BASIC CONCEPTS IN COMPUTING

WHAT IS A COMPUTER
A computer may be defined as an electronic device that has the capability of
accepting and processing data under the control of a stored program and
producing output in the form of information. This information may be in the
form of sound, images, electronic signals, etc. and may be stored within the
computer or on an external storage device. Computers are not very intelligent
but they handle instructions flawlessly and fast. They must follow explicit
directions from both the user and the computer programmer. Computers are
really nothing more than a very powerful calculator with some great
accessories. Applications like word processing and games are just very complex
mathematical problems.
SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE
The computer is made up of two basic components; software and hardware.
The software component consists of all the intangible parts of the computer,
parts you cannot see or touch. Whilst the hardware component consists of all
parts that can be seen and touched. In other words the hardware sits on your
desk and executes the software instructions (programs). Without the software
the computer would be nothing more than a metal box.
HARDWARE COMPONENTS
The main hardware components that make the computer are:
System unit
Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
There are also optional components that are used to enhance the performance of the
computer but are however not necessary for basic computer use. These components
are called peripherals and are usually attached to computers via interfaces. Among
these, there are;
Multi-media speakers
Printers
Scanners
Webcams etc.
Generally the hardware components (main and peripheral) that make up a computer
are grouped into two basic categories based on the functions that they perform in
relation to receiving and displaying data/information.
Devices that aid in feeding data/information into the computer are called; input
devices
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Examples include; keyboard, mouse, scanners, webcams, etc.

Those that the computer uses to make data/information available to the user are
called output devices.
Examples include; monitor multi-media speakers, printers, etc.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN HARDWARE COMPONENTS THAT MAKE
UP THE COMPUTER
The system unit is the relatively big, mostly box-like object that usually sits on the
desk aside the monitor. The system unit houses the micro-processor which is the
brain of the computer. It is the part that receives all the instructions that are
contained in a program and uses them to transform data into information. Aside the
micro-processor, another very important component that is housed in the system
unit is the memory chip. The memory chip serves as the working area of the
computer. Theoretically this is the area where the data is held prior to being
processed. It is also the area where information is stored after processing.
The monitor is a display device. Before we had only Cathode Ray Tube monitors
which were bulky and produced a substantial amount of radiation which was harmful
to human health. However with the recent advancement in technology they were
replaced by the plasma screen monitors. These are smaller and do not operate using
the cathode ray tube technology.
The keyboard is the flatter rectangular device which uses an arrangement of
buttons/keys to feed data into the computer. Initially, prior to the introduction of the
graphical user interface (GUI) it was the major input device. However some of its
functions can now be carried out using the mouse.
The mouse is more of a pointing device that uses either a track ball or a laser beam
to move a pointer across the screen of the monitor and perform various functions
such as selecting and editing the contents of objects.
OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND SOFTWARE APPLICATINS
Similar to the hardware the software is also divided into two broad categories. These
are the operating system software and the application software.
OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE
The operating system is an interface between the computer hardware, the user, and any
other applications software. It provides a platform on which smaller pieces of software
(applications) can be executed. At first sight it might seem that the operating system does
very little, however, behind the scenes, the operating system is the one in charge of
monitoring the file systems, usage of resources, security, and other very important functions
of the computer. Examples of operating systems include; Windows XP, Windows 7, Ubuntu,
Linux, etc.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
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Application software is used to refer to smaller computer programs that are designed
to perform specific tasks. These are user and platform specific. Examples of
application software would include; Microsoft word, VLC media player, Windows
explorer, Need for speed most wanted, etc.

WORD PROCESSING
INTRODUCTION TO AND EXAMPLES OF WORD PROCESSORS
Word processing as many of you would already know is one of the most common
uses of computers. Initially word processors were referred to as document
preparation systems. The early word processors date back to 1970s where they were
mere stand alone office machines that combined key board text entry and printing
functions of an electric type writer with a dedicated processor and used for the
creation and printing of text. Through the years and with the aid of various
technological advancements word processors evolved from being simple
monochrome standalone office machines with only the ability to save documents on
memory cards or diskettes, to powerful applications that included special features
such as a graphical user interface (GUI ), spell checking programs, increased
formatting options and dot format printing. The latest word processors are no longer
stand alone machines. They are programs that are installed and run on general
purpose computers. Various versions of word processing applications can be found in
the software market. The major reason being that, they are software platform
(operating system) dependent. Examples of word processors are; Abiword, KWord,
Openoffice, Libreoffice and LyX. However the most popular word processing
application is the Microsoft Word which comes with the Microsoft Office Suite and
runs on any of the Microsoft Operating systems. The latest version of this application
is Microsoft Office 2010. However for our tutorial we are going to use the 2007
version of this application.

