UNIT 3 : INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SKILLS

The Basic ICT skills that we will cover in this chapter are:
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

➢ Knowing how to operate computers

➢ ICT and its Uses
➢ Knowing how to work on the internet and using internet services
➢Netiquettes and Cyber Safety

What is ICT and what are its uses?

ICT stands for —Information, Communication and Technology. It includes Information Technology together with main focus
on communication technologies. This includes the internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication
mediums.

ICT has a great impact in our daily life. Some of the uses of ICT in our daily life are:
• We can read newspapers online.
• Get connected to friends and family far away from us using email, messenger, video conferencing etc.
• Video conferencing, business meetings
• Use of mobile phone apps to meet and connect with new and old friends.
• Social networking sites like Facebook.com, Instagram, Twitter etc.
• Access a full library of educational material via mobile app or website on any smartphone or iPad.
• The buying and selling of goods and services has become flexible and safe online.
• Most banks now offer online banking facilities.
• Business organizations are fully run on different ICT platforms

What is a COMPUTER?
Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data (input) from the user and processes these data under the
control of set of instructions (called program) and gives the result (output) and saves output for the future use.
STRENGTH of a computer
• Versatile
• Accuracy
• Speed
• Reliable
• Memory

Weakness of a Computer
• Lack of IQ (Intelligent Quotient)
• Needs power supply
• Lack of Decision-making power/ Computers can’t think

What is a System?
• System is a set of rules, an arrangement of things, or a collection of elements or components that work towards a common
goal/purpose in an organized manner.
What is a PROGRAM?
– Set of instructions
 DATA INFORMATION
Raw facts and figures Processed data
May or may not be meaningful Always meaningful
User input Output to the user
• Hardware
Physical parts of a computer system which can be seen and touched and which can undergo wear and tear.
– Peripherals/ Peripheral devices:
Physical parts which are kept in the surroundings of a computer system. Ex- Keyboard , Mouse, Speaker, Printer etc.
• Software
Set of programmes /instructions which helps in the working of computer and related devices.
Ex.- Python Interpreter, Browsers (Eg. Firefox),OS(Eg.Windows10) ,Games,Apps etc.

FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM

Functional components of a computer basically consists of following:

1) Input unit
2)CPU (Central Processing Unit)
◼ ALU (Arithmetic Logical Unit)
◼ CU (Control Unit)
3) Memory/Storage Unit
◼ Primary Memory / Main Memory
◼ Secondary Memory / Auxiliary storage
4) Output unit

1) INPUT UNIT
An input device is any device that provides input to a computer. It accepts input from the Input Unit and converts it into
computer understandable form(binary form).

2) Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU is also known as microprocessor or processor. A CPU is brain of a computer. It is responsible for all functions and
processes. The CPU is the most important element of a computer system which guides, directs ,controls and governs the
performance of a computer.
◼ Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
• The electronic circuitry in ALU executes all arithmetic and logical operations.
• It performs arithmetic calculations like ARITHMETIC (+, - , *, /) as well as LOGICAL comparisons (<, >, <=, >=,=, !=)
which returns only True or False.
 ◼ Control Unit (CU)
• Control Unit acts like the nervous system of the entire computer which receives (FETCH), decodes (DECODE),
stores results (STORE) and manages execution (EXECUTE) of data that flows through the CPU
• The circuitry in the control unit uses electrical signals to control, guide and co-ordinates computer
components.
◼ Registers
• These are temporary storage areas found in CPU of modern computers.

