Describe the potential prompts that initiate the installation of new or upgraded software

by ellouise1997hotmailcom (student)

For P1, learners might provide a report or presentation, possibly based on a case study. To be able to describe the potential prompts that initiate the installation of new or upgraded software.

I have recently been hired as an IT consultant by a small charity that wishes to advertise itself with a website and take donations. They have asked me to look at their current computer systems and advise on any new software installations or upgrades that may have been necessary. In this report I will describe the potential prompts that initiate the installation of new or upgraded software.

There are many different reasons for why you would want to prompt an install or upgrade software. Perhaps it was because a bug was identified or upgrading would make the device run faster and more efficiently. It’s important to be aware of the prompts so that you can act on them quickly as they could be vital such as the security of the device.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The first reason for upgrading or installation of software is problems with the existing system. It could be that the software keeps crashing or is no longer supported by the manufacturing and therefore will not receive updates for it. There also could be security issues that the software is running which makes it at risk of malicious attacks. And you could even find that the software is incompatible with the new operating system. Therefore, it’s important to upgrade the software or install new software so that you can continue to make full use of the device.

Sometimes additional functionality is required. For example, if someone is using Windows XP, they may require strong parental controls and therefore would need to buy Windows Vista or 7 because they have these facilities. Or another example is that you have anti-virus but you want anti-spyware and a firewall to make sure your device is fully secure. You would then need to buy a fully integrated internet security suite that offers all the products that you need.

New hardware or software will prompt change. When you install new hardware into the computer system it usually needs a program called device driver in order for it to fully work. These drivers inform the operating system about how to communicate with the new piece of hardware, without it, it will not work. But it’s also important to make sure that the drivers are fully up to date to ensure greater stability and compatibility.

There also may be external prompts for software bug fixes. Although software is always checked before it is released, it can sometimes have problems which can cause a crash. When these bugs are identified that are worked on by staff and will work on a patch which will fix the problems and will be available for free.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why you would want to update or install software. It’s important to know whether or not you need to as it could have serious security risks on your devices.

Unit 30 P1