THE MICROSOFT WORD 2007 ENVIRONMENT

CREATING A NEW WORD DOCUMENT

Right click on the Microsoft Word icon. This may be found either as a shortcut
on the desktop or in the Microsoft Office file in the start menu.

in the home screen, click on the Microsoft Office button and select New from
the context menu that is displayed.
In the window that is displayed, select, Blank document and click the create
button that is located at the bottom right corner of the window.

Viola!!! Your new document has been created.

SAVING A WORD DOCUMENT

The next best thing to do would be to save the newly created document. This can be
done at any time but it is advisable that users who do not use un-interrupted power
supplies (UPS) perform this process once in every five minutes to prevent loss of data
during a power outage. Another point worth noting is that there are two types of
saves. If you right click on the Office button in the home screen of Microsoft Word, in
the context menu that is displayed there are two saving options, these are ; Save
and Save As.

The Save As option is used to either save a document for the first time or, create a
new copy of an existing document.
The save option is used to update or save changes to an already existing document.
Below are the steps to be followed when performing the save as and then the save
operations.

SAVE AS
Left click on the Office button and select the Save as button from the context
menu.
In the resulting window select the location on the computer where you would
like to save your file and enter the file name and select the format in which you
would like to save your file.
Type a new file name for your file in the file name text box

Right click the Save button which is as usual at the bottom of the screen to
save the document.
SAVE
Right click on the Office button to open the office context menu
Click on the Save button to add changes to the already existing document

OPENING AN EXISTING DOCUMENT

To open an existing document in Microsoft word, follow the procedure below;
Open Microsoft office and click on the Office button.
Either select the file that you want to open from recent documents, these are
displayed in a side window at the right of the thumbnails in the office menu, or
click the Open icon to display the open file dialogue box.

In the dialogue box displayed navigate to the word file that you would like to
open Click the Open button which is at the bottom right corner of the screen.

TEXT ALIGNMENT
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By default the text in word is left aligned. In other words each new line of text begins
at the left margin of your page. Anther way of saying this is; the text is left justified.
This however is not static and can be changed. The alignment buttons in the
paragraph group of the home tab allow us to make changes to the way that the text
is alligned.

The images on each button give a good idea of the type of allignment that is.
The first button is the left align button. It alligns all the typed text to the left
margin of the sheet
The second button is the center align button that is used to centre each line
of text in the middle +of the sheet
The third button is the right align button and is the exact opposite of the left
allign button. This button alligns each line of text to the right margin of the
sheet.
The last button in the collection is the justification button and is used to
justify the text in such a way that not only is it placed in the middle of the
screen but also adjust the spaces between words.
In order to change the alignment of text in your document, all that you have to do is
select the text that you want to justify and click on any of the align buttons that best
suit your purpose.
WORD LAYOUT/PAGE ORIENTATION
There are two ways of orienting a page in Microsoft word. These are the portrait and
the landscape layouts. In the portrait layout the page has more horizontal space as
compared to vertical space. In the landscape orientation the page has more
horizontal space than vertical space. The layouts you select for your document are
subject to your needs. The portrait layout is the default layout for all new word
documents and is usually suitable for most cases such as typing out letters. The
landscape layout may come in handy when the page contains tables that have a
small number of rows and a large number of columns.
Portrait layout

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landscape layout

To change the layout of your word document;

Select the page layout tab and click on the orientation icon from the drop
down menu.

Select the either the landscape or portrait layout to apply.

ADJUSTING MARGINS IN WORD
Margins are the blank spaces around the edges of your document and although
objects such as images are inserted into the printable area of the documents, some
items may be inserted into the margins. An example of such an insertion is the
insertion of page numbers either at the top or the bottom of the page.
To change the margins in your document, follow the procedure below.
Click on the page layout tab.
Click on the margins thumbnail
From the drop down menu select the most desirable thumbnail margin
NB: Changes would be applied to all pages.

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If however none of the preset margin types fit your purpose then;
Click on the customs margin text at the bottom of the margins layout drop
down menu.
Make the necessary adjustments
Click the OK button to apply changes

The top area of the window allows us to adjust the margin size for top, bottom, left
and right of the page. There are also input boxes for you to specify a gutter margin.
You would use a gutter margin to add extra space to the side or top margin of a
document you plan to bind. A gutter margin ensures that text isnt obscured by the
binding.
In a case where the changes you made do not seem to suit your purposes, click on
the default button to set all the parameters to default.
GRAPHICS IN WORD
INSERTING IMAGE FILES
The types of images that you can insert into you Microsoft Word document are
numerous. You can insert Clip Art from Microsofts Clip gallery, you can insert images
crated from graphic applications like adobe Photoshop, photos you take with your
digital camera, scanned images and images obtained from the internet. If you are
using images from the internet make sure that you have permission to use them
first.