3) MEMORY/STORAGE UNIT
It refers to the physical devices used to store programs (sequences of instructions) or data (e.g. program state
information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other digital electronic devices.
Computer understands only two states, ON (1) and OFF (0), which are represented by only two digits 1 and 0 and referred
as BINARY DIGITS or BITS.
Memory Units
Units of computer memory are:- Bit (Binary Digit), Byte (Kilobyte, Megabyte, GigaByte, TeraByte, PetaByte, ExaByte,
ZettaByte, YottaByte)
The elementary unit of memory is a bit. A group of 4 bits is called a nibble and a group of 8 bits is called a byte.
One byte is the minimum space required to store one character.
1 Byte = 8 bits
1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes
1Megabyte (MB) = 1024 KB = 1024 x 1024 bytes
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 MB =1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
1 Terabyte (TB) = 1024 GB = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
1 Petabyte (PB) = 1024 TB=1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
1 ExaByte (EB)=1024 PB=1024 x 1024 x1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
1 ZottaByte (ZB)=1024 EB= 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes

◼ PRIMARY MEMORY
The primary storage is also called the primary memory. It is directly accessible by the CPU.
Functions of primary memory are:
• Here data is fed and held until it is ready to be accessed.
• It is used to hold the data being processed and the intermediate results of processing.
• It holds the result of the processing.
• It holds the processing instructions.
Primary can be of the following types:
• RAM (Random Access Memory)
• ROM (Read Only Memory)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is used to hold active information of data and instructions. Information in RAM is
stored in random order, that is why it is known as Random Access Memory.
It is a temporary memory. When power supply is switched off, the information stored in
RAM is lost, so it is also known as volatile memory.
It is also known as read/write memory as information can be read from RAM and also
written onto it. Information stored in RAM may be erased or written over.
Read-Only memory (ROM)
ROM is a part of computer’s main memory. It is used to store the instructions provided
by the manufacturer to check basic hardware and to load operating system from
appropriate storage device.
The storage of data and instructions in ROM is permanent until it is written over.
The contents of the ROM are not lost when power supply is switched off. That is why,
ROM is called non-volatile memory.
 ◼ SECONDARY MEMORY
Since the computer’s main memory stores the data and information temporarily, the secondary memory is
used.
✓ Secondary memory is used to store bulk of information.
✓ The information stored in secondary memory is not lost, so it is also a non-volatile memory.
✓ These devices are non-volatile as data is stored in these devices till it is deleted.
✓ Secondary storage devices include Hard-Disk, CD, DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs, Pen drive etc.

4) OUTPUT UNIT
An Output device is any device that provides output in a form which is human understandable (Audio, Video, printed form).
This conversion from machine understandable form to human understandable form is the work of Output unit.

OPERATING SYSTEM & its type

Operating System (OS) It is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An operating system is a software which
performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory management, process management, handling input and output, and
controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Some popular operating systems are,

DOS (Disk Operating System)

Windows It is an operating system developed by Microsoft.
Linux It is an operating system designed for personal computers. It is a free and open source software

Mobile operating Systems → ✓ Android ✓ Symbian ✓ Windows Phone ✓ iOS

Following are some of important functions of an operating System.

• Memory Management
• Helps Hardware to run
• Helps other applications to run
• Process Management
• Device Management
• File Management
• Security Management
• Control over system performance
• Job/ Process Management
• Error detection / Trouble shooting
• Coordination between other software and users
 The different types of operating systems are as follows:

Interactive (GUI-based) A graphical user interface is a user-friendly operating system in which commands
can be entered by clicking/double-clicking/right-clicking a mouse.
Windows operating system is an example of an interactive operating system.
Single-user, single-task operating system: This type of operating system allows only one user to do a task
on the computer and one thing at a time.
Single-user, multi-task operating system: This type of operating system is used on Desktop computers,
laptops, where a single user can operate on several programs at the same time. For example, Windows,
Apple MacOS are examples of single-user multi task operating system.
Multi-user OS A multi-user operating system enables multiple users to work on the same computer at
different times or simultaneously.
Real Time OS A real time operating system is used to control machinery, scientific instruments, like robots,
in complex animations and computer controlled automated machines. A real-time operating system is a
computing environment that reacts to input within a specific period of time. It manages the resources of
the computer so that any particular operation is executed in the same amount of time every time it is
executed.
Windows CE and Lynx OS are examples of real-time operating systems.
Distributed OS A distributed operating system runs on a set of computers that are interconnected by a
network. It combines the different computers in the network into a single integrated computer and storage
location. Windows, UNIX, and LINUX are examples of distributed operating systems.
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INTERNET AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Introduction: Networks are everywhere: Any multiple things connecting together and enhancing reach
form a network.

