Introduction

to Computers

COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Types of Computers
A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the abil-
ity to store, retrieve, and process data. You may already know that you can use
a computer to type documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web.
COMPUTER stands for Common Operating Machine Purposely Used for Technological
and Educational Research.

Type Specifications

PC (Personal Computer) It can hold a single user at a time and this computer system has
moderately powerful microprocessor.

Workstation It can also hold a single user at a time, similar to personal

computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor.

Mini Computer This is a multi-user system, i.e., capable of supporting even

hundreds of users simultaneously.

Main Frame This one is also a multi-user system. The software technology is
different from minicomputer.
This an extremely fast computer used to solve problems beyond
Supercomputer human capabilities. This can execute hundreds of millions of
instructions per second.

PC (Personal Computer)
 This can be defined as a small, relatively less expensive computer designed for an
individual user. PCs are driven by the microprocessor chip that enables
manufacturers to fabricate an entire CPU on one chip. Personals in businesses
keeps a personal computers for desktop publishing, word processing, accounting, ,
and for running spreadsheet and database management applications. Individuals
owing it home, use it for playing games, surfing the Internet, etc.

 Even though personal computers are meant to be used as single-user systems,

these machines are normally linked together to create a network. If we consider
operating power, presently premium models of the Mac and PC facilitate the
equivalent computing power and graphics capability as compared to less expansive
workstations from Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

Workstation
 It is a machine used for desktop publishing, software development, engineering
applications (CAD/CAM), and other similar types
of applications which needs a moderate amount
of execution power and relatively high quality
graphics capabilities.

 These machines generally come with a large,

high-resolution graphics display, huge amount of
RAM, inbuilt network support, and a graphical
user interface. Majority of workstations
comprises of mass storage device like a disk drive, but a special type of workstation,
known as diskless workstation, comes without a disk drive.

 Generally, UNIX and Windows NT are common operating systems for workstations.
Similar to PC, workstations can also handle single-user but are typically connected
together to form a local-area network, although they may operate as stand-alone
systems.

Minicomputer
 It is a medium size, multi-processing machine capable of serving up to 250
users simultaneously.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

Mainframe
This is very large sized and expensive machine capable
enough to support hundreds or even thousands of users
at a time. Mainframe performs large quantity of programs
concurrently and supports many executions of programs
simultaneously.

Supercomputer
 Supercomputers are logically one of the fastest
machines currently available. These are very
expensive and are deployed for specialized
operations that require immense amount of
mathematical calculations (number crunching).
 Few examples are - fluid dynamic calculations,
weather forecasting, nuclear energy research,
scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, electronic
design, and analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical prospecting).

Components of Computers
All types of computers are based on the same basic logical structure and execute the
following 5 basic operations for converting raw input data into useful information for their
users.
1. Take Input: The process of feeding data and instructions to the comput-
er.
2. Store Data: Saving unprocessed/processed data and instructions so
that they are ready for processing as and when required.
3. Processing Data: Executing arithmetic and logical operations on the da-
ta provided in order to transform it into useful information.
4. Output Information: Producing useful information/results for the user,
like printed report or visual information.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

Input Unit
This part of computer encapsulates devices with the help of which user feed data to the
computer. It creates an interface between the user and the computer. The input devices
transform the information into a form acceptable by the computer.

Output Unit
This part of computer encapsulates devices with the help of which user receive the
information from the computer. Output devices transform the output from computer into
a form understandable by the users.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 The brain of the computer is the Central Processing
Unit. CPU executes all types of data processing
functions. It saves data/intermediate results/instructions
(program), and controls the operation of all parts of the
computer.
 Following are the points to remember for Central Processing Unit (CPU):
 CPU is taken as the brain of the computer.
 CPU facilitates all types of data processing operations.
 It saves data, intermediate results, and instructions (program).
 It handles the operating of all parts of the computer.
 CPU itself has following three components.
 Memory or Storage Unit
 Control Unit
 ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

Memory or Storage Unit

 This part of the computer system works to store instructions, data, and intermediate
results. This unit passes data to other parts of the computer when required. It is also
referred as internal storage unit or most commonly, the main memory or the primary
storage or Random Access Memory (RAM).
 It comes in various speed, power, and capability. Primary memory and secondary
memory are two important types of memories used in the computer system.
Responsibilities of the memory unit are −
1. Works to store all the data and the instructions required for processing.
2. Works to store intermediate results of processing.
3. Works to store the final results of processing before these results are
forwarded to an output device.
4. All inputs and outputs are supplied through the main memory.

Control Unit
 This unit manages the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry out
any calculations or comparisons or actual data processing operations.
 Responsibilities of this unit are −
1. For facilitating the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a
system.
2. It manages and coordinates all the units of the system.
3. It receives the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the
operation of the system.
4. It interacts with Input/output units to transfer of data/results from storage.
5. It does not performs processes or store data.

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

This unit consists of two subsections namely,
1. Arithmetic Section: Responsibility of the arithmetic unit is to execute
arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Complete
set of complex operations are executed by making iterative use of the above
operations.
2. Logic Section: Responsibility of logic unit is to execute logic operations like

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

Input Devices
Some of the Commonly used input units used in a computer system are follows:
1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Joy Stick
4. Light pen
5. Track Ball
6. Scanner
7. Graphic Tablet
8. Microphone
9. Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
10. Optical Character Reader (OCR)
11. Bar Code Reader
12. Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

Keyboard
 Keyboard is the most basic, and very commonly
used input device which helps to input data to the
computer. The layout of the buttons in a normally
used keyboard is similar to the traditional
typewriter, but there are a few additional keys
provided by different manufacturers for performing
additional functions.
 Normally available keyboards in market were of two sizes 84 keys and 101/102
keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows
and Internet.
 Following is the description of the buttons on the keyboard:

1. Typing Keys
 These buttons include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which normally
give the same layout like typewriters.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

2. Numeric Keypad
 These buttons are used to input the numeric data or cursor movement.
Normally, it consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid out in the similar
configuration used by most addition machines and calculators.

3. Function Keys
 The 12 function keys are provided on the keyboard which are arranged in a
row at the top of the keyboard. Each of these keys has a unique function and
is used for some specific task.

4. Control keys
 These buttons are used to cursor and screen control. It also adds four
directional arrow keys. Following are also included in control keys: Home,
End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Control (Ctrl), Alternate (Alt),
Escape (Esc).

5. Special Purpose Keys

 A regular keyboard also contains some special purpose buttons like Enter,
Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.

Mouse
 It is the most commonly used pointing device. It is a
very famous cursor-control device and the earlier
versions of it was built over a small palm size box
with a round ball at its base, which tracks the
movement of the mouse and feed digital signals to
the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Currently, mouse have a sensor at bottom to detect
cursor position.
 Basic versions if it has two buttons called the left and the right click button and a
wheel is present between the buttons to provide scroll function. The movement of
mouse on flat surface is used to control the position of the cursor on the display, but
it cannot be used to feed text into the system directly.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Advantages
 Easy to use
 Not very expensive
 The cursor movement is faster than the arrow keys of the keyboard.

Joystick
 Just like a mouse, Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used
to travel the cursor position on a display. It is a perpendicular stick
having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The
spherical ball connected at the circuit having sensors moves in a
socket. The joystick controller can be traversed in all directions.
 The functionality of the joystick is just like a mouse. Its applications
are generally in Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen
 Just like a pen, light pen is a digital pointing device. This
device is used to select an item displayed in the menu or
to draw anything on the display. It contains a photocell
and an optical sensor placed in a small tube at the tip.
 When the light pen tip is travelled on the display, its
photocell sensing element calculates the screen location
and sends the digital signal to the CPU.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Track Ball
 Track ball is another type of input device similar to
the mouse. It is mostly helpful with notebook or
laptop computer, instead of a mouse. It consists a
ball on the top which is half inserted and
connected to the sensors. By moving fingers on
the ball, the cursor can be moved.
 Because the whole device is not moved to move the cursor, a track ball requires
less space as compared to the mouse. This device comes in different shapes like a
ball, a button, or a square.

Scanner
 Scanner is another input device, which works very
much like a photocopy machine. It can be used when
some information on paper is to be transferred to the
hard disk of the computer in digital format for further
manipulation.
 Scanner captures high resolution images from the source
which are then converted into a digital format that can be saved on the disk and
shared digitally. These digital images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitizer
 Digitizer is also an input device which is used to convert
analog information into digital form. Using digitizer, signal
from the television or camera can be converted into a
series of numbers that could be saved in a computer hard
drive. They can be helpful with the computer to create a
picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

 Digitizer is also called Tablet or Graphics Tablet because it transforms graphics and
pictorial data into binary inputs to the system. A special kind of graphic tablet as
digitizer is used for fine works of drawing and image related applications.

Microphone
 Microphone is a very common input device used to input
sound that is then stored in a digital form.
 Now a days microphones are used in almost every
industry and devices related to sound recording or
transmission.
 The microphone is used for different applications like adding sound to a multimedia
presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

 MICR input device is commonly seen in banks as there are huge
amount of cheques to be processed every day. The important
details like bank's code number and cheque number are printed
on the cheques with a specially designed ink based on the
particles of magnetic material that readable by the sensors of the
machine.
 This process of reading is known as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR).
The main benefits of using MICR is that it is comparatively fast and less prone to
errors.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

 It is an input device which is used to read a printed text similar to
the scanner, but the method of reading and the type of output
generated is different.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 11

 Download Testbook App

 The format to be fed to the OCR is predefined and can’t be used like an ordinary
scanner.
 OCR, unlike scanner, scans the text optically, character by character, converts them
into a machine readable digital code instead of creating high resolution images, and
stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

 Bar Code Reader is an input device used to read
special format bar coded data (data in the form of
light and dark lines). Bar coded data is commonly
used to create price tags, in labelling goods,
numbering the books, etc. It can be a handheld
scanner or can be embedded in a stationary scanner
on the table top.

 A flash of light from the device strikes to the surface of the object and reflects back
to the sensors present behind the source of light to collect the input.

 Bar Code Reader can only scan a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric
value, which is then transferred to the computer that the bar code reader is
connected to.

Optical Mark Readers (OMR)

 OMR is a special type of input machine. This
kind of optical scanner is used to recognize the
type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is used
where one out of a predefined alternatives is to
be selected and marked.
 The format to be fed to the OMR is predefined and can’t be used like an ordinary
scanner.
 It is specially used for automation of the answer sheet analysis of examinations
having multiple choice questions.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 12

 Download Testbook App

Output Devices
Following are some of the commonly used output devices used in a computer system:
1. Monitors
2. Printer

Monitors
 Monitors or Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the primary output device of a computer
system. It creates images from tiny dots, so called pixels that are arranged in a well-
defined rectangular form. The depth and sharpness of the image depends upon the
number and sized of the pixels.
 There are two types of digital screen used for monitors:
1. Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
2. Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

 The CRT display consists small picture elements
known as pixels. The tinier the pixels, the greater
the image clarity or resolution. It requires a very
large number of pixels emitting light to create a
character, just like the letter ‘e’ in the word help.
 A limited number of characters can be arranged on
a screen at a time. The screen can be categorized
into a series of character boxes - fixed place on the
screen where a standard character can be shown.
The capability of earlier screens was of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally
and 25 lines vertically.
 There are some disadvantages of CRT −
1. Large in Size
2. High power consumption

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 13

 Download Testbook App

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

 The flat-panel display is a class of video output
devices that have decreased volume, weight and
power requirement as compared to the CRT. It is
possible to hang them on walls or wear them on
wrists. In everyday evolving technology, uses of flat-
panel displays include calculators, video games,
monitors, laptop computer, and graphics display.
 The flat-panel display is categorized into following
two categories −
1. Emissive Displays − Emissive displays
panels are output devices that transforms electrical energy into light. For
instance, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
2. Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays are based on optical
effects to transform sunlight or light from some other source into graphics
patterns. For example, LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).

Printers
 Printer is a very commonly used output device, which is used to print information on
paper.
 There are two types of printers −
1. Impact Printers
2. Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
 Impact printers print by hitting the characters on the ribbon containing ink, which is
then pressed on the paper.
 following are the characteristics of Impact Printers −
1. Very low consumable costs
2. Very noisy
3. Useful for bulk printing due to low cost

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 14

 Download Testbook App

4. There is physical contact of the embossed characters with the paper to

produce an image
 These printers are of two types −
1. Character printers
2. Line printers

Character Printers
 Character printers are the type of printers that are capable of printing only one
character at a time.
 These can be further categorized into two types:
1. Dot Matrix Printer (DMP)
2. Daisy Wheel

Dot Matrix Printers

 In the earlier days, one of the most commonly used printers were Dot Matrix Printer.
These printers were used most commonly because of their ease of usage, printing
and affordable printing price. Every character to be printed on paper is created by
rearranging matrix of metallic pins of size (5x7, 7x9, 9x7 or 9x9) at very fast speed
which come out to create a character which is why it is known as Dot Matrix Printer.
 Advantages:
 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed
 Disadvantages:
 Slow Speed
 Too much heat generation
 Poor Quality

Daisy Wheel
 Head is fixed on a wheel and pins creating characters are like petals of Daisy
(flower) that is why it is known as Daisy Wheel
Printer. These printers are commonly used for word-
processing tasks in offices that need a very less
number of letters to be sent here and there with very
nice quality.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 15

 Download Testbook App

 Advantages:
 More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 Fonts of character can be easily changed
 Disadvantages:
 Slower than DMP
 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP

Line Printers
 These printers are capable of printing one line at a time.
 These are of two types −
1. Drum Printer
2. Chain Printer

Drum Printers
 The head of this printer is in the shape of
drum in that is why it is known drum printer.
The printing drum surface is divided into a
number of tracks which are equivalent to the
size of the paper. For instance, if a paper is of
width of 200 characters, then the drum will
have 200 tracks. A fixed character set is
embossed on the track which cannot be
altered any means. To use a different character set, a different drum needs to be
purchased like the one with 48 character set, or 64 and 96 characters set. Single
rotation of drum containing permanent characters prints a single line. These printers
are offer fast printing speed and can print 300 to 2000 lines per minute.
 Advantages:
 Very high speed
 Disadvantages:
 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed
 obsolete

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 16

 Download Testbook App

Chain Printers
 In this type printer, a chain consisting of character set is used, that is why it is known
as Chain Printer. The predefined-standard character set can have 48, 64, or 96
characters.
 Advantages:
 It is easier to change character fonts.
 Different languages can be used by replacing chains with the same printer.
 Disadvantages:
 Noisy

Chain Printers
 In this type printer, a chain consisting of character set is used, that is why it is known
as Chain Printer. The predefined-standard character set can have 48, 64, or 96
characters.
 Advantages:
 It is easier to change character fonts.
 Different languages can be used by replacing chains with the same printer.
 Disadvantages:
 Noisy

Non-Impact Printers
 Non-impact printers do not hit the paper with any embossed character-containing
instrument. These printers are able to print a complete page all at once, this is the
reason why they are also known as Page Printers.

 These printers are of two types −

 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers

 Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

 Faster than impact printers
 They are not noisy
 High quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 17

 Download Testbook App

Chain Printers
 These are very commonly used these days and are type of non-impact page
printers. They use laser lights to charge the metallic drum in shape of characters or
objects to be printed which attracts powdered ink. Then this drum is pressed over
the page to create printed output.
 Advantages
 Very high speed
 Very high quality output
 Good graphics quality
 Supports many fonts and different character
size
 Disadvantages
 Expensive
 Produces heat
 Difficult to maintain

Inkjet Printers

 Inkjet printers are also very commonly used printers these days. They use ink
cartridges to print characters by spraying small drops of ink in very precise manner
onto the paper. Inkjet printers are very versatile and can produce relatively high
quality output with presentable features.
 They make very less noise as compared to other printers because no hammering is
done and these have many different modes of printing. Using these printers, color
printing is also possible. Some advanced and
newer models of Inkjet printers are capable
enough to produce multiple number copies of
printing also.
 Advantages
 High quality printing
 More reliable
 Disadvantages
 Expensive as the cost per page is high
 Slow as compared to laser printer

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 18

 Download Testbook App

Booting
Starting a computer or a computer-embedded device is called booting. Booting takes
place in two steps −

 Switching on power supply

 Loading operating system into computer’s main memory

 Keeping all applications in a state of readiness in case needed by the user

The first program or set of instructions that run when the computer is switched on is
called BIOS or Basic Input Output System. BIOS is a firmware, i.e. a piece of
software permanently programmed into the hardware.

If a system is already running but needs to be restarted, it is called rebooting.

Rebooting may be required if a software or hardware has been installed or system is
unusually slow.

There are two types of booting −

 Cold Booting − When the system is started by switching on the power supply it is
called cold booting. The next step in cold booting is loading of BIOS.

 Warm Booting − When the system is already running and needs to be restarted or
rebooted, it is called warm booting. Warm booting is faster than cold booting
because BIOS is not reloaded.

COMPUTER | Introduction to Computer PAGE 19

Fundamentals
Updated as of SEP 2020

COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Functionalities of Computer
If we consider it in a very broad sense, any digital computer performs the following five
operations −
• Step 1 − Accepts data as input.
• Step 2 − Saves the data/instructions in its memory and utilizes them as
required.
• Step 3 − Execute the data and converts it into useful information.
• Step 4 − Provides the output.
• Step 5 − Have a control over all the above four steps.

Advantages of Computer
• High Speed
 Computer is a very fast device.
 It can perform calculation of very huge amount of data.
 The computer has units of speed in microsecond, nanosecond, and even the
picosecond.
 It can process millions of computational calculations in a fraction of seconds
unlike man who may spend many months to perform the same task.
• Accuracy
 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.
 The calculations are 100% error free.
 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that the input is
correct.
• Storage Capability
 Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.
 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.
 It can store large amount of data.
 It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio, etc.
• Diligence
 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack
of concentration.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.

 It can perform repeated tasks with the same speed and accuracy.
• Versatility
 A computer is a very versatile machine.
 A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs to be done.
 This machine can be used to solve the problems related to various fields.
 At one moment, it may be processing and simplifying a complex scientific
problem and the very next moment it may be running a card game.
• Reliability
 A computer is a reliable machine.
 Modern electronic components have long lives.
 Computers are designed to make maintenance easy.
• Automation
 Computer is an automatic machine.
 Automation is the capability due to which a machine can perform its task
without need of human consideration. Once the program is fed to the
computer i.e., the program is held in the computer memory, then the program
and instruction can transfer the program execution in absence of human
consideration.
• Reduction in Paper Work and Cost
 With the help of computers for data processing in an organization, there is
reduction of paper work and results in speeding up the process, which in
return saves trees.
 Because data saved as electronic files can be retrieved whenever required,
the headache of maintaining of pile number of paper files gets reduced.
 While the investment at the beginning for installation of a computer is high, it
substantially reduces the cost of each of its transaction.

Disadvantages of Computer
• No I.Q.
 A computer is a machine that has no intelligence to perform any task.
 Each instruction has to be given to the computer.
 A computer is not capable enough to take any decision on its own.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

• Dependency
 It works according to the user’s instruction, thus it is entirely dependent on
humans.
• Environment
 The operating environment of the computer should be dust free and suitable.
• No Feeling
 Computers have no feelings or emotions.
 It is not smart enough make judgment based on experience, feeling, taste,
and knowledge just like humans.

Applications
Business
• Because a computer system has a very high calculation speed, diligence, accuracy,
reliability, or versatility, it became an integrated part in all business institutions.
• Computer is very helpful in business institutions in
terms of −
1. Payroll calculations
2. Budgeting
3. Sales analysis
4. Financial forecasting
5. Managing employee database
6. Maintenance of stocks, etc.

Banking
• In present time, banking is entirely based on computers.
• Banks provide the following facilities −
 Online accounting facility, which includes checking current balance, making
deposits and overdrafts, checking interest charges, shares, and trustee
records.
 ATM machines which are entirely automated are making this facility simpler
for customers to deal with banks.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

Insurance
• Insurance companies are handling all records and keeping them up-to-date using
computers. Entities like Insurance companies, finance houses, and stock broking
firms, etc., are using computers at very high scale for their concerns.
• Companies are keeping a database of all
customers with information showing −
1. Procedure to continue with policies
2. Starting date of the policies
3. Next due instalment of a policy
4. Maturity date
5. Interests due
6. Survival benefits
7. Bonus

Education
• The computer helps in providing a lot of facilities in the education system.
• There is a tool available on computer for the
education system known as CBE (Computer
Based Education).
• CBE has many features that can be used for the
purpose of control, delivery, and evaluation of
learning.
• Education based on computers is transforming
the way students study and in turn increasing the
graph of number of computer students.
• A lot of ways are there in which educational institutions can utilize a computer to
educate the students.
• It helps to create a centralized database which stores the performance of a student
and analysis is carried out on this basis.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

Marketing
• In advertising − Using computers,
professionals working in advertising make
art and graphics, write and revise copy, and
print and disseminate ads with the purpose of
selling more products.
• Home Shopping − It is possible to shop while
sitting at home through the use of
computerized catalogues that facilitate access
to product information and allow direct entry of
orders to be filled by the customers.

Healthcare

• The use of computers have become an integral part at hospitals, labs, and
dispensaries. They are being used in
hospitals to keep the record of patients and
medicines. It also aids in scanning and
diagnosing various diseases. ECG, EEG,
ultrasounds and CT scans, etc. are also
done by computerized machines.
• Computers are used in following major fields
of health care:
1. Diagnostic System − Computers are used to collect data and identify the
cause of illness.
2. Lab-diagnostic System − All tests can be done and the reports are
prepared by computer.
3. Patient Monitoring System − These are used to check the patient's signs
for abnormality such as in Cardiac Arrest, ECG, etc.
4. Pharma Information System − Computer is used to check drug labels,
expiry dates, harmful side effects, etc.
5. Surgery − In these days, computers are also used in conducting surgery.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

Engineering Design
• Computers are widely used for engineering
purpose.
• CAD (Computer Aided Design) is one of the
major areas that aids in creation and
modification of images. Some of the fields
are-
1. Structural Engineering − Needs
digital stress and strain recreation
and analysis for designing of ships, budgets, airplanes, buildings, etc.
2. Industrial Engineering − Computers deal with design, implementation, and
improvement of integrated systems of people, materials, and equipment.
3. Architectural Engineering − Systems based on computers aid in planning
towns, designing buildings, determination of a range of buildings on the sites
with the help of both 2D and 3D drawings.

Military
Computers are extensively used in defence in designing and controlling modern tanks,
missiles, weapons, etc. They also deploys computerized control systems that are used
for communication. Some areas in military where a computer has
been used are −
1. Missile Control
2. Military Communication
3. Military Operation and Planning
4. Smart Weapons

Communication
It is a process to convey a message, an idea, a picture, or speech that is received and
understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant. Some main areas
in this category are −

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

1. E-mail
2. Chatting
3. Usenet
4. FTP
5. Telnet
6. Video-conferencing

Government
Computers performs a very important role in services related to the government. Some
major fields in this category are −
1. Budgets
2. Sales tax department
3. Income tax department
4. Computation of male/female ratio
5. Computerization of voters lists
6. Computerization of PAN card
7. Weather forecasting

Generations of Computer
• The generations in computer terminology describes a change in technology (on
which the computer system is designed) a computer is/was being used. Basically,
the generation word was used to differentiate between various hardware
technologies. Now a days, generation encapsulates both hardware and software,
which in combination make up an entire computer system.

• There exists 5 computer generations till date. In the following list, approximate dates
against each generation has been mentioned, which are normally accepted.

