Computer Motherboard Components And The Functions ,

Manufactures & Others

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1. CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip
2. RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
3. Southbridge/northbridge
4. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
5. I/O port
6. USB (Universal Serial Bus)
7. CPU slot
8. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot
9. AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
10. ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot
11. Parallel port
12. FDC (Floppy-Disk Controller)
13. IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller
14. CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor)
battery
15. Power supply connector
16. Mouse and keyboard ports
17. DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch
18. Jumper
19. Heat sink/heatsink (cooling system)
20. Clock generator
1. CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip
CPU is the electronic circuitry in a computer that executes instructions that make up a program. It
is also known as a central processor or the main processor. The CPU executes the basic logic,
arithmetic, controlling as well as input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions in the
desktop programs.
2. RAM (Random Access Memory) slots
RAM is a kind of computer memory that can be read and written. It is mainly used to save data
and machine code. A RAM device permits data to be read or written in nearly the same amount of
time no matter where the data’s physical location is in the memory. Compared to the direct-access
storage devices like hard drives, CD/DVD and magnetic tapes, RAM media is much faster for data
reading and writing.
3. Southbridge/northbridge
They are the two chips in the core logic chipset on the motherboard. Typically, the southbridge
implements the slower capabilities of the motherboard in a northbridge/southbridge chipset
computer architecture.
The northbridge, also known as host bridge or Memory Controller Hub, is connected directly to the
CPU via the front-side bus (FSB). It is responsible for tasks requiring the highest performance.
Together with the southbridge, they manage communications between the CPU and other
motherboard components.
4. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
BIOS, also called system BIOS, PC BIOS or ROM BIOS, is firmware that is used to perform
hardware initialization during the booting process; and to provide runtime services for operating
system and programs. The BIOS firmware is the first software to run when powered on; it is re-
installed on a PC’s system board.
5. I/O port
Input/output ports are the connections between the CPU and peripheral devices on a motherboard.
There are two complementary methods to perform input and output processes: memory-mapped
I/O (MMIO) and port-mapped I/O (PMIO). Alternatively, you can use dedicated I/O processors,
called channels on mainframe computers, which execute their own instructions.
6. USB (Universal Serial Bus)
USB is an industry standard that creates specifications for connectors, cables and protocols for
connection; power supply (interfacing) and communication among computers, computer
peripherals as well as other desktops. There are a great many USB hardware including several
different connectors, of which USB-C is the latest kind.
7. CPU slot
A CPU slot, also called a CPU socket or Processor socket, contains one or more mechanical
components that provide mechanical and electrical connections between the PCB and a
microprocessor (CPU). Therefore, you can install a CPU on a motherboard without soldering.
8. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot
Peripheral Component Interconnect is a local computer bus for connecting hardware to a
computer. It supports all the functions of a processor bus. PCI is usually been called Conventional
PCI to distinguish it from its successor PCI Express (PCIe, PCI-e or PCI-E).
9. AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
AGP was designed as a high-speed point-to-point channel for connecting a video card (graphics
card) to a computer system. Primarily, it was used to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer
graphics. AGP is originally designed to be a descendant of the PCI series of connections for video
cards. Yet, it was replaced by the PCIe slots.
10. ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot
ISA is the 16-bit internal bus of IMB PC/AT and similar computers that are based on Intel 80286
and its immediate successors during the 1980s. It was backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of
the 8088-based IBM PC largely.

There once was an attempt to extend ISA into a 32-bit bus, called Extended Industry Standard
Architecture (EISA). The attempt wasn’t very successful and the EISA was largely replaced by the
later VESA Local Bus and the PCI bus.
11. Parallel port
A parallel port is a kind of interface for attaching peripherals on desktops. The name of this kind of
port is derived from the way the data is sent. That is, the parallel ports send multiple bits of data
at the same time. Serial interfaces, on the contrary, send bits one data at once. To achieve parallel
data transfer, there are multiple data lines in the parallel port cables. The parallel port cable is
larger than the cable of a contemporary serial port, which only has one data line within.

