Understanding Computer Fundamentals

Computer - is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. A computer is an

electronic device that receives data, processes data, store data in the memory or storage
device, and outputs information on a device.

Computer Literacy - is the level of expertise and familiarity someone has with computers.
● The ability to use applications rather than program
● Power users are the individuals who are very computer literate.

How Computer works:

Input > Processing > Output

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Storage

Computer Fundamentals - covers a foundational understanding of computer hardware,

software, operating systems, peripherals, and troubleshooting.

● Includes input devices, output devices, memory, CPU, motherboard,

computer network, virus, software, hardware, etc.

Types of Computers:

● Supercomputers - can process large amounts of data and do a great amount of

computation.
● Mainframe Computers - used primarily by large organizations for critical
applications.
● Mini Computers – mid-range computer that is intermediate in size, speed,
storage, capacity, etc., between a mainframe and a microcomputer.
● Microcomputers - personal computers for individual use. It is a general-purpose
computer that is designed for individual use.

Hardware - physically made up for such as monitor, mouse, keyboard. It allows it to

store, receive, and process information and data
Software - made up of information data and code that acts as a set of instructions
informing the hardware what actions are made.

System Unit made up of 5 units:

ROM (Read Only Memory) - Primary Storage and Read Only

RAM (Random Access Memory) - Temporary and Primary Storage. Access read and
write.
DVD or CD Drive - Optical, External, Secondary Storage.
Hard Drive - Magnetic, Internal, Secondary Storage
CPU (Central Processing Unit) - is the brain of the computer. Without a CPU, we
could not run the program on a computer. Commonly called the processor.

EMAIL AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Electronic Communications – a communication which uses electronic media to

transmit the information or message using computers, e-mail, telephone, video calling,
etc.

Electronic Communication - can be classified into different types like messaging,

voice call, e-mail, social media, etc.
Types of Electronic Communication
 Messaging
 Blogging
 Video Chat
 Social Networking
 Telex
 Fax
 Multimedia

E-mail (electronic mail) – most used type of communication. By using this, one can
send a message to another person through a mail immediately.
- It is a way to send and messages across the Internet.
- Similar to traditional mail, but also has some key differences.

Email Advantages
Productivity tools – usually packaged with a calendar, address book, instant messaging,
and more convenience and productivity.
Access to Web Services - if you want to sign up for any account, you will need an email
address so you can be safely identified and contacted.
Easy Mail Management - have tools to allow you to file, label, prioritize, find, group, and
filter your emails for easy management.
Privacy - Your email is delivered to your own personal and private account with a
password required to access and view emails.
Communication with Multiple People - Can send email to multiple people at once, giving
you the option to include as few or as many people you want.
Accessable anywhere at anytime - You can access it from any computer or mobile
devices that has an internet connection.

Introducing Email Address

1. Username - is the name you choose to identify yourself.
2. Email Provider - is the website that hosts your email account.
3. Some business and organizations use email addresses with their own website
domain.

EMAIL PROVIDERS
 Yahoo!
 Microsoft’s Outlook.com
 Google’s Gmail

INPUT AND OUTPUT, SYSTEM SOFTWARE (OPERATING AND UTILITY

PROGRAM)

INPUT AND OUTPUT - It is the communication between an information processing

system.
-Any interaction with the system by an interactor is an input
-The reaction the system responds to is called the output.

Input device - sends information to a computer system for processing

- Input devices only allow for the input of data to a computer
- mouse, keyboard, webcam, microphone
Output device - can receive data from another device and generate output with that
data, but it cannot send data to another device.
- monitor, printer, speaker
Input/output devices are capable of sending data (output) to a computer and receiving
data from a computer (input).
- hard drive, CD-RW drive, usb flash drive

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
System software - type of computer program that is designed to run a computer’s
hardware and application programs.
-It coordinates the activities and functions of hardware and software, and it
controls the operations of computer hardware.