• There are five main generations of computers based on their processing hardware.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

1. First Generation: period: 1946-1959. Vacuum tube based.

2. Second Generation: period: 1959-1965; Transistor based.

3. Third Generation: period: 1965-1971; Integrated Circuit based.

4. Fourth Generation: period: 1971-1980; VLSI microprocessor based.

5. Fifth Generation: period: 1980-onwards; ULSI microprocessor based.

COMPUTER | Fundamentals PAGE 9

Computer
Abbreviations
COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Computer Abbreviations
Abbreviations Full Form

ACE Access Control Entry

ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

AGP Accelerated Graphics Port

AI Artificial Intelligence

ALGOL Algorithmic Language

ALU Arithmetic Logic Unit

ANSI American National Standards Institute

API Application Program Interface

APIPA Automatic Private Internet Protocol Addressing

APT Automatically Programmed Tooling

ARP Address Resolution Protocol

ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASF Advanced Streaming Format

ASP Active Server Pages

ATAPI Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface

ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode

AUI Attachment Unit Interface

AVI Audio Video Interleave

BASIC Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

BCD Binary Coded Decimal

BDPS Business Data Processing Systems

BHTML Broadcast Hyper Text Markup Language

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 2
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

BIOS Basic Input Output System

BIU Bus Interface Unit

BMP Bitmap

BPS Bytes Per Seconds

C-DAC Centre For Development of Advanced Computing

CAD Computer Aided Design

CADD Computer Added Drafting and Design

CAI Computer Aided Instruction

CAM Computer Aided Manufacturing

CAR Control Address Register

CASE Computer Aided Software Engineering

CCIS Common Channel Interoffice Signaling

CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate

CD Compact Disc

CD RW Compact Disc Re-Writable

CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

CDROM Compact Disc Read Only Memory

CFG Control Flow Graph

CGI Common Gateway Interface

CGM Computer Graphics Metafile

CIDR Classless Inter Domain Routing

CIM Computer Integrated Manufacture

CISC Complex Instruction Set Computers

CIX Commercial Internet Exchange

CLR Common Language Runtime

CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 3
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

CMS Content Management System

CMYK Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black)

COBOL Common Business Oriented Language

CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture

CPI Clock Cycle Per Instruction

CPU Central Processing Unit

CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

CRM Customer Relationship Management

CROM Control Read Only Memory

CRT Cathode Ray Tube

CUI Character User Interface

DAC Digital to Analog Converter

DAO Data Access Objects

DARPANET Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

DBA: Data Base Administrator

DBMS Data Base Management System

DCA Defense Communication Agency

DCL Data Control Language

DCOM Distributed Component Object Model

DCP Data Communication Processor

DDL Data Definition Language

DDOS Distributed Denial of Service

DDP Distributed Data Processing

DFD Data Flow Diagram

DFS Distributed File System

DHCP Dynamic Host Control Protocol

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 4

 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

DHTML Dynamics Hyper Text Markup Language

DLC Data Link Control

DLL Dynamic Link Library

DMA Direct Memory Access

DML Data Manipulation Language

DMTF Distributed Management Test Force

DNA Distributed Internet Architecture

DNS Domain Name System (Server)

DOM Document Object Model

DOS Disk Operating System, Denial of Service

DPI Dots Per Inch

DRAM Dynamic Random-Access Memory

DSL Digital Subscriber Line

DSN Digital Subscriber Network

DTD Document Type Definition

DVD Digital Versatile Disc

E Electronic

EAROM Electrically Alterable Read Only Memory

EBCDIC Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

EDC Electronic Digital Computer

EDCDIC Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

EFS Encrypted File System

EJB Enterprise Java Beans

ENIAC Electronics Numerical Integrator and Calculator

EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 5
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

EROM Erasable Read Only Memory

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

EULA End User License Agreement

FAT File Allocation Table

FDD Floppy Disk Drive

FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface

FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access

FIFO First In First Out

FLOPS Floating Point Operations Per Second

FO Fiber Optics

FORTRAN Formula Translation

FPS Frames Per Second

FRAM Ferro Electric Random-Access Memory

FTP File Transfer Protocol

GB Giga Bytes

GIF Graphic Interchange Format

GIGO Garbage In Garbage Out

GML General Markup Language

GPL General Public License

GUI Graphical User Interface

HDD Hard Disk Drive

HFS Hierarchical File System

HP Hewlett Packard

HPC High Performance Computing

HPFS High Performance File System

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 6
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

HSR Horizontal Scan Rate

HTML Hyper Text Markup Language

HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

IO Input Output

IBM International Business Machines

IC Integrated Circuit

ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol

ICS Reduce Instruction Set Computer

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IDE Integrated Development Environment

IE Internet Explorer

IGMP Internet Group Management Protocol

IL Intermediate Language

IOP Input Output Processor

IP Internet Protocol

IPX Internetworked Packet Exchange

IRAM Integration Ram

IRC Internet Relay Chat

IRDA Infrared Data Association

IRQ Interrupt Request

ISAPI Internet Server Application Program Interface

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

ISO International Standard Organization

ISP Internet Service Provider

ISR Interrupt Service Routine

IT Information Technology
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 7
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

ITPL Information Technology Park Limited (India)

JCL Job Control Language

JDBC Java Data Base Connectivity

JHTML Java Within Hyper Text Markup Language

JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group

JSP Java Server Pages

KB Kilo Bytes

KBPS Kilo Bytes Per Second

L2TP Layer Two Tunneling Protocol

LAN Local Area Network

LCD Liquid Crystal Display

LDAP Light Weight Directory Access Control

LIFO Last In First Out

LIPS Logical Interfaces Per Second

LOC Lines Of Code

LSI Large Scale Integration

LSP Layered Service Provider

MAC Media Access Control

MAN Metropolitan Area Network

MAU Multi-station Access Unit

MB Mega Bytes

MBONE Multicast Backbone

MBPS Mega Bytes Per Second

MBR Master Boot Record

MCP Microsoft Certified Professional

MCS Multicast Server

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 8
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

MDI Multiple Document Interface

MDS Microcomputer Development System

MFC Microsoft Foundation Classes

MFT Master File Table

MG Mega Bytes

MICR Magnetic Ink Characters Reader

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface

MIMD Multiple Instruction Multiple Data

MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

MIPS Millions Of Instructions Per Second

MISD Multiple Instruction Single Data

MODEM Modulator And Demodulator

MP3 Motion Pictures Experts Group Layer 3

MPEG Motion Pictures Experts Group

MS Microsoft

MSDN Microsoft Developer Network

MSIIS Microsoft Internet Information Server

MSIL Microsoft Intermediate Language

MSMQ Microsoft Message Queue

MSN Microsoft Network

MSRAP Microsoft Remote Administration Protocol

MSRPC Microsoft Remote Procedure Call

MTS Microsoft Transaction Server

MTU Maximum Transmission Unit

MUDS Multi User Dungeons

NAS Network Attached Storage

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 9
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

NASSCOM National Association Of Software & Service Companies

NCP Network Control Protocol

NDIS Network Driver Interface Specification

NDRO Nondestructive Read Out

NETBEUI Net Bios Enhanced User Interface

NIC National Informatics Centre

NIIT National Institute Of Information Technology

NNTP Network News Transfer Protocol

NSFNET National Science Foundation Network

NTFS New Technology File System

NTP Network Time Protocol

OCR Optical Character Readers

ODBC Open Data Base Connectivity

OLE Object Linking And Embedding

OMR Optical Mark Reader

ONE Open Network Architecture

OOA Object Orient Analysis

OOAD Object Oriented Analysis And Design

OOP Object Oriented Programming

OOPS Object Oriented Programming System

OPEN GL Open Graphics Library

OS Operating System

OSI Open System Interconnection

PC Personal Computer

PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect

PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 10

 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

PDA Personal Digital Assistant

PDF Portable Document Format

PDL Page Description Language

PDU Protocol Data Unit

PIC Programming Interrupt Control

PILOT Programmed Inquiry Learning Or Teaching

PLA Programmable Logic Array

PLC Programmable Logic Controller

PNG Portable Network Graphics

PNP Plug And Play

PPP Peer To Peer Protocol

PPTP Point To Point Tunneling Protocol

PROM Programmable Read Only Memory

PS Post Script

RADSL Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line

RAID Redundant Array Of Independent Disks

RAM Random Access Memory

RAMDAC Random Access Memory Digital To Analog Converter

RAS Remote Access Network

RD RAM Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory

RDBMS Relational Data Base Management System

RDO Remote Data Objects

RDP Remote Desktop Protocol

RFC Request For Comments

RGB Red Green Blue

RICS Reduced Instruction Set Computer

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 11

 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

RIP Raster Image Processor

RISC Reduced Instruction Set Computer

ROM Read Only Memory

RPC Remote Procedure Call

RTC Real Time Clock

RTF Rich Text Format

RTOS Real Time Operating System

SACK Selective Acknowledgements

SAM Security Access Manager

SAP Service Access Point, Systems Applications Products

SCMP Software Configuration Management Plan

SD RAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

SDD Software Design Description

SDK Software Development Kit

SDL Storage Definition Language

SDN Integrated Service Digital Network

SDRAM Static Dynamic Random Access Memory

SDSL Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line

SG RAM Synchronous Graphics Random Access Memory

SGML Standard Generalized Markup Language

SIM Subscriber Identification Module

SIMD Single Instruction Multiple Data

SISD Single Instruction Single Data

SIU Serial Interface Unit

SMP Symmetric Multi-Process

SMS Short Message Service

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 12

 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

SNA System Network Architecture

SNAP Sub Network Access Protocol

SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol

SNOBOL String Oriented Symbolic Language

SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol

SPX Sequenced Packet Exchange

SQA Statistical Quality Assurance

SQL Structured Query Language

SRAM Static Random Access Memory

SRS Software Requirements Specification

STP Shielded Twisted Pair

SVVP Software Verification And Validation Plan

SW Software

TAPI Telephony Application Program Interface

TB Tera Bytes

TCP Transmission Control Protocol

TCPIP Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol

TDI Transport Data Interface

TDMA Time Division Multiple Access

TPM Transactions Processing Monitor

TSR Terminate And Stay Residents

UDD User Datagram Protocol

UDP User Datagram Protocol

UI User Interface

UML Unified Modelling Language

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 13
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

UNC Universal Naming Convention

UNIX Uniplexed Information and Computer Systems

URL Universal Resource Locator

USB Universal Serial Bus

USRT Universal Synchronous Receiver Transmitted

UTP Unshielded Twisted Pair

VAN Virtual Area Network

VAST Very Small Aperture Terminal

VB Visual Basic

VC++ Visual C++

VCD Video Compact Disc

VDL View Definition Language

VGA Video Graphics Array

VHS Video Home System

VLIW Very Long Instruction Words

VLSI Very Large-Scale Integrated Circuits

VPN Virtual Private Network

VRAM Video Random Access Memory

VRML Virtual Reality Modelling Language

VS Visual Studio

VSNL Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited

VVR Software Validation And Validation Report

VXD Virtual Device Driver

W3C World Wide Web Consortium

WAIS Wide Area Information Servers

WAN Wide Area Network

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 14
 Download Testbook

Abbreviations Full Form

WAP Wireless Application Protocol

WBEM Web Base Enterprise Management

WDM Wave Division Multiplexing

WHQL Windows Hardware Quality Lab

WINDOWS ME Windows Millennium Edition

WINDOWS NT Windows New Technology

WINDOWS XP Windows Experienced

WINS Windows Internet Name Service

WMI Windows Management Instrumentation

WML Wireless Markup Language

WORM Write Once Read Many

WSH Windows Script Host

WWW World Wide Web

WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get

XHTML Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language

XML Extensible Markup Language

XSL Extensible Style Sheet Language

Y2K Year 2000

File Extension Full Form

Audio File Extension
MP3 MPEG Audio Layer 3
AIFF Audio Interchange File Format
WAV Waveform PCM Audio
WMA Windows Media Audio
BWF Broadcast Wave Format
DAT Digital Audio Tape
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 15
 Download Testbook

Video File Extensions

.mkv Matroska Multimedia Container
.mov Apple QuickTime movie File

.mp4 MPEG-4 Video File

.avi Audio Video Interleave File

.flv Adobe Flash Video File

Image Extensions
JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
GIF Graphics Interchange Format,

PNG Portable Network Graphics

BMP Windows Bitmap

TIFF Tag Image File Format

Text Extensions
PDF Portable Document Format ( read only)
DOC Microsoft Word Document
TXT Plain Text File
RTF Rich Text Format File
FDR Final Draft Document

Executable File Extensions

File Extension File Extension Meaning
.apk Android package file
.bat Batch file
.bin Binary file
.cgi Common Gateway Interface Script
.com MS-DOS command file
.exe Executable file
.jar Java Archive file
.py Python file
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 16
 Download Testbook

Spreadsheet File Extensions

File Extension File Extension Meaning
.ods OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet file
.xlr Microsoft Works spreadsheet file
.xls Microsoft Excel file
.xlsx Microsoft Excel Open XML spreadsheet file

Other File Extensions

.ico Icon file
.bak Backup file
.drv Device driver file
.sql SQL/Structured Query Language database file
.tar Linux / Unix tarball file archive
.accdb Access 2007 Database File
.csv Comma separated value file
.ppt PowerPoint presentation
.pptx PowerPoint Open XML presentation
.pps PowerPoint slide show

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Abbreviations PAGE 17

Keyboard
Shortcuts
COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Important Shortcut Keys

Basic Key
Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Alt + F File menu options in the current program

Alt + E Edits options in the current program

F1 Universal help (for any sort of program)

Ctrl + A Selects all text

Ctrl + X Cuts the selected item

Ctrl + Del Cut selected item

Ctrl + C Copy the selected item

Ctrl + Ins Copy the selected item

Ctrl + V Paste the selected item

Shift + Ins Paste the selected item

Home Takes the user to the beginning of the current line

Ctrl + Home Go to the beginning of the document

End Go to the end of the current line

Ctrl + End Go to the end of a document

Shift + Home Highlight from current position to beginning of the line

Shift + End Highlight from current position to end of the line

Ctrl + (Left arrow) Move one word to the left at a time

Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move one word to the right at a time

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

Microsoft Windows Shortcuts Keys

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Alt + Tab Switch between open applications

Alt + Shift + Tab Switch backward between open applications

Alt + Print Screen Create screenshot for the current program

Ctrl + Alt + Del Reboot/Windows task manager

Ctrl + Esc Bring up the start menu

Alt + Esc Switch between applications on the taskbar

F2 Rename selected icon

F3 Start find from the desktop

F4 Open the drive selection when browsing

F5 Refresh contents

Alt + F4 Close current open program

Ctrl + F4 Close window in program

Ctrl + Plus Key Automatically adjust widths of all columns in Windows Explorer

Alt + Enter Open properties window of selected icon or program

Shift + F10 Simulate right-click on selected item

Shift + Del Delete programs/files permanently

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

MS-Word Shortcut Keys

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page

Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection

Ctrl + C Copy selected text

Ctrl + X Cut selected text

Ctrl + N Open new/blank document

Ctrl + O Open options

Ctrl + P Open the print window

Ctrl + F Open find box

Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection

Ctrl + K Insert link

Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection

Ctrl + V Paste

Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed

Ctrl + Z Undo last action

Ctrl + G Find and replace options

Ctrl + H Find and replace options

Ctrl + J Justify paragraph alignment

Ctrl + L Align selected text or line to the left

Ctrl + Q Align selected paragraph to the left

Ctrl + E Align selected text or line to the centre

Ctrl + R Align selected text or line to the right

Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph

Ctrl + T Hanging indent

Ctrl + D Font options

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font

Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1

Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1

Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1

Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters

Ctrl + (Left arrow) Move one word to the left

Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move one word to the right

Ctrl + (Up arrow) Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph

Ctrl + (Down arrow) Move to the end of the paragraph

Ctrl + Del Delete word to the right of the cursor

Ctrl + Backspace Delete word to the left of the cursor

Ctrl + End Move cursor to end of the document

Ctrl + Home Move cursor to the beginning of the document

Ctrl + Space Reset highlighted text to default font

Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines

Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines

Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing

Ctrl + Alt + 1 Change text to heading 1

Ctrl + Alt + 2 Change text to heading 2

Ctrl + Alt + 3 Change text to heading 3

F1 Open help

Shift + F3 Change case of selected text

Shift + Insert Paste

F4 Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)

F7 Spell check selected text and/or document

Shift + F7 Activate the thesaurus

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

F12 Save as

Ctrl + S Save

Shift + F12 Save

Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date

Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time

Ctrl + W Close document

MS-Excel Shortcut Keys

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

F2 Edit the selected cell

F5 Go to a specific cell

F7 Spell check selected text and/or document

F11 Create chart

Ctrl + Shift + Enter the current time

Ctrl + Enter the current date

Alt + Shift + F1 Insert new worksheet

Shift + F3 Open the Excel formula window

Shift + F5 Bring up the search box

Ctrl + A Select all contents of a worksheet

Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection

Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection

Ctrl + C Copy selected text

Ctrl + V Paste

Ctrl + D Fill

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Ctrl + K Insert link

Ctrl + F Open find and replace options

Ctrl + G Open go-to options

Ctrl + H Open find and replace options

Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection

Ctrl + Y Underline selected text

Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough highlighted selection

Ctrl + O Open options

Ctrl + N Open new document

Ctrl + P Open print dialog box

Ctrl + S Save

Ctrl + Z Undo last action

Ctrl + F9 Minimize current window

Ctrl + F10 Maximize currently selected window

Ctrl + F6 Switch between open workbooks/windows

Ctrl + Page up & Page Move between Excel worksheets in the same document
Down
Ctrl + Tab Move between two or more open Excel files

Alt + = Create the formula to sum all of the above cells

Ctrl + Insert the value of above cell into the current cell

Ctrl + Shift + ! Format number in comma format

Ctrl + Shift + $ Format number in currency format

Ctrl + Shift + # Format number in date format

Ctrl + Shift + % Format number in percentage format

Ctrl + Shift + ^ Format number in scientific format

Ctrl + Shift + @ Format number in time format

Ctrl + (Right arrow) Move to next section of text

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Ctrl + Space Select entire column

Shift + Space Select entire row

Ctrl + W Close document

OUTLOOK® Shortcut Keys

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

Alt + S Send the email

Ctrl + C Copy selected text

Ctrl + X Cut selected text

Ctrl + P Open print dialog box

Ctrl + K Complete name/email typed in address bar

Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection

Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection

Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection

Ctrl + R Reply to an email

Ctrl + F Forward an email

Ctrl + N Create a new email

Ctrl + Shift + A Create a new appointment to your calendar

Ctrl + Shift + O Open the outbox

Ctrl + Shift + I Open the inbox

Ctrl + Shift + K Add a new task

Ctrl + Shift + C Create a new contact

Ctrl + Shift+ J Create a new journal entry

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Winkey Shortcut Keys

Shortcuts Work of shortcuts

WINKEY + D Bring desktop to the top of other windows

WINKEY + M Minimize all windows

WINKEY + or SHIFT + M Undo the minimize done by WINKEY + M and WINKEY + D

WINKEY + E Open Microsoft Explorer

WINKEY + Tab Cycle through open programs on taskbar

WINKEY + F Display the Windows® Search/Find feature

WINKEY + or CTRL + F Display the search for computers window

WINKEY + F1 Display the Microsoft® Windows® help

WINKEY + R Open the run window

WINKEY + Pause /Break Open the system properties window

WINKEY + U Open utility manager

WINKEY + L Lock the computer (Windows XP® & later)

Special Character List

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

COMPUTER | Keyboard Shortcut PAGE 10

Computer
Software
COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Computer Software
Software is a collection of instructions and data that tell a computer how to work. This is in contrast
to physical hardware, from which the system is built and actually performs the work. In computer
science and software engineering, computer software is all information processed by computer systems,
including programs and data. Computer software includes computer programs, libraries and related non-
executable data, such as online documentation or digital media. Computer hardware and software require
each other and neither can be realistically used on its own.

A set of instructions that achieve a single outcome are called program or procedure. Many programs
functioning together to do a task make a software.

For example, a word-processing software enables the user to create, edit and save documents. A web
browser enables the user to view and share web pages and multimedia files. There are two categories of
software −

 System Software

 Application Software

 Utility Software

Let us discuss them in detail.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 2

 Download Testbook

System Software
Software required to run the hardware parts of the computer and other application software are
called system software. System software acts as interface between hardware and user applications. An
interface is needed because hardware devices or machines and humans speak in different languages.

Machines understand only binary language i.e. 0 (absence of electric signal) and 1 (presence of electric signal)
while humans speak in English, French, German, Tamil, Hindi and many other languages. English is the pre-
dominant language of interacting with computers. Software is required to convert all human instructions into
machine understandable instructions. And this is exactly what system software does.

Based on its function, system software is of three types −

 Operating System

 Language Processor

 Device Drivers

Operating System

System software that is responsible for functioning of all hardware parts and their interoperability to
carry out tasks successfully is called operating system (OS). OS is the first software to be loaded into
computer memory when the computer is switched on and this is called booting. OS manages a
computer’s basic functions like storing data in memory, retrieving files from storage devices, scheduling
tasks based on priority, etc.

10 Best Operating Systems In Market

1. MS-Windows

2. Ubuntu

3. Mac OS

4. Fedora

5. Solaris

6. Free BSD

7. Chrome OS
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 3
 Download Testbook

8. CentOS

9. Debian

10. Deepin

Language Processor
As discussed earlier, an important function of system software is to convert all user instructions into
machine understandable language. When we talk of human machine interactions, languages are of three
types −

 Machine-level language − This language is nothing but a string of 0s and 1s that the machines can
understand. It is completely machine dependent.

 Assembly-level language − This language introduces a layer of abstraction by

defining mnemonics. Mnemonics are English like words or symbols used to denote a long string of 0s
and 1s. For example, the word “READ” can be defined to mean that computer has to retrieve data from
the memory. The complete instruction will also tell the memory address. Assembly level language
is machine dependent.

 High level language − This language uses English like statements and is completely independent of
machines. Programs written using high level languages are easy to create, read and understand.

Program written in high level programming languages like Java, C++, etc. is called source code. Set of
instructions in machine readable form is called object code or machine code. System software that
converts source code to object code is called language processor. There are three types of language
interpreters−

 Assembler − Converts assembly level program into machine level program.

 Interpreter − Converts high level programs into machine level program line by line.

 Compiler − Converts high level programs into machine level programs at one go rather than line by line.

Device Drivers

System software that controls and monitors functioning of a specific device on computer is called device
driver. Each device like printer, scanner, microphone, speaker, etc. that needs to be attached externally
to the system has a specific driver associated with it. When you attach a new device, you need to install its
driver so that the OS knows how it needs to be managed.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 4

 Download Testbook

Many parts of a computer need drivers, and common examples are:

 Computer printers.

 Graphic cards.

 Modems.

 Network cards.

 Sound cards.

Application Software
 A software that performs a single task and nothing else is called application software. Application
software are very specialized in their function and approach to solving a problem.

 Application programs interact with systems software; systems software then directs computer hardware
to perform the necessary tasks.

 So a spreadsheet software can only do operations with numbers and nothing else. A hospital
management software will manage hospital activities and nothing else. Here are some commonly used
application software −

 Word processing

 Spreadsheet

 Presentation

 Database management

 Multimedia tools

Utility Software
Application software that assist system software in doing their work is called utility software. Thus utility
software is actually a cross between system software and application software. Examples of utility software
include −

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 5

 Download Testbook

 Antivirus software

 Disk management tools

 File management tools

 Compression tools

 Backup tools

Middleware software
 Middleware is software that enables one or more kinds of communication or connectivity between two
or more applications or application components in a distributed network.