12. FDC (Floppy-Disk Controller)

FDC is a special-purpose chip and associated disk controller circuitry. It controls and directs
reading from and writing to a computer’s floppy disk drive (FDD).
13. IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller
The devices used for connecting IDE, Ethernet, FireWire, USB and other systems can be called
host adapter. So, the IDE controller refers to the host adapter. A host adapter, also called a host
controller or a host bus adapter (HBA), connects a computer (acting as the host system) to other
network and storage devices.
14. CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor) battery
CMOS battery, also called memory battery, clock battery or real-time clock (RTC), is generally a
CR2032 lithium coin cell. The lifespan of the CMOS battery is estimated to be three years when the
power supply unit (PSU) is unplugged or switch off.
15. Power supply connector
A power supply provides the necessary electrical power to let the computer to work. It takes
standard 110-Volt AC (Alternative Current) power to DC (Direct Current) power of 12 Volt, 5 Volt,
3.3 Volt, etc.
16. Mouse and keyboard ports
All computers have a keyboard port connected directly to the motherboard. There are two types of
connectors. The oldest one is a special DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) connector while the
newest one is the mini DIN PS/2-style connector. Many PCs use the PS/2-style connectors for both
keyboard and mouse; and the connectors are marked clearly for different usage.
17. DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch
 A DIP switch is a manual electric switch packaged with others in a standard dual in-line package.
The term may refer to an individual switch or the whole unit. The DIP switch is designed to be
used on a printed circuit board (motherboard) together with other electronic motherboard
components. It is usually used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific
situations.
18. Jumper
A jumper is a short length of conductor that is used to close, open or bypass part of an electronic
circuit. Typically, jumpers are used to set up or configure printed circuit boards like the
motherboard.
19. Heat sink/heatsink (cooling system)
A heat sink is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by parts of motherboard
into a fluid medium like liquid or air. The fluid medium will dissipate away from the device. Thus,
the temperature of the device is kept within a tolerable range. On the motherboard, the heatsink is
usually used to cool CPU, GPU (graphics processing unit), chipsets and RAM modules.
20. Clock generator
A clock generator is an electronic oscillator (circuit) that produces a clock signal for usage in
synchronizing a circuit’s operation. The clock signal ranges between high and low frequencies, thus
creating a metronome for the coordination of actions.
Hard disk drives
Computers rely on hard disk drives (HDDs) to store data permanently. They are
storage devices used to save and retrieve digital information that will be required for
future reference.
Hard drives are non-volatile, meaning that they retain data even when they do not
have power. The information stored remains safe and intact unless the hard drive is
destroyed or interfered with.
Types of HDD:
 Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA)
 Serial ATA (SATA)
 Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
 Solid State Drives (SSD)
 NVM Express
Computer Network
o Computer Network is a group of computers connected with each other through
wires, optical fibres or optical links so that various devices can interact with each
other through a network.
o The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources among various devices.
o In the case of computer network technology, there are several types of networks that
vary from simple to complex level.

Major components of a computer network are:

NIC(National interface card)
NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with
another device. The network interface card contains the hardware
addresses, the data-link layer protocol use this address to identify
the system on the network so that it transfers the data to the
correct destination.
There are two types of NIC: wireless NIC and wired NIC.
o Wireless NIC: All the modern laptops use the wireless NIC. In Wireless NIC, a
connection is made using the antenna that employs the radio wave technology.
o Wired NIC: Cables use the wired NIC to transfer the data over the medium.

Hub
Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into multiple devices. When
computer requests for information from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub. Hub
distributes this request to all the interconnected computers.

Switches
Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over the network to transfer the
data to another device. A switch is better than Hub as it does not broadcast the message
over the network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it belongs to. Therefore,
we can say that switch sends the message directly from source to the destination.

Cables and connectors

Cable is a transmission media that transmits the
communication signals. There are three types of cables:

Twisted pair cable: It is a high-speed cable that transmits the

data over 1Gbps or more.
Coaxial cable: Coaxial cable resembles like a TV installation cable. Coaxial cable is more
expensive than twisted pair cable, but it provides the high data transmission speed.
Fiber optic cable: Fiber optic cable is a high-speed cable that transmits the data using light
beams. It provides high data transmission speed as compared to other cables. It is more
expensive as compared to other cables, so it is installed at the government level.
Router
Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The router is mainly used to
connect the distinct networks or connect the internet to multiple computers.
Modem
Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing telephone line. A modem is
not integrated with the computer motherboard. A modem is a separate part on the PC slot
found on the motherboard.

Uses Of Computer Network

 Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of resources such as programs,
printers, and data among the users on the network without the requirement of the
physical location of the resource and user.
 Server-Client model: Computer networking is used in the server-client model. A server
is a central computer used to store the information and maintained by the system
administrator. Clients are the machines used to access the information stored in the
server remotely.
 Communication medium: Computer network behaves as a communication medium
among the users. For example, a company contains more than one computer has an
email system which the employees use for daily communication.
 E-commerce: Computer network is also important in businesses. We can do the
business over the internet. For example, amazon.com is doing their business over the
internet, i.e., they are doing their business over the internet.

