Connectivity

Question 1

To create a home network which type of network do you need to set up?

Answer 1

LAN (Local Area Network)

Question 2

What are the advantages of using a cable connection to the router?

Answer 2

• Very Fast
• Good security as the user would need to physically plug their computer into the network with a cable
• Should not experience interference

Question 3

Give two benefits of using a wireless network in the home.

Answer 3

• Cheaper
• No building work needed to routing cables through the house
• Can access the network from anywhere in the house
• Can carry device from room to room and stay connected

Question 4

State what piece of equipment needs to be connected to the modem in order to share the connection over a wireless network

Answer 4

Router

Question 5

State two ways to secure a wireless network.

Answer 5

• Use a form of encryption
• Change default passwords on the router
• MAC address filtering
• Stop the router broadcasting its SSID
• Reduce transmitter power

Question 6

Explain why it is important to secure a wireless network.

Answer 6

Wireless networks need to be secured otherwise other people can access your network and use your Internet connection or steal data.

Question 7

What ways can you transfer images from a camera to a netbook?

Answer 7

• Bluetooth
• Inserting an SD card from camera into netbook
• USB cable

Question 8

What is Bandwidth?

Answer 8

The amount of data that can fit through an Internet connection. You can compare it to a 10 lane motorway which can fit more cars on it than a 4 lane motorway. Bandwidth is measured in bits per second (bps). This indicates the number of bits of information that can fit down the line in one second.

Question 9

What is Latency?

Answer 9

The time delay between the moment something is initiated and the moment it becomes detectable

Question 10

What does peer-to-peer networks mean?

Answer 10

This is when digital devices communicate wirelessly with each other directly without the need for transmitter between them.

Question 11

Which communication protocol is used to make telephone calls?

Answer 11

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

Question 12

Which communication protocols are used when sending and receiving messages?

Answer 12

• SMTP (Simple Message Transfer Protocol) - used when email is sent from the sender
• POP3 (Post Office Protocol) - used to read the email when the email is downloaded from the server and can be read offline
• IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) - the email is read on the mail server and can only be accessed when the computer has an internet connection.

Question 13

What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?

Answer 13

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol of the World Wide Web (WWW) and is used to ask the web server to send the files needed to show the web page. The Hyper Text Transfer protocol over SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or HTTPS transfers the data encrypted so that it cannot be read by anyone except the recipient.

Question 14

Explain why firewalls are used by people when accessing the Internet.

Answer 14

A firewall is used to stop (or allow) data transmission to stop malicious sites from accessing data on a computer.

Question 15

Data can be encrypted when it is sent to other people over the Internet. Explain how encryption helps keep data secure.

Answer 15

Encryption randomises / encodes the data and the data needs to be decoded so that unauthorised users cannot access the data.

Question 16

What is a Firewall?

Answer 16

A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to your computer when connected to a network such as the Internet.

Question 17

What does Biometric mean?

Answer 17

An automated method of recognising a person based on physical characteristics. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, iris and voice.

Question 18

Describe one biometric method that can be used to authenticate a person’s identity when they are trying to enter a building or log on to a computer system.

Answer 18

You could use a fingerprint scanner that reads a person’s fingerprint and checks whether or not there is a computer account or file in the system for that fingerprint.

Iris recognition or other biometric methods would be acceptable but you must include a description in the answer.

Question 19

What is an IP address?

Answer 19

The IP (Internet Protocol) address is the personal address of your computer (just like your home address), so that servers know where to send the information you have requested.