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To insert images and pictures stored on your computer

Click the insert tab
Select picture from the thumbnails displayed

In the insert picture dialogue box that appears, navigate to the location of the
picture file that you want to insert.

Select the picture that you want to insert by left clicking on it

Click on the insert button at the bottom right corner of the insert image
dialogue box to insert the image.
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The image is inserted at the position of the cursor. For this reason it is not a bad idea
to click the return/enter key a few times before inserting your image to make room
for it.
The picture can be resized to suit your demands. This can be done by left clicking on
and holding any of the four small boxes (handles) that you see on each of its borders
or any of the circles on its corners. The image could also be rotated by left clicking on
the small green circle that is attached to the image by a vertical line and moving the
mouse in ether a clockwise or an anticlockwise manner.

DELETING IMAGE FILES

To delete an image file;
Left click on the image to select it
Push the delete button to delete the image from the document.
TEXT WRAPPING
By default when an image is inserted into a document it is inline. However , this
arrangement doesnt look as good as it could. In order to change the text wrappoing
property of he image .
Select the image
In the picture tools contextual tab select the text wrapping thumbnail
Select the option that best meets your requirements from the drop down list
The options that are displayed have the following characteristics.
Inline with text - the default setting. The image is part of the line of text on
which is inserted.
Square- the text flows around the image
Tight the margins between the image and the text are smaller
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Top and bottom text appears at the top and bottom of the image
In front of the text - the image actually obscure the text that it is in front of.
DRAWING TOOLS
Incorporated into microsoft word is a feature that allows the user to insert shapes,
modify the appearance of text and draw lines in order to make emphasis or create
diagrams.

INSERTING SHAPES AND CREATING LINES

This feature of the application is found in the insert option of the home tab. To use it.
Click on the insert option in the home tab
Go over to the illustration collection
Left click on the shapes thumbnail

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If you followed the procedure above correctly, a context menu would be displayed
showing the line and shape alternatives that can be inserted into your document. To
insert a line;
Click on any of the line options in the context menu to select it.
Move over to the position in your document where you would like to place the
line.
Move the pointer( which is supposed to change to a plus sign) to the position
where you would like your line to begin
left clik once at that position
Now move the cursor to the position where you would like your line to end
Right click once at that position
To adjust the positon of the line
left click once on the line
left click on the green circle that is at the end of the line that you would like to
adjust
Whilst holding down the right click button drag the end of the line to the
required length
Leave the mouse button

To move the line or arrow to another position

Move your pointer over the line untill it turns to a plus wth arrows at the end
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Left click on the line or arrow

Whilst holding down the left mouse button, drag the line to the location within
your document where you would like it to be.
Leave the left mouse button to drop the image.
To insert a shape
Click on the insert option in the home tab
Go over to the illustration collection
Left click on the shapes thumbnail
Directly below the lines collection are the shapes collections. To insert any of the
shapes;
Left click on the shape that you would like to insert
Left click on the location within your document where you would like the shape
to be.
The procedure to resize or rotate a shape is the same as the procedure used to resize
or rotae an image file.
Sometimes after inserting an object it might be nessessary to insert a text into the
object. To do this;
Right click on the object
From the context menu, select the add text option
Type your text in the text box that appears
When you are done click any where in the document aside the object to exit.
INSERTING WORD ART
Word art is a special feature in microsoft word that allows us to insert specially
formatted text into the document. This feature comes in handy when we are
designing notices or cards. To insert a text formatted by word art;
Select the insert option on menu tab
Select the WordArt thumbnail from the text collection by clicking on it
From the drop down menu, select any of the word art formats that best suit
your purpose by clicking on it

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In the window that is displayed, type your text in the section that says type
text here

Click the ok button to insert the text

CREATING TABLES IN WORD
Another very useful feature in microsoft word is the insert table feature. It is very
common to have tables as part of documents, especially if the document is a report
or a budget of some sort. To insert a table into a word document;
Left click on the insert tab
In the tables collection select the table thumbnail
In the drop down menu you would see a box matrix. Each row of boxes represents a
row on your table and each column of boxes represents a column in your table.
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Left click on the left, topmost box and drag the cursor to select the required
number of rows and columns
You should see a corresponding table being created on the active page of your
document alongside.
When you have selected the required numberof rows and columns, click on the
box over which your curses is to finalize the creation of the table.