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four
types:
LAN(Local Area Network)
o PAN(Personal Area Network)
o MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
o WAN(Wide Area Network)

LAN(Local Area Network)

o Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area
such as building, office.
o LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a
communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
o It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network
adapters, and ethernet cables.
o The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
o Local Area Network provides higher security.
PAN(Personal Area Network)
o Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically
within a range of 10 meters.
o Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use
is known as Personal Area Network.
o Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
o Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are
the laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

There are two types of Personal Area Network:

o Wired Personal Area Network
o Wireless Personal Area Network
Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal
Area Network is developed by simply using wireless
technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range
network.
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Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the USB.
Examples Of Personal Area Network:
o Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a network that moves with a person. For
example, a mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a person establishes a
network connection and then creates a connection with another device to share the
information.
o Offline Network: An offline network can be created inside the home, so it is also
known as a home network. A home network is designed to integrate the devices
such as printers, computer, television but they are not connected to the internet.
o Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a
corporate network using a VPN

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

 o A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by
interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
o Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
o In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange
line.
o The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-
3, ADSL, etc.
o It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:

o MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
o It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
o It can be used in a college within a city.
o It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN(Wide Area Network)

o A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such
as states or countries.
o A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
o A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
o The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
o A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.

Examples Of Wide Area Network:

o Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.
 o Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the
customers in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
o Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices.
This network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom
company.
Internetwork
o An internetwork is defined as two or more computer network LANs or WAN or
computer network segments are connected using devices, and they are configured
by a local addressing scheme. This process is known as internetworking.
o An interconnection between public, private, commercial, industrial, or government
computer networks can also be defined as internetworking.
o An internetworking uses the internet protocol.
o The reference model used for internetworking is Open System
Interconnection(OSI).
Types Of Internetwork:
1. Extranet: An extranet is a communication network based on the internet protocol such
as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. It is used for information
sharing. The access to the extranet is restricted to only those users who have login
credentials. An extranet is the lowest level of internetworking. It can be categorized
as MAN, WAN or other computer networks. An extranet cannot have a single LAN, atleast it
must have one connection to the external network.
2. Intranet: An intranet is a private network based on the internet protocol such
as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an
organization which is only accessible by the organization's employee or members. The
main aim of the intranet is to share the information and resources among the organization
employees. An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for teleconferences.
What is an email virus?
An email virus consists of malicious code distributed in email messages to infect one or
more devices. This malicious code can be activated in numerous ways: when the email
recipient clicks on an infected link within the message, opens an infected attachment or
interacts with the message in some other way.
Email viruses often spread by causing the malicious message to be sent to everyone in the
original victim's address book.

There are three primary ways an email virus can infect a victim's email and computer:
1. via a phishing email
2. included in an attachment
3. embedded within the email body

Email viruses often look like executable files with extensions such as the following:
 .exe,.dll,.com,.bat,.cmd,.pif,.scr,.dot,.xls,.xlt,.docm,.pdf,etc

What can an email virus do?

An email virus can wreak all kinds of havoc:
 distribute and execute ransomware attacks;
 enlist the victim's system into a botnet;
 crash the victim's system;
 provide a threat actor with remote access to the victim's device;
 steal the victim's personal data or destroy their files;
 create unwanted pop-ups; or
 add the victim system to a malvertisement.
Email viruses are especially dangerous since they can gather information about the victim --
and their contacts -- without their knowledge. Using such a covert means of attack, an email
virus can end up causing massive damage in a short period of time. By the time the victims
realize that there is a problem, it's often too late to contain the damage.

Email virus and phishing

Email viruses are often connected with phishing attacks, in which hackers send out
malicious messages that look as if they are originated from legitimate, known or trusted
sources, such as the following:
 the victim's bank;
 social media;
 internet search sites;
 friends, relatives or co-workers; or
 someone high up in their company, e.g., chief executive officer.
The attacker's goal is to trick the victim into revealing personal and potentially valuable
information, such as their address, passwords, credit card number, Social Security number,
etc.
Social engineering methods, like spam and malware-filled email messages, are commonly
used by threat actors to infect user devices with email viruses and to attack their
organization's network.

