Information Technology Flashcards
Which IT personnel roles
should always be segregated?
- Operators
- Programmers
- Librarians
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
What is the primary duty of
a Systems Administrator?
Controls database access.
What are the duties of a
Systems Programmer?
Writes, Updates, Maintains, & Tests
software systems and compilers
Which duties should a Systems Programmer NOT have?
To maximize internal control, a Systems Programmer
- should NOT have application programming duties/abilities
- or be an Operator on the system.
What are the duties of a Systems Operator?
- Schedules and Monitors Jobs
- Runs IT Help Desk
What duties should a System Operator NOT have?
For internal control purposes, they should not be a Programmer on the system.
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
What is the purpose of a Management Information System (MIS)?
To assist with decision making.
What is an Accounting Information System (AIS)?
A type of Management Information System (MIS)
that processes accounting transactions.
What are the characteristics of an Executive Information System (EIS)?
- Specialized for Company Executive needs
- Assists with Strategy Only
- No Decision-Making Capabilities
What are the characteristics of an Expert System (ES)?
Computer uses reasoning
Structured
No human interpretation needed
What are the characteristics of a Decision Support System (DSS)?
- Computer provides data
- Gives Interactive Support
- Human interpretation needed
What are the characteristics of an Ad Hoc computer report?
- User initiates the report.
- The report is created upon demand.
When are Exception reports generated?
Exception reports are produced when
- Edit Tests
- Check Digits
- or Self-Checking Digits
identify a problem
What is a query?
A type of Ad Hoc report, initiated by a user.
What is End-User Computing?
The User develops and executes their own application.
What is the primary benefit of E-commerce?
E-commerce makes business transactions easier.
What are the risks of E-commerce?
- Compromised data or theft
- Less paper trail for auditors.
What are the benefits of
Electronic Data Interchange?
- Uses globally-accepted standards
- Efficient
What is a File Server?
A file server stores shared programs and documents.
What is the purpose of a Database?
Located on a File Server
allows users to share documents.
What is the purpose of a LAN (Local Area Network)?
It connects computers in close proximity.
What is the purpose of a WAN (Wide Area Network)?
It connects computers that are far apart.
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
What is the purpose of a Firewall?
Prevents unauthorized access to a network.
What are the characteristics of a virus?
- Takes over a computer
- Needs a host program to run
What are the characteristics of a computer worm?
- Takes over multiple computers
- Doesn’t need a host program to run
What is the purpose of Automated Equipment Controls?
They prevent and detect hardware errors.
What is RAM?
- Random Access Memory.
- Internal memory in the computer used during immediate processing.
What is a CPU?
- Computer Processing Unit
- It processes commands within a computer.
What is Job Control Language?
It schedules and allocates system resources.
What are examples of input devices?
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Scanner
- Magnetic Ink Reader
- Magnetic Tape Reader
- EDI
- Point of Sale Scanner
What are examples of Output Devices?
- Speakers
- Monitors
- Printers
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
What are the characteristics of Magnetic Disks?
- Random Access - Finds data in random spots
- Faster data retrieval
- Uses Boundary Protection for data
What is a Gateway?
Connects one network to another
Note: the Internet is connected by Gateways
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.
What is an Echo Check?
Transmitted data is returned to the sender for verification (it echoes back to the sender)
What is a Change Control?
It authorizes program changes
and approves program test results.
What is security software?
Software that controls access to IT systems.
Note: Don’t confuse this with anti-virus software
What is the purpose of a Digital Signature?
It confirms a message has not been altered.
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
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 bytes (Ex: Name, Zip Code, Serial #)
- Record - Group of related fields (MemberName, address, #)
- File - Group of related records (i.e. Membership directory)
What is the duty of a design engineer?
Determine language used for a specific computer
on a computer-to-computer basis
What are object programs?
Programs written in base computer language
not similar to English
How can source programs be recognized?
They are written in a language close to English.
What is the purpose of a Compiler?
Takes Source language (English)
and converts to Object (Computer) Language
How does Online Analytical Processing work?
It uses a Data Warehouse
to support management decision making.
What is Data Mining?
Using AI and pattern recognition
to analyze data stores within a Data Warehouse.
What is the purpose of online transaction processing?
To process a company’s routine transactions.
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)
What does an output control check for?
Checks to see if output data is valid
distributed and used in an authorized manner.
What does a processing control check?
Checks if data processing produced proper output
What is a hash total?
An input control number, a meaningless sum of values included in the input.
Ex: summing a list of SSNs to make sure the data is the same once entered as it was prior to input into the system.
What is a validity check?
Checks to see if data in existing tables or files belongs in the set
Ex: Is there a # in an alpha-only field or a letter in a numeric-only field
What is a limit check?
Checks to see if numbers surpass a certain limit
i.e. Age field is the number greater than 110 yrs old
What is a check digit?
An input control that adds an ID number to a set of digits usually at the end
What is a field check?
An input check that prevents invalid characters
i.e. checks for alphabetic letters in a SSN field
What is a Hot Site?
A disaster recovery system
If the main system goes down, a Hot Site is ready to take over immediately.
What is a Cold Site?
If a main system goes down, a Cold Site will take time to get set up and running.
What is the most common database language?
SQL - Structured Query Language
What is a Data Definition Language?
- Defines SQL Database
- Controls SQL Tables
What is a Data Manipulation Language?
Queries SQL Database tables
What is a Data Control Language?
Controls Access to SQL Database
What are the characteristics of a
Relational Database?
- Logical structure
- Uses rows and columns similar to spreadsheet
What are the characteristics of
a Hierarchical Database?
- Has various levels
- Uses trees to store data
What are the advantages of a database?
- Data is more accessible
- Reduced redundancy
What are the disadvantages of a database?
- Cost of installation
- Skilled personnel required to maintain
What are the components of a database?
- Desktop client
- Application Server
- Database Server
Your desktop runs applications and saves to a database