 Common middleware examples include database middleware, application server middleware, message-
oriented middleware, web middleware, and transaction-processing monitors.

Shareware software
Shareware software is a software that are freely distributed to users on trial basis. There is a time
limit inbuilt in the software ( for example- free for 30 days or 2 months). As the time limit gets over, it will
be deactivated. To use it after time limit, you have to pay for the software.
Users prefer shareware because of following reasons –

 Available free of cost

 helps to know about the product before buying it

Some examples of freeware software are –

 Adobe acrobat 8 professional

 PHP Debugger 2.1.3.3

 Winzip

 Getright

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 6

 Download Testbook

Shareware are of following types:

 Adware – Contains ads to generate revenue for the developers

 Donationware – payment is optional

 Nagware – reminds user to purchase the license or the software

 Freemium – free for non-premium but of cost for premium features

 Demoware – demonstration version. It is further classified as crippleware and trialware.

 Crippleware – Some features are disabled under time-limit

 Trialware – all features are available under time-limit

Freeware software
Freeware software is a software that is available free of cost. An user can download freeware from internet
and uses it. These softwares do not provide any freedom of modifying, sharing and studying the program as
in open source software. Freeware is closed source.
Users prefer freeware because of following reasons –

 Available free of cost

 Can be distributed free of cost

Some examples of freeware software are –

 Adobe PDF

 yahoo messenger

 Google Talk

 MSN messenger

Public domain software

Public domain software is not copyrighted. It is released without any conditions upon its use, and may be
used without restriction. This type of software generally has the lowest level of support available.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 7

 Download Testbook

Difference between freeware and shareware

software

Freeware Shareware

Free for specific period of time later on asked the user

Cost Free of cost
to purchase.

Not allowed covered

Modify source code Not allowed covered all the copyrights
all the copyrights.

Certain features are provided for trial later on to unlock

Fully Functional Usually
the rest features, users need to pay.

Some features are available for free trial or have limited

All features are freely
Features use.
available
To enable the rest features, payment should be made.

Free of cost
May or may not be freely distributed usually requires
Distribution distributed among
author’s permission.
the people.

Access Duration time Having no time limit Program may only work for short duration eg 30 days.

A free copyrighted Some features are free for trial and covered by
Advantage
software copyright.

Neither can sell these

It cannot be modified and it may be either a cut down
Disadvantage software nor can
or a temporary version.
make any changes

MSN messenger,
Examples yahoo messenger, Winzip,CuteFTP, Getright,etc.
Adobe PDF,etc.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 8

 Download Testbook

Open Source software

Open Source software is the software that is available to users with source code. Source code is a part of a
program or software. Users can modify, inspect and enhance it to improve the software. Additional
features can be added in the source code. Users use source code to copy, learn and share it. An Open
source software can either be free of cost or chargeable.
Users prefer open source software because of following reasons-

 More control over the software

 More secure

 Stable

 High quality results

 Helps in becoming a better programmer as you can learn and develop from the source code to make
new softwares.

Examples of open source software are –

 Apache HTTP web server

 Mozilla’s Firefox web browser

 Thunderbird email client

 database system

 GNU compiler collection

 Moodle

 OpenOffice

 PHP

 Perl

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 9

 Download Testbook

Proprietary Software
Proprietary software refers to the software which is owned by an individual or a company. There are
restrictions on its distribution and use. It is also sometimes known as closed-source or commercial
software.

Some of the advantages associated with proprietary software are –

 Stability – Its releases are stable throughout and the software does not crash easily.

 Reliable – It can be relied upon during handling of critical processes.

 Uniqueness – It is unique in nature and does not have much alternatives.

 Compatibility – It is compatible with many Operating systems.

Some of its disadvantages are –

 It is costly in nature.

 Source code is not accessible for modification.

Redistribution is forbidden.

Examples of Proprietary Software –

 MacOS

 Microsoft Windows Professional Edition

 Adobe Suite

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Computer Software PAGE 10

Hardware

COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Hardware
Hardware refers to the physical and tangible parts of a computer system, i.e. the components that can be
seen and touched by user. Hardware can be taken as the body of a computer consisting different logically and
physically operational parts for different functions.

Following can be examples of Hardware:

 Input devices − keyboard, mouse, etc.

 Output devices − printer, monitor, etc.

 Secondary storage devices − Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

 Internal components − CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 2

 Download Testbook

Relationship between Hardware and Software

 Both Hardware and Software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them should work in
collaboration in order to make a computer produce a useful output.

 Software cannot be used without equivalent hardware.

 Hardware in absence of a set of programs to operate upon cannot perform any useful operations and is
useless.

 To get a particular task or operation executed by the computer, relevant software must be loaded into
the hardware.

 Hardware is a one-time investment.

 Development of Software is comparatively expensive and is a prolonged expense.

 Various software applications can be installed on a hardware to perform various tasks.

 A software works as an interface between the hardware and its user.

 If the hardware can be considered as the 'heart' of a computer system, then the software is considered
as its 'soul'. Both of them are complementary to each other.

CPU
Central processing unit (CPU), principal part of any digital computer system, generally composed of the main
memory, control unit, and arithmetic-logic unit.

 Central Processing Unit (CPU) consists of the following features −

 CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.

 CPU performs all types of data processing operations.

 It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions (program).

 It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 3

 Download Testbook

CPU itself has following three components.

Memory or Storage Unit

Control Unit

ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

Memory or Storage Unit

This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results. This unit supplies information to other units
of the computer when needed. It is also known as internal storage unit or the main memory or the primary
storage or Random Access Memory (RAM).

Its size affects speed, power, and capability. Primary memory and secondary memory are two types of
memories in the computer. Functions of the memory unit are −

 It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.

 It stores intermediate results of processing.

 It stores the final results of processing before these results are released to an output device.

 All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the main memory.
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 4
 Download Testbook

Control Unit
This unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry out any actual data pro-
cessing operations.

Functions of this unit are −

 It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a computer.

 It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.

 It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of the computer.

 It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.

 It does not process or store data.

ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

This unit consists of two subsections namely,

 Arithmetic Section

 Logic Section

Arithmetic Section

Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of the above operations.

Logic Section

Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting, matching, and merging
of data.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 5

 Download Testbook

What is the latest computer processor?

 Best CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X. ...

 Best high-end CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. ...

 Best mid-range CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X. ...

 Best entry-level CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100. ...

 Best gaming CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. ...

 Best VR CPU: Intel Core i5-10600K. ...

 Best performance processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X. ...

 Best budget CPU: AMD Athlon 300GE.

Motherboard
 The motherboard works as a single platform to assemble all of the parts of a computer system together.
It connects the primary components like CPU, memory, hard drives, and the secondary components like
optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or via cables. It acts
as the backbone of a computer.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 6

 Download Testbook

Features of Motherboard
A motherboard comes with various features as follows:

 Motherboard varies very much in supporting different types of devices and components.

 Motherboard provides provision for a single type of CPU and a multiple number of memories.

 Devices like video cards, hard disks, sound cards have to be compatible with the particular moth-
erboard to integrate with the rest of the components.

 Motherboards, cases, and power supplies should be compatible to work properly in collaboration
with the other components.

Popular Manufactures
Following are few of the popular manufacturers in the market of the motherboard:

 Intel

 ASUS

 A Open

 ABIT

 Bio star

 Gigabyte

 MSI

Description of Motherboard
 The motherboard is installed inside the case or cabinet and is securely attached using small screws. Moth-
erboard consists of ports to connect all of the internal hardware components. It has provision for a single
socket for CPU, whereas for memory, generally one or more slots are available. Motherboards contain
ports to attach input devices like the floppy drive, hard drive, and optical drives via ribbon cables. Moth-
erboard carries fans for heat dissipation and a special component called SMPS (switched-mode power
supply) designed for power supply.
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 7
 Download Testbook

 It contains a peripheral card slot in front of the motherboard which can be used to attach output/input
devices like video cards, sound cards, and other expansion cards to the motherboard.

 On the other side, motherboards carry a variety of ports to connect the important input/output devices
like monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard, speaker, and network cables. Motherboards also consists ad-
vanced technology known as USB ports, which allow compatible devices to be connected in plug-in/plug-
out fashion. For example, pen drive, digital cameras, etc.

RAM
RAM, which stands for random access memory, and ROM, which stands for read-only memory, are both
present in your computer. RAM is volatile memory that temporarily stores the files you are working
on. ROM is non-volatile memory that permanently stores instructions for your computer.

The information stored in RAM can be checked with the help of BIOS. It is generally known as the main
memory or temporary memory or cache memory or volatile memory of the computer system.

Two main types of RAM are:

 Static RAM

 Dynamic RAM

Static RAM
Static RAM is the full form of SRAM. In this type of RAM, data is stored using the state of a six transistor
memory cell. Static RAM is mostly used as a cache memory for the processor (CPU).

Dynamic RAM
 DRAM stands for Dynamic Random Access Memory. It is a type of RAM which allows you to stores each
bit of data in a separate capacitor within a specific integrated circuit. Dynamic RAM is a standard
computer memory of the many modern desktop computers.

 This type of RAM is a volatile memory that needs to be refreshed with voltage regularly. Else it loses the
information stored on it.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 8

 Download Testbook

SRAM VS DRAM

SRAM DRAM

SRAM is costlier than DRAM. DRAM costs less compared to SRAM.

It is a complex internal circuitry, and it

offers less storage capacity is available It is the small internal circuitry in the one-bit memory cell of DRAM.
compared to the same physical size of a The large storage capacity is available.
DRAM memory chip.

Types of RAM

Type of RAM Year Invented

EDO RAM (Extended data operations

1994
read-only memory)

RDRAM (Rambus RAM) 1998

DDR2 2003

DDR4 2012

ROM
 Read-Only Memory (ROM), is a type of electronic storage that comes built in to a device during
manufacturing. You’ll find ROM chips in computers and many other types of electronic products; VCRs,
game consoles, and car radios all use ROM to complete their functions smoothly.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 9

 Download Testbook

 ROM chips come built into an external unit – like flash drives and other auxiliary memory devices or
installed into the device’s hardware on a removable chip. Non-volatile memory like ROM remains viable
even without a power supply.

Ports
 In terms of computers, a port is a physical docking socket using which an external or internal device can
be connected to the motherboard. It may also be programmatic docking point which can be used for flow
of information from a program to the computer or over the Internet.

Characterstics of Ports
Following are the characteristics of a port:

 Most of the external devices are connected to the system through cables and ports.

 Ports are sockets on the motherboard of the system into which the device itself or the cable of external
device is plugged in.

 Examples: mouse, keyboard, monitor, microphone, speakers, etc.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 10

 Download Testbook

Serial Port
 Useful for external modems and older version of computer mouse

 Two possible versions: 9 pin, 25 pin model

 Data travels at the speed of 115 kilobits per second

Parallel Port
 Used to attach scanners and printers

 Also known as printer port

 25 pin model

 IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port

PS/2 Port
 Used to connect earlier version computer keyboard and mouse

 Also known as mouse port

 Most of the earlier version computers provide two PS/2 port, each for the mouse and keyboard

 IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port

Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port

 It can be used to attach variety of external USB devices like external hard disk, printer, scanner, mouse,
keyboard, etc.

 It was introduced in 1997.

 Most of the newer versions of computers are equipped with two USB ports as minimum.

 Data travels at the speed of 12 megabits per seconds.

 USB compliant devices can receive power from a USB port.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 11

 Download Testbook

VGA Port
 It is used to connect monitor to a computer's video card.

 It consists 15 holes.

 It resembles the serial port connector. However, serial port connector consists pins, VGA port consists
holes.

Power Connector
 Three-pronged plug.

 It connects to the computer's power socket available in SMPS that plugs into a power bar or wall socket.

FireWire Port
 It can transfer huge amount of data at comparatively very fast speed.

 It can connect camcorders and video equipment to the computer system.

 Data flows at the speed of 400 to 800 megabits per seconds.

 Invented by Apple.

 It has 3 variants: 4-Pin FireWire 400 connector, 6-Pin FireWire 400 connector, and 9-Pin FireWire 800 con-
nector.

Modem Port
 It is used to connect a PC's modem to the telephone network.

Ethernet Port
 Used to connect computer system to a network and high speed Internet.

 Connects the network cable to the system.

 This port is available on the Ethernet Card.

 Data travels at the speed of 10 megabits to 1000 megabits per seconds, which depends upon the network
bandwidth.
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 12
 Download Testbook

Game Port
 Used to connect a joystick to a PC

 It is now replaced by USB

Digital Video Interface, DVI Port

 Used to connect digital signal accepting Flat panel LCD monitor to the computer's high-end video graphic
cards.

 Very popular now a days among video card manufacturers.

Sockets
 Sockets usually connects the microphone (mic) and speakers to the sound card on the motherboard.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Hardware PAGE 13

Microsoft Word

COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Microsoft Word

Introduction
 Let us consider an office scene. Many letters are typed in the office. The officer dictates a letter. The typist
first types a draft copy of the letter. The officer goes through it to check mistakes regarding spelling errors,
missing words, etc. and suggests corrections. The typist changes the letter as suggested by the officer. This
is a simple example of word processing.

 There are many software packages to do the job of word processing. Some of them work in DOS
environment. Example are WordStar, Word Perfect and Professional Write. But in these days working in
WINDOWS is becoming more and more popular. So let us consider software for word processing which
works in WINDOWS. Our choice is MS-WORD because it is the most popular software in these days.

 MS-WORD is a part of the bigger package called MS OFFICE, which can do much more than word
processing. In fact when you open up MS OFFICE you will find four main components in it. They are MS-
WORD (for word processing), MS EXCEL (for spreadsheet), MS ACCESS (for database management) and MS
POWERPOINT (for presentation purposes). However, we will limit ourselves to MS-WORD only in this

Objectives
After going through this lesson you should be in a position to :

 start the MS-WORD package

 be familiar with the MS-WORD screen

 advantages and Features of Word Processing

 some common Word Processing Packages

 how to invoke Ms-Word

 learn the capabilities of Ms-Word

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 2

 Download Testbook

What is Word Processing

 Word Processor is a Software package that enables you to create, edit, print and save documents for
future retrieval and reference. Creating a document involves typing by using a keyboard and saving it.
Editing a document involves correcting the spelling mistakes, if any, deleting or moving words sentences
or paragraphs.

Advantages of Word Processing

 One of the main advantages of a word processor over a conventional typewriter is that a word processor
enables you to make changes to a document without retyping the entire document.

Features of Word Processing

 Most Word Processor available today allows more than just creating and editing documents. They have
wide range of other tools and functions, which are used in formatting the documents. The following are
the main features of a Word Processor

 Text is typing into the computer, which allows alterations to be made easily.

 Words and sentences can be inserted, amended or deleted.

 Paragraphs or text can be copied /moved throughout the document.

 Margins and page length can be adjusted as desired.

 Spelling can be checked and modified through the spell check facility.

 Multiple document/files can be merged.

 Multiple copies of letters can be generated with different addresses through the mail-merge
facility.

Some Common Word Processing Packages

The followings are examples of some popular word processor available

 Soft word

 WordStar

 Word perfect

 Microsoft word

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 3

 Download Testbook

Important Features Of Ms-word

 Ms-Word not only supports word processing features but also DTP features. Some of the important
features of Ms-Word are listed below:

 Using word you can create the document and edit them later, as and when required, by adding more
text, modifying the existing text, deleting/moving some part of it.

 Changing the size of the margins can reformat complete document or part of text.

 Font size and type of fonts can also be changed. Page numbers and Header and Footer can be included.

 Spelling can be checked and correction can be made automatically in the entire document. Word count
and other statistics can be generated.

 Text can be formatted in columnar style as we see in the newspaper. Text boxes can be made.

 Tables can be made and included in the text.

 Word also allows the user to mix the graphical pictures with the text. Graphical pictures can either be
created in word itself or can be imported from outside like from Clip Art Gallery.

 Word also provides the mail-merge facility.

 Word also has the facility of macros. Macros can be either attached to some function/special keys or to a
tool bar or to a menu.

 It also provides online help of any option.

Getting Started With Ms-word

 We have already told you that for working in Ms-Word you should be familiar with WINDOWS. If you
have not covered WINDOWS so far then read that first and then go through MS-WORD. By now you must
be aware of the fact that a software package is improved from time to time. These improvements are
sold in the market as new versions of the same software. Thus you will find many versions of MS-WORD
being used in different offices. In this lesson we will cover the version MS-WORD 97, which is latest in the
market and contain many improvements over the older versions. However, you do not have to worry if
you have an older version such as WORD 6.0 or WORD 95. All the commands available in these older
versions are also available in WORD 97 and they are compatible.
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 4
 Download Testbook

 While working in MS-WORD you have to work with a mouse. Also one can work, to some extent, through
the keyboard. The use of mouse is simpler as it is fully menu driven. In MS-WORD every command is
available in the form of ‘icons’.

 You can go inside MS-WORD by the following way:

 Take the mouse pointer to START button on the task bar. Click the left mouse button.

 Move the pointer to programs. You will notice another menu coming up to the right.

 In that menu identify where Microsoft word is placed. Move the cursor horizontally to come out
of programs.

 Move into the rectangular area meant for Microsoft word. Click the left mouse button there. The
computer will start MS-WORD.

Let us discuss the important components of the screen.

 Title Bar: The title bar displays the name of the currently active word document. Like other WINDOWS
applications, it can be used to alter the size and location of the word window.

 Tool Bars: Word has a number of tool bars that help you perform task faster and with great ease. Two
of the most commonly tool bars are the formatting tool bar and the standard tool bar. These two toolbars
are displayed just below the title bar. At any point of time any tool bar can be made ON or OFF through
the tool bar option of View Menu.

 Ruler Bar: The Ruler Bar allows you to format the vertical alignment of text in a document.

 Status Bar: The Status Bar displays information about the currently active document. This includes the
page number that you are working, the column and line number of the cursor position and so on.

 Scroll Bar: The Scroll Bar helps you scroll the content or body of document. You can do so by moving
the elevator button along the scroll bar, or by click in on the buttons with the arrow marked on them to
move up and down and left and right of a page.

 Workspace: The Workspace is the area in the document window were you enter/type the text of your
document.

 Main Menu: The Word main menu is displayed at the top of the screen as shown in the Figure. The
main menu further displays a sub menu. Some of the options are highlighted options and some of them
appear as faded options. At any time, only highlighted options can be executed, faded options are not
applicable. Infect if the option is faded you will not be able to choose it. You may not that any option
faded under present situation may become highlighted under different situations

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 5

 Download Testbook

Main Menu Options

 The overall functions of all the items of main menu are explained below.

File
 You can perform file management operations by using these options such as opening, closing, saving,
printing, exiting etc.

New Ctrl+N
Open Ctrl+O
Close ALT + F4
Save Ctrl+S
Save As CTL + A
Print Ctrl+P

File Sub menu

 Edit

 Using this option you can perform editing functions such as cut, copy, paste, find and replace etc.

Undo Clear Ctrl+Z

Repeat Clear Ctrl+Y
Cut Ctrl+X
Copy Ctrl+C
Paste Ctrl+V
Clear Delete
Select All Ctrl+A
Find Ctrl+F
Replace Ctrl+H
Go To Ctrl+G

Edit Sub menu

 View

 Word document can be of many pages. The different pages may have different modes. Each mode has its
limitations. For example in normal mode the graphical picture cannot be displayed. They can only be
displayed in page layout mode. Using the option “View” you can switch over from one mode to other. It
displays the following Sub menu.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 6

 Download Testbook

Online Layout
Page Layout
Normal
Outline
Master Document
Tool Bars Ruler
Footnotes
Comments
Header and Footer
Full Screen
Zoom

Insert
 Using this menu, you can insert various objects such as page numbers, footnotes, picture frames etc. in
your document. It displays the following Sub menu.

Break
Page Numbers
Date and Time
AutoText
Symbol
Comment
Footnote
Caption
Cross-reference
Index & Tables
Picture
Text Box
File
Object
Bookmark
Hyperlink

Format
 Using this menu, you can perform various type of formatting operations, such as fonts can be changed,
borders can be framed etc. It displays the following Sub menu.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 7

 Download Testbook

Paragraph…
Font Bullets and Numbering
Borders and Shading
Tabs…
Drop Cap…
Text Direction…
Change Case…
Columns
Auto Format… Style Gallery…
Style…
Background…
Object

Tools
 Using this menu, you can have access to various utilities/tools of Word, such as spell check, macros, mail
merge etc. It displays the following Sub menu.
Language…
Word Count AutoSummarise
Spelling and Grammar
Auto Correct..
Look Up Reference

Merge Documents…
Track Change Protect Document…
Mail Merge
Letter Wizard…
Macro…
Envelops and Lebels Templates and Add-Ins…
Customize…
Options…
Table
 This menu deals with tables. Using this menu you can perform various types of operations on the table. It
displays the following Sub menu.

Draw Table
Delete Cells…
Insert Table Merge Cells…
Split Cells
Select Column
Select Row
Select Table
Distribute Rows Evenly
Distribute Columns Evenly
Table Auto Format
Cell Height and Width…
Headings
Sort …
Formula…
Convert Text to table
Split Table
Hide Grid Lines
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 8
 Download Testbook

Window
 This menu allows you to work with two documents simultaneously. This would require two windows to
be opened so that each one can hold one document. Using this menu, you can switch over from one
window to another. It displays the following Sub menu.

Arrange All
New Window Split
1Document1.doc

Help
 Using this menu, you can get on-line help for any function.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 9

 Download Testbook

Word Shortcut Keys

 Ctrl + A -- Select all contents of the page.

 Ctrl + B -- Bold highlighted selection.

 Ctrl + C -- Copy selected text.

 Ctrl + X -- Cut selected text.

 Ctrl + N -- Open new/blank document.

 Ctrl + O -- Open options.

 Ctrl + P -- Open the print window.

 Ctrl + F -- Open find box.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 10
 Download Testbook

 Ctrl + I -- Italicise highlighted selection.

 Ctrl + K -- Insert link.

 Ctrl + U -- Underline highlighted selection.

 Ctrl + V -- Paste.

 Ctrl + Y -- Redo the last action performed.

 Ctrl + Z -- Undo last action.

 Ctrl + G -- Find and replace options.

 Ctrl + H -- Find and replace options.

 Ctrl + J -- Justify paragraph alignment.

 Ctrl + L -- Align selected text or line to the left.

 Ctrl + Q -- Align selected paragraph to the left.

 Ctrl + E -- Align selected text or line to the center.

 Ctrl + R -- Align selected text or line to the right.

 Ctrl + M -- Indent the paragraph.

 Ctrl + T -- Hanging indent.

 Ctrl + D -- Font options.

 Ctrl + Shift + F -- Change the font.

 Ctrl + Shift + > -- Increase selected font +1.

 Ctrl + ] -- Increase selected font +1.

 Ctrl + [ -- Decrease selected font -1.

 Ctrl + Shift + * -- View or hide non printing characters.

 Ctrl + (Left arrow) -- Move one word to the left.

 Ctrl + (Right arrow) -- Move one word to the right.

 Ctrl + (Up arrow) -- Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph.

 Ctrl + (Down arrow) -- Move to the end of the paragraph.

 Ctrl + Del -- Delete word to the right of the cursor.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 11

 Download Testbook

 Ctrl + Backspace -- Delete word to the left of the cursor.

 Ctrl + End -- Move cursor to end of the document.

 Ctrl + Home -- Move cursor to the beginning of the document.

 Ctrl + Space -- Reset highlighted text to default font.

 Ctrl + 1 -- Single-space lines.

 Ctrl + 2 -- Double-space lines.

 Ctrl + 5 -- 1.5-line spacing.

 Ctrl + Alt + 1 Change text to heading 1.

