cs chapter 4

hardware

word used for the physical components of a computer system

peripherals

external devices

input devices

peripherals used to provide data and control signals to a computer system

output devices

peripherals that reproduce or display data or information from a computer system

software

the programs that provide the instructions to control the computer hardware components

application software

provides a tool for a specific purpose

system software

controls the hardware

utility software

helps configure and maintain the computer

application software

designed to perform tasks a user wants to complete (e.g. writing an email)

general purpose software

software that can be used for a variety of tasks

special purpose software

software that can only be used for a one particular task

bespoke software

software that is developed to meet the users specific requirement

system software

controls the hardware of a computer system

operating systems

software that supports a computers basic functions

utility software

category of system software that supports a computer system in operating as safely and efficiently as possible

compression utility software

software specifically responsible for decompressing/compressing files you have saved on your device

disk defragmenter

software that looks at all the data on a hard drive and re-organises it, so that related data is stored together

encryption

the process of using an algorithm to convert plain text into cipher text

encryption utility software

software responsible for both applying the encryption algorithms as well as decrypting data using an encryption key

malware

malicious software designed to cause damage to computer systems, corrupt, steal data or cause disruption of services