Unit 2 D1

Unit 2 D1

Firewalls

Firewalls are a form of security that can be installed onto a computer system. Firewalls basically act as a barrier in order to keep potential harmful elements out of a network or a computer. Their function is to block and prevent unauthorised access to a network. This means that your computer will generally run much quicker because there will be no present viruses or any other malware that can slow down the computers performance. The changes in performance may not be noticeable in well signed software. Poorly designed firewalls can slow down your computers performance, therefore you should make sure that you are using a good quality firewall. Any information that is seen as unsafe will not be allowed to pass through the firewall, it is very important to assure that there is no malicious software present in the computer, in order to improve the performance of the computer system.

Firewalls will indirectly improve the performance of a computer because they do not allowing viruses and other malware into the computer. All computers should have a firewall installed and turned on in order to browse the internet safely. If firewalls are not installed, there is a much higher risk of malicious viruses passing through and infecting the computer system, potentially taking the computer down completely. Firewalls definitely improve the performance of a computer system.

Spyware, viruses and all malware can drastically slow down your computers performance, so removing the malicious software from your computer system will definitely improve your computers performance. Setting up a firewall will prevent the malicious software from entering in the first place, therefore you computer's performance can maintain a high speed. Firewalls are a major part of the security infrastructure for both homes and businesses, and there is an impact on performance.

Clean up tools for removal of cookies

Cookie files are relatively small, however they can build up over time and make a big difference to the speed of your computers performance. Having cookies present in your computer system will slow down your computer, therefore it is vital that you use clean up tools in order to remove them before they start to build up. If you take the time out to remove all of the cookies that are present in your computer, it will drastically speed up the performance of your internet browsing software. Temporary Internet files will affect your browser speed, so removing the cookies will certainly improve the overall performance of your computer.If you find that you do not have the time to manually remove cookies from your computer system, you can create a schedule for when the cookies will be removed from the browser., for example once every month, and the cookies from all selected files will be removed automatically. This will increase the speed and performance of your computer, as well as not needing to take the time out to manually remove the cookies, thus making it even more time efficient/faster. Having too many cookies in your computer will take up a large amount of storage space in the hard drive, this will make your computer slow. Removing the cookies will improve the speed of your computer. The presence of cookies in a computer system can also disturb your privacy, hackers could possibly get hold of your personal details if the cookies are left on your computer system for too long, therefore it is advised to remove the cookies regularly.

Drive formatting

Over time, hard drives can experience malfunctions due to viruses and other malware, this can decrease the speed and performance of your computer system. If you format your drive, all of the disks’ data is removed and refreshed. This means that there will be a considerably large increase of free space on your hard drive. When you have more space on your hard drive your computer will usually being to run faster, meaning that drive formatting can improve the performance of you computer system in terms of data storage. Computer systems also tend to work more efficiently with more drive space. After formatting your drive, software conflict should be removed and the computers performance will increase drastically. Sometimes a computer can experience glitches and crashes if it has not been formatted for a long amount of time. After formatting a hard drive, these glitches and crashes should disappear and the computers performance will improve significantly. Drive formatting erases the data from an old OS so that the old files don’t corrupt the new OS install. Having a formatted, clean drive improves the loading speed of the computer as it won't have to figure out which files to boot with.

The lifetime of a computer system can also be increased by drive formating, as it erases all old files that could potentially be malicious. Deleting a file to the recycle bin icon on the desktop does not remove the file from your hard drive, so your computer system will remain slow. You should format your drive in order to remove the files you want to be gone, they will be completely erased and your computers performance will be increased.