 Ctrl + Alt + 2 Change text to heading 2.

 Ctrl + Alt + 3 Change text to heading 3.

 F1 -- Open help.

 Shift + F3 -- Change case of selected text.

 Shift + Insert -- Paste.

 F4 -- Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+).

 F7 -- Spell check selected text and/or document.

 Shift + F7 -- Activate the thesaurus.

 F12 -- Save as.

 Ctrl + S -- Save.

 Shift + F12 -- Save.

 Alt + Shift + D -- Insert the current date.

 Alt + Shift + T -- Insert the current time.

 Ctrl + W -- Close document.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 12

 Download Testbook

Ms Word Basic Terms

 Wizard: A wizard is an interactive feature built into the word processing application (particularly in
Microsoft Word) that will walk you step-by-step through a specialized process. One example of a Wizard
included in Microsoft Word is the Mail Merge Wizard which provides assistance with automatically
creating letters, mailing labels or envelopes from a list of names and addresses.

 Word Processing: Word Processing refers to the act of using a computer to create, edit, save and print
documents.

 Word Wrap: Word Wrap refers to the function of a word processor that will automatically force text to
a new line when the right margin is reached while typing. Word Wrap eliminates the need for pressing
the Enter key on the keyboard at the end of every line.

 Charts: graphs that use lines, columns, and pie shapes to represent numbers and data.

 Desktop Publishing: the ‘big brother’ of word processing, the process of using a word processor type
package to create things such as newsletters, flyers, brochures etc. combining both text and graphics.

 Digital Signature: a secure electronic stamp of authentication on a document.

 Drawing Canvas: an area that contains drawing shapes and pictures.

 Embedded Object: an object that becomes part of the destination file and is no longer a part of the
source file.

 Endnotes: notes or references that appear at the end of the document.

 Fill Effect: the pattern, colour, or texture in a graphic object or chart.

 Font: a set of characters that all use the same basic design.

 Font Effects: a way to change the appearance of text such as bold, italics, underline etc.

 Font Size: the size of a font, usually expressed as a number of points.

 Footer: text or graphics that are printed on every page or section, usually at the bottom but can be
anywhere on a page

 Forms: printed or online documents.

 Graphic: a picture or drawing object.

 Header: text or graphics that are printed on every page or section, usually at the top but can be
anywhere on a page.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 13

 Download Testbook

 Indent Markers: markers along the ruler that control how text wraps on the left or right side of a
document.

 Index: a list of the topics, names and terms used in a document along with the corresponding page
numbers. An index is usually found at or near the end of a document (also see Table of Contents)

 Landscape: a term used to describe page orientation, where the page is wider than it is tall.

 Linked Object: an object such as a graphic etc, which is included within a document in such a way that
it is linked to the source file, so that when ever the source changes, the object automatically updates.

 Macro: A recorded series of commands, menu selections and key presses that automate repetitive
tasks.

 Mail Merge: The process of combining a standard ‘form’ letter with a set of names and addresses to
create many letters that appear to be individually written.

 Main Document: the standard ‘form’ letter used in a mail merge process.

 Manual Page Break: a page break inserted into a document by the author at a specific position rather
than one created automatically when a page has no more room for text.

 Merge Field: a placeholder that indicates where Word inserts information from a data source during a
mail merge

 Normal View: the default editing view which is usually used to write and edit documents.

 Note Separator: the line that divides the notes from the body of the document.

 Note Text: the content of a footnote or endnote.

 Office Assistant: a help that answers questions for the Microsoft Office suite of programs.

 Office Clipboard: a storage area that allows the user to temporarily store snippets of information, and
retrieve them later.

 AutoCorrect: a feature that corrects commonly misspelled words automatically as they are typed.

 Bookmark: a method to mark locations within a document so that they can be easily returned to later.

 Bullet: a small graphic, commonly a large dot, that starts each item in a list.

 Character Style: a style for selected words and lines of text within a paragraph

 Outline View: a view that shows the structure of a document which consists of headings and body text.

 Page Orientation: the way in which pages are laid out in a printed document.

 Paragraph: a piece of text that has had the enter key pressed before its first line, and after its last.
COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 14
 Download Testbook

 Paragraph Styles: Styles for entire paragraphs, including their fonts, tabs, alignments etc.

 Point: a measure of the size of text for a font. One point is approximately 1/72 of an inch.

 Portrait: a page orientation where the page is taller than it is wide.

 Print Layout View: a view that shows how a document will appear when it is printed.

 Reference Mark: a number or character in the main text of a document that indicates additional
information is included in a footnote or endnote.

 Reviewing Pane: a pane that shows information regarding the changes made to a document.

 Section Break: a section of the document that can be formatted differently to other parts of the
document.

 Selection Area: a blank area to the left of a documents left margin that you can click to select parts of
the document.

 Soft Page Break: a page break that is automatically inserted into a document by Word when a there
is too much text to fit on the current page.

 Spelling and grammar checker: a feature that attempts to check and correct errors in spelling and
grammar that the writer may have missed.

 Style: a collection of formatting choices that can be applied throughout a document.

 Tab Stop: a location along the ruler that you use to align text.

 Table AutoFormat: a set of predefined styles that are intended to make table formatting easier.

 Table of Contents: a list of the main headings and sub headings that indicate to the reader the
contents of a document.

 Template: a document that stores formatting, text styles and document information that is then
used as the basis for another document.

 Theme: a unified look in a document that incorporates heading and text styles.

 Thesaurus: a feature that looks up alternative words with the similar meanings.

 Watermark: semi-transparent text or picture that are ‘behind’ the main text of the document.

 Web Layout View: a view showing how a document will appear when viewed as a web page.

 Web Page: a special page written using the HTML language that is intended for viewing in a web
browser.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 15

 Download Testbook

 WordArt: a tool within Microsoft Office that allows you to manipulate text in a variety of different,
graphical ways.

 Word Processing: the process of creating, editing and printing a computer written text document.

 Word Wrap: the movement of text to the next line when typing goes beyond the right margin.

 Workgroup Template: a template available to other users over a network.

 Scroll Bars: Since many documents are too long to fit legibly on a single computer screen, vertical and
horizontal scroll bars are included to allow you to move through the document and change the area of
the document that is currently being viewed on the screen.

 Clipboard: The clipboard is a temporary holding area the computer uses for any item that has been
copied or cut. When an item such as text is placed on the clipboard, it can then be pasted elsewhere in
the document. Items will stay on the clipboard until they are deleted or erased. The manner in which the
clipboard is cleared depends on the application being used. Quite often, the clipboard is cleared when
another item is cut or copied or if the application is closed.

 Header: The header is an area that appears at the top of every page in a document that can contain
one or more lines of text. One common use of the header is to include information about the document
(such as the title) on every page in the document.

 Footer: The footer is an area that appears at the bottom of every page in a document that can contain
one or more lines of text. One common use of the footer is to insert the current page number on every
page in the document.

 Font: A font is a set of letters and numbers of one particular typeface. The font includes not only the
typeface, but other characteristics such as size, spacing and emphasis. An example of a font would be
Arial, 12 point, italic.

 Formatting: The process of formatting a document involves specifying how the document will look in its
final form on the screen and when printed. Common formatting options include the font, font size, color,
alignment, spacing, margins and other properties.

 Indent: The space between the margin of the page and the text. Most word processors allow for both
left and right indentation. One other common use of indention is what is known as a "first line indent"
where only the first line of a paragraph is indented and the remaining lines of text lie directly against the
left margin of the page.

 Line Spacing: Line spacing refers to the amount of white space between lines of text in a paragraph.
Commonly used line spacing settings are single spaced and double spaced.

COMPUTER AWARENESS | Microsoft Word PAGE 16

Microsoft Excel

COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Microsoft Excel
 MS-Excel 2000 is a Windows based application package. It is quite useful in entering, editing, analysis and
storing of data. Arithmetic operations with numerical data such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division can also be done with Excel.

 You can sort the numbers/characters according to some given criteria (like ascending, descending etc.)and
solve simple financial, mathematical and statistical formulas.

Overview of ms-excel

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 2

 Download Testbook

What is Excel Used For ?

 Excel is typically used to organize data and perform financial analysis. It is used across all business
functions and at companies from small to large.

 The main uses of Excel include:

 Data entry

 Data management

 Accounting

 Financial analysis

 Charting and graphing

 Programming

 Time management

 Task management

 Financial modeling

 Customer relationship management (CRM)

 Almost anything that needs to be organized.

Ms –excel interface

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 3

 Download Testbook

MS-excel Home Button

In the upper left corner of the Excel 2007 windows is the Microsoft office button. When you click . The
button ,a menu appears. You can use the menu to create a new file, open an existing file, Save a file, and
perform many other tasks.

Quick Access Toolbar

 The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is a small, customizable toolbar at the top of the Office application
window that contains a set of frequently used commands. These commands can be accessed from almost
any part of the application, independent of the ribbon tab that is currently opened.

 The Quick Access Toolbar has a drop-down menu containing a predefined set of the default commands,
which may be displayed or hidden. Additionally, it includes an option to add your own commands.

 There is no limit to a maximum number of commands on the QAT, although not all the commands may be
visible depending on the size of your screen

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 4

 Download Testbook

Microsoft Excel ribbon

Microsoft Excel ribbon is the row of tabs and icons at the top of the Excel window that allows you to quickly
find, understand and use commands for completing a certain task. ... The ribbon in Excel is made up of four
basic components: tabs, groups, dialog launchers, and command buttons.

Worksheets:

Each worksheets in MS-Excel contains columns and rows . The columns are lettered A to Z and the containing
AA, AB, AC, AD and so on. There are 65,536 rows and 256 columns in a worksheet in general . The
combination of a column coordinate and a row coordinate make up a cell address.

The Formula Bar

Excel formula bar is a special toolbar at the top of the Excel worksheet window, labeled with function
symbol (fx). You can use it to enter a new formula or copy an existing one. ... The formula bar gets activated
as soon as you type an equal sign in any cell or click anywhere within the bar.

The Status Bar

 The status bar is a name for the lower edge of the worksheet window, which displays various
information about an Excel worksheet.

 The status bar can be configured to display things like sum, count, and average of the currently selected
cells.Right click the status bar to control what kind of information is displayed.

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 5

 Download Testbook

Elements in Excel

Microsoft Excel Terminology

 Workbook — The workbook refers to an Excel spreadsheet file. The workbook houses all of
the data that you have entered and allows you to sort or calculate the results. A workbook
that is available to be viewed and edited by multiple users on a network is known as a Shared
Workbook.

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 6

 Download Testbook

 Worksheet — Within the workbook is where you'll find documents called worksheets. Also
known as spreadsheets, you can have multiple worksheets nestled in a workbook. Tabs at
the bottom of the of the screen will indicate which of your worksheets you are currently
working on. This is also known as an active worksheet or active sheet.
 Cell — A cell is a rectangle or block housed in a worksheet. Any data that you want to enter
into your worksheet must be placed in a cell. Cells can be color coded, display text, numbers
and the results of calculations, based on what you want to accomplish. An Active Cell is one
that is currently opened for editing.
 Columns and Rows — Columns and Rows refer to how your cells are aligned. Columns are
aligned vertically while rows are aligned horizontally.
 Column and Row headings — These headings are the lettered and numbered gray areas
found just outside of columns and rows. Clicking on a heading will select the entire row or
column. You can also alter the row height or column width using the headings.
 Workspace — Much like worksheets in a workbook, a workspace allows you to open
numerous files simultaneously.
 Ribbon — Above the workbook is a section of command tabs called the Ribbon. A multitude
of options are found behind each tab of the ribbon
 Cell Reference — A cell reference is a set of coordinates that identifies a specific cell. It's a
combination of letters and numbers. A5, for example, would point to the cell located where
column A and row 5 intersect.
 Cell Range — A Cell range is a collection of cells that have been identified as a group based
on a variety of criteria. By using a colon (:) between cell references, Excel can determine the
range, also known as an array. A range in a row, for example, could look like A1:C1, telling
the formula to look at the cells in a row between A1 and C1, while B4:D9 would tell the
formula to look at all cells in a box bounded by columns B and D and rows 4 and 9. A 3-D
reference refers to a range that encompasses more than one worksheet in the same
workbook.
 Merged Cell — When two or more cells are combined, it's become what is known as a
merged cell.
 Template — A template is a formatted workbook or worksheet designed to help users fulfill
a specific need in Excel. Examples of this include stock analysis, process map, and calendar.
 Operator — Operators are symbols or signs that indicate which calculation must be made in
an expression. Operators do not necessarily refer to simple mathematical types; comparison,
text concatenation or reference operators also exist.
 Formula — A sequence inside a cell that is used to produce a value. It must begin with an
equal (=) sign. This could be a mathematical equation, cell references, functions or operator.
A formula is also known as an expression.
COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 7
 Download Testbook

 Formula Bar — Nestled between the ribbon and workbook, the Formula Bar will display the
contents of an active cell. In the case of formulas, the formula bar will display all
components of the formula.
 Function — Functions are formulas that are pre-built into Excel. They are designed to help
simplify potentially complex formulas in a worksheet.
 Error Code — Error Codes appear if Excel finds a problem with a provided formula.
 Cell Formatting — This is the act of changing the in which cell data is displayed in the
spreadsheet. When you format cells, only the visual appearance of the cells is changed; the
value within the cells remain constant.
 Conditional Formatting — Formatting is applied only when the cell meets determined
criteria such as duplicate values or values above or below a threshold.
 Filter — Filters are rules that you can employ to decide which rows in a worksheet to
display. These filters can use data such as conditions or values.
 Freeze Panes — Freezing Panes allows you to select specific columns and/or rows to remain
visible on the worksheet, even if you are scrolling, such as header cells that label a column.
 AutoFill — This enables you to effortless copy data to more than one cell.
 AutoSum — This feature will add up the numbers you have entered in your sheet and
displays the total in a cell of your choosing.
 AutoFormat — This is an automated format application to cells that match pre-determined
criteria. This could be as simple as font alignment and size.
 Data Validation — This feature helps to prevent incorrect data from being entered into your
worksheet. This most commonly used to create drop-down lists for common terms. Data
validation promotes consistency and accuracy in the data to be entered.
 Pivot Table — This is a data summarization tool most commonly used to sort, average to
sum up data automatically. The information is pulled from one table while the results are
displayed in another. Pivot Tables makes it easy to retrieve specific information from a large
source of data.
 Pivot Chart — This type of chart provides a visual aid for pivot tables. By providing graphical
representations of the pivot table data, the user can provide a level of interactivity with the
data.
 Pivot Area — The pivot area is a point on the worksheet where you would drag a Pivot Table
field in order to reorganize how a report is displayed.
 Source Data — This is the information used to create your pivot table. It can either exist
within the worksheet or from and an external database.
 Values Area — In a pivot table, Value areas are identified as the cells that contain the
summary information.
COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 8
 Download Testbook

 Item — These are sub-categories of fields in your pivot table. If you have a field that is
marked State, the items could be Alabama, Alaska and so on.

Excel Shortcut Keys

Excel Shortcut Keys Usage
F2 Edit the selected cell
F5 Go to a specific cell

F7 Spell check selected text and/or document

F11 Create chart

Ctrl + Shift + ; Enter the current time
Ctrl + ; Enter the current date
Alt + Shift + F1 Insert new worksheet
Shift + F3 Open the Excel formula window
Shift + F5 Bring up search box
Ctrl + A Select all contents of worksheet
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + D Fill
Ctrl + K Insert link
Ctrl + F Open find and replace options
Ctrl + G Open go-to options
Ctrl + H Open find and replace options
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + Y Underline selected text
Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough highlighted selection
Ctrl + O Open option
Ctrl + N Open new document
Ctrl + P Open print dialog box
Ctrl + S Save
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + F9 Minimize current window
Ctrl + F10 Maximize currently selected window

Ctrl + F6 Switch between open workbooks/windows

Ctrl + Page Down Move between Excel worksheets in the same document

Ctrl + Page Up Move between Excel worksheets in the same document

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 9

 Download Testbook

Ctrl + Tab Move between two or more open Excel files

Alt + = Create formula to sum all of above cells

Ctrl + Shift + ! Format number in comma format

Ctrl + Shift + $ Format number in currency format

Ctrl + Shift + # Format number in date format

Ctrl + Shift + % Format number in percentage format

Ctrl + Shift + ^ Format number in scientific format

Ctrl + Shift + @ Format number in time format

Ctrl + g Move to next section of text

Ctrl + Space Select entire column

Shift + Space Select entire row

Ctrl + W Close document

Ctrl + Shift + L For applying filter

COMPUTER AWARENESS| Microsoft Excel PAGE 10

Microsoft
Power Point
COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2021 Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook

Microsoft Power Point

Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful slide show presentation program. It is a standard component of the com-
pany's Microsoft Office suite software, and is bundled together with Word, Excel, and other office productivity
tools. The program uses slides to convey information rich in multimedia.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a software application that is particularly used to present data and information by us-
ing text, diagrams with animation, images, and transitional effects, etc in the form of slides. It helps people to
better understand the idea or topic in front of the audience practically and easily.

Why we use PowerPoint

 PowerPoint is a presentation software package. PowerPoint presentation consists of a number of
individual pages or “slides.” Slides may contain text, graphics, tables, movies, etc.

 The presentation can be printed, displayed on a computer, and can be projected using a video projector.
PowerPoint can add animation to your texts, graphics, tables, movies, and other objects through Custom
Animations. You can also add transition (movement) between your slides.

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 2

 Download Testbook

PowerPoint 2010 has a new, intuitive user interface called the Microsoft Office Fluent User Interface, which
helps you create better presentations quicker. Additionally, PowerPoint 2010 offers new and improved effects,
themes, and layouts.

Title Bar Displays the name of the application and the file currently in use.

The Ribbon Displays the numerous functions and tools available to work with your presentation.

Quick Access
Enables you to customise the toolbar to contain the commands you use most frequently.
Toolbar

File tab (Backstage Provides access to basic commands such as New, Open, Save, Print and Share plus access
View) to customise the application.

Slides pane Displays a thumbnail version of each slide within the presentation.

Slide The area which will be displayed as full screen when viewed in Slide Show mode.

Provides information relating to features such as slide number, spell check and shortcuts
Status Bar
to Notes, Comments, various different views and zoom functions.

Displayed as dotted lines which allows you to identify where you can add text, and insert
Placeholder
elements such as images or tables.

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 3

 Download Testbook

Microsoft Office Home

In the upper‐left corner is the Microsoft Office button. When you click the button, a menu appears. You can
use the menu to create a new file, open your existing file, save a file, and print a file.

Quick Access toolbar

Next to the Microsoft Office button is the Quick Access toolbar. The quick access toolbar is a customizable
toolbar that contains commands

The Ribbon

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 4

 Download Testbook

You can use the commands to tell PowerPoint what to do. The Ribbon is located at the top of the PowerPoint
Window. At the top of the Ribbon there are several tables; clicking a table displaces several replanted group
commands.

You can click on the command buttons to issue commands or to access menus.

PowerPoint Window

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 5

 Download Testbook

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 6

 Download Testbook

Insert a word art in power point

Saving Your Work

Saving for the First Time Click Microsoft Office Button Click Save Renaming and Saving as an Earlier Version
and type of show PowerPoint Click Microsoft Office Button Click Save As Choose the type that you want.

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 7

 Download Testbook

Slide and Slideshow

 Think back to the days of the old-fashioned slideshow that used a slide projector. PowerPoint produces an
updated version of sorts. Slideshows can comprise text and graphics or be completely covered by a single
picture, as in a photo album.

 Each page of a PowerPoint presentation is called a slide. The default orientation of the slide is landscape.
You can change the slide orientation and the slide size. Add text, graphics, and pictures to the slide to
enhance its appeal and illustrate your point.

Bullet or Bulleted List

 Bullets are small dots, squares, dashes, or graphic objects that begin a short descriptive phrase. Almost
every slide type in PowerPoint contains a placeholder text box for a bulleted list. You'll use these bulleted
list text boxes to enter key points or statements about your topic. When creating the list, press Enter to
add a new bullet for the next point you want to add.

Design Template
 Think of a design template as a coordinated package deal. When you decorate a room, you use colors and
patterns that work together. A design template acts in much the same way. Even though different slide
types can have different layouts and graphics, the design template ties the whole presentation together in
an attractive package.

Slide Layouts and Slide Types

 The terms slide type and slide layout are used interchangeably. PowerPoint has a few types of slide
layouts. Depending on the type of presentation you are creating, you may use several different slide
layouts or just keep repeating the same few.

 Slide types/layouts include, for example:

 Title slides

 Section heading slides

 Picture with caption slides

 Content slides for adding charts, pictures, and tables

 Blank slides

Slide Views
There are several ways to view slides and slideshows. These views are:

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 8

 Download Testbook

 Normal view: Also commonly known as slide view. It is the main working window in the presentation. The
slide is shown at its full size on the screen.

 Outline view: Shows all the text of all slides, in a list on the left of the PowerPoint screen. No graphics
display in this view. Outline view is useful for editing and can be exported as a Word document to use as a
summary handout.

 Slide Sorter view: Displays thumbnail versions of all your slides, arranged in horizontal rows. This view is
useful for making global changes to several slides at one time. Rearranging or deleting slides is easy to do
in slide sorter view.

 Notes Page view: Shows a smaller version of a slide with an area underneath for notes. Each slide is
created on its own notes page. Print these pages to use as a reference while making the presentation. The
notes do not show on the screen during the presentation.

Task Pane
 Located on the right side of the screen, the task pane changes to show options that are available for the
current task that you are working on. For example, when changing the background for a slide, the Format
Background task pane appears; when adding animations, you'll set animation options in the Animation
pane.

Transition
 Slide transitions are the visual effects that appear as one slide changes to another. PowerPoint offers
several different transitions, such as fade and dissolve.

Animations and Animation Schemes

 In Microsoft PowerPoint, animations are visual effects applied to individual items such as graphics, titles,
or bullet points, rather than to the slide itself. Apply preset visual effects to paragraphs, bulleted items,
and titles from a variety of animation groupings.

PowerPoint Online
 PowerPoint Online is the web version of PowerPoint. It allows a PowerPoint presentation to be played on
any computer, even one that doesn't have PowerPoint installed. To use PowerPoint Online, you'll need a
Microsoft account or an Microsoft 365 work or school account. To view a presentation in a web browser,
save the presentation to OneDrive or Dropbox and open it in PowerPoint Online.

Slide Master
 The default design template when starting a PowerPoint presentation is a plain, white slide. When you
want to design your own template, use the Slide Master.

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 9

 Download Testbook

 After you update the Slide Master with your design choices, all the slides in your presentation will use the
fonts, colors, and graphics in the Slide Master. Each new slide that you create takes on these aspects.

General Program Shortcuts

First, let’s review some general keyboard shortcuts for opening, closing, and switching between presentations,
as well as navigating the Ribbon.

 Ctrl+N: Create a new presentation

 Ctrl+O: Open an existing presentation

 Ctrl+S: Save a presentation

 F12 or Alt+F2: Open the Save As dialog box

 Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4: Close a presentation

 Ctrl+Q: Save and close a presentation

 Ctrl+Z: Undo an action

 Ctrl+Y: Redo an action

 Ctrl+F2: Print Preview View

 F1: Open the Help pane

 Alt+Q: Go to the “Tell me what you want to do” box

 F7: Check spelling

 Alt or F10: Turn key tips on or off

 Ctrl+F1: Show or hide the ribbon

 Ctrl+F: Search in a presentation or use Find and Replace

 Alt+F: Open the File tab menu

 Alt+H: Go to the Home tab

 Alt+N: Open the Insert tab

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 10

 Download Testbook

 Alt+G: Open the Design tab

 Alt+K: Go to the Transitions tab

 Alt+A: Go to the Animations tab

 Alt+S: Go to the Slide Show tab

 Alt+R: Go to the Review tab

 Alt+W: Go to View tab

 Alt+X: Go to the Add-ins tab

 Alt+Y: Go to the Help tab

 Ctrl+Tab: Switch between open presentations

Selecting and Navigating Text, Objects, and Slides

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate throughout your presentation easily. Try these shortcuts for quick
and easy ways to select text within text boxes, objects on your slides, or slides in your presentation.

