Unit 8 The computer, an essential tool

1 Operating systems
What is an operating system?
An operating system is the central software that allows all of the system’s resources to be used and
administered correctly.

The operating system connects the hardware to the users programs and applications.
Both ends, hardware and applications, are controlled by a layered system, which makes up the
operating system.
The essential element of the operating system is the kernel. It has three main functions:
Control the data-flow processes.
Provide the operational capacity in order for peripherals and devices to function.
Administer main memory.
Above the kernel is the system call block.
Uses of operating systems.
The operating system is the first software to be loaded in the main memory when a computer, or any
computer device, is turned on. Once it is loaded, the software and computer operation is controlled by
the operating system, which responds to the commands of the user.
The majority of the software that controls the hardware consists of routines, or in other words, small
programs that always function following the same actions.
In addition, computers use many resources and the operating system is able to make the best use of
the computers by enabling them to function together.
Finally, there are many reasons why the operating system is a central software element, one of which
is the security that it provides by controlling access and use of the computer’s resources, This is
especially important when the computer is used by several users.
The evolution of operating systems.
A major step forward in computing was made in the 1960s when computers were able to process
other programs whilst the program running was inactive, waiting for a data operation in the input and
output peripherals to finish.
This was the basis for multiprogramming, which is the capacity of a system to execute different
programs at the same time.
The success of the PC resulted in computers being equipped with a permanent secondary memory.
All of the integrated resources from various computers are known as the virtual machine.
Comparing operating systems.
The main operating systems in terms of number of licenses are Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh
and the Linux operating systems.

Operating system maintenance

A computer is a dynamic machine.
On rare occasions, the computer may become infected with a virus or malware that slows the
operating system’s execution or limit its monitoring capacity.
The most important reason for these updates is that they allow us to keep our operating system safe
from the dangers that come with its use.
It is important to do preventative and periodic maintenance to the computer’s software. The basic
maintenance operations are:
- Hard drive analysis and freeing up disk space.
- Defragmentation of the hard drive.
- Registration of the system’s restore points.
Hard drive analysis and freeing up disk space
This is an option that all operating systems have and it allows you to clean unused, temporary
software that accumulates in the system and makes programs run slowly.
Hard drive defragmentation
During normal use of a computer, applications and software are installed on the hard drive.
A hard drive or hard disk is basically a spindle of magnetic platters with arms (including
reading/writing heads) of mechanical movement, and its read and write speed for data increases
when the mechanical arms have fewer movements to make.
System restore
To restore a system is to return the state of the system to a point in the past when a restore point was
created.
It is highly recommendable to do this on a regular basis.
Windows operating system has the possibility of administering restore points, eliminating them or
doing a system restore from a previous restore point.
Operating systems with the Linux kernel
Nowadays there are many different systems with the Linux kernel. but the most widely used are
Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat and Fedora.
Anyone can access official pages of a Linux operating system version and install it on their computer.
2. Computer system security
The main security threats.
A threat is any action that could potentially harm your computer.
There are two types:
- Physical threats
- Logical threats
Threats may come from anywhere.
The most common threat is an attack from the Internet.
The most common cases when we are connected to the Internet are:
- Accessing a malicious webpage
- Opening infected files
- Files received from instant messaging services.
- Accessing a P2P network
Security software: Antivirus and antimalware.
The security measures to avoid or prevent a threat differ according to the type of attack. We can
differentiate between two types of measures:
- Passive security measures, which are activated after an attack.
- Active measures, through which an attack is prevented.
The preventative actions to consider are:
- Making backup copies of the system and important software.
- Creating a disk image.
- Storing data on external hard drive or in the cloud.
- Once infected, occasional scanning of the system disks using installed and updated
antivirus or an online antivirus.
Antivirus programs
These must be constantly updated.
All antivirus programs have the option to automatically connect to their database sources.
Antispyware
Spyware programs try to access systems silently, without the user detecting them. The only way to
detect them is to have antispyware working continuously.
Web filtering software
A web filter, is a type of program designed to limit access to websites from the computer’s browser.
There are two ways to restrict access, by whitelists that include the websites to which access is
allowed, or blacklists, in which there is a list of criteria limiting access and which are restricted.
Firewall activation
A firewall is a means to block or filter incoming or outgoing traffic for a computer that is connected to a
network.

3. Connected computers
Computer networks
The moment two computers are physically connected, a network is created. They may be connected
by cable or by a wireless network like Wi-Fi.
Typical components of a network:
Every network element with the possibility of sending or receiving information is called a node. Nodes
are interconnected by data transmission cables or by a wireless signal.
A node can be:
- A workstation
- A server
- A connection element
Internet services
Information is provided by different services. The main Internet services are:
- Web browsing
- Email
- Instant messaging
- Forums and distribution services
It is important to remember that the Internet is not the same as the Web.
Internet is a means for spreading information, and it is composed of multiple protocols that allow any
computer or device to access the information it provides.
Within the Internet there are multiple networks operating and, because of the services it offers, the
most extensive of them is the Web, known as the World Wide Web.
Access to webpages and search engines
A browser is a communications program that establishes a dialogue with the machine that provides
the information: the Web server.
Email
One of the first services developed on the Internet was email. In fact, sending messages between
computers was actually done before Internet was developed in 1969.
To perform message transmission operations through email, the SMTP protocol is used and the POP3
protocol is used for receiving and recovering emails in most cases.
Instant messaging services
Instant messaging is possibly the second most widely used Internet resource, after email.
Forums
A forum is a topicbased space where messages are written and read only by the participants in the
forum.
Forums may be public, in which there are no restrictions in participation; protected, in which only
users who have registered can participate in conversations, or private, in which participants may only
access conversations of the forum when the administrator of the forum has allowed them to become
members.
The World Wide Web and Web 2.0
In 1989, Tim Berrners-Lee developed a specific network to operate on the Internet: the World Wide
Web. This consisted of a communications system that improved information exchange.

How the Web works

What makes the WWW network so useful is the possibility of using it on any type of operating system
as long as the computer has the right programs on both ends of the communication channel.
The leap to Web 2.0
The first use of the Web in its original version was a revolution in communications.
Any computer programmer could upload a page to the Web and users would visit it. Communications
was unidirectional and Web users were merely readers or consumers of informations that interested
them in one way or another.

Collaborative work
Web 2.0 offers an infinitive amount of possibilities to create and share your own work.
When speaking of collaborative work, we are referring to software tools that allow people to work in
collaboration with each other regardless of their geographic location and asynchronously.
Working in Google Drive
This service by Google not only allows you to save your documents in the cloud, with it, you can also
allow others to access your documents and modify their content.
Create a wiki
The concept of a wiki was created by the programer Howard Cunningham, who defined it as a text
creation system, a means for discussions, a repository and a collaboration tool.
There are many initiatives to create wikis that provide information on topics, and the majority of the
freely distributed computer programs offer a manual or tutorial on how to use the wiki format.