Unit 2 M1

Function	Windows XP	Mac OS
machine and peripheral management	The Windows XP operating systems controls the whole machine along with all the components in there. It also controls peripherals like keyboards, mouse, printers etc. You can change the clicking speed by accessing the setting on the computer system. Peripheral management controls peripheral devices by sending commands in their own computer language. The OS communicates with all of the computer's peripherals via a software driver for each the individual devices. The operating systems controls the entire machine and all the components there. Seagate dashboard is Windows’ way of keeping up with the Mac dashboard, it is a software which allows the user to run diagnostics and adjust drive settings, like turning off drive lights.	MacOS control of the computer components are very similar, however almost all of devices need to be bought especially for Macs. For example a logitech keyboard couldn't be used with a Mac PC. Dashboard is an application installed in a Mac OS X operating system, it is used as a secondary desktop for hosting widgets. The widgets in the desktop can be moved around, rearranged and deleted just like in Windows. New widgets can be opened via an icon bar loading a list of available applications. The widgets are then ready for use after loading.
security	Windows XP operating system makes sure that everything works properly and that there is no unauthorised access that can be harmful to your data. Windows has security functions like user accounts with password protection, and also firewall.	MacOS has security features like blocking certain ports that could be potential security issues. Mac operating systems also have security features that check whether your downloaded content is safe or not.
file management	Windows XP operating systems all have file management which show files, create new files, delete files, edit files and other functions that are linked to the files. Windows has a process called explorer.exe which handles the file management. Windows comes with a file manager called ExplorerXP which is a very fast, small, compact and innovative free software - file manager for Windows XP. Unlike regular Windows Explorer, this displays the total size of each one of your folders and allows you to browse multiple folders from a tabbed interface. Media browser is a plug-in for Windows Media Center in Windows 7 which is like cover flow in a Mac. Windows has released its own version of iCloud, called One Drive which allows a user to upload and sync files to a cloud storage, and then access them from a Web browser or personal device, just like iCloud. It allows you to keep chosen files private, or sharing them with chosen contacts and other things like that. XWindows dock is basically a clone of Mac dock, it does the exact same thing, allows you to launch applications whilst alternating between various running applications.	The file manager for MacOS is called Finder. It’s basically the same as Windows’ explorer, it has appropriate icons for all file types. Disk Order is another file manager for your Mac. It is a more advanced replacement for Finder that comes with built-in FTP/SFTP client, and therefore has the ability to handle archives like plain folders, network browser and others. Cover flow is a graphical user interface that is integrated within a Mac OS. It allows you to visualise snapchats of documents, web bookmarks, photographs etc, and flip through them. iCloud is a cloud storage and computing service set up by Apple. It lets you store and access all of your data from your computer ready to be downloaded onto multiple devices. It also allows users to back up their iOS devices to iCloud instead of doing it manually via iTunes. Dock is an application in a Mac OS X. It is used to launch applications and alternate between different running applications. Apps can be added  and removed from the Dock via drag and drop.The trash icon is a permanent icon within the dock. The Dock is used as a repository for any program or file in the Mac OS X. The dock can store any sized file and dynamically resizes them to fit, and it also used magnification to clarify smaller resized items.
device drivers	Drivers are programs that tell the Windows XP operating system what to do with this particular device and also how to do it. For example if you bought a new graphics card, in order to make it work properly with all of its power and efficiency, you are required to install drivers provided with the card.	Basically the same as Windows’, the drivers are programs which control the devices. In MacOS, when the system is closed and you can’t upgrade anything, every driver required to run the computer is included in the system.  However if you want to install a new printer, you would have to install a version of drive specifically for MacOS.

Feature	Windows XP	Mac OS
ability to customize	Windows has accessibility features built in to it since the introduction of Windows 95. You can use Control Panel and other features that are built-in to Windows to adjust the appearance of Windows to suit varying vision abilities. These adjustments include; colours and sizes of fonts, volume and behaviour of the mouse and keyboard.	Mac OS has a lot of Customising tools available like the ability to create or change keyboard shortcuts within your applications. You can also launch apps when you log in, for example If you always launch certain apps when you turn on your Mac, like Mail or Web browser, you can save time and clicks by having them start automatically when you log in. System preferences is an application installed in Mac OS X operating system, and it allows the user to make modifications to various system settings which are divided into separate preference panes.
support for connectivity of portable media	If you use a portable media device, like an MP3 player in Windows XP, you can use a software called Windows Media Player to keep the device's files up to date. When you synchronize a portable device with Windows Media Player, you have make sure that the portable player holds all of your latest songs and playlists.	In Mac OS, if the device has removable storage, for example a flash drive or SD card, the device will show a new icon on your Desktop. When double clicked, it will display all the contents of the device in the Finder, which could be music, pictures, or anything that is on the device.
security	The security features in Windows XP make it much safer for online shopping and browsing on the Internet. Windows XP comes equipped with built-in  Firewall software that provides a resilient defense to security threats when you are connected to the Internet. Overall, the security for Windows XP has been improved to help you have a safe, secure, and private computing experience.	The newest Mac OS comes equipped with a great set of security enhancements, some major, others incremental, and they are designed to strengthen the operating system, bolster security defenses and mainly to  make the system more resilient to security threats. Time machine is a backup storage installed in a Mac computer operating system which automatically backs up your entire Mac. It creates incremental backups for files that can be stored at a later date. It allows the user to restore the entire system or specific files.It works with several compatible programs to make it possible to restore indivudual items like phtos without leaving the application.
stability and reliability	The Reliability Monitor in Windows XP analyzes event logs and also displays a list of changes, along with crashes and errors.The program also comes in handy if you are buying a second hand computer and you want to be sure it works fine.	Mac OS X was designed from scratch, therefore Mac OS is incredibly stable. Apple controls production from start to finish, meaning every part of a Mac is designed and tested to work together. Mac OS has a rock solid Unix base which makes it even more stable.
ease of management	Windows XP is one of Microsoft's most popular and successful operating systems to date. The Windows XP IT Knowledge Exchange tutorial assists network admins when they are attempting to improve security, performance and management in their XP environments.	Mac OS is equipped with Local user management, which is a control that you can exercise over users of your computer without the use of a separate server. The history of local user management in Mac OS includes software such as At Ease.

associated utilities

Utilities that are installed in Windows XP include; Microsoft Safety Scanner, which helps to protect your PC and remove malicious software. Also Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7, which provides a collection of games and apps for your PC. You can also use Sync apps for Windows phone, which enables you to sync music, photos and more between your Windows phone and PC.