Text is inserted into the cells of the table by left clicking on the cells. The text in each
cell can also be formatted just as the text in an ordinary document, page where the
cell borders serve as the page margins.
The rows and columns of the table can also be resized to suit the requirements of the
user. To do that;
Move the cursor to the cell border that you would like to move untill it changes
into two sided arrows.
Hold down the left mousebutton and drag the dotted line to the position where
you would like the border to end.
Leave the button to effect the changes
PRINTING IN WORD
After the document is ready it might be nessesary to create a hard (printed ) copy of
it. Printing is another option that is available in Microsoft word. To print out a
document in word;
Left click on the office button
Place the pointer over the print thumbnail
Select the print preview thumbnail in the context menu that is displayed on
the right
In the print preview you are shown what the document would look like after it has
been printed. Here from the menu tab you can make changes to the margins and
orientation of the page to suit your
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purposes. When you have edited the page layout click on the print tab to display the
print window and then left click the print button to begin printing the document.

Occasionally there might be times when you would want to print only a page out of
the entire document. To do this;
Find that page in the document and make it the active page by left clicking on
it
Go to the print menu through the office button and select the print option
In the print window, go the page range and select the current page option
Left click the print button to begin printing

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INTRODUCTION TO AND TYPES OF SPREADSHEET

APPLICATIONS
Lets begin our introduction by answering this question. What is a spreadsheet??? The
answer to that is very simple; a spreadsheet is a grid that organises data into rows
and columns. Spreadsheet applications ( sometimes referred to simply as
spreadsheets ) are computer programs that enable us to create and manipulate
spreadsheets electronically. In a spreadsheet application each value sits in a cell. You
can define what kind of data you have in each cell and how different cells depend on
one another.You can also create formulas that would enable you to manipulate this
data with ease and accuracy. Examples of spreadsheet applications are; lotus 1,2,3
and Microsoft Excel.
Excel enables you to build a calculation by creating a formula that specifies what
values to calculate and what mathematical operators to use to perform the
calculation. Excel also offers functions, predesigned formulas that perform more
complex calculations, such as calculating accrued interest. Excel not only provides
tools to assist you in building and error-checking spreadsheet formulas but also gives
you many easy choices for formatting the data to make it more readable and
professional. These include;
Worksheets. Within each file, you can divide and organize a large volume of
data across multiple worksheets or pages of information in the file.

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Ranges. You can assign a name to a section of data on a worksheet so that

you can later select that area by name, or use the name in a formula to save
time.
Number and Date Value Formatting. You can apply a number format that
defines how Excel should display a number, indicating details such as how
many decimal points should appear and whether a percentage or dollar sign
should be included. You also can apply a date format to determine how a date
appears.
Charts. Translate your data into a meaningful image by creating a chart in
Excel. Excel offers dozens of chart types, layouts, and formats to help you
present your results in the clearest way.

INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT EXCEL

When you first launch excel 2007, the program opens up the first of the three new
worksheets (named sheet1) in a new workbook file (named Book 1) inside a
program window such as the one shown in figure
The excel program window containing this worksheet of the workbook is made up of
the following components;
Office Button: When clicked, this button opens a pull-down menu containing all
the file-related commands including Save, Open, Print, and Exit as well as the Excel
Options button that enables you to change Excels default settings.
Quick Access toolbar: You can click the Save, Undo, and Redo buttons to
perform common tasks to save your work and undo and redo editing changes. You
can also click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button to the immediate right of
the Redo button to open a drop-down menu containing additional common
commands such New, Open, Quick Print, and so on as well as to customize the
toolbar, change its position, and minimize the Ribbon.
Ribbon: Most Excel commands are contained in the Ribbon. They are arranged
into a series of tabs ranging from Home through View.
Formula bar: The address of the current cell along with the contents of that cell
appears in this bar.
Worksheet area: This area contains all the cells of the current worksheet
identified by column headings, using letters along the top, and row headings, using
numbers along the left edge with tabs for selecting new worksheets. You use a
horizontal scroll bar on the bottom to move left and right through the sheet and a
vertical scroll bar on the right edge to move up and down through the sheet.
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 Status bar: This bar keeps you informed of the programs current mode and any
special keys you engage, and enables you to select a new worksheet view and to
zoom in and out on the worksheet.

