- Word –Processors such as Microsoft word, allow us to edit documents without typing it all out again, which could be very time consuming.
- There are many graphic tools available, which are especially useful for presentations, and have effects that cannot be done by an unskilled hand.
- Some word- processors offer many very useful features such as spell check and word count.
- Large amounts of text and pictures can be easily and quickly copied.
- Files can be easily backed up in case of data loss.
- The internet has lots of information on a wide range on topics. This information can be quickly and easily found.
Disadvantages:
- Computer games can be addictive and very time consuming.
- A computer has become so useful that many people spend most of their day on a computer, which prevents them from doing any exercise or socialising. In the future this can lead to an increased number of obese children.
- Data published on the net may be of adult content ands therefore not be suitable for children. Although there are some programs that can monitor activities on the net, programs of reasonable quality are usually expensive, and cannot substitute a human supervisor.
- For example, using an online purchasing system or any anything in which you upload sensitive information about yourself, is potentially dangerous because it is possible that hackers may intercept the data.
- Some people may not know how to use a computer (or software) to it’s full potential. Some users may find it complicated.
- If someone gets unauthorised access to your computer, either through a network connection, or physically being at your terminal, they could quite easily delete all your files. This is unlikely with the manual method.
- Users may find that different software is incompatible with an earlier or later version of the same program or even completely different programs. This can be frustrating.
A computer virus is a program which:
- May attach itself to another program or file and runs when the program or file is executed.
- It may alter the contents of your hard drive and may delete essential files, without your knowledge.
- They may be spread from computer to computer, either by email, or downloading a file from an unknown source such as a website, claiming to give away free software or a person you have met in a chat room claiming to have the software that you need.
Writing or knowingly distributing viruses is illegal and is a punishable offence.
The school’s computers were prevented from viruses by:
- Using anti-virus software.
- Regularly updating the database of the anti-virus software.
- Files were automatically backed up in case of an virus attack or a loss of data.
- I avoided downloading files from unknown sources, especially emails.
Unsolicited email is very common to any frequent internet user. They usually advertise products but, very rarely, you may receive an email with an attachment. It may be from someone you do not know, and they may ask you to open the attachment in some way, for example, one might tell you that there is a game inside, and therefore ask you to try it out or maybe one might tell you that your requested files are in the attachment, if you get any of these emails delete them immediately without opening the attachment. I unfortunately had to learn this the hard way. Luckily my anti-virus software notified me of the presence of a virus and stopped me from executing the file, that was an attachment of an email.
Hacking:
Though it is not very usual, viruses can be introduced by users who have unauthorised access to the computer. These users are known as “Hackers”, and the method they use to get access to your computer is referred to as “hacking”, which involves breaking codes and passwords.
Passwords:
To reduce the risk of being “hacked”, users must use usernames and passwords. Each user has a unique username and a password that only the user should know. If the either the username or password is incorrect, access is restricted. The username identifies the user and the password is known only to the user and validates the user’s identity. Your password must be kept a secret, and if found out, must be changed immediately.
Protecting passwords:
- They should not be a word found in the dictionary, or a word that is obvious.
This prevents what is called a “Dictionary attack”. Programs are made to try out every word in the dictionary, as your password.
- They should be made longer than 6 characters
There are programs which try every possible combination of numbers, letters and symbols as the password. It will take longer this way, but eventually it will work.
To prevent this from happening, our school automatically prevents access to an account whereby the password has been incorrectly entered, a certain number of times.
Advantages
- Word –Processors such as Microsoft word, allow us to edit documents without typing it all out again, which could be very time consuming.
- There are many graphic tools available, which are especially useful for presentations, and have effects that cannot be done by an unskilled hand.
- Some word- processors offer many very useful features such as spell check and word count.
- Large amounts of text and pictures can be easily and quickly copied.
- Files can be easily backed up in case of data loss.
- The internet has lots of information on a wide range on topics. This information can be quickly and easily found.
Disadvantages:
- Computer games can be addictive and very time consuming.
- A computer has become so useful that many people spend most of their day on a computer, which prevents them from doing any exercise or socialising. In the future this can lead to an increased number of obese children.
- Data published on the net may be of adult content ands therefore not be suitable for children. Although there are some programs that can monitor activities on the net, programs of reasonable quality are usually expensive, and cannot substitute a human supervisor.
- For example, using an online purchasing system or any anything in which you upload sensitive information about yourself, is potentially dangerous because it is possible that hackers may intercept the data.
- Some people may not know how to use a computer (or software) to it’s full potential. Some users may find it complicated.
- If someone gets unauthorised access to your computer, either through a network connection, or physically being at your terminal, they could quite easily delete all your files. This is unlikely with the manual method.
- Users may find that different software is incompatible with an earlier or later version of the same program or even completely different programs. This can be frustrating.
It’s illegal to copy, distribute or alter the contents of copyright material without the owner’s permission. There is a data protection act which states that companies that keep records of their customer’s personal details, should inform the customers that they have these details, and the data that they keep must be up to date.
