Computer Concepts & Careers Exam 1 Study Guide

Hardware What is RAM? – Random Access Memory – A temporary holding area for data, application instructions, and the operating system. – RAM is the “waiting room” for the computer’s processor. – During the Boot Process, the Operating System kernel is loaded into memory/RAM The kernel provides essential operating system services, such as memory management and file access. RAM versus ROM – ROM = Read Only Memory – Stores the startup routine for the computer, permanent

Hardware Storage – Types of Storage include: Internal External – What are examples of storage and what are they used for?

Hardware Internal Drive Bays vs. External Drive Bays Monitors – What are types of monitors and why would we use them? CRT – Same sort of glass tube as an old tv LCD – manipulates light with a layer of liquid crystals Plasma – illuminates miniature colored fluorescent lights (compact, lightweight, and more expensive than LCD or CRT) – Dot Pitch = a measure of image clarity (Distance in millimeters between pixels)

Licensing Single User License Multiple User License Site License Concurrent License

Security Software Designed to protect computers from various forms of destructive software and unauthorized intrusions. – Malware = any computer program designed to enter a computer, gain unauthorized access to data, or disrupt normal processing operations. Viruses – set of program instructions that attach itself to a file, reproduces itself, and spreads to other files. Worm – Self-replicating program designed to carry out some unauthorized activity on a victim’s computer. Can spread without any assistance from the victim. Can enter through security holes. Trojan Horse – program that seems to perform one function while actually doing something else. Unlike a worm, a trojan is not intended to spread itself to other computers, it masks itself as a utility. – Notorious for stealing passwords using a keylogger

Security Software What is a virus hoax? What is a virus definition?

File Storage What is native file format? – What is Microsoft Word’s native file format? – What is Adobe Reader’s native file format? How do I convert a file to another file type? – After I convert the file, is it the same as it was before? Why wouldn’t I be able to open a file with a certain file type?

Backups What do we need to know before we starting backing up data? – What information do we need to backup? – When do we need to back it up? – What technology are we using to back up our data? – What is our budget? – Where will we store the backup tapes?

Backups Types of backups: – Full backup – Differential (backs up all data from the last full backup) – Incremental (backs up all the data from the last backup)

Convergence What is convergence? – Describe old fashioned convergence? – Describe new technology convergence?

Microprocessors and Memory Processor Logic – ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) is the part of the microprocessor that performs arithmetic operations, such as addition and subtraction. – The control unit then fetches each instruction and gives the ALU the green light to begin processing. What is cache? – Level 1 cache is found on the processor chip – Level 2 cache is found on a separate chip and therefore, takes a little more time to respond. What is virtual memory? – If a program exceeds its allocated space, the OS uses an area of the hard disk called virtual memory. – By selectively exchanging the data in RAM with the data in virtual memory, your computer effectively gains almost unlimited memory capacity. – However, too much dependence on virtual memory can slow down your computer’s performance. Why?

Operating Systems and File Management What are the different file systems? – FAT (File Allocation Table) – FAT32 (File Allocation Table, 32 bit) Used by Windows 98, Windows ME – NTFS (New Technology File System uses Master File Table or MFT) Used by Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Applications Application software is used to perform many tasks. Each use is considered an application, and the software that provides the computer with instructions for each use is called application software, an application, or simply an app. Application activation creates a hash value or a unique number derived from encoding one or more data sets, such as names, serial numbers, and validation codes. – Could be combination of a validation code and your computer’s internal serial number, effectively tying the software to use on one specific computer. System software is composed of operating systems, device drivers, utilities, and programming languages