Services |
See 3.1 |
Processes |
See 3.1 |
Task Scheduler |
The Task Scheduler enables the user to perform an action (such as running a program or a script) automatically at a pre-set time or in response to some sort of trigger. |
Computer Management Console |
The Computer Management Console provides tools for administering the local computer, including Device Manager, Event Viewer, Disk Management, Services, and Performance Monitor |
Command Line Interfaces |
The Computer Management Console provides tools for administering the local computer, including Device Manager, Event Viewer, Disk Management, Services, and Performance Monitor. |
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represents an alternative means of configuring an OS or application to a GUI |
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To access the console, alt-click (My) Computer and select Manage. |
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displays a prompt, showing that it is ready to accept a command. |
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When you type the command plus any switches and press ENTER, the shell executes the command, displays any output associated with the execution, and then returns to the prompt. |
GUI (Graphical User Interface) |
A GUI provides an easy to use, intuitive interface for a computer operating system |
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m. Most GUIs require a pointing device, such as a mouse, to operate efficientl |
Device Driver |
A small piece of code that is loaded during the boot sequence of an operating system. |
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This code, usually provided by the hardware vendor, provides access to a device, or hardware, from the OS kernel. |
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. Under Windows, a signing system is in place for drivers to ensure that they do not make the OS unstable. |
Plug-and-Play (PnP) |
A Plug-and-Play system (comprising a compatible BIOS, operating system, and hardware) is self-configuring |
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When a hardware device is added or removed, the operating system detects the change and automatically installs the appropriate drivers. |
Driver update |
Device Manager provides the interface for configuring and managing hardware devices in Windows. |
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In the Device Manager, the admin can disable and remove devices, view hardware properties and systems resources, and update device drivers |
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Windows ships with a number of default drivers and can also try to locate a driver in the Windows Update website |
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third-party drivers should be obtained from the vendor's website |
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To update, you download the driver files and install them using the supplied setup program or extract them manually and save them to the hard disk. You can then use the device's property dialog in Device Manager to update the driver. You can either scan for the update automatically or point the tool to the updated version you saved to the hard disk. |
TWAIN |
Standard "driver" model for interfacing scanner hardware with applications software. |
WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) |
Driver model and API (Application Programming Interface) for interfacing scanner hardware with applications software on Windows PCs |
File System |
When data is stored on a disk, it is located on that medium in a particular, standardized format. |
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This allows the drive and the computer to be able to extract the information from the disk using similar functions and thus data can be accessed in a predictable manner |
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r. Examples of file systems include FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS (all used for hard disks) and CDFS (ISO 9660) and UDF (Universal Disk Format), used for optical media such as CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. |
Partition |
A discrete area of storage defined on a hard disk using either the Master Boot Record (MBR) scheme or the GUID Partition Table (GPT) scheme. |
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Each partition can be formatted with a different file system, and a partition can be marked as active (made bootable). |
NTFS (New Technology Filing System) |
The NT File System supports a 64-bit address space and is able to provide extra features such as file-by-file compression and RAID support as well as advanced file attribute management tools, encryption, and disk quotas |
FAT (File Allocation Table) |
When a disk is formatted using the FAT or FAT32 file system a File Allocation Table (FAT) is written in a particular track or sector |
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r. The FAT contains information relating to the position of file data chunks on the disk; data is not always written to one area of the disk but may be spread over several tracks. |
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The original 16-bit version (FAT16, but often simply called FAT) was replaced by a 32-bit version that is almost universally supported by different operating systems and devices. |
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A 64-bit version (exFAT) was introduced with Windows 7 and is also supported by XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and some versions of Linux and OS X. |
Hierarchical File System (HFS+) |
Apple Mac workstations and laptops use the extended Hierarchical File System (HFS+) |
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the latest macOS version is being updated to the Apple File System (APFS) |
ext |
Most Linux distributions use some version of the ext file system to format partitions on mass storage devices. |
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ext3 is a 64-bit file system with support for journaling, which means that the file system tracks changes, giving better reliability and less chance of file corruption in the event of crashes or power outages |
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Support for journaling is the main difference between ext3 and its predecessor (ext2). |
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ext4 delivers significantly better performance than ext3 and would usually represent the best choice for new systems. |
exFAT |
can be used where the NTFS file system is not a feasible solution (due to data structure overhead), but require a greater file size limit than the standard FAT32 file system (i.e. 4 GiB). |
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exFAT has been adopted by the SD Card Association as the default file system for SDXC cards larger than 32 GiB |
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Along with most of the features of NTFS, less overhead means faster processing for the exFAT file system, making it particularly suitable for flash drives. |
Compression Software |
To send or store a file it often needs to be compressed in some way, to reduce the amount of space it takes up on the storage media or the bandwidth required to send it over a network |
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There are a number of compression utilities and formats |
Compression Formats |
zip |
this format was developed for the PKZIP utility but is now supported "natively" by Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. |
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"Natively" means that the OS can create and extract files from the archive without having to install a third-party application |
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tar |
this was originally a UNIX format for writing to magnetic tape (tape archive) but is still used with gzip compression (tgz or .tar.gz) as a compressed file format for UNIX, Linux, and macOS. |
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A third-party utility is required to create and decompress tar files in Windows. |
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rar |
this proprietary format is used by the WinRAR compression program. |
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7z |
this type of archive is created and opened using the open-source 7-Zip compression utility |
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gz |
this type of archive is created and opened by the gzip utility, freely available for UNIX and Linux computers. |
