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What you need to know:-
What you need to know:-
Explain the purpose and functionality of a range of utility software
Utility Software is software that helps to maintain the computer so it can function correctly.
Types of Utility software include:-
File indexing
File Conversion
Defragmentation
Compression
Task Management
Disk Scanning and repair
Backup
Firewall
System Restore
File Indexing - An indexed file is a computer file with an index that allows easy random access to any record given its file key
File conversion - Conversion of files from one format to another such as sound file from WAV to MP3 or a picture file from JPEG to PNG
Defragmentation - The process where files are physically re-arranged on disk so that they are no longer fragmented, and the parts of each file are stored together.
Compression - Process of making a file size smaller.
Advantages
Allows more data to be stored on disk
Files can be transported more quickly such as moving them from your computer to a USB or uploading them to the cloud e.g. Google Drive
Task Management - Allows you to view each of the tasks (processes) and the overall performance of the computer. Using the Task Manager, you can view how much memory a program is using, stop a frozen program and view available system resources. Press CTRL, ALT and DEL on your computer and click on Task Manager. Have a look around and visualise what it can do
Disk scanning and repair - carries out the process of scanning a hard drive and where necessary attempts to repair errors in files stored on the hard disk. Or if you are saving a file to a USB and you pull out the USB rather than ejecting it whilst it still might be saving to it. This can corrupt the file but disk scanning and repair software, can sometimes repair the file.
Antivirus software - Designed to prevent viruses, worms and Trojan horses from attacking a computer as well as remove any malicious software code that has already infected a computer. Do you have antivirus software on your computer at home? Check it includes anti-spyware and anti-malware too. For more info on this look at Topic 9 - Security
Back up - This copies data to a storage medium to make a duplicate of the data. At various intervals, a backup of the entire hard drive or of selected files and folders can be performed. At school, we set a back up to run at midnight and it automatically checks each user account and looks at the files, looking at the date of the file, to see if a file has been changed that day, if it has it backs it up. At the end of the school year, we back up all user accounts but also all software. This is a full back up which we store over site and in a fire proof safe.
Look at 3 mins 50 secs onwards for more info on back ups
Firewall - this is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. A firewall will establish a barrier between a trusted internal network and untrusted external network such as the internet to stop hacking.
Watch the video to see how easily this hacker gets in to a companies system.
System Restore -this allows the user to 'roll back' to a previous set point if the system becomes corrupts or data is lost. Its function is to automatically set restore points at critical points e.g. before an update. This means that if the update doesn't work correctly, you can go back prior to this so the system works.
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