 Ctrl+A: Select all text in a text box, all objects on a slide, or all slides in a presentation (for the latter, click
on a slide thumbnail first)

 Tab: Select or move to the next object on a slide

 Shift+Tab: Select or move to the previous object on a slide

 Home: Go to the first slide, or from within a text box, go to the beginning of the line

 End: Go to the last slide, or from within a text box, go to the end of the line

 PgDn: Go to the next slide

 PgUp: Go the previous slide

 Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow: Move a slide up or down in your presentation (click on a slide thumbnail first)

 Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down Arrow: Move a slide to the beginning or end of your presentation (click on a slide
thumbnail first)

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 11

 Download Testbook

Formatting and Editing

The following keyboard shortcuts will save you time so you can edit and format in a snap!

 Ctrl+X: Cut selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)

 Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert: Copy selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)

 Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert: Paste selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)

 Ctrl+Alt+V: Open the Paste Special dialog box

 Delete: Remove selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)

 Ctrl+B: Add or remove bold to selected text

 Ctrl+I: Add or remove italics to selected text

 Ctrl+U: Add or remove underline to selected text

 Ctrl+E: Center a paragraph

 Ctrl+J: Justify a paragraph

 Ctrl+L: Left align a paragraph

 Ctrl+R: Right align a paragraph

 Ctrl+T: Open the Font dialog box when text or object is selected

 Alt+W,Q: Open the Zoom dialog box to change the zoom for the slide

 Alt+N,P: Insert a picture

 Alt+H,S,H: Insert a shape

 Alt+H,L: Select a slide layout

 Ctrl+K: Insert a hyperlink

 Ctrl+M: Insert a new slide

 Ctrl+D: Duplicate the selected object or slide

COMPUTER | Microsoft Power Point PAGE 12

Memory

COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Memory
 A memory is acts like a human brain. It is available to hold data and instructions.
Computer memory is the type of storage space built in the computer, where data is
to be processed and instructions needed for processing are stored. The memory is
categorized into high number of small sections called cells. Every memory location
or cell consists a unique address that varies from 0 to memory size -1. For instance,
if the computer comprised of 64k words, then this memory entity has 64 * 1024 =
65536 memory locations. The memory address of these locations differs from 0 to
65535.

 Memory is primarily of three types:

 Cache Memory
 Primary Memory/Main Memory
 Secondary Memory

Cache Memory
Cache memory is the most high speed semiconductor memory type which can speed
up the working of CPU. This works like a buffer between the main memory and the
CPU. This memory is available to store those sections of data and program
which are very frequently required by the CPU. The sections of data and programs are
transferred from the disk to cache memory through the operating system, from where
the CPU has accessibility of them.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

Advantages
 Cache memory is faster than main memory.

 It consumes less access time as compared to main memory.

 It stores the program that can be executed within a short period of time.

 It stores data for temporary use.

Disadvantages
 Cache memory has limited capacity.

 It is very expensive.

Primary Memory
 Primary memory keeps only those data and instructions on which the computer is
currently processing. It has a fixed capacity and data is lost when power is
disconnected. It is usually made up of semiconductor ICs and registers. These
memories are not as fast as registers. The fetched data and instruction going to be
processed resides in the main memory. It is categorized in 2 subcategories RAM
and ROM.

 Characteristics of Main Memory:

 These are semiconductor memories.

 It is known as the main memory.
 Usually volatile memory.
 Data is lost in case power is switched off.
 It is the working memory of the computer.
 Faster than secondary memories.
 A computer cannot run without the primary memory.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

Secondary Memory
 This kind of memory is also called as external memory or non-volatile memory. It
works slower as compared to the main memory. These are installed for holding data/
information permanently. CPU does not access these memories directly, rather they
are accessed through input-output routines. The data hold in secondary memories
are transferred to the main memory for, and then the CPU can access that data. For
instance, disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.

 Characteristics of Secondary Memory:

 These are magnetic and optical memories.

 It is known as the backup memory.
 It is a non-volatile memory.
 Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
 It is used for storage of data in a computer.
 Computer may run without the secondary memory.
 Slower than primary memories.

Random Access Memory

 RAM (Random Access Memory) is the kind of internal memory of the CPU for
holding data, program, and program result after processing. This memory is
read/write memory which holds data until
the machine is supplied with power.
As soon as the machine is powered off,
data is dumped.

 Access time in RAM is not dependent

on the address, that is, each storage
location residing in the memory is as
simple to be accessed as other locations
and takes the same duration of time. Data in the RAM can be traversed randomly
but it is comparatively very expensive.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

 RAM is volatile type of memory, i.e. data stored in it is dumped when we power off
the computer or if there is a power failure situation. Hence, it is recommended to
have Uninterruptible Power System (UPS) which can provide enough backup power
as to store data before shut down. The RAM is small in terms of its physical size as
well as in terms of the amount of data it can store.

 RAM is of two types:

 Static RAM (SRAM)
 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Static RAM (SRAM)

 The word static imply that the memory holds its contents as long as the electricity is
being supplied. But data is dumped when the power gets down because of its
volatile nature. SRAM chips equipped with a matrix of 6-transistors and no
capacitors. Transistors are not dependent on power to prevent leakage, hence
SRAM need not be refreshed on a regular intervals.

 In the matrix, there exists an extra space, that is why SRAM consists of high number
of chips as compared to the DRAM for the same capacity of storage space, making
the manufacturing costs comparatively higher. That is why SRAM is utilized as
cache memory and has very fast accessing capability.

 Characteristic of Static RAM:

 Long life
 No need to refresh
 Faster
 Used as cache memory
 Large size
 Expensive
 High power consumption

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

 Unlike SRAM, DRAM, must be continually refreshed so that the data should be
maintained. This is achieved by placing the memory on a refresh circuit which
rewrites the content several hundred times every second.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

 DRAM is installed for most system memory as it is comparatively cheap and small.
All DRAMs consists of memory cells, which are composed of single capacitor and
single transistor.

 Characteristics of Dynamic RAM:

 Short data lifetime

 Needs to be refreshed continuously
 Slower as compared to SRAM
 Used as RAM
 Smaller in size
 Less expensive
 Less power consumption

Read Only Memory

 ROM is an acronym for Read Only Memory. The memory from which the data
can be read only but rewriting on it is not possible. This kind of memory is non-
volatile in nature. The data is stored permanently in such memories at the
time of manufacturing. A ROM holds such instructions that are needed to turn on a
computer. This process is called as bootstrap. ROM chips are not only installed in
the computer but also in other electronic devices like washing machine and
microwave oven.

Masked ROM (MROM)

The early ROMs were hard-wired instruments that consists pre-programmed set of
data or instructions. These types of ROMs are called as masked ROMs, which are
comparatively inexpensive.

Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM)

PROM is a type of read-only memory that can be amended only once by a user.
The user buys an empty PROM and input the required data using a PROM program. It
consists the small fuses inside which are burnt open during programming. It is possible
to program this memory only once and is not erasable.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory

(EPROM)
It is possible to erase EPROM by exposing it to ultra-violet light for a period of up to 40
minutes. Normally, an EPROM eraser performs this operation. An electrical charge is
stored in an insulated gate region while programming. The charge is held for more than
10 years as there is no leakage path. In order to erase this charge, ultra-violet light is
passed via a quartz crystal window (lid). This process of exposure to UV light dissipates
the charge. The quartz lid is hidden with a sticker during the normal usage.

Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only

Memory (EEPROM)
EEPROM can be programmed and erased using electricity. It is possible to erase and
reprogram it for about ten thousand times. Erasing or programming, both take about 4
to 10 ms (millisecond) time. In EEPROM, any desired location can be separately erased
and programmed. It is possible to erase EEPROMs at the rate of one byte at a time,
instead of erasing the entire chip all at once. That is why the technique of
reprogramming is quite flexible but slow.

Advantages of ROM

 Non-volatile in nature
 Cannot be accidentally changed
 Cheaper than RAMs
 Easy to test
 More reliable than RAMs
 Static and do not require refreshing
 Contents are always known and can be verified

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Computer Memory Unit

 Memory unit is the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit. This
storage capacity is expressed in terms of Bytes.

 The following table explains the main memory storage units –

S.No Unit & Description

.

Bit (Binary Digit)

1 A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or an active state of a compo-
nent in an electric circuit.

Nibble
2 A group of 4 bits is called nibble.

Byte
3 A group of 8 bits is called byte. A byte is the smallest unit, which can represent a data
item or a character.

Word
A computer word, like a byte, is a group of fixed number of bits processed as a unit,
which varies from computer to computer but is fixed for each computer.
4 The length of a computer word is called word-size or word length. It may be as small
as 8 bits or may be as long as 96 bits. A computer stores the information in the form
of computer words.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Kilobyte
Kilobyte can be defined as one of the many multiples of the byte memory units. The
prefix kilo- , normally, represents the unit to be ‘Kilo’ and it comes in multiples of
5 ‘1000’. Though in terms of international standards kilo means 1000, in a typical
memory unit, the binary digit are seen as Base 2 and so the ‘Kilo’ here means 1024
of binary digits or bits. In short, 1Kilobyte or 1KB is equal to the 1024 bits or binary
digits.

Megabyte
Similar to the Kilobyte memory unit, the megabyte memory unit is used when the bits
are large in number and when it makes it easy to say it the number to be in lesser
6 length. That is, in international standards the prefix ‘mega-‘ is used for showing the
10^6 or the 1000000. This also means that a typical MB is shown with Base 2, and
so the 1MB or the 1 Megabyte equals to the 1048576 bytes of the memory unit. It can
also be calculated as (1024)^2bytes or the 2^20 bytes.

Gigabyte
The Gigabytes are used to represent the data to be in multiples of 10^9 or
7 1000000000 binary digits, and when the memory unit is in terms of Base 2 then the
storage space is calculated as 2^30 bytes or as 1024^3 bytes. In other words, the
memory units used by the processor that runs on the Base 2 are termed as the Giga-
bytes and is equal to the 1073741824 bytes.

Terabyte
Terabyte are applied when the memory requirement is as high as the 2^40,
8 that is the binary digits exponential to the number 40. It can also be seen as
an equal to the 1024 terabytes and is represented as TB. Or other words
equals to 10^12 bytes in international standards and that can also be termed
as the trillion bytes.

Petabyte
Petabyte can be defined as a memory unit that represents the higher multiples
9. of bytes, next to the Terabyte that comes in PB units. It is equal to the 10^15
bytes in terms of the international standards, or the 1024^5 bytes when the
bytes come with the Base 2.

Exabyte
Exabyte is a memory unit that is equal to the 10^18 equivalent in the interna-
tional standards scale, and the same is equal to the 1024^6 for the memory
10 units that come in the form of Base 2. The unit terms of the Exabyte are EB,
and this EB is the same as the 1 million TB or the 1 billion GB or the 1 thou-
sand PB.

Zettabyte
Similar to other byte sized memory units, Zettabyte can be seen as an equiva-
lent to 10^21, according to the ‘zetta’ representation in terms of the interna-
11 tional standards. The Zettabyte or the ZB also can be seen as 1 thousand of
the EB, 1 million PB, 1 billion TB, 1 trillion GB, etc.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

Yottabyte
As the name says, the Yottabyte unit or the YB represents another memory
unit for the bytes to be in multiples of the other lower byte units or even the
12. bytes. In international standards, it is equal to the 10^24, and for base 2 byte
units the YB is also equal to 1024^8, 1 thousand ZB, 1 trillion TB, etc.

COMPUTER | Memory PAGE 11

Operating
Systems
Updated as of SEP 2020

COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Operating Systems
• A computer system has various resources (hardware and software), which may be
needed to complete a task. The most commonly needed resources are memory, file
storage space, input/output devices, CPU etc.
• The operating system works as a manager of the above resources and allocates
them to particular programs and users, whenever required to perform a specific task.
That is why operating system is the resource manager i.e. it can handles the re-
source of a computer system from inside. The resources can be processor, memory,
files, and I/O devices. In easy words, an operating system acts as an interface be-
tween the machine and the user.

Types of Views of Operating System

1. User's View
2. System View

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

Operating System: User View

The user view of the computer defines the interface being used. Such systems are
implemented for one user to monopolize its resources, to improve the work that the user
is handling. In such cases, the operating system is setup mostly for ease of use, with
some attention paid to efficiency, and none to the resource utilization.

Operating System: System View

Operating system can be taken as a resource allocator also. A computer system
contains many resources such as - hardware and software - that must be managed
effectively. The operating system works as the manager of such resources, decides
between conflicting requests, manages execution of programs etc.

Operating System: Management Task

1. Processor management which include putting the tasks into sequence and pairing
them to manageable size prior they go to the CPU.
2. Memory management which manages data to and from RAM (random-access
memory) and estimates the necessity for virtual memory.
3. Device management which provides interface among linked devices.
4. Storage management which manages permanent data storage.
5. Application which permits standard communication between software and computer.
6. User interface which enables user to communicate with his/her computer.

Functions of Operating System

1. It starts the computer
2. It conducts basic computer jobs e.g. managing the different peripheral devices e.g.
mouse, keyboard
3. It facilitates a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface (GUI)
4. It controls system resources like computer's memory and utilization of the central
processing unit (CPU) time by multiple applications or peripheral devices.
5. It facilitates file management which means the way that the operating system
manipulates, stores, retrieves and stores data.
6. Error Handling is managed by the operating system. It takes avoidable measures
whenever needed to avoid errors.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

Evolution of Operating Systems

• The evolution of operating systems is mainly dependent on the improvements of
computer systems and how users utilize them. Here is a brief walkthrough of
computing systems through the past fifty years in the timeline:

Early Evolution
• 1945: ENIAC, Moore School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania.
• 1949: EDSAC and EDVAC
• 1949: BINAC - a updated version to the ENIAC
• 1951: UNIVAC by Remington
• 1952: IBM 701
• 1956: The interrupt
• 1954-1957: FORTRAN was developed

Operating System - Late 1950s

• By the late 1950s Operating systems were well enhanced and started supporting
given usages:
1. It was able to conduct Single stream batch processing.
2. It was able to use Common, standardized, input/output routines for device
access.
3. Program transition abilities to minimize the overhead of invoking a new job
was added.
4. Error recovery to clean up post abnormal job termination was added.
5. Job control languages that enabled users to specify the job definition and
resource needs were made possible.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

Operating System - Late 1960s

• 1961: The dawn of minicomputers
• 1962: Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) from MIT
• 1963: Burroughs Master Control Program (MCP) introduced for B5000 machine
• 1964: IBM System/360
• 1960s: Disks became mainstream
• 1966: Minicomputers got cheaper, more powerful, and really useful.
• 1967-1968: Mouse was invented.
• 1964 and onward: Multics
• 1969: The UNIX Time-Sharing System introduced by Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Supported OS Features by 1970s

• Multi User and Multi-tasking was established.
• Dynamic address translation device and Virtual machines came into existence.
• Modular architectures came into picture.
• Personal, interactive systems came into picture.

Accomplishment After 1970

 1971: Intel introduced the microprocessor
 1972: IBM comes out with VM: the Virtual Machine Operating System
 1973: UNIX 4th Edition is published
 1973: Ethernet
 1974 The Personal Computer Age begins
 1974: Gates and Allen wrote BASIC for the Altair
 1976: Apple II
 August 12, 1981: IBM introduces the IBM PC
 1983 Microsoft begins work on MS-Windows
 1984 Apple Macintosh comes out

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

 1990 Microsoft Windows 3.0 comes out

 1991 GNU/Linux
 1992 The first Windows virus comes out
 1993 Windows NT
 2007: iOS
 2008: Android OS
• And as the research and development work is carried on, we are introduced with
new operating systems and existing ones getting improved and modified to improve
the overall user experience, enabling operating systems speedy and efficient like
never before.
• In addition to the onset of new devices like wearable, which groups Smart Watches,
Smart Glasses, VR gears etc., the demand for non-traditional operating systems is
also increasing.

Types of Operating Systems

• Given below are some of the most commonly used types of Operating system.
1. Simple Batch System
2. Multiprogramming Batch System
3. Multiprocessor System
4. Desktop System
5. Distributed Operating System
6. Clustered System
7. Real-time Operating System
8. Handheld System

Simple Batch Systems

• In this type of system, there is no active interaction between user and the computer.
• The user has to supply a job (written on cards or tape) to a computer operator.
• Then computer operator puts a batch of multiple jobs on an input device.
• Jobs are grouped together in a batch by type of languages and need.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

• Then a unique program, the monitor, controls the execution of every program in the
batch.
• The monitor is all the time in the main memory and up for execution.

Advantages of Simple Batch System

1. Interaction is not there between user and computer.
2. None mechanism needed to prioritise the processes.

Multiprogramming Batch Systems

i. In type the OS receives and starts executing one of the jobs from memory.
ii. Once this job requires an I/O OS system transfers
control to another job (CPU and OS always busy).
iii. Jobs residing in the memory are all the time less than
the total jobs on disk (Job Pool).
iv. If multiple jobs are ready to execute at the same time,
then the system selects which one to run through the
means of CPU Scheduling.
v. In Non-multi programmed environment, there are
moments when CPU stays idle and does not perform
any task.
vi. In Multiprogramming environment, CPU will never stay idle and keeps
working.
• Time Sharing Systems works exactly the same to Multiprogramming batch systems.
In fact time sharing systems are an advancements of multiprogramming systems.
• In case of Time sharing systems, the main focus is on reducing the response time,
while in multiprogramming the main focus is to enhance the CPU usage.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

Multiprocessor Systems
• A Multiprocessor system contains multiple processors that share a same physical
memory. Multiprocessor system facilitates higher computing efficiency and speed. In
multiprocessor system all processors works under individual operating system.
Expansion of number of the processors and how they do act together are
transparent to the others.

Advantages of Simple Batch System

i. Enhanced performance
ii. Execution of multiple tasks by various processors concurrently, improves the
system's throughput without speeding up the execution of any task.
iii. If possible, system segregates task into many subtasks and then these subtasks
can be processed in parallel through different processors. Thereby enhancing the
execution of individual tasks.

Desktop Systems
• In past, CPUs and PCs didn’t had the features required to protect an OS from user
programs. PC OS that is why were neither multiuser nor multitasking. However, the
primary motive of these OS have changed with time; instead of increasing CPU and
peripheral utilization, the systems work for improving user convenience and
responsiveness. These systems are named Desktop Systems and examples are the
PCs running Microsoft Windows and the Apple Macintosh. Operating systems for
such computers have benefited in multiple ways from the advancements of
operating systems for mainframes.
• Microcomputers in no time were able to adopt few of the technology created for
larger OS. On the other hand, the hardware expanses for microcomputers are
sufficiently reduced that individuals have personal use of the computer, and CPU
utilization is no longer a major concern. Thus, some of the structure decisions
decided in OS for mainframes may not be worth for smaller systems.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Distributed Operating Systems

• The motivation in development of distributed OS is the availability of powerful and
low cost microprocessors and improvements in communication technology.
• These improvements in technology have made it possible to build and develop
distributed systems consisting of multiple computers that are linked by
communication networks. The main feature of distributed operating systems is its
low price/performance ratio.

Advantages Distributed Operating System

• As there are many devices involved, user at one site can use the resources of
systems at other sites for resource-intensive works.
• Faster processing.
• Reduced load on the Host Machine.

Types of Distributed Operating Systems

• Given below are the two types of distributed operating systems used:
1. Client-Server Systems
2. Peer-to-Peer Systems

Client-Server Systems
• Centralized systems today works as server systems to fulfil requests created by
client systems. The general structure of a client-server system is depicted in the
following figure:

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Server Systems can be broadly classified as: Compute Servers and File Servers.
1. Compute Server systems, facilitates an interface to which users can send requests
to perform an action, in acknowledgement to which they execute the action and
transmits back results to the client.
2. File Server systems, facilitates a file-system interface in which users can create,
update, read, and delete files.

Peer to Peer Systems

• The advancements of computer networks, specifically the Internet and World Wide
Web (WWW), has had a profound influence on the current development of OS.
When PCs were created in the 1970s, they were designed for the purpose of
personal use and were normally taken as standalone computers. With the starting of
widespread public usage of the Internet in the 1990s for electronic mail and FTP,
most PCs got connected to computer networks.
• In broader view to the Tightly Coupled systems, the computer networks utilized in
these applications contains a group of processors that do not share memory or a
clock. Instead, every processor has its personal local memory. The processors
transmit with one another through multiple communication lines, like high-speed
buses or telephone lines. These systems are generally referred to as loosely
connected systems (or distributed systems). The basic structure of a client-server
system is depicted in the given figure:

Clustered Systems
• Similar to parallel systems, clustered systems combines together various CPUs to
accomplish computational work.
• Clustered systems are different from parallel systems, however, in that they are
made up of two or more individual systems grouped together.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

• The definition of the term clustered is not predefined; the commonly accepted
definition is that clustered machines share storage and are closely connected
through LAN networking. Clustering is generally performed to facilitate high
availability.
• A layer of cluster software works on the cluster nodes. Every node may monitor
one or more of the others. If the monitored machine crashes, the monitoring
system can take ownership of its storage, and reboot the application(s) that were
working on the failed machine. The failed machine can remain shut, but the users
and clients of the application can only see a brief interruption of service.
• Asymmetric Clustering - In this, one system stays in hot standby mode while the
other is processing the applications. The hot standby host (machine) performs no
task but monitor the active server. If that server crashes, the hot standby host
started working as the active server.
• Symmetric Clustering - In this, multiple hosts are processing applications, and
they are monitoring each other. This mode is in fact more efficient, as it utilizes all
of the available hardware.
• Parallel Clustering - Parallel clusters permits different hosts to access the same
data on the shared storage. Because most OS lack support for this simultaneous
data access by multiple hosts, parallel clusters are normally accomplished by
specific versions of programs and special releases of applications.
• Clustered technology is changing very fast. Clustered system's working and its
features must expand extensively as Storage Area Networks (SANs). SANs allow
simple attachment of various hosts to various storage units. Current clusters are
normally restricted to two or four hosts due to the complexity of linking the
hosts to shared storage.

Real Time Operating Systems

• It is described as an operating system known to provide maximum time for every
critical operations that it performs, like OS calls and interrupt handling.
• The Real-Time Operating system which assures the maximum time for critical tasks
and accomplish them on time are known as Hard Real-Time Operating Systems.
• While the real-time operating systems that may only guarantee larger amount of
time, i.e. the critical task will have priority over all tasks, but no guarantee of
completing it in a given time. These systems are known as Soft Real-Time
Operating Systems.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 11

 Download Testbook App

Handheld Systems
• Handheld systems involves Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), such as Palm-Pilots
or smartphones with connectivity to the Internet. They are usually of smaller size
due to which most handheld devices have a smaller memory, possess slow
processors, and feature small display.
• Many handheld devices have low memory. As a result, the OS and applications
must accommodate memory effectively. This includes returning all provided memory
back to the memory manager when the memory is no longer being used.
• Usually, many handheld devices do not use virtual memory techniques, thus
restricting program developers to work within the limitations of less physical
memory.
• Processors for many handheld devices usually works at a fractions of the speed of a
processor in a PC. Faster processors need more electricity. To implement a faster
processor in a handheld device would need a larger battery that would have to be
recharged more frequently and becomes bulky.
• One more issue confronting program designers for handheld devices is the limited
sized display screens normally available. One approach for adjusting the content in
web pages is web clipping, where only a small subset of a web page is transferred
and displayed on the handheld device.
• Most handheld devices possess wireless technology such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi,
enabling remote access to e-mail and web browsing. Smartphones with connectivity
to the Internet comes into this category. Their use is gradually expanding as network
connections are becoming more common and other options just like cameras and
MP3 players, expand their utility.