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A number of Windows third-party utilities can work with gzip-compressed files. |
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iso |
this is a file in one of the formats used by optical media. The main formats are ISO 9660 (used by CDs) and UDF (used by DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs) |
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Many operating systems can mount an image file so that the contents can be read through the file browser. |
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vhd/vmdk |
these are disk image file formats used with Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines respectively. |
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A disk image is a file containing the contents of a hard disk, including separate partitions and file systems |
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Like an ISO, such a file can often be mounted within an OS so that the contents can be inspected via the file browser. |
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dmg |
this is a disk image file format used by Apple macOS. |
Encryption |
Scrambling the characters used in a message so that the message can be seen but not understood or modified unless it can be deciphered |
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Encryption provides for a secure means of transmitting data and authenticating users. |
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It is also used to store data securely |
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Encryption systems allow for different levels of security (128-bit encryption is currently considered secure). |
Key (Encryption) |
An encryption cipher scrambles a message (plaintext) using an algorithm |
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The algorithm is given a key so that someone intercepting the message could not just reverse the algorithm to unscramble the message; they must also know the key. In symmetric encryption, the same key is used for encryption and decryption |
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In asymmetric encryption, different keys are used (one key is linked to but not derivable from the other key). |
Full device encryption |
Provided by all but the early versions of mobile device OS for smartphones and tablets, such as Android and iOS |
iOS 5 (and up) Levels of Encryption |
All user data on the device is always encrypted, but the key is stored on the device. This is primarily used as a means of wiping the device. The OS just needs to delete the key to make the data inaccessible rather than wiping each storage location. |
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Email data and any apps using the "Data Protection" option are also encrypted using a key derived from the user's passcode (if this is configured). This provides security for data in the event that the device is stolen. Not all user data is encrypted; contacts, SMS messages, and pictures are not, for example. |
Data Protection encryption |
iOS |
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enabled automatically when you configure a password lock on the device |
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In Android, you need to enable encryption via Settings > Security. Android uses full-disk encryption with a passcode-derived key. When encryption is enabled, it can take some time to encrypt the device. |
Permissions |
To access files and folders on a volume, the administrator of the computer will need to grant file permissions to the user (or a group to which the user belongs) |
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File permissions are Page 9/16 supported by NTFS-based Windows systems |
AAA |
Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting - the principal stages of security control. A resource should be protected by all three types of controls. |
ACL (Access Control List) |
The permissions attached to or configured on a network resource, such as folder, file, or firewall |
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The ACL specifies which subjects (user accounts, host IP addresses, and so on) are allowed or denied access and the privileges given over the object (read only, read/write, and so on). |
Group Account |
A group account is a collection of user accounts |
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These are useful when establishing file permissions and user rights because when many individuals need the same level of access, a Page 15/16 group could be established containing all the relevant users |
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The group could then be assigned the necessary rights. |
MAC (Mandatory Access Control) |
Access control model where resources are protected by inflexible, system defined rules |
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Resources (objects) and users (subjects) are allocated a clearance level (or label) |
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Resources (objects) and users (subjects) are allocated a clearance level (or label) |
File naming rules |
Naming rules depend on the version of Windows and the file system |
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A file name can be up to 255 characters long and can contain letters, numbers, and underscores. |
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The operating system is case-sensitive, which means it distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters in file names. Therefore, FILEA, FiLea, and filea are three distinct file names, even if they reside in the same directory. |
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File names should be as descriptive and meaningful as possible. |
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Directories follow the same naming conventions as files. |
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Certain characters have special meaning to the operating system. Avoid using these characters when you are naming files. These characters include the following: |
/ \ " ' * ; - ? [ ] ( ) ~ ! $ { } < > # @ & | space tab newline |
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A file name is hidden from a normal directory listing if it begins with a dot (.). When the ls command is entered with the -a flag, the hidden files are listed along with regular files and directories. |
Directory |
A file system object used to organize files |
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Directories can be created on any drive (the directory for the drive itself is called the root) and within other directories (subdirectory) |
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Different file systems put limits on the number of files or directories that can be created on the root or the number of subdirectory levels. |
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In Windows, directories are usually referred to as folders. |
File |
Data used by a computer is stored by saving it as a file on a disk |
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Files store either plain text data or binary data |
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Binary data must only be modified in a suitable application or the file will be corrupted |
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A file is created by specifying a name |
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Files usually have a three character extension (the last 3 characters in the file named preceded by a period) |
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The file extension is used to associate the file with a particular software application |
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Files have primary attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden, and Archive) and other properties (date created or modified for instance) |
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Files stored on an NTFS partition can have extended attributes (access control, compression, and encryption). |
8.3 Filenames |
The DOS file naming standard - an eight-character ASCII name followed by a three-character file extension (which identifies the file type). |
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Windows supports long file names but can also generate a short file name, based on DOS 8.3 naming rules. |
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. This provides backwards compatibility for older applications. |
File Permissions |
supported by NTFS-based Windows systems. |
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