Unit 3 – Information and Communication Technology Skills – II
Operating System
It is low-level software that supports a computer’s functions and devices. It controls the operations of a computer system and directs the processing of programs by assigning the storage space in permanent or temporary memory and controls all input, process and output functions.
Functions of an Operating System
- Processor Management
- Memory Management
- Device Management
- File Management
- Security
- Error Detection
- Job Scheduling
Types of an Operating System
- Single-user Operating System
- Multi-user Operating System
- Graphical / Command Line Interface
- Multitasking Operating System
- Multithreading Operating System
- Real Time Operating System (RTOS)
- Distributed Operating System
Windows 10 and their Components
- Starting Windows
- Desktop
- Icons
- Menu
- Taskbar
- The Start Button
- The Middle Section
- Notification Area
Managing Files and Folders
File System
A file system is a process of managing how and where data on a storage disk, which is also referred to as file management and FS. It is a logical disk component that compresses files separated into groups, which is known as directories.
There are two file systems used in Windows Operating System:
- NTFS – It is the file system, which stands for NT (New Technology) File System and stores and retrieves files on Windows NT operating system and other versions of Windows like Windows 2000, XP, 7, 8, 10 etc.
- FAT – It is the file system, which stands for File Allocation Table and developed by an organization to allocate the files or folders in memory .
The most commonly usable file system is NTFS and the basic difference between NTFS and FAT is, we can transfer more than 4 GB file in NTFS but in FAT file system, we cannot transfer file more than or equal to 4 GB.
What is a hierarchical file system (HFS)
HFS (Hierarchical File System) is the file system that is used on a Macintosh (Mac.) computer for creating a directory at the time a hard disk is formatted. Generally, its basic function is to organize or hold the files on a Macintosh hard disk.
Role of File System
- Creating a new Folder
- Creating a new File
- Renaming a File/Folder
- Deleting a File/Folder
- Restore a File/Folder
- Permanent Delete a File/Folder
- Copying or Moving a File/Folder from One Drive to Another
Care and Maintenance of a Computer
Computer Maintenance
Computer maintenance refers to the practice of keeping computers in good condition so that they can work efficiently. The maintenance of computers can be classified into two categories – Hardware and Software
1. Hardware Maintenance
It refers to the maintenance of the hardware components of the computer i.e., monitor, keyboard, CPU cabinet, mouse and any other peripheral device used with the computer.
Cleaning of the Harware Components
2. Software Maintenance
It refers to the cleaning of the software installed in the computer. It involves the scheduled disk cleanup tasks, protection against viruses, removal of the temporary and unwanted files.
Virus
A computer virus is a malicious software program loaded onto a user’s computer without the user’s knowledge and performs malicious actions.
They are always induced by people. Once created and released, however, their diffusion is not directly under human control. After entering a computer, a virus attaches itself to another program in such a way that execution of the host program triggers the action of the virus simultaneously. It can self-replicate, inserting itself onto other programs or files, infecting them in the process. Not all computer viruses are destructive though. However, most of them perform actions that are malicious in nature, such as destroying data.
Sign of Virus Attack
Protecting Computer Against Virus
Antivirus Software
Software that is created specifically to help detect, prevent and remove malware (malicious software).
Antivirus is a kind of software used to prevent, scan, detect and delete viruses from a computer. Once installed, most antivirus software runs automatically in the background to provide real-time protection against virus attacks.
Comprehensive virus protection programs help protect your files and hardware from malware such as worms, Trojan horse and spyware, and may also offer additional protection such as customizable firewalls and website blocking.
Temporary Files
Temporary files are the kind of files that store temporary data that is created by Windows (OS) itself or the program that users use. These files help the computer runs smoothly when you use related programs or tasks. They are also known as foo file and it has .temp as an extension.
Steps to remove temporary files from computer system
- Click on Windows button and type “%temp%” in search box.
- Press enter. The temporary files folder will be open.
- Select all files and folders and press delete button.