter row number)
In Excel, are rows vertical or horizontal? What about columns?
Rows are horizontal and columns are vertical.
What is the Microsoft ribbon?
The control structure at the top of the screen on Microsoft Word
How many sections is the Microsoft ribbon split up into? What are those sections called?
3 sections: Tabs, Groups, and Buttons
What are the tabs on a ribbon?
home, insert, etc.
What are the groups on a ribbon?
font, styles, etc.
What are the buttons on a ribbon?
They are the individual buttons within the tabs like bold, bullet types, size, etc.
What is an operating system?
The program that runs every other programs including hardware and software.
Operating systems enable you to run other _____ and makes your _____ work together.
programs; hardware
How does the ruler help you with tabs?
they allow you to set them in the proper places
When talking of tabs and indents, which controls lines? Paragraphs?
Tabs control lines of writing while indents control paragraphs.
What do you use to align text?
tabs
Which computer worm is the largest known one and grounded Navy airships?
Conficker
Which virus is named after the nuclear plant melt down? It costed more than 1 billion dollars to fix.
Chernobyl
Which virus came through Apple messaging products?
Leap.A
Which virus attacked the white house successfully by taking down websites? It was named after mountain dew.
Code Red
Which virus sent emails with the title I Love You and then downloaded passwords and sent them to hackers?
ILOVEYOU
What virus was the fastest spreading of all time? Its creator never was found and it succeeded in taking down the internet for one entire day.
MYDOOM
