software Flashcards
what are the two main types of software?
application software, system software
what is application software?
software that helps the user perform specific tasks
examples of common types of application software
web browsers, word processors, email clients and games
what is system software?
software that helps to run, maintain and configure a computer
what are the two main types of system software?
utility software and the operating system
what are the most common types of utility software?
backup utilities, virus scanners, compression software, encryption, defragmentation software
explain backup utilities
they create copies of a computer’s files. The copies are usually stored on an external storage device.
If the computers files are lost or accidentally deleted, then they can be recovered from the backup
why do companies usually take regular backup copies of their files?
losing all of their files could greatly damage their company
explain virus scanners
they search through all the files on the computer to see if there are any viruses
why is it important that virus scanners are updated regularly?
so that they know about new viruses that they need to look for
explain compression software
they reduce the size of files so they take up less disk space.
It makes files easier to send, but the compressed files usually need to be decompressed before they can be used
explain encryption
it scrambles data to stop other users from being able to read it.
what is the special code that allows for encrypted files to be decrypted?
a decryption key
explain defragmentation software
it helps to improve the read/write speeds of well used hard drives.
over time, files on a hard drive can get split up into seperate blocks as they repeatedly get read from and written to storage
defragmentation software collects these blocks back together, which makes it quicker to access the file