COMPUTER | Operating System PAGE 12

Internet
COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Internet
 The Internet is a huge collection of networks, a networking infrastructure. It
encapsulates millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which
any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both
connected to the Internet. In other words, it is a worldwide system of cross
connected computer networks, connecting millions of devices through which
exchange of information such as data, news and opinions etc. is possible.

 It utilizes the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) to aid billions

of users across the globe. So, TCP/IP can be called the backbone of the Internet. It
is considered as a network of networks that consists of thousands of private and
public, academic, business, and government interconnections. The Internet is often
considered as “The Information Highway”, that implies that there is a straight and
clear way of obtaining information. It connects thousands of computer networks.
Each device connected to the Internet is known as host, and is independent.
Through telephone wires, Fiber optical cable and satellite links, Internet users can
share a variety of information.

 The Internet is defined as an Information super Highway, to access information over

the web. However, It can be defined in many ways as follows:

 The Internet is a world-wide global system of interconnected computer

networks.

 The Internet uses the standard Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

 Each device connected to the internet is identified by its unique IP address.

 IP Address is a unique set of numbers (such as 109.12.31.115) which

identifies a computer location.

 A special computer DNS (Domain Name Server) is used to give a name to

the IP Address so that the user can locate a computer by a name.

 For example, a DNS server will resolve a name http://www.testbook.com to a

particular IP address to uniquely identify the computer on which this website
is hosted.

 The Internet is available to each and every user across the globe.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

Evolution
 The methodology of Internet was coined in 1969 and has undergone various
technological & Infrastructural amendments that are discussed below:
 The origin of the Internet devised from the concept of Advanced Research Project
Agency Network (ARPANET).
 ARPANET was designed by the Department of Defence of The United States.
 The primary motive of ARPANET was to facilitate communication among the
different bodies of the government.
 At that time, there existed only four nodes, formally named Hosts.
 In 1972, the ARPANET spread over the globe with 23 nodes located in different
countries and thus became known as the Internet.
 By the time, with invention of new technologies such as TCP/IP protocols, DNS,
WWW, browsers, scripting languages etc., the Internet provided a medium to
publish and access information over the web.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

Advantages
 The Internet covers almost every aspect of life, one can think of. Here, we will
discuss some of the advantages of Internet:

 The Internet allows us to communicate with the people sitting at remote locations.
There are various apps available on the web that use the Internet as a medium for
communication. Users can find different social networking sites. Following are
examples of few Social Networking sites:
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Yahoo
 Flickr

 Anyone can surf for various kinds of information using the internet. Information
related to different topics such as Technology, Geographical Information, Health &
Science, Social Studies, Information Technology, Products etc can be surfed using a
search engine.
 Apart from communication and source of information, the internet also serves a
medium for entertainment. Following are the various modes for entertainment over
the internet.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

 Online Television
 Online Games
 Songs
 Videos
 Social Networking Apps
 Internet allows us to use many services like:
 Internet Banking
 Matrimonial Services
 Online Shopping
 Online Ticket Booking
 Online Bill Payment
 Data Sharing
 E-mail
 The Internet facilitates the concept of electronic commerce, that aids the business
deals to be processed on electronic systems.

Disadvantages
 However, Internet is evolved to be a powerful medium of information in almost all
areas, yet there are many associated disadvantages discussed below:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

 There is always the possibility to lose personal information such as name, address,
credit card number. Therefore, users must be very vigilant while sharing this type of
information. Users must use credit cards only via authenticated websites.
 Another disadvantage is the Spamming. Spamming corresponds to the unwanted
emails in bulk. These emails serve no purpose and lead to obstruction of the entire
system.
 Virus can easily be spread to the computers connected to the internet. Such virus
attacks may cause the user's system to crash or the user's important data may get
deleted.
 There are different websites that do not supply the authenticated information. This
leads to misconception among many people.

Intranet
 Intranet is defined as a private network of computers within an organization with its
own server and firewall.
Moreover we can define
Intranet as:
 The Internet is a system
in which multiple PCs are
networked to be
connected to each other.
PCs on the intranet are
not available to the world
outside of the intranet.
 Normally each company
or organization holds their
own Intranet network and
members/employees of
that company collaborate
via access to the computers in their intranet.
 Each computer in Intranet is also identified by an IP Address, which is unique
among the computers in that Intranet.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

Benefits
 Intranet is considered as a very efficient and reliable network infrastructure for any
organization. It is profitable in every aspect such as cost-effectiveness,
collaboration, security, productivity and much more.

 Communication: Intranet facilitates easy and cheap interconnection within an

organization. Employees can communicate through chat, e-mail or blogs.
 Time Saving: Information to be shared on Intranet is shared in real time.
 Collaboration: Information is shared among the employees of the organization
according to the need and it can be traversed by the authorized users, comprising
enhanced teamwork.
 Platform Independency: It is possible to connect computers and other
devices on the Intranet with different architectures.
 Cost Effective: Employees may see the data and other documents through a
browser instead of printing them and distributing duplicate copies to the employees,
which considerably decreases the cost.
 Workforce Productivity: Data and information is available all the time and can
be accessed through company workstation. This aids the employees to work faster.
 Business Management: There is a provision to deploy applications that facilitates
the business operations.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

 Security: Since information distributed over on intranet can only be retrieved

within an organization, therefore there is almost no possibility of being stolen.
 Specific Users: Intranet targets only exclusive users within an organization
that is why, once can exactly know with whom is he/she interacting.
 Immediate Updates: Any changes implemented to information are refl ected at
the same time to all the users.
 Issues: Apart from several benefi ts of Intranet, there also exist some
problems. These issues are described in the given diagram:

Application
 Intranet applications are the same as that of Internet applications. Intranet
applications can be also accessed via a web browser. The only difference is that,
Intranet applications reside on local servers while Internet applications reside on
remote servers. Here, we've discussed some of these applications:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

 Document publication applications: Document publication programs facilitate

publishing documents like manuals, software guide, employee profits etc without
using paper.
 Electronic resources applications: It offers digital resources such as software
applications, templates and tools, to be distributed across the network.
 Interactive Communication applications: Like on the internet, it is possible to
have email and chat like applications for Intranet, hence providing an interactive
communication among employees.
 Support for Internet Applications: Intranet offers an environment to deploy
and test applications before placing them on the Internet.
 Internet vs. Intranet: Apart from similarities there are some differences
between the two. Following are the differences between Internet and Intranet:

Intranet Internet
Localized Network. Worldwide Network
Doesn't have access to Intranet Have access to the Internet.
More Expensive Less Expensive
More Safe Less Safe
More Reliability Less Reliability

Extranet
 Extranet refers to a network
within an organization, using the
internet to connect to the
outsiders in a controlled manner.
It aids to interconnect businesses
with their customers and
suppliers and in turn allows
working in a collaborative
manner.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Implementation
 Extranet is implemented as a Virtual Private Networks (VPN) because it uses the
internet to connect to corporate organizations and there is always a threat to
information security. VPN facilitates a secure network in public infrastructure
(Internet).

 Key Points
1. The packet is wrapped at the boundary of networks in IPSEC compliant
routers.
2. It utilizes an encryption key to associate packets and IP addresses as well.
3. The packet is decoded only by the IPSEC compliant routers or servers.
4. The digital information is shared over VPN via VPN Tunnel and this process
is called tunneling.
 VPN utilizes Internet Protocol Security Architecture (IPSEC) Protocol to facilitate
secure transactions by implementing an additional security layer to TCP/IP protocol.
This layer is implemented by encapsulating the IP packet to a new IP packet as
described in the following diagram:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

Benefits
 Extranet has proven to be a successful model for various kinds of businesses even
if they are small or big. following are few of the advantages of extranet for business
partners, employees, suppliers, and customers:

Issues
 Apart from advantages there are also some issues associated with extranet. These
issues are discussed below:

Hosting
 Where the extranet pages will be held i.e. who will host the extranet pages. In this
context there are two choices:
1. May host it on the user's own server.
2. May host it along with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the similar way as
web pages.
 But hosting extranet pages on a user's own server requires high bandwidth internet
connection which is comparatively very costly.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 11

 Download Testbook App

Security
 Additional firewall security is required if the user hosts extranet pages on the user's
own server which result in a complex security mechanism and increased workload.

Accessing Issues
 Information cannot be accessed in absence of internet connection. However,
information may be accessed within Intranet with no internet connection.

Decreased Interaction
 It reduces the face to face interaction in the business which results in lack of
communication among customers, business partners and suppliers.

Extranet vs. Intranet

The following table shows differences between Extranet and Intranet:

Extranet Intranet

Internal network that can be accessed externally. Internal network that cannot be
accessed externally.
Extranet is an extension of the company's Intranet. Only limited users of a company.
For controlled external communication between Only for communication within a
customers, suppliers and business partners. company.

Internet Services
 Internet Services allow us to access a huge amount of information such as text,
graphics, sound and software over the internet. The diagram given below shows the
four different categories of Internet Services.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 12

 Download Testbook App

Communication Services
 There are different communication Services available that facilitate exchange of
information among individuals or groups. The following table provides a brief
introduction to such services:

S. No. Service Description

1 Electronic Mail: Used to send electronic messages over the internet.

2 Telnet: Used to log on to a remote computer that is connected to the internet.

Newsgroup: Provides a forum for people to discuss ideas of common
3
interests.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC): Allows the people from all over the globe to
4
communicate in real time.
Mailing Lists: Used to organize groups of internet users to share common
5
information through email.
Internet Telephony (VoIP): Allows the internet users to talk across the
6
internet to any PC equipped to receive the call.
Instant Messaging: Offers real time chat between individuals and groups of
7
people. Example: Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger.

Information Retrieval Services

 There are various Information retrieval services facilitating simple access to
information available on the internet. The table given below provides a brief
introduction to these services:

S. No. Service Description

1 File Transfer Protocol (FTP): Enable the users to transfer fi les.

Archie: It's an updated database of public FTP sites and their content. It helps
2
to find a file by using its name.
Gopher: It is utilized to retrieve, search, and display documents on remote
3
sites.
VERONICA (Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net wide Index to Computer
4 Achieved): VERONICA is a resource based on gopher. It facilitates access to
the information resource saved on gopher’s servers.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 13

 Download Testbook App

Web Services
 Web services facilitate exchange of information among applications on the web.
Through web services, applications can simply interact with each other.
 The web services are offered using the concept of Utility Computing.

World Wide Web (WWW)

 WWW is also known as W3. It offers a medium to access documents distributed
over several servers all over the internet. These documents can consist of texts,
graphics, audio, video, hyperlinks. The hyperlinks facilitate the users to navigate
through the documents.

Video Conferencing
 Video conferencing or Video teleconferencing is a way of communicating by two-
way video and audio transmission with help of telecommunication technologies.

Modes of Video Conferencing

Point - to - Point
 This mode of conferencing connects two locations only.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 14

 Download Testbook App

Multi Point
 Such mode of conferencing established connection between more than two
locations via Multipoint Control Unit (MCU).

Internet Protocols
Transmission Control Protocols (TCP)
TCP is basically a connection oriented protocol and offers end-to-end packet delivery. It
acts as a back bone for connection. It exhibits the following key features:
 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) works at the Transport Layer of OSI Model.
 TCP is a reliable and connection oriented protocol.
 TCP offers:
 Stream Data Transfer.
 Reliability.
 Efficient Flow Control
 Full-duplex operation.
 Multiplexing.
 TCP offers connection oriented end-to-end packet delivery.
 TCP ensures reliability by sequencing bytes with a forwarding acknowledgement
number that indicates to the destination the next byte the source expects to receive.
 It retransmits the bytes not acknowledged within a specified time period.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 15

 Download Testbook App

TCP Security
 TCP facilitates the following services to the processes at the application layer:
 Stream Delivery Service
 Sending and Receiving Buffers
 Bytes and Segments
 Full Duplex Service
 Connection Oriented Service
 Reliable Service

1. Stream Deliver Service: TCP protocol is stream oriented as it permits the

sending process to send data as stream of bytes and the receiving process to
retrieve data as stream of bytes.

 Sending and Receiving Buffers: It may not be possible for the sending and
receiving process to produce and obtain data at same speed, therefore, TCP needs
buffers for storage at sending and receiving ends.

 Bytes and Segments: The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), at the

transport layer, groups the bytes into small entities, or packets. This packet is known
as segment. Prior transmission of such packets, these segments are encapsulated
into an IP datagram.

 Full Duplex Service: Transmission of the data in duplex mode simply defi nes
the flow of data in both the directions at the same time.

 Connection Oriented Service: TCP facilitates connection oriented service in

the given sequence:

 TCP of the first process informs TCP of the second process and gets its
approval.

 TCP of the first process and TCP of the second process and exchange data
in both the two directions.

 After completion of the exchange of data, when buffers on both of the sides
are empty, the two TCP’s destroy their buffers.

6. Reliable Service: For sake of reliability, TCP uses an acknowledgement

mechanism.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 16

 Download Testbook App

Internet Protocols (IP)

 Internet Protocol is connectionless and unreliable protocol. It ensures no guarantee
of successful transmission of data.
 In order to make it reliable, it should be paired with reliable protocols such as TCP at
the transport layer.
 Internet protocol shares the data in format of so called a datagram as shown in the
following diagram:

 Points to remember:
1. The length of the datagram is variable.
2. The Datagram can be segmented into two parts: header and data.
3. The associated length of its header is around 20 to 60 bytes.
4. The header contains information for routing and delivery of the packet.

User Datagram Protocols (UDP)

 Like IP, UDP is a connectionless and unreliable protocol. It is not required to make a
connection with the host to transmit the data. Since UDP is an unreliable protocol,
there is no mechanism for ensuring that data sent is received.
 UDP distributes the data in the format of a datagram. The UDP datagram contains
five segments as shown in the following diagram:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 17

 Download Testbook App

 Points to remember:
1. UDP is utilized by the application that typically transmits a small quantity of
data at one time.
2. UDP provides protocol port utilized i.e. UDP message consists of both source
and destination port number, that makes it easier for UDP software at the
destination to divert the message to the right application program.

File Transfer Protocols (FTP)

FTP facilitates copying of files from one host to another. FTP facilitates the mechanism
for the same in given sequence:
1. FTP defines 2 processes, namely, Control Process and Data Transfer
Process at both ends, i.e., at client as well as at server.
2. FTP creates two different types of connections: one is for the purpose of data
transfer and another is for controlling the information.
3. Control connection is established between control processes while Data
Connection is established between <="" b="">
4. FTP utilizes port 21 for the purpose of control connection and Port 20 for the
purpose of data connection.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 18

 Download Testbook App

Trivial File Transfer Protocols (TFTP)

 Trivial File Transfer Protocol is also utilized for the transfer of the files but it transfers
the files with no authentication. Opposite to the FTP, TFTP does not differentiate
control and data information. As no authentication exists, TFTP has no security
features therefore it is not recommended to opt for TFTP.
 Key points
1. TFTP utilizes UDP for data transport. Every TFTP message is transmitted in
a separate UDP datagram.
2. The first 2 bytes of a TFTP message defines the type of message.
3. The TFTP session is started when a TFTP client requests to upload or
download a file.
4. The request is transferred from an ephemeral UDP port to the UDP port 69 of
the TFTP server.
 Difference between FTP and TFTP
S. No. Parameter FTP TFTP
1 Operation Transferring Files Transferring Files
2 Authentication Yes No
3 Protocol TCP UDP
4 Ports 21 – Control, 20 – Data Port 3214, 69, 4012
5 Control and Data Separated Separated
6 Data Transfer Reliable Unreliable

Telnet
 Telnet is a protocol used to log in to remote computers on the internet. There are a
number of Telnet clients having user friendly interfaces. The following diagram
elaborates that a person is logged into the computer named A, and from there, he
remotely logged into computer named B:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 19

 Download Testbook App

Hyper Text Transfer Protocols (HTTP)

 HTTP is a communication protocol. It defines a mechanism for communication
between browser and the web server. It is also known as the request and response
protocol as the communication between browser and server takes place in request
and response pairs.

HTTP Request
 HTTP request comprises of lines which contains:
1. Request line
2. Header Fields
3. Message body
 Key Points
1. The first line i.e. the Request line specifies the request method i.e. Get or Post.
2. The second line defines the header which reflects the domain name of the server
from where index.htm is retrieved.

HTTP Response
 Like HTTP requests, HTTP response also has a certain structure. HTTP response
contains:
1. Status line
2. Headers
3. Message body

Basic Internet Terms

Domain

While every computer has its own unique address, every user using the Internet has a
unique address called a domain. A domain recognizes one or more IP addresses. An
example of a domain is weather.com and is part of the URL such as https://
www.weather.com. The standard top-level domains are:

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 20

 Download Testbook App

 com - Commercial business

 edu - Educational institutions

 gov - Government agencies

 mil - Military

 net - Networks organization

 org - Organizations (nonprofit)

There are additional top-level domains that are now recognized on the Internet. They
include:

 aero - Air-transport industry

 biz - Businesses

 coop - Cooperatives

 info - Unrestricted use

 museum - museums

 pro - Accountants, lawyers, physicians, and other professionals

 tv - Television

Browser

A piece of software such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer that allows a computer
to access and display documents, view pictures, hear sound, and view video clips from
the World Wide Web.

E-mail

Mail that's electronically transmitted by your computer. As opposed to snail mail, e-mail
sends your messages instantaneously, anywhere in the world. It has the capability to
send messages at any time and to anyone.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

The standard method for downloading and uploading files over the Internet. With FTP,
you can login to a server and transfer files (meaning you can "send" or "receive" files).

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 21

 Download Testbook App

Homepage

The first page that is viewed when the browser starts. It is also the page of a Web site
that provides the introduction or content with links.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

The abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is the set of rules by which Web
pages are transferred across the Internet.

Internet Protocol (IP) Address

The Internet is composed of local, regional, national, and worldwide computer networks.
Each computer on the Internet can be identified by a set of unique numbers that is
called an internet protocol (IP) address. The IP address is composed of four different
numbers separated by periods such as 205.134.120.60.

Link or Hypertext Link

An underlined word(s), phrase(s), or graphics on a Web page that transports the reader
to additional or related information on the Internet.

TelNet

A terminal emulation protocol (or Internet program) used to connect a computer to a

remote host or server. Telnet is one of the oldest Internet activities and is primarily used
to access online databases or to read articles stored on university servers.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

An addressing scheme that is used on the Internet to locate resources and/or services
on the World Wide Web. Basically the URL is the address of a computer file that has
been put on a computer server to access the Internet.

Web Page

A single hypertext file or a page that is part of a Web site.

Website

A collection of World Wide Web pages or files.

Address

It is a series of letters and numbers that identify a location.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 22

 Download Testbook App

Cyberspace

Refers to all computer networks on the internet

Navigate

The act of moving from page to page and website to website online.

Piracy

illegally copying copyrighted software, music or movies.

Spam (electronic junk mail) :

It is an unwanted email from someone we don’t know.

Website :

A collection of “pages” or files linked together and available on the world Wide Web.

Attachment:

This is a file that has been added to an e-mail.

Chat:

A real-time communication over the internet.

Cyber bullying

Sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the internet or other digital
communication devices.

Icons:

Small pictures that represent the program on your computer.

Post

To leave a message on a newsgroup or bulletin board.

Query

A request for information about certain topic. It is what you put in the box when you
type something into the search engine.

Blog (Web Log)

Usually defines as a personal or noncommercial web site that uses a dated log format.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 23

 Download Testbook App

Emoticons

An animated faces that express different emotions

Outbox

This is where all of the messages that you send are kept.

Server

A special software package that connects to a network and provides data.

Surf

To search for information on the web in a random , non-linear way.

Bookmark:

A way to quickly access a favorite web site by saving it in your browser.

Hacker:

A popular term for someone who accesses computer information either legally or
illegally.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A company that provides internet access to customers

Spamming

A mass mailing sent as Instant Messages to users.

Hypertext Markup language (HTML)

The coded format language used for creating documents on the world wide web and
controlling how web pages appear.

Cookie :

Also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie.A small file downloaded
by some web sites to store a packet of information on your browser.

History:

A list of websites the people are using a particular computer have visited.

Netiquette

Proper use of internet.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 24

 Download Testbook App

Plug-in

A program that extends the capabilities of your computer.

Softcopy

An electronic version of a file on your computer.

Domain Name

A name given to the numerical or internet protocol (IP) address of a web site.

Firewall

This is a system that creates a special “wall” used by network servers to separate their
intranet from internet

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

The standard method computers use to communicate via the world wide web.

Pharming

An online scam that attacks the browser’s address bar.

Phishing

An online scam that uses e-mail to “fish” for users’ private information by imitating
legitimate companies.

Streaming (media)

The exchange of video clips, sounds or other types of media over the internet.

Transmission Control Protocol/ internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

The protocol or conventions that computers use to communicate over the internet.

Zip File

Large files that have been compressed to make them easier to send over the internet

List of most popular browser

 Firefox

 Google Chrome

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 25

 Download Testbook App

 Microsoft Edge

 Apple Safari

 Opera

 Brave

 Vivaldi

 DuckDuckgo

 Chromium

 Epic

Best Search Engines in The World

1. Google : Google Search Engine is the best search engine in the world and it is
also one of most popular products from Google. Almost 70 percent of the Search
Engine market has been acquired by Google. The tech giant is always evolving and
looking to improve the search engine algorithm to provide best results to the end-user.
Although Google appears to be the biggest search engine, as of 2015 YouTube is now
more popular than Google (on desktop computers).

2. Bing : Bing is Microsoft’s answer to Google and it was launched in 2009. Bing is the
default search engine in Microsoft’s web browser. At Bing, they are always striving to
make it a better search engine but it’s got a long way to go to give Google competition.
Microsoft’s search engine provides different services including image, web and video
search along with maps. Bing introduced Places (Google’s equivalent is Google My
Business), this is a great platform for business to submit their details to optimise their
search results.

3. Yahoo : Yahoo & Bing compete more with each other than with Google. A
recent report on netmarketshare.com tells us that Yahoo have a market share of 7.68
percent. Although a leader as a free email provider, this is declining significantly though
with their recent acknowledgement that User Details & Passwords where hacked last
year.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 26

 Download Testbook App

4. Baidu : Baidu is the most used search engine in China and was founded in Jan,
2000 by Chinese Entrepreneur, Eric Xu. This web search is made to deliver results for
website, audio files and images. It provides some other services including maps, news,
cloud storage and much more.

5. AOL : Aol.com is also among the top search engines. These are the guys that used
to send out CD’s which you’d load onto your PC to install their browser and modem
software. Once the pre-eminent player they now have a market share of 0.59 percent.
Verizon Communication bought AOL for $4.4 billion. It was started back in 1983 as
Control Video Corporation. It was named America Online in 1991 and in 2009 as AOL
Inc. AOL is a global mass media company which is based in New York. The company
also provides advertising services as AOL Advertising, AOL mail and AOL Platform.