OPERATING SYSTEM
Operating system or OS - system software that manages computer hardware, and
software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
-All operating systems are system software.
-It provides basic functionality for the device.
MAIN FUNCTION
-manage the computer's resources, such as the central processing unit, memory,
disk drives, and printers
-establish a user interface
-execute and provide services for applications software.

UTILITY PROGRAMS
Utility programs - system application that executes a specific task, generally pertaining
to optimal maintenance or operation of the system resources.

NEW REPORTS
Group 4
Operating systems for Desktop PCs and Servers Operating Systems for Handheld PCs
and Other Devices

What is an operating system?

Most important software; Manages the memory, processes, software, hardware;
Transmits Communication

Types of Operating System

Typically pre-loaded(Possible to upgrade/change OS)
Most Popular (Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac,Linux)
Graphical User Interface (GUI) [Click icons, buttons, and menues]

 Microsoft Windows: Developed in mid 1980s; Most Popular OS in the world (80%
+ of global OS); Windows 11 – Newest Version
 Mac OS: Developed by Apple; Preloaded on Macs; 2nd most popular OS (Less
than 10% of Global OS); Typically more expensive
 Linux: Open-source operating system (Can be modified and distributed by anyone,
Many versions to choose from); Free; Less than 2% of global OS

What is Server Operating System (Server OS)?

A server operating system (OS) is a type of operating system that is designed to
be installed and used on a server computer.
 It is an advanced version of an operating system, having features and
capabilities required within a client-server architecture or similar enterprise computing
environment.

GROUP 6
COMPUTER VIRUS AND MALWARE AND HOW TO PREVENT THEM

Computer Virus
Computer virus is a program which can harm our devices and files and infect
them for no further use.
Signs Your Device Has Virus
:Slow system, Pop up windows, Self execution of programs, Log out from the
accounts, Crashing of the device

VIRUS AND MALWARE

Malware
It is short for malicious software, that designed to cause damaged to a stand-
alone computer or a networked pc. So, wherever a malware term is used it means a
program which is designed to damage your computer it may be virus, worm, or Trojan.
Virus
A program written to enter to your computer and damage/ alter your files/ data. A
virus might corrupts or delete data on your computer. Viruses can also replicate
themselves.

HISTORY OF VIRUS AND MALWARE

Creeper System
It is the first computer virus. It was an experimental self-replicating virus released
in 1971. It is to filling up the hard drive until a computer could not operate any further.
This virus was created by BBN technologies in the US.
Brain
The first computer virus for MS-DOS and was released in 1986. It would
overwrite the boot sector on the floppy disk and prevent the computer from booting.
Written by two brothers from Pakistan and was originally designed as a copy protection.
The Morris
A computer virus which spread extensively in the wild in 1988. Written by Robert
Morris, a graduate students from Cornell University who wanted to use it to determine
the size of the internet. It infected around 15000 computers in 15 hours, which back
then was most of the internet.

INFAMOUS VIRUSES OF THE DIGITAL AGE

1991
 The “Michelangelo” virus was discovered in Australia. It infected 20000
computers.
1998
CIH was released. It infected around 60 million computers and was written by a
Taiwanese student.
1999
“Melissa” was released. It was the first wide spread Word Macro Virus. It caused
so much email traffic resulting in email servers to crash.
2000
“Iloveyou” virus. Came from the Philippines and infected over 50 million
computers in less than 10 days.
Since then, many viruses have been released this includes: Anna Kournikova,
Code Red, Nimba, Beast, SQL Slammer, Blaster, Sobig, Sober, MyDoom, Netsky,
Zeus, Conficker, Stuxnet, CryptoLocker, Locky, Mirai and WannaCry, few examples that
come to mind.

TYPES OF COMPUTER VIRUS AND MALWARE

Boot Sector Virus
Infects the boot sector of floppy disks or the Master Boot Record (MBR) of hard
disks.
Direct Action Virus
A virus attaches itself directly to a .exe or.com file and enters the device while its
execution.
Resident Virus
It saves itself in the memory of the computer and then infects other files and
programs when its originating program is no longer working.
Multipartite Virus
Can attack both, the boot sector and the executable files of an already infected
computer.