What is an Internet? : Internet is a computer based worldwide communications network, which

is composed of large number of smaller interconnected networks.

It can be assumed as an example of WAN (Wide Area Network). The Internet is composed of a number of
large smaller interconnected networks. These networks may link thousands of computers, enabling them to
share information with each other and to share various resources, such as powerful super computers and
databases (collection of data) of information. The Internet has made it possible for people all over the
world to effectively and inexpensively communicate with each other.

World Wide Web (WWW):

The World Wide Web: (WWW) is a set of programs, standards, and protocols that allows the
multimedia and hypertext files to be created, displayed and linked on the Internet.

"The Web". WWW was proposed between 1989-1991 by Tim Berners-Lee. Proposed in 1989, WWW
became a reality with invention of HTML and a text browser in 1990

Note: While Internet is a collection of computers or networking devices connected together; WWW is a
collection of documents, linked via special links called hyperlinks. WWW forms a large part of Internet
but is not the Internet.
 Internet Terminology
Client: Any computer on the networks that requests services from another computer on the Internet.
Server: Any computer that receives requests from client computers, processes and sends the output. Web
Servers respond to web related request. There can be other types of Servers to handle different
type of requests/actions.
Webpage: Any digital page/document hosted on Internet (i.e., accessible via Internet.)
Web site: A collection of interconnected webpages, designed with a certain goal in mind.
https://berhampore.kvs.ac.in/
Web A web site or service that offers a broad array of resources such as e-mail, forums. search-engines
portal: among others, e.g., sites like MSN, Yahoo, Indiatimes etc.
Web A program or software on a client computer, that retrieves information from the web. Examples are
browser: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox,Netscape, Mosaic Opera, Safari, Lynx etc.
Web A web client is a program or a component on client side that requests for services to the web server.
Client: Examples of web clients are web browser, a specific web page with components fetching
information from web server, email programs, filesharing programs, chat Web programs etc.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator It is the unique address of a web page on Internet.
Blog: Short for Web log, a blog is a web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an
individual. A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary

VIRUS,TROJAN HORSE,WORMS AND CYBER SECURITY TERMINOLOGIES

A threat is a potential violation of security. When a threat is actually executed, it is known as attack.
MALWARES:- Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server,
client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive
access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy.
Some common threats or Malwares :

– Viruses ,Worms,Trojan Horse

– Spyware
– Adware
– Spamming
– PC Intrusion:
• Denial of Service
• Sweeping attack
• Password guessing
– Phishing

VIRUS: Computer viruses are malicious codes/ programs that cause damage to data and files on a system. It can
attack any part of a computer’s software such as a boot block, OS, system areas, files and application-program-
macros etc. It needs a host/ carrier application/program.
– Damages or deletes files
– Slow down your PC
– Invade your email program
WORMS: It is a self-replicating program which eats up the entire disk space or memory and keeps on creating its
copies until all the disk space or memory is filled.
TROJAN HORSE: A Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless (such as a text editor/ screen saver or a utility
program) but actually performs malicious functions such as deleting or damaging files at the background, which the
user is usually unaware of.
PHISHING: Phishing is a way cyber-criminal trick you into giving them personal information. They send you
fraudulent emails or text messages often pretending to be from large organisations you know or trust. They may
try to steal your online banking logins, credit card details or passwords. A fake email from a bank asking you to
click a link and verify your account details is an example of deceptive phishing.
Let us understand pictorially:

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Netiquettes = Net + etiquettes

Netiquette refers to the socially acceptable rules of online conduct.