6. Ask.com : Founded in 1995, Ask.com, previously known as Ask Jeeves. Their

key concept was to have search results based on a simple question + answer web
format. It is a question & answer community where you can get the answers for your
question and it integrates a large amount of archive data to answer your question.
Because of this dependency on archived and active user contributions the results will
not be as current as those you get in Google, Bing and Yahoo. They’ve tried to counter
where their resources don’t have the answer they take help from a third-party search
engine. Interestingly they don’t name who this is.

7. Excite : Excite is not widely known but is one that still gets into the top 10.
Excite is an online service portal that provides internet services like email, search
engine, news, instant messaging and weather updates. This also provides us with the
latest trends, topics and search for phrases such as: What can President Trump
actually do?

8. DuckDuckGo : DuckDuckGo is a popular search engine known for protecting

the privacy of the users. Unlike Ask.com they are quite open about who they use to
generate search results; they’ve partnered with Yahoo, Bing and Yummly. It was
founded back in 2008 by Gabriel Weinberg in California and its revenue come from
Yahoo-Bing search alliance network and Affiliates.

9. Wolfram Alpha : Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge search engine which

does not give list of documents or web pages as search results. Results are based on
facts & data about that query. Their mission statement is to make all systematic
knowledge computable and broadly accessible. Launched in 2009, they now have a Pro
solution designed with pricing for Students and Educators. Much as it’s targeted, it’s an
awesome tool for the right market.

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 27

 Download Testbook App

10. Yandex : Launched in 1997, Yandex is most used search engine in Russia.
Yandex also has a great presence in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey. It
provides services like Yandex Maps, Yandex Music, online translator, Yandex Money
and many other services.

11. Lycos : Lycos has a good reputation in search engine industry. Its key areas
served are email, web hosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.

12. Chacha.com - December 2016 UPDATE: ChaCha ceased trading due to

declining advertising revenues : Chacha.com is a human-guided search engine and
was founded in 2006. You can ask anything in its search box and you will be answered
in real-time. It also provides mobile search and marketing services. You can also install
its mobile apps on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Social Networking Sites

 Facebook

 WhatsApp

 QQ

 WeChat

 QZone

 Tumblr

 Instagram

 Twitter

 Google+ ( No Longer Available )

 Baidu Tieba

 Skype

 Viber

 Sina Weibo

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 28

 Download Testbook App

 LINE

 Snapchat

 Pinterest

 LinkedIn

 Telegram

 Reddit

 Myspace

Top E-Commerce Site

 Amazon.

 Ali Baba.

 eBay.

 Jingdong.

 Zappos.

 Rakuten.

 Home Depot.

 Flipkart.

 Snapdeal

 Ali Baba

 Snanpdeal

 Myntra

COMPUTER | Internet PAGE 29

Networking
Part - 1

COMPUTER AWARENESS

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

What is a network?
 Network is defined as a set of devices connected to each other using a physical
transmission medium. For Example, A computer network is a group of computers
connected with each other to communicate and share information and resources like
hardware, data, and software.
 Network, a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by
communication facilities.

Need for Networking

 Resource sharing - Through a network , data , s/ w and h/w resources can be
shared irrespective of the physical location of the resources and the user.
 Reliability – A file can have its copies on two or more computers of the network.
 Reduced Cost –Sharing resources reduces the cost
 Fast Communication – Information can be exchanged at a very fast speed.

Components of Networks

 Workstation or Nodes : Refers to a computer that are attached to a network

 Server:The master computer is called server. A server is a computer or system that
provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers, known as
clients, over a network.
 An individual system can provide resources and use them from another system at
the same time. This means that a device could be both a server and a client at the
same time.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

Different Types of Networks

 There are different categories in which various networks can be classified, according
to their size, capabilities and the geographical distance they cover. A network is
normally a group of multiple computer systems linked together in some manner so
that they can share information and data between them. Various kinds of networks
facilitate different services, and have different requirements to work properly.
 Most of the network varieties are known as different types of ‘area’ networks – this is
mainly because of the history of networks, and dates back to the time when
computer networks were described by their literal scale. This is no longer the
situation due to new technology. Some of the most common types of network user
are likely to encounter are detailed here below:

Local Area Network (LAN)

 This is one of the original and very basic type of network, and also one of the
simplest. LAN networks group computers together over comparatively small
distances, such as within a single building or within a small group of buildings.

Homes usually have LAN networks as well, especially if there are multiple devices in
the home. Often they do not contain more than one subnet, if any, and are generally
controlled by a single administrator. They are not bound to be linked to the internet to
work, even though they can be.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

Wide Area Network (WAN)

 This is another kind of the original categories of network, and slightly less typical in
nature. WAN networks encapsulates computers together over huge physical
distances, remotely connecting them over one huge network and allowing them to
communicate even when far apart. The Internet is actually WAN, and connects
computers all around the world together.

 LANs connect to WANs, such as the internet, using routers to transfer data and
information quickly and securely. WANs are generally too large to be controlled by
one administrator, and so generally have collective ownership, or in the case of the
internet, is publicly owned.

How do LANs and WANs connect?

 LANs, such as those within a private home, generally have a modem in their
residence which is linked to an Internet Service Provider. This provider provides an
IP address to the modem, which is an exclusive number that is given to all devices
capable of connecting to the internet, including any computers, phones or consoles
within the home as well.
 As all devices linked in LAN can interact with each other in absence of the internet, if
a device wants to communicate with another which is on another LAN, they are able
connect to the internet and transmit information through the WAN. This is
implemented through a router, which takes data from devices and routes it down the
fastest virtual path to its end node, passing through a number of gateways on the
way.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

 Initially a central gateway, which separates the LAN from the WAN, and then others
which transmit the data from one to the next, until it is received at its final destination
– another device which is being communicated with. This all takes place at a very
high speed over modern broadband modems, thanks to efficient and effective
protocols and rules being developed to control and manage data.

Other Types of Network

 There are also other types of network user may encounter. Some of these are
distinct, but most are casually developed from LAN and WAN networks to have
slight variation and adapt to different user needs. These include:

Metropolitan Area Network

 This is a kind of a network which is bigger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, and
incorporates properties of these both. It typically covers a town or city and is
controlled by a single person or company, such as a local council or a large
company.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

Campus Area Network

 This is a network which is bigger as compared to a LAN, but smaller than an MAN.
This is very common in areas like a university, large school or small business. It is
basically spread over a number of buildings which are reasonably local to each
other. It can have an internal Ethernet along with the capability of connecting to the
internet.

Wireless Local Area Network

 This is a LAN which is implemented with the use of wireless network technology
such as Wi-Fi. This kind of network is becoming more popular these days as
wireless technology is further developed and is used commonly in the home and in
small businesses. In other words, devices do not need to be dependent on physical
cables and wires as much and can organise their spaces more effectively.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

System Area Network

 System area network combines computers together on an especially high-speed
connection, in a configuration known as a cluster. It means computers which are
linked in a group so as to work as a single system, and can be implemented as a
result of very high speed computers and new low cost microprocessors. They are
generally used to enhance performance and for cost effectiveness.

Storage Area Network

 This network link servers directly to devices which store large amounts of data
without depending on a LAN or WAN network to do so. This can include another
type of connection known as
Fibre Channel, a structure
similar to Ethernet which
manages high-performance disk
storage for applications on a
variety of professional networks.
 Normally the two most common
network variety user will
encounter are LAN, WAN and
WLAN. This is not a complete
and comprehensive collection of all of the types of network, however most possess
similarities to the ones discussed above as a result of being developed
directly based on older versions such as LAN and WAN. Different networks are
suitable for different needs, and as such, make sure user know his/her way around
the types that user are most likely to use.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

Types of Network Topology

 The way to arrange or connection patterns of computers/nodes/devices used in the
network is known as network topology. There are basically five types of common
network topologies:
1. Bus topology
2. Star Topology
3. Ring topology
4. Mesh Topology
5. Tree Topology
6. Hybrid Topology

BUS Topology
Bus topology is a type of network in which each computer and network device is joint to
single cable. When it consists exactly two endpoints, then it is called Linear Bus
topology.

Features of BUS Topology

1. It sends data only in one direction.
2. Every device is linked to a single cable.

Advantage of BUS Topology

1. Cost effective.
2. Cable requirement is minimal as compared to other topologies.
3. Useful in small networks.
4. Easy to understand.
5. Easy to expand by connecting two cables together.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Disadvantage of BUS Topology

1. Whole network fails if Cables fails then.
2. The performance of the network decreases in case network traffic is heavy or
nodes are more or the Cable has a limited length.
3. It is works slower as compared to the ring topology.

RING Topology
 It is named ring topology because it creates a ring as each computer is linked to
neighbouring computer, with the last one linked to the first, exactly two neighbours
for each computer.

Features of RING Topology

1. Multiple number of repeaters are installed for Ring topology with high number of
nodes, because if one node wants to send some data to the last node in the ring
topology with more nodes like 100 nodes, then the data will have to travel through
99 nodes on order to reach the 100th node. Hence repeaters are used in the
network to prevent data loss.
2. The transmission is in one direction, but it is possible to implement bidirectional
transmission by having 2 connections between each Network Node, so called Dual
Ring Topology.
3. In case of Dual Ring Topology, two ring networks are created, and data flow is in
opposite direction in them. Also, if the ring in one direction fails, the second ring can
work as a backup, to keep the network working.
4. Data is transmitted in a sequential manner that is bit by bit. Data transmitted, has to
go through each node linked in the network, till the final node.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Advantage of RING Topology

1. Transmitting network is not affected by huge traffic or by addition of more nodes, as
only the nodes having tokens are allowed to transmit data.
2. Low cost to install and expand

Disadvantage of RING Topology

1. Troubleshooting is not simple in ring topology.
2. Addition or deletion of the computers interferes the other nodes and network activity.
3. Crashing of one node effects the whole network.

STAR Topology
 In Star Topology all the nodes are linked to a common hub via a cable. This hub is
the central node and all others nodes are linked to the central node.

Features of STAR Topology

1. Each node has its own unique connection to the hub.
2. Hub works as a repeater for data transmission.
3. Can be utilized with twisted pair, Optical Fibre or coaxial cable.

Advantage of RING Topology

1. Speedy performance with less number of nodes and low network traffic.
2. Hub can be easily upgraded without hassle.
3. Simpler to troubleshoot.
4. Simpler to setup and modify.
5. Only failed node is affected, rest of the nodes can work without any issues.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

Disadvantage of RING Topology

1. Expansive to install.
2. Expensive in usage.
3. If the hub crashes then the entire network is stopped because all linked nodes
depend on the hub.
4. Efficiency is dependent on the hub that is it depends on its capacity

MESH Topology
 It is type of a point-to-point to link other nodes or devices. All the network nodes are
linked to each other. Mesh consists of n(n-1)/2 physical channels to link n number of
devices.
 There are two types of methods to transmit data via the Mesh topology, they are :
1. Routing
2. Flooding

MESH Topology: Routing

 In routing, the linked computers have a routing logic, as per the network need. Like
routing logic to direct the data to transmit to the destination via shortest distance. Or,
routing logic which has info related to the broken links, and it neglects those node
etc. We can even use routing logic, to re-configure the crashed nodes.

MESH Topology: Routing

 In flooding, the exact data is sent to all the network nodes, hence no routing logic is
needed. The network is robust, and data loss is very unlikely. But it results unwanted
load over the network.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 11

 Download Testbook App

Types of MESH Topology

1. Partial Mesh Topology: In this type of topology few of the systems are linked in the
similar fashion as mesh topology but few nodes are only linked to two or three
devices.
2. Full Mesh Topology: Each and every nodes or devices are linked to each other.

Features of MESH Topology

1. Fully linked
2. Robust
3. Not flexible

Advantage of MESH Topology

1. Each connection may carry its unique data load.
2. It is robust.
3. Fault can be diagnosed easily.
4. Facilitates security and privacy.

Disadvantage of MESH Topology

1. Installation and configuration is not simple.
2. Cabling cost is more.
3. Bulk wiring is required.

TREE Topology
 It has a root node and all other nodes are linked to it creating a hierarchy. It is also
called hierarchical topology. It must have minimum three levels to the hierarchy.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 12

 Download Testbook App

Features of STAR Topology

1. Ideal if workstations are situated in groups.
2. Useful in Wide Area Network.

Advantage of RING Topology

1. Extension of bus and star topologies.
2. Expansion of nodes is possible and easy.
3. Easily managed and maintained.
4. Error detection is easily done.

Disadvantage of RING Topology

1. Heavily cabled.
2. Costly.
3. If additional nodes are introduced, maintenance is difficult.
4. Central hub fails, network fails.

HYBRID Topology
 It is two different kinds of topologies which is a combination of two or more
topologies. For example if in an office in some department ring topology is used and
in another department in same place, star topology is used, connecting these
topologies will form a Hybrid Topology (ring topology and star topology).

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 13

 Download Testbook App

Features of HYBRID Topology

1. It is a encapsulation of two or topologies
2. Inherits the benefits and disadvantages of the topologies included

Advantage of HYBRID Topology

1. Reliable because Error detecting and trouble shooting is easy.
2. Effective.
3. Scalable as size can be increased easily.
4. Flexible.

Disadvantage of HYBRID Topology

1. Complex in design
2. Costly

Transmission Modes In Computer

Networks
 Transmission mode means transferring of data between two devices. It is also
known as communication mode. Buses and networks are designed to allow
communication to occur between individual devices that are interconnected.
 There are three types of transmission mode:
 Simplex Mode
 Half-Duplex Mode
 Full-Duplex Model

Simplex Mode
 In Simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only
one of the two devices on a link can transmit, the other can only receive. The
simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
 Example: Keyboard and traditional monitors. The keyboard can only introduce input,
the monitor can only give the output.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 14

 Download Testbook App

Half-Duplex Mode
 In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same
time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa. The
half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both
direction at the same time. The entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for
each direction.
Example: Walkie- talkie in which message is sent one at a time and messages are
sent in both the directions.

Full-Duplex Mode
In full-duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. In
full_duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link with
signals going in other direction, this sharing can occur in two ways:
 Either the link must contain two physically separate transmission paths, one for
sending and other for receiving.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 15

 Download Testbook App

 Or the capacity is divided between signals travelling in both directions.

Full-duplex mode is used when communication in both direction is required all the time.
The capacity of the channel, however must be divided between the two directions.
Example: Telephone Network in which there is communication between two persons
by a telephone line, through which both can talk and listen at the same time.

Reference Model
 Reference Model facilitates the ways of standardization which is acceptable
worldwide. As people using the computer network are situated over a huge physical
range and their network devices might consists heterogeneous architecture. The
need to provide connection among heterogeneous devices, we require a
standardized model i.e. a reference model, which would facilitate us way to
communicate using these devices regardless their architecture.
 There exists two reference models namely OSI model and TCP/IP reference model,
however, the OSI model is basically a hypothetical one but the TCP/IP is absolutely
practical model.

OSI Model
 OSI is acronym of Open System Interface. This model type was created by the
International organization of Standardization (ISO) and therefore also called as ISO-
OSI Model.
 The OSI model consists of seven layers as shown in the given diagram. Each layer
is responsible for a specific function, however each layer provide services to the
layer above.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 16

 Download Testbook App

Physical Layer
 The Physical layer is responsible for the given activities:
 Activating, maintaining and deactivating the physical connection.
 Defining voltages and data rates needed for transmission.
 Converting digital bits into electrical signal.
 Deciding whether the connection is simplex, half duplex or full duplex.

Data Link Layer

 The data link layer performs the given functions:
 Performs synchronization and error control for the information which is to be
transmitted over the physical link.
 Enables error detection, and adds error detection bits to the data which are to
be transmitted.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 17

 Download Testbook App

Network Layer
 Given are the functions of Network Layer:
 To route the signals through various channels to the other end.
 To act as the network controller by deciding which route data must take.
 To divide the outgoing messages into packets and to assemble incoming
packets into messages for higher levels.

Transport Layer
 The Transport layer performs the given functions:
 It decides if the data transmission must take place on parallel paths or single
path.
 It performs multiplexing, splitting on the data.
 It breaks the data groups into smaller units so that they are handled more
efficiently by the network layer.
 The Transport Layer ensures sending of data from one end to other end.

Session Layer
 The Session layer performs the given functions:
 Manages the messages and synchronizes conversations between two
different applications.
 It controls logging on and off, user identification, billing and session
management.

Presentation Layer
 The Presentation layer performs the given functions:
 This layer makes it sure that the information is delivered in such a form that
the receiving system will understand and use it.

Application Layer
 The Application layer performs the given functions:
 It provides various facilities such as manipulation of information in different
ways, retransferring the files of information, distributing the final results etc.
 The functions such as LOGIN or password checking are also performed by
the application layer.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 18

 Download Testbook App

TCP/IP Model
 TCP/IP model is practically implemented model, unlike OSI, and is used in the
Internet. TCP/IP refers to Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol.
 The TCP/IP model encapsulates the two layers (Physical and Data link layer) into
one layer i.e. Host-to-Network layer. The given diagram shows the various layers of
TCP/IP model:

Application Layer
 This layer is same as that of the OSI model and performs the given functions:
 It provides various facilities such as manipulation of information in different
ways, redistributing the files of information, distributing the results etc.
 The functions such as LOGIN or password checking are also performed by
the application layer.
 Protocols used in this layer: TELNET, HTTP, NNTP, FTP, SMTP, DN are the
protocols employed in this layer

Transport Layer
 It performs the same functions as that of transport layer present in OSI model. Here
are the key points regarding transport layer:
 It uses TCP and UDP protocol for end to end transmission.
 TCP is reliable and connection oriented protocol.
 TCP also handles flow control.
 The UDP is not reliable and a connection less protocol also does not perform
flow control.
 Protocols utilized in this layer: TCP/IP and UDP protocols are deployed in this layer.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 19

 Download Testbook App

Internet Layer
 The responsibility of this layer is to permit the host to insert packets into network and
then make them travel independently to the destination. However, the sequence of
receiving the packet may vary from the sequence they were sent.
 Protocols used: Internet Protocol (IP) is deployed in Internet layer.

Host - to - Network Layer

 This is at the lowest of the stack among layers in TCP/IP model. The host has to
communicate to network using some protocol, so that it may transmit IP packets
over it. This protocol differs from host to host and network to network.
 Protocols used: ARPANET, SATNET, LAN, packet radio are the protocols which are
utilized in this layer.

Network Devices
HUB

 Hub is considered as one of the basic icons of networking devices which is

implemented at physical layer and hence connect networking nodes physically
together. Hubs are fundamentally utilized in networks that use twisted pair cabling to
connect nodes.
 They are created in a way to send the packets to the other appended devices
without editing any of the transmitted packets received. They works as pathways to
direct electrical signals to travel along. They transmit the information without caring
of the fact that if data packet is destined for the device linked or not.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 20

 Download Testbook App

Hub falls in two categories

 Active Hub: They are advanced than the passive hubs. They not only facilitate
the path for the data signals, but they also regenerate, concentrate and strengthen
the signals before transmitting them to their destinations. Active hubs are also called
as ‘repeaters’.
 Passive Hub: They are similar to the point contact for the wires to build in the
physical network. They have no work of modifying the signals.

Ethernet Hubs
 It is a device linking various Ethernet
devices together and makes them carry on
the functions as a single device. They are
different in speed in terms of data transfer
rate. Ethernet utilizes so called Carrier
Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Detect (CSMA/CD) to control Media access. Ethernet hub connects in half-duplex
mode where the possibility of data collision are inevitable at most of the times.

Switches
 Switches works as the connection points for an Ethernet network. Just like in hub,
devices in switches are linked to them through twisted pair cabling. But the variation
shows up in the manner both the devices, hub and a switch, takes the data. Hub
works by sending the data to all the ports on the device whereas a switch transfers it
only to that port which is linked to the destination device.
 A switch does so by having an in-built learning of the MAC address of the devices
linked to it. Since the sending of data signals are predefined in a switch, therefore
the network performance is consequently effective. Switches work in full-duplex
mode where nodes can send and receive data from the switch simultaneously unlike
in half-duplex mode.
 The transmission bandwidth in switches is double as compared to the Ethernet
hub transferring around 20Mbps connection into 30Mbps and around
200Mbps connection to become 300Mbps. Performance enhancements are
observed in networking with the extensive utilization of switches in the recent days.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 21

 Download Testbook App

 The given method will elucidate further how data

transmission takes place via switches:
 Cut-through transmission: It allows the packets
to be forwarded as soon as they are received.
The technique is prompt and quick but the
facility of error checking gets overlooked in
these kind of packet data transmission.
 Store and forward: In this switching technique the entire packet are taken and
‘checked’ before being transmitted further. The errors are thus eliminated
before being propagated further. The drawback of this process is that error
checking spends relatively longer time consequently resulting it a bit slower in
processing and delivering.
 Fragment Free: In a fragment free switching environment, a greater part of
the packet is examined so that the switch can identify whether the packet has
been caught up in a collision. After the collision status is identified, the packet
is forwarded.

Bridges
 A bridge is a type of computer networking component that builds the connection with
the other bridge networks that are
present on the same protocol. It is
implemented at the Data Link layer of
the OSI Model and links the different
networks together and creates
communication between them. It
combines two local-area networks;
two physical LANs into bigger logical
LAN or two segments of the already
existing LAN that use the same
protocol.

 Apart from creating larger networks, bridges are also utilized to segment bigger
networks into smaller portions. The bridge performs this by placing itself between
the two portions of two physical networks and managing the flow of the data
between them.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 22

 Download Testbook App

Types of Bridges
 There are basically three types in which bridges can be segmented:
 Transparent Bridge: As the name signifi es, it appears to be transparent
for the other devices on the network. The other devices are ignorant of its
existence. It only restricts or permits the data according to the MAC address.
 Source Route Bridge: It received its name from the fact that the way
which packet takes via the network is implanted within the packet. It is mainly
utilized in Token ring networks.
 Translational Bridge: The process of conversion happens via
Translational Bridge. It transforms the data format of one networking to
another. For example, conversion of Token ring to Ethernet and vice versa.

Switches Superseding Bridges

 Ethernet switches are gaining trend consecutively as compared to bridges. They are
progressing in terms of logical divisions and segments in the networking area. In fact
switches are being referred to as multi-port bridges because of their advanced
functionality.

Routers
 Routers are network layer components and are particularly categorised as Layer- 3
components of the OSI Model. They works on logical addressing information in the
Network header of a packet like IP Addresses.
 Router is utilized to implement bigger complex networks by complex traffic routing. It
has the authority to connect dissimilar LANs on the same protocol. It also has the
authority to restrict the flow of broadcasts. A router mainly comprises of a hardware
component or a system of the computer which has multiple network interface and
routing software.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 23

 Download Testbook App

Functionality
 When a router receives the data, it analyses the destination address by checking the
header of the packet. Once the address is analysed, it finds in its routing table to get
know how to connect to the destination and then transmits the packet to the higher
hop on the route. The hop might be the last destination or another router.
 Routing tables play a very crucial role in letting the router takes a decision. That is
why a routing table needs to be updated and complete. The two methods using
which a router can receive data are:
 Static Routing: In static routing, the routing information is fed into the routing
tables manually. It does not only become a time-taking task but gets prone to errors
as well. The manual updating is also required in case of statically configured routers
when change in the topology of the network or in the format takes place. Thus static
routing is considered for smallest environments with least number of one or two
routers.
 Dynamic Routing: For larger environment dynamic routing proves to be the
practical solution. The process includes use of peculiar routing protocols to establish
communication. The purpose of these protocols is to facilitate the other routers to
transmit information about to other routers, so that the other routers can build their
own routing tables.