Mac OS comes equipped with AppCleaner which is an icon-based solution which finds and deletes all of the associated files that come with an application when you delete the software, which means you have more space in your computer. Drop box is another free service, once installed it enables you to sync anything that is on your Mac with all other Macs. Dropbox mimics iDisk, all Macs should have dropbox.

Unit 2 P3

Unit 2 P3

Security virus protection and/or firewall:

Anti Virus Software is used to detect, prevent and remove malware from computers such as virus' & keyloggers.

Anti virus softwares use firewalls to protect devices from malware. Fire walls protect devices by deciding what can pass the firewall. They analyze the software and determine whether it is safe for the device. It uses barriers unless the user believes that the software is trusted & secure. Anti virus softwares block any viruses that are downloading themselves to your computer and if any are downloaded, the antivirus removes them.

Clean up tools:
The removal of cookies; This is very important in order to keep your computer running quickly, also avoiding the risk of spyware attacks. Clearing your computer’s cookies in Microsoft Internet Explorer is easy. Clearing your permanently filed cookies will make your computer run a little bit faster. You should delete cookies & your history because if you don’t and someone hacks into your computer, they will be able to see your past history & any information that was on your computer. You can automatically delete history & cookies by using internet settings.  The screenshot above shows that Norton security virus protection has detected tracking cookies that need to be removed urgently.

The removal of internet history; Regularly deleting your browsing history helps to protect your privacy, especially if you're using a shared or public PC. If your internet history isn’t removed, and your computer gets hacked, the hacker is able to see all of your past internet search history, which can lead to your past visited sites. If you have visited a shopping website, there is the chance that they could attain your personal details and begin to use your bank account.

Defragmentation; Defragmentation is when you delete files from the computer such as documents & software downloaded onto the memory space & hard drives. Defragmentation of  a hard drive is a good way to improve the performance of your computer. There are various utilities that can make the process automatic and they are very effective for a variety of computers. Setting up a maintenance routine for a PC that includes defragmentation will increase the lifespan of a hard drive as well as its speed.

Drive formatting; Disk formatting is the process of preparing a data storage device like a hard disk drive for initial use. A hard drive is formatted to give it a logical structure that a computer and its operating system will understand. There is 3 operations that are classified as formatting, these are; low level formatting, partitioning and high level formatting. The main purpose of disk formatting is to make the disk usable by the drive and the operating system.

Unit 2 P2

Unit 2 Task 2

An operating system is a software that has a function to manage computer hardware and software resources. It also provides basic services for computer programs. In a PC, these resources include things like the processor, memory, disk space and others. It provides a consistent way for apps to deal with hardware without the need to know all of the details associated with the hardware. The operating system allows the computer programs to function correctly by allowing them to communicate with other programs and the computer. Windows is an operating system, which brings all of the programs together and allows the user to access them easily. All of the software that we take for granted on a computer comes from the operating system, for example when you turn your computer on and all of your icons are on your home screen is because it is in the software.

Machine and peripheral management - The operating systems controls the entire machine and every component in there. It controls peripherals like keyboards, mouse, printers etc. The software routine that knows how to deal with each device is known as a driver. The Os needs drivers for the peripherals connected to the computer, e.g keyboard, mouse. When a new peripheral is added, that device's driver is installed into the operating system. The operating systems controls the whole machine and all the components there.

Security - Operating systems make sure that everything works like it should and there is no harmful, unauthorized access to data. Security functions are installed in Windows like user accounts with password protection and downloadable security functions such as Firewall. Windows 7 is the newest operating system from Microsoft, it simplifies the computer security, which makes it easier to reduce the risk of damage caused by viruses, spyware and other malware. Windows 7 also has an improved backup solution which helps to keep your information safe, it has improvements in the parental controls that help you to protect your family from malware. BitLocker Drive Encryption is another one of the security functions, which encrypts your Windows hard disk to help keep documents, passwords, and other important data safe as possible. Once you turn on BitLocker, any file that you save on that drive is automatically encrypted.