Bank’s keep sensitive information of their customers credit rating which is very sensitive, and the customers should be able to view these details when they wish. Addresses of customer’s must be kept up to date.
I took the screenshot below from from the bottom of the web page. This shows the copyright of that web page.
A computer virus is a program which:
- May attach itself to another program or file and runs when the program or file is executed.
- It may alter the contents of your hard drive and may delete essential files, without your knowledge.
- They may be spread from computer to computer, either by email, or downloading a file from an unknown source such as a website, claiming to give away free software or a person you have met in a chat room claiming to have the software that you need.
Writing or knowingly distributing viruses is illegal and is a punishable offence.
The school’s computers were prevented from viruses by:
- Using anti-virus software.
- Regularly updating the database of the anti-virus software.
- Files were automatically backed up in case of an virus attack or a loss of data.
- I avoided downloading files from unknown sources, especially emails.
Unsolicited email is very common to any frequent internet user. They usually advertise products but, very rarely, you may receive an email with an attachment. It may be from someone you do not know, and they may ask you to open the attachment in some way, for example, one might tell you that there is a game inside, and therefore ask you to try it out or maybe one might tell you that your requested files are in the attachment, if you get any of these emails delete them immediately without opening the attachment. I unfortunately had to learn this the hard way. Luckily my anti-virus software notified me of the presence of a virus and stopped me from executing the file, that was an attachment of an email.
Hacking:
Though it is not very usual, viruses can be introduced by users who have unauthorised access to the computer. These users are known as “Hackers”, and the method they use to get access to your computer is referred to as “hacking”, which involves breaking codes and passwords.
Passwords:
To reduce the risk of being “hacked”, users must use usernames and passwords. Each user has a unique username and a password that only the user should know. If the either the username or password is incorrect, access is restricted. The username identifies the user and the password is known only to the user and validates the user’s identity. Your password must be kept a secret, and if found out, must be changed immediately.
Protecting passwords:
- They should not be a word found in the dictionary, or a word that is obvious.
This prevents what is called a “Dictionary attack”. Programs are made to try out every word in the dictionary, as your password.
- They should be made longer than 6 characters
There are programs which try every possible combination of numbers, letters and symbols as the password. It will take longer this way, but eventually it will work.
To prevent this from happening, our school automatically prevents access to an account whereby the password has been incorrectly entered, a certain number of times.
There are many health issues related to ICT:
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) which is reconised as the stiffness of the arms or shoulders. It is caused by repetitive finger movements over large periods of time. To reduce the risk of RSI, you should buy a keyboard with an ergonomic design and regularly take breaks while using the keyboard, for long periods of time.
- Adjustable chairs and screen that can tilt will help prevent back pain and also prevent eyes strain.
- A monitor placed from a user can cause the user o strain their eyes.
- General Stress and fatigue can sometimes be caused when users stay in contact their machine for prolonged periods of time. Taking breaks can help reduce this.
- There should be no wiring left around the room for anyone to trip over.
- Electrical sockets should not be overloaded.
- The sockets should have the correct fuses and the computer should be properly earthed.
- Fire extinguishers should be available to counter any fires that occur from electrical devices. The fire extinguishers must not be water based, because they are not meant for use with electrical items.
Do’s
- Always save your work
- Always log off after the end of an I.T session.
- Tell the supervising teacher if you find anything damaged, before you start using the computer.
- Look in the “help” section of the programme if you run into difficulty. Pressing F1 will mormally give help and reading the relevant section may resolve the problem. If not, requwst supervision from the teacher or the I.T technician.
- Check any disk’s or files that you download onto the computer, with a virus scanner.
- Regularly make backup’s of your work. If it is present, make use of the “Autosave” function, which automatically saves your work at user-defined intervals.
Don’ts
- Never eat or drink in the I.T lab.
- Never tamper with the wires behind the computer.
- Don’t switch off or disconnect the machine if you have a problem. Call a teacher or I.T technition.
- Don’t switch off the pc until you get this message: “It is now safe to switch off”
- Don’t place unshielded equipment not supplied to the pc near to it. A radio or mobile phone near to the monitor,, for example, may cause a distorted picture.
- Don’t get scratches on compact disks. This may result in them being unusable.
- Don’t leave applications open when not in use. Too man applications open at any one time can slow down the operation of the pc.
- Don’t delete files that you have not created. Programs have their own data files and deleting these files will stop the computer from working.
Errors
Errors occur when something goes wrong or something unexpected happens. Errors can occur in hardware and software.
Hardware errors:
Hardware errors usually occurs when the computer boots up. The following hardware error occurs when a computer boots up while floppy disk is present in its floppy disk drive.
Invalid system disk
Replace the disk, and then press any key.
This happened to me many times. It required me to remove the floppy disk and then press any key.
Software errors:
Any error that occurs in the operating system or programs within it is a software error. The following error occurred to me, while I was using “Microsoft Internet Explorer”, and I had entered a web page that either could not be found or was invalid.
Help:
From the screenshot above, you can see that “Internet Explorer” offers some help on the error. Usually by pressing F1, a help menu can be accessed. Newer software offer online help, either in the form of guidance from a web page or a professional.
