Utility software(1.2. b)

Question 1

What is utility software?

Answer 1

software that makes working with computers much easier and nicer to do but isn’t actually essential to the running of the system

Question 2

What types of software counts as utility?

Answer 2

anything that provides some form of service that helps the user and OS to operate the computer efficiently
some may be bundled with the OS others may be third party

Question 3

File repair

Answer 3

files can become corrupt or damaged for several reasons
attempts to correct these issues and restore the file to its original working state
file repair facility is often built into certain applications as well as being a separate dedicated software tool found in most operating systems

Question 4

Backup

Answer 4

backing up your important files is essential
can be set up to be manual automatic or scheduled
can perform full backups or incremental backups
can back up to different media or an off-site cloud system
often comes with your operating system but can also be purchased separately

Question 5

Compression

Answer 5

reduces the size of a file so it takes up less space and downloads faster over the internet
compressed files must be extracted before they can be read
depending on the algorithm used data is either lost reducing the quality of an image or audio file (e.g., JPEG, MP3), or represented in a different way using binary retaining the original data in a new compressed format (e.g. ZIP)

Question 6

Disk defragmentation

Answer 6

over time when writing deleting and reorganising files in a file management tool the data that defines that file may end up in many pieces (called fragments) across several sectors of storage
reorganises the data on a hard disk putting these fragments of files back together also providing contiguous areas of free space
process reduces the amount of movement required by the drive head across the surface of the disk,which speeds up file access
ssd’s should not be defragmented as they have no moving parts its unnecessary and also reduces the drive’s lifespan

Question 7

Anti malware

Answer 7

helps keep your computer and files safe from many types of malware virtually all operating systems come with malware protection already built in, configured and turned on

Question 8

Encryption

Answer 8

uses cryptographic methods to obscure data
encrypted data cannot be read without the encryption key
can be used for data storage, to encrypt data on SSDs and HDDs
can also be used for data transmission such as emails messages etc