File Management - xplorer 2 is a desktop file manager that is installed in Windows operating systems, it combines the simplicity of windows explorer with the speed and efficiency of traditional dual pane orthodox file managers, helping you be productive with your documents, pictures, music, source code and other files. File Manager allows a user to create, rename, move, print, copy, search for, and delete files and directories, and to set permissions such as archive and  read-only.

Device drivers: Device drivers are a set of software instructions that control the interface between a computer and a peripheral device connected to the computer. Device drivers tell the machine what the device is, it's function, and all the other instructions needed for proper operation. It allows your computer to know the configuration and specifications of a hardware device, e.g a keyboard. Windows will alert the user if there is a new device which doesn't have a driver installed yet. It will then let you install the correct driver for it. If the appropriate driver is not installed, the device won' function properly. For Microsoft Windows users, an error involving the driver can be seen in the Device Management.

Unit 2 P1

Unit 2 Task 1
Processor: A processor, is a small chip that is found in computers and other electronic devices. Its basic job is to receive input and provide the appropriate output. While this may seem like a simple task, modern processors can handle trillions of calculations per second. The central processor of a computer is also known as the CPU. Modern CPUs often include multiple processing cores, which work together to process instructions.

Motherboard: A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in computers and other expandable systems. A motherboard holds many of the crucial electronic components of the system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. The function of the computer motherboard is to act as the main circuit board that connects and communicates to all the devices and components attached.

BIOS:  A BIOS is the basic input/output system, used in the CP/M operating system.The purposes of the BIOS are to initialize and test the system hardware components. The BIOS also provides an abstraction layer for the hardware.BIOS are located in the motherboard of computers, and they contain instructions and setup for how your system should boot and how it operates.

Power supply: A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electrical energy to an electrical load.The primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another. The power supply unit (PSU) simply powers the various parts of a desktop computer. Some power supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices, however others can be built into larger devices along with their loads.
Fan and Heatsink: In electronic systems, a heatsink is a heat exchanger that cools a device by releasing heat into the surroundings. They’re used to keep CPUs and graphic processors cool. But sometimes the heatsink itself can become too hot.This can happen if the CPU is running at full capacity for too long. So, a fan is often used in combination with the heatsink in order to keep both the CPU and heatsink at a cool temperature.

Hard Drive: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) enables mass storage devices, such as hard drives and optical drives, to communicate with the motherboard using a high-speed serial cable over two pairs of conductors. Serial ATA (SATA) controller modes determine how the hard drive communicates with the computer. IDE mode is the simplest mode. A hard drive in IDE mode has the least available features.

Ports USB: USB was designed to standardize the connection of computer hardware, for example: keyboards, printers and mouses are connected to a computer via USB.
USB has effectively replaced a variety of earlier interfaces, such as serial and parallel ports, as well as separate power chargers for portable devices.

Internal Memory: -Random Access Memory (RAM) is the "working memory" in a computer. Additional RAM allows a computer to work with more information at the same time which can have a dramatic effect on total system performance.
-ROM is a type of "built-in" memory that is capable of holding data and also having that data read from the chip, but not written to. Unlike RAM, ROM is non-volatile which means it keeps its contents regardless if it has power or not.
-Cache memory, also called CPU memory, is random access memory (RAM) that a computer microprocessor can access more quickly than it can access regular RAM.

Specialized cards network: Specialised cards can be added to a system. There are network cards, TV tuner cards and graphics card. A graphics card is a component that deals with the graphics on the screen. Its job is to generate all of the images and the text on the screen. It constructs the text and images out of pixels. Network cards allow your computer to connect to a network. Wired network cards need an Ethernet cable to connect to the internet, whereas a wireless network card doesn't. TV tuner cards allow your computer to receive television signal. Some TV tuner cards have a video capture function so that they can also record TV programmes.








Peripherals:
Printer: In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a hard copy (permanent readable text) of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper.Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached to a USB cable to a computer which serves as a document source. The function of printers is to receive electronic documents and print them as hard copies.



Scanner: A Scanner Is A Device That Lets you Scan And Edit Pictures. You Can Also Photocopy The Pictures Or Crop The Picture To Make Them Smaller. Commonly used in offices are variations of the desktop flatbed scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. An example of a scanner is an MRI scanner, which can be used to look at almost any part of the body.

Twisted pair cabling: Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference (EMI) from external sources. Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that connects home and many business computers to the telephone company.

Backing Storage
Pen drive: A pen drive is another name for a USB flash drive. They are devices that allow storage of computer files that you can remove and take from computer to computer. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than an optical disc.

hard drive: hard drive is the computer's main storage media device that permanently stores all data on the computer. The hard drive connects to the motherboard using either an ATA, SCSI, or SATA cable and power cable.