Types of email viruses

Email viruses can take many different forms:
 Email spam. Email spam, also known as unwanted or unsolicited email, usually spreads
malware through links in the message. These links, when clicked, often take the victim to
a phishing website that steals their data or to other sites hosting malware that further
infects their device.
 Boot sector virus. This virus targets the device's master boot record. It can be hard to
remove and often requires a full system format, making it one of the most dangerous and
persistent types of email viruses.
 Multipartite virus. This virus can simultaneously attack the victim computer's
executable files and boot sector. It can also wipe out the hard drive or solid-state storage
device. As the virus spreads, it takes up memory, and the user gets multiple pop-up
messages advising about low virtual memory.
 Resident virus. A resident virus immediately installs itself on the victim's computer as
soon as they click on an infected email. Even if the primary virus source is removed, the
virus persists in the system and is, therefore, difficult to resolve.
 Virus hoax. Virus hoax messages contain a false warning about a nonexistent threat
and often instruct the recipient to take some action, such as forwarding the warning to all
their contacts. These messages are a type of socially engineered email virus. One
variant builds on the tech support phone scam, in which a malicious actor calls a victim
and offers to "help" them with a problem that they purportedly discovered on the victim's
computer.
 Macro virus. A macro virus is written in a macro language used by other software
programs, especially Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. It is transmitted through a
phishing email message containing a malicious attachment. As users share the infected
documents with others, often by forwarding the email, the virus spreads and infects
additional devices.
 Spambot. Spambot programs harvest email addresses to build mailing lists for sending
spam. Although they're not usually distributed through email, they are instrumental in
gathering valid email addresses that are then used to distribute email viruses.

How macro viruses work

Examples of well-known email viruses
This rogues' gallery of email viruses were particularly destructive:
 Melissa. Released in 1999, Melissa is one of the oldest email viruses. This fast-
spreading macro virus was distributed as an email attachment, which, when opened,
disabled many safeguards in Word 97 and Word 2000. Melissa also resent the virus to
the first 50 people in each of its victims' address books.
 ILOVEYOU. In May 2000, the fast-spreading ILOVEYOU virus shut down email services
in several major enterprises, including Microsoft and Ford Motor Company. In about 10
days, ILOVEYOU affected about 45 million users and caused about $10 billion in
damages.
 Mydoom. In early 2004, MyDoom sent spammy junk mail through infected computers
and hit several tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, with a distributed
denial-of-service attack. It infected 16% to 25% of email messages in 2004.
 Storm Worm Trojan horse. This Trojan horse malware spread through infected
attachments in email messages that exploited users' concerns about European storms.
 CryptoLocker ransomware. CryptoLocker, which spread via phishing emails and
malicious attachments, encrypted victims' files. The hackers then demanded a ransom
from the victims to unlock the files.

What Is a Firewall?

 A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network
traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of
security rules.
 They establish a barrier between secured and controlled internal networks that can
be trusted and untrusted outside networks, such as the Internet. 
 A firewall can be hardware, software, or both.
 Protect my PC from viruses

 Use an anti-malware app - 

Microsoft Defender is free anti-

 Don't open email messages from unfamiliar senders, or email attachments that you
don't recognize -
 Use a pop-up blocker with your internet browser -
 If you're using Microsoft Edge, make sure SmartScreen is turned on -
 Pay attention to Windows SmartScreen notifications -
 Keep Windows updated - 
 Use your internet browser's privacy settings -
 Make sure User Account Control (UAC) is turned on -
 Make sure that Tamper Protection is turned on -

What is Cybercrime?
Cybercrime is defined as an unlawful action against any person using a computer, its
systems, and its online or offline applications.
It occurs when information technology is used to commit or cover an offense.
However, the act is only considered Cybercrime if it is intentional and not accidental.
Example of Cybercrime
Here, are some most commonly occurring Cybercrimes:
 The fraud did by manipulating computer network
 Unauthorized access to or modification of data or application
 Intellectual property theft that includes software piracy
 Industrial spying and access to or theft of computer materials
 Writing or spreading computer viruses or malware
 Digitally distributing child pornography
Cybercrime Attack Types
Cybercrime can attack in various ways. Here, is some most common cybercrime attack
mode:
 Hacking:
It is an act of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system or network.
 Denial Of Service Attack:
 In this cyberattack, the cyber-criminal uses the bandwidth of the victim’s network or fills
their e-mail box with spammy mail. Here, the intention is to disrupt their regular services.
 Software Piracy:
Theft of software by illegally copying genuine programs or counterfeiting. It also includes
the distribution of products intended to pass for the original.
 Phishing:
Pishing is a technique of extracting confidential information from the bank/financial
institutional account holders by illegal ways.
 Spoofing:
It is an act of getting one computer system or a network to pretend to have the identity of
another computer. It is mostly used to get access to exclusive privileges enjoyed by that
network or computer