Repeater
 Repeaters are network devices operating at physical layer of the OSI model that
amplify or regenerate an incoming signal before retransmitting it.
 They are incorporated in networks to expand its coverage area. They are also
known as signal booster

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 24

 Download Testbook App

Brouters
Brouters are the collaboration of bridge and routers. They take up the functionality of
the both networking components working as a bridge when forwarding data between
networks, and serving as a router when routing information to individual systems.
Brouter works as a filter that permits some data into the local network and redirects
unknown packets to the other network.

 These days Brouters are not used because their functionality is embedded into the
routers in order to work as bridge as well.

RJ 45 Connector
 RJ45 is a type of cable connector which is mainly used in computer
networks. RJ45 is mainly used for ethernet networking which is used to connect
different type of devices like a switch, hub, PC, router, firewall to each other. RJ45 is
the most known and popular connector type in the IT world

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 25

 Download Testbook App

Gateways
 Gateway is a device which is implemented to combine multiple networks and
transmits packets from one packet to the
other network. Working as the ‘gateway’ in
middle of different networking systems or
computer programs, a gateway is a
component which forms a link between
them.
 It facilitates the computer programs, either
on the same device or on different device
to share information across the network via
protocols. A router is also a kind of
gateway, because it interprets data from one network protocol to another.

 Other components such as bridge translates the data into different forms among two
networking systems. Then a software application transforms the data from one
format into another. Gateway is a crucial tool to translate the data format, even
though the data itself remains unchanged. Gateway might be implemented in some
other device to add its functionality into another.

Network Card
 Network cards are sometimes referred as Network Interface Cards (NICs). These
are hardware components that link a computer with the network. They are installed
on the mother board. They works for
developing a physical connection of the
network to the computer. Computer data is
transformed into electrical (analog) signals
send to the network via Network Interface
Cards.
 They are also able to manage some
important data-transformation function. These days’ network cards are software
controlled unlike in older days when drivers were required to configure them. In case
if the NIC doesn’t packed with the software in box then the latest drivers or the
associated software can be downloaded from the internet also.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 26

 Download Testbook App

Network Protocols
 Network protocols forms a language of instructions and translations for
communication between the network components. It is mandatory that a networked
device should have one or more protocol drivers. Generally, for two computers to
interconnect on a network, they must use identical protocols. In some cases, a
computer is designed to use more than one protocols. Network protocols such as
HTTP, TCP/IP offer a provisions on which much of the Internet stands.
 System requirement:
 The bus compatibility should be verified on installation of an NIC into the
machine. The commonly utilized bus system is Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI)
 Memory I/O addresses and IRQ are required.
 Requirement of drivers if not already installed.

Modems
 Modem is a device which transforms the computer-generated digital signals into
analog signals to enable their travelling through
phone lines. The ‘modulator-demodulator’ or
modem may work as a dial up for LAN or to
connect to an ISP.
 Modems can be both external, as in the device
which connects to the USB or the serial port of a
computer machine, or proprietary components for
handheld smart devices and other devices, also
as internal, in the form of add-on expansion cards
for computer systems and PCMCIA cards for
laptop computers.
 Design of a modem differs for both the external and internal modem. In internal
modems, IRQ – Interrupt request is utilized to configure the modem in addition to I/
O, which is a memory address. Usually before the installation of built-in modem,
integrated serial interfaces are disabled, assigning them the COM2 resources at the
same time.

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 27

 Download Testbook App

 For external types of a modem, the modem assigns and uses the resources itself.
This is especially helpful for the USB port and laptop users as the non-complex and
simpler nature of the process renders it far much more useful for daily usage.
 At the time of setup, the second step to make sure the proper working of a modem is
the installation of drivers. The modem working efficiency and processing is decided
by two factors:
 Speed of UART –An acronym for Universal Asynchronous Receiver or
Transmitter chip (installed on the motherboard to which the modem connection is
established)
 Speed of the modem itself

COMPUTER | Networking Part-1 PAGE 28

Computer
Security

COMPUTER

Copyright © 2014-2020 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved
 Download Testbook App

Computer Security
 The definition of the term computer security has changed in recent years. Prior the
problem of data security became hugely publicized in the media, most people’s
thoughts of computer security based on the physical machine. Traditionally,
computer services have been physically protected for the following three reasons:

1. Prevention of theft of or damage to the hardware

2. Prevention of theft of or damage to the information

3. Prevention of disruption of service

 Computer security is safeguarding implemented to computing devices like

computers and smartphones, and also in computer networks like private and public
networks, including the whole Internet. The field encapsulates all the processes and
mechanisms by which digital device, information and services are safe from
unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction, and are of increasing
importance in line with the increasing dependence on computer systems of majority
of societies round the world.

 It involves physical security to avoid theft of equipment, and information security to

safeguard the data on that device. It is often referred to as "cyber security" or "IT
security", though such terms normally do not imply to physical security (locks and
such).

Terminologies related to Computer Security are:

Phishing
 Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames,
passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by
masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication

Pharming
 Pharming Is another technique used to steal confidential access code. It works by
redirecting users to a rogue server.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 2

 Download Testbook App

SQL injection
 A SQL injection attack consists of insertion or “injection” of a SQL query via the input
data from the client to the application.

 A successful SQL injection exploit can read sensitive data from the database, modify
database data (Insert/Update/Delete), execute administration operations on the
database (such as shutdown the DBMS), recover the content of a given file present
on the DBMS file system and in some cases issue commands to the operating
system.

 SQL injection attacks are a type of injection attack, in which SQL commands are
injected into data-plane input in order to affect the execution of predefined SQL
command,

Spyware
 Spyware is a type of malicious software -- or malware -- that is installed on a
computing device without the end user's knowledge. It invades the device, steals
sensitive information and internet usage data, and relays it to advertisers, data firms
or external users.

 The capabilities include activity monitoring, collecting keystrokes, data harvesting

(account information, logins, financial data), and more.

 Spyware secretly places itself on your computer and views transactions that are
made on websites.

Adware
 Adware (short for advertising-supported software) is a type of malware that
automatically delivers advertisements. Common examples of adware include pop-
up ads on websites and advertisements that are displayed by software. Often times
software and applications offer “free” versions that come bundled with adware.

 Adware often appears as an advertisement and inevitably is harmful to the user.

Bot/Botnet
 A type of software application or script that performs tasks on command, allowing an
attacker to take complete control remotely of an affected computer.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 3

 Download Testbook App

 A collection of these infected computers is known as a “botnet” and is controlled by

the hacker or “bot-herder”

 Spyware and adware both cause a great risk dealing with credit card fraud
and identification theft.

Clickjacking
 Clickjacking is an attack that tricks a user into clicking a webpage element which is
invisible or disguised as another element. The invisible page could be a malicious
page, or a legitimate page the user did not intend to visit – for example, a page on
the user's banking site that authorizes the transfer of money.

 A hacking attack that tricks victims into clicking on an unintended link or button,
usually disguised as a harmless element.

Encryption
 Encryption is the method by which information is converted into secret code that
hides the information's true meaning. The science of encrypting and decrypting
information is called cryptography. In computing, unencrypted data is also known as
plaintext, and encrypted data is called ciphertext.

 The process of encoding data to prevent theft by ensuring the data can only be
accessed with a key.

 It helps protect private information, sensitive data, and can enhance the
security of communication between client apps and servers.

Hacker
 A hacker is a person who uses computer system, networking or other techniques in
order to overcome a technical issues. The word hacker may define anyone with
technical skills, but it generally refers to a person who utilises his or her abilities to
attain unauthorized access to machines or networks in order to commit criminal
activities.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 4

 Download Testbook App

 A hacker may, for example, steal data and info to hurt people via identity theft,
damage or bring down systems and, in some cases, keep such systems hostage to
demand ransom.

 The word hacker has traditionally been a divisive one, often being used as a term of
admiration for a person who possess a high degree of skill, and also creativity in his
or her approach to technical issues. However, the term is generally applied to an
individual who utilizes this knowledge for illegal or unethical purposes.

Types of Hackers
The security community has unofficially used definitions to hat colour as a way various
hackers are identified, usually categorized into three types: white hat, black hat and
grey hat.

1. White hat hackers, also called ethical hackers, strive to work in the public's best
interest, instead of creating turmoil. Many white hat hackers used to perform
penetration testing, hired to test to break into the company's networks to figure out
and report on security vulnerabilities. The security firms then aid their clients mitigate
security risks before criminal hackers may exploit them.

2. Black hat hackers by their own will acquire unauthorized access to networks and
machines with malicious intentions, in order to steal data, spread malware or profit
from ransom ware, vandalize or in some case damage systems or for any other
purpose, which involves gaining notoriety. Black hat hackers are clearly criminals by
definition as they violate regulations against accessing machines without
authorization, but they may also involve in other illegal jobs, including identity theft
and distributed denial-of-service attacks.

3. Grey hat hackers comes approximately between white hat hackers and black hat
hackers. While their motives can be same as to those of white hat hackers, grey
hats are more likely than white hat hackers to access systems in absence of
authorization; at the same time, they are more likely than black hat hackers to
prevent doing intentional damage to the systems they hack. Although they aren't
typically, or solely, motivated by money, grey hat hackers may help to fix
vulnerabilities they have found through their own, unauthorized, activities instead of
using their knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities for illegal intentions.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 5

 Download Testbook App

Vulnerability
 Vulnerability is a flaw which enables an attacker to decrease a system's information
guarantee. Vulnerability is the combination of three elements: a system susceptibility
or weakness, attacker permissibility to the flaw, and attacker ability to exploit the
flaw. In order to exploit vulnerability, the hacker must have at least one equivalent
tool or technique that can link to a system flaw. In this frame, vulnerability is also
referred as the attack surface.

 Vulnerability detection and prevention is the cyclical work of identifying, classifying,

remediating, and mitigating weaknesses. This practice usually implies to software
vulnerabilities in computing machines.

Backdoors
 A backdoor in a computer system, is a process of bypassing usual authentication,
securing remote permit to a computer, gaining access to plaintext, and so on, while
trying to stay undetected.

 The backdoor can take the resemblance of an installed program (e.g., Back Orifice),
or could be an amendment to an existing program or hardware component. It may
also forged information about disk and memory usage.

Denial-of-Service Attack
 A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or
network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this
by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.

 DoS attack is not to steal information but to slow or take down a web site. Denial of
service attack (DOS) is an attack against computer or network which reduces,
restricts or prevents accessibility of its system resources to authorized users.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 6

 Download Testbook App

Digital Signature
 A digital signature is an electronic form of a signature that can be used to
authenticate the identity of the sender of a message or the signer of a document,
and also ensure that the original content of the message or document that has been
sent is unchanged.

Ransomware
 Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim's files. The attacker then
demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data upon payment.

 “Ransomware is extortion software that can lock your computer and then
demand a ransom for its release.”

Deepfake
 An audio or video clip that has been edited and manipulated to seem real or
believable. The most dangerous consequence of the popularity of deepfakes is that
they can easily convince people into believing a certain story or theory that may
result in user-behavior with a bigger impact as in political or financial.

Social Engineering
 Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain
private information, access, or valuables.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 7

 Download Testbook App

 Scams based on social engineering are built around how people think and act. So,
once a hacker understands what motivates a person’s actions, they can usually
retrieve exactly what they’re looking for – like financial data and passwords.

Direct-Access Attacks
A malicious user gaining physical entry to a system (or part thereof) can conduct many
functions, install various types of devices to compromise integrity, including operating
system amendments, software worms, key loggers, and covert voice devices. The
attacker may also simply download large amounts of data onto backup media, for
example CD-R/DVD-R, tape; or portable drives such as key drives, digital cameras or
digital audio players. One more common technique is to start an operating system
stored on a CD-ROM or other bootable device and retrieve the data from the hard drive
(s) this way. The only way to prevent this is to encrypt the storage device and save the
key away from the system. Direct-access attacks are the only kind of threat to
Standalone machines (never connect to internet), in majority of cases.

Eavesdropping
 Eavesdropping is the practice of surreptitiously monitoring a private conversation,
typically between hosts connected on a network. For instance, programs like
Carnivore and NarusInsight have been utilized by the FBI and NSA to eavesdrop on
the machines of internet service providers.

Spoofing
 Spoofing of user identity defines a condition in which one person or program
intentionally masquerades as another by falsifying information and thereby
achieving an illegitimate advantage.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 8

 Download Testbook App

Snooping
 Snooping, in a security context, is unauthorized access to another person's or
company's data. The practice is similar to eavesdropping but is not necessarily
limited to gaining access to data during its transmission

Tampering
 Tampering defines an intentional amendment of products in the means that would
turn them harmful to the user.

Repudiation
 Repudiation defines a condition where the authenticity of a signature is being
compromised.

Information Disclosure
 Information Disclosure (Privacy breach or Data leak) defines a condition where
information, thought as protected, is shared in an untrusted place.

Elevation of Privilege
 Elevation of Privilege defines a condition where a user or a program tries to attain
elevated privileges or permit to resources that are usually restricted to him/it.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 9

 Download Testbook App

Exploits
 An exploit is a fragment of software, a chunk of data, or queue of commands that
uses a software "bug" or "glitch" to cause unintended or unanticipated working to
occur on computer software, machine itself, or something electronic (usually
computerized). This frequently involves such things as attaining control of a
computer machine or permitting privilege escalation or a denial of service attack.
The term "exploit" normally refers to small programs created to take advantage of a
software weakness that has been revealed, either remote or local. The code from
the exploit program is periodically reused in Trojan horses and computer viruses.

Indirect Attacks
 An indirect attack is an attack conducted by a third-party computer machine. By
using second person’s computer to conduct an attack, it becomes far more
challenging to track down the real attacker. There have also been events where
attackers used the anonymity of public systems, such as the tor onion router
system.

Computer Security Types

One way to ascertain the similarities and variations among Computer Security is by
enquiring what is being secured. For example,

 Information security is protecting information from illicit access, modification &

deletion

 Application Security is protecting an application by constructing security features to

restrict from Cyber Threats just like SQL injection, DoS attacks, data breaches and
etc.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 10

 Download Testbook App

3. Computer Security defines protecting a standalone system by keeping it updated

and patched

4. Network Security is by protecting both the software and hardware technologies

5. Cyber security is referred as protecting computer machines, which are linked over
the computer networks

Types of Attacks
Attacks are categorized into two types:

 Passive attacks: does not include any amendments to the body of an

original message

 Active attacks: the body of the original message are amended in some
ways.

Components of Computer System

The devices of a computer system that required to be protected are:

 Hardware, the physical part of the machine, like the system memory and disk drive

 Firmware, permanent software that is written into a hardware device’s non-volatile

memory and is in reality invisible to the user

 Software, the programming that facilitates services, like operating system, word
processor, net browser to the user

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 11

 Download Testbook App

The CIA Triad

Computer security is primarily concerned with three
main categories:

 Confidentiality is assuring that information is

provided only to the intended customers

 Integrity is securing information from being

amended by unauthorized personals

 Availability is that information must be provided

to users as and when required.

In easy language, computer security is assuring that information and computer

components are working but still secured from people or software that shouldn’t get
access to it or modify it.

Computer Security Threats

 Computer security threats are possible problems that can possibly hamper the usual
working of the computer system. In the current times, cyber threats are exponentially
increasing as the world is going digital. The very common harmful types of computer
security are follows:

Trojans
 A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is a type of malicious code or software that looks
legitimate but can take control of your computer.

 A Trojan is designed to damage, disrupt, steal, or in general inflict some other

harmful action on your data or network.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 12

 Download Testbook App

Viruses
 A computer virus is a malicious program which is transmitted into
the user’s computer without user’s knowledge. It copies itself and
effects the files and programs on the user’s PC. The actual
intention of a virus is to make sure that the victim’s computer will
never be able to work properly or even at all.

Computer Worm
 A computer worm is a kind software program that can replicate
itself from one computer to another, without manual involvement.
The potential vulnerability here is that it will utilize up user’s
computer hard disk space as a worm can copy in large volume and
with very high speed.

Phishing
 Disguising as an authentic individual or business, phishers try to
steal sensitive financial or personal data through fraudulent email
or instant mails. Phishing is in real unfortunately very simple to
execute. User is deluded into thinking it’s the genuine mail and he/
she may enter his/her personal information.

Botnet
 A botnet is a cluster of computers linked to the internet that have
been compromised by a hacker through a computer virus. This
particular computer is known as ‘zombie computer’.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 13

 Download Testbook App

Rootkit
 A rootkit is a computer program created to facilitate continued
privileged permit to a computer while actively hiding its
activity. Once a rootkit has been loaded, the controller of the
rootkit will be having ability to remotely control and execute files
and change system specifications on the host machine.

Key logger
 Also called a keystroke logger, key loggers can track the real-time working of a user
on his/her computer. It maintains a record of all the keystrokes
done by user keyboard. Key logger is also a very strong threat to
steal people’s login credential, namely, username and password.

 These are perhaps the very common security threats that anyone
can come across. Apart from these, there are different ones like
spyware, wabbits, scareware, bluesnarfing and so on. Fortunately, there are
techniques to secure the system against these attacks.

Logic Bomb
 A logic bomb is a piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will
set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met. For example, a
programmer may hide a piece of code that starts deleting files (such as a
salary database trigger), should they ever be terminated from the company.

 Software that is inherently malicious, such as viruses and worms, often contain logic
bombs that execute a certain payload at a pre-defined time or when some other
condition is met.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 14

 Download Testbook App

 This technique can be used by a virus or worm to gain momentum and spread
before being noticed. Some viruses attack their host systems on specific dates, such
as Friday the 13th or April Fools' Day. Trojans and other computer viruses that
activate on certain dates are often called "time bombs".

Why is Computer Security

Important?
 In this digital age, we all want to protect our computers and our personal data and
hence computer security is crucial to keep our personal information protected. It is
also crucial to maintain our computer protection and its overall health by prohibiting
viruses and malware which would affect the system performance.

What is Anti-Virus?
 Antivirus software is a commonly available and widely used program or set of
programs that are designed to restrict, search for, detect, and remove software
viruses, and other malicious software like worms, Trojans, adware, and more.

Why Do we Need Antivirus Software?

 These tools are crucial for users to have loaded and up-to-date because a computer
in absence antivirus software protection will be infected within minutes of connecting
to the internet. The bombardment is constant, which implies antivirus companies
have to update their detection tools periodically to tackle with the more than 60,000
new pieces of malware created every day.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 15

 Download Testbook App

 Today's malware (an umbrella term that encapsulates computer viruses) alters
appearance suddenly to prevent detection by older, definition-based antivirus
program. Viruses can be designed to cause damage to the device, prohibit a user
from accessing data, or to take control of the computer.

What Does Antivirus Software Do?

 Various companies create antivirus software and what everyone of them offer can
be different but all perform following essential functions:

1. Scan particular files or directories for any malware or predetermined

malicious patterns

2. Allow user to plan scans to automatically run for user

3. Allow user to conduct a scan of a selected file or the entire computer, or of a

CD or flash drive at any time.

4. Quarantine any malicious piece of program detected, sometimes user will be

notified of such infection and asked if he/she wants to dump the file, other
programs will automatically do this in background.

5. Reminds about the ‘health’ of the computer

 Always be sure user has the best, up-to-date security software installed to protect
his/her devices like computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

How Does Antivirus Software Work?

Most of the antivirus software programs still download malware definitions straight to
user’s device and scan the files in search of any possible matches. But since, as it’s
mentioned above, most malware periodically morphs in appearance to avoid being
caught, Web root works differently. Rather than storing examples of recognized
malware on the device, it saves malware definitions in the cloud storage. This enables
us to acquire less space, scan quicker, and manage a more robust threat library.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 16

 Download Testbook App

Free vs. Paid Antivirus Software

 Activities from banking to baby photos, most of our business and personal data
stays on our devices. If it were saved physically, spending for a security application
would be a no-brainer.

 Unfortunately, we usually expect our online data to stay protected without lifting a
finger or spending anything. Companies encouraging to do it without any cost are
partly responsible for the ambiguity, to be sure.

 But consumers must insist on features like identity theft security, mobile security,
and support facilities when it comes to their data security, too—features normally
lacking with priceless solutions.

What is Firewall?
 A firewall is a kind of security-conscious type of hardware or software that stays
between the computer and our network with a primary task: preventing malicious
software from reaching us. In other words we can say that the firewall works like a
security guard between the Internet and our local area network (LAN). All network
traffic passing through the LAN must face the firewall, which restricts unauthorized
access to the network.

Types of Firewalls
1. Packet-filtering firewall: It checks every packet that passes the fi rewall and
examines the packet as per the set of rules that user sets up. If the packet gets to
pass the test, it’s allowed to go through. If the packet fails to pass the test then it is
rejected. Packet filters are the most inexpensive variety of firewall. That is why
packet-filtering firewalls are used very common.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 17

 Download Testbook App

2. Stateful packet inspection (SPI): It is installed in accordance from simple

packet filtering. A firewall having Stateful packet checking looks at packets in
clusters instead of doing individually. It maintains the record of all those packets
have crossed through the firewall and can create patterns that indicate unauthorized
entry.

3. Deep packet inspection (DPI): It is the actual data of the packets is checked
so viruses, spam, and other harmful content can be restricted. DPI also enables
practices, such as data mining, eavesdropping, and content censorship, which make
its way through a controversial subject.

Few Cyber Crime Prevention

Techniques
1. Use Strong Passwords: Using different user ID / password combinations for
various accounts and not writing them down. Making the passwords more complex
by using letters, numbers, special characters (minimum 10 characters in total) and
change them on a periodically.

2. Securing computer:

a. Activate the firewall: Firewalls are the primary line of cyber defence.
They restrict connections to unknown or bogus websites and will keep out
various types of viruses and hackers.

b. Use anti-virus/malware software: Prohibit viruses from infecting the

computer by loading and periodically updating anti-virus software.

c. Block spyware attacks: restrict spyware from infiltrating the computer

system by installing and updating anti-spyware program.

3. Being Social-Media Savvy: Making sure that social networking profi les (e.g.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MSN, etc.) are made private. Checking the security
settings. Being careful what information are being posted online. Once it is on
the Internet, it is stays there forever!

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 18

 Download Testbook App

4. Securing Mobile Devices: Being aware that the mobile device is vulnerable to
viruses and hackers. Downloading applications from trusted sources.

5. Install the latest operating system updates: Keeping the applications and
operating system (e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) current with the earliest system
updates. Turning on automatic updates to prohibit potential attacks on older
software.

6. Protecting the Data: Using encryption for the most sensitive documents such
as tax returns or financial records, making regular back-ups of all the important data,
and storing it in different location.

8. Securing the wireless network: Wi-Fi (wireless) networks at residence are

vulnerable to intrusion if they are not correctly protected. Reviewing and modifying
default settings periodically. Public Wi-Fi, also known as “Hot Spots”, are also
vulnerable. Avoiding conducting financial or corporate transactions on these
networks.

9. Protecting the e-identity: being very vigilant when sharing personal

information such as name, address, phone number or fi nancial information on
the websites or emails. Making sure that websites are protected (e.g. when making
online purchases) or that privacy settings are enabled (e.g. when accessing/using
social networking sites).

10. Avoiding being scammed: Always checking before clicking on a link or file of
unknown origin. Not feeling compelled by emails. Checking the source of the
message for authenticity. When doubtful, verifying the source. Avoiding
replying to emails that ask to verify the information or confirm the user ID or
password.

11. Calling the right person for help: Not getting panic! If anyone is a victim, if
encountered illegal Internet content (e.g. child exploitation) or if suspecting a
computer crime, identity theft or a commercial scam, reporting this to the local law
authority. If need help with maintenance or software installation on the computer,
consulting with authorised service provider or a certified computer technician.

COMPUTER | Computer Security PAGE 19