Making the most of the Office Button

At the very top of the Excel 2007 program window, you find the Office Button (the
round one with the Office four-color icon in the very upper-left corner of the screen)
followed immediately by the Quick Access toolbar. When you click the Office Button,
a pull-down menu similar to the one shown in Figure 1-2 appears. This menu contains
all the commands you need for working with Excel workbook files, such as saving,
opening, and closing files. In addition, this pull-down menu contains an Excel Options
button that you can select to change the programs settings and an Exit Excel button
that you can select when youre ready to shut down the program.

STRUCTURE OF THE SPREADSHEET

The working area in the image above represents the worksheet. As can be seen, it
consists of rows and columns. Each of these rows and columns can be uniquely
referenced/identified by the row and column number. The rows are numbered using
the normal number system (0,1,2,3, ). The columns however are referenced using
alphabets, A, B, C , . . . When the full length of the alphabet is exhausted,
combinations of letters are used to reference each column, ie. AA AZ, BA- BZ, CA
CZ, . . . This referencing ability of excel becomes very handy when values in cells are
to be generated based on values that have been entered into some other cells.
The intersection of a row and a column forms a cell. each cell in excel is capable of
holding values. Each cell can be formatted to suit the type of value that it is meant to
hold. Examples of format types include; date, general, text, etc.
The excel spreadsheet consists of several worksheets. Only one worksheet can be
active at a time. To switch between worksheet, simply select it by clicking on it in the
bar right above the status bar.
FORMATTING THE SPREADSHEET
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The general
appearance
of the
spreadsheet
working
area can be
altered to
suit your
purposes.
Several
formatting
features are
available
and are
discussed in
the section
below
SELECTING
RANGES
One or
several cells
can be
selected
based on
the user

requirements and formated as necessary. To select a range of cells;

Left click on the leftmost, topmost cell within the range of cells that you would
like to select.
Whilst holding down the left mouse button, drug the cursor to the rightmost,
bottommost cell within the range
Leave the left mouse button.
If you are using the 2007 version of Excel, the selected range of cells would be
highlighted in blue. Now you can apply the formatting to these cells.
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FORMATTING BORDER LINES

Several aspects of the cell can be formatted using the options availabe in the home
tab, the first that we would be considering is the border outline.
The borders of a cell or a range of cells refers to the the border lines that envelope
it/them from the top, bottom, left and right directions. To change the border lines;
Select the cells whose border line you would like to change.
Left click on the border format bordres thumb which can be found in the font
collection of the home thub.
From the drop down menu select and apply the type of border format that
suits you most by left clicking on it.

MERGING CELLS
Sometimes, when creating reports for printing it might be necessary (for
aesthetic purposes) to transform a few cells into one cell. this process is called
merging. It is worth noting that merging of cells can only be carried out on
several cells and not just one cell.
To merge cells
Select the range of cells that you would like to merge
From the alignment tools collection click on the merge and centre thumb.
In case an error has been made, the process can be undone by clicking on the
merged cells and clicking on the merge and center thumb once again.
TEXT ALIGNMENT
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The text in each cell can be aligned to suit the users choice. Available options are
left, right, centre justify. To align the text in a cell or a range of cells;
Select the range of cells (where applicable).
In the allignment collection select and apply the required allignment format by
left clicking on the appropriate tab

CHANGING THE NUMBER OF DECIMAL PLACES SHOWN

Since most of the data that we work with in excel is numerical. A tool has been
provided that can be used to define the number of decimal places that are shown for
a figure in a cell or a range of cells. To change the number of decimal places that a
figure is rounded up to, for a cell or a range of cells;
Select the range (where applicable)
From the number tools collection, click on either the increase or decrease
decimal thumbs to either increase or decrease the number of the decimal
places.

e cell active by left cliking on itvalue

Left click away from the cell
ANALYZING DATA
After learning how to enter data the next topic would be on how to analyze the data
that we have entered. In our tutorial we would be considering some of the inbuilt
functions, we would be learning how to;
Sort data in ascending and descending order
Filtering data
Auto sum
Average
Counting numbers
Maximum value
Minimum value
All these are inbuilt data analysis tools that have been incorporated into Excel.
SORTING DATA

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The sorting tool is used to sort the records in the database based on the values
entered into a specific column. This ordering may be ascending or descending and is
defined prior to sorting. To sort data;
Select the column base don which you would like to perform your search
From the editing tools collection in the home tab select the sort and search
thumb
Left click on the order in which you would like your data to be sorted. These
may be ascending ( A-Z ) or descending (Z-A ).
A message box pops up asking you if you would like to expand the sorting to
neighbouring cells.
NB: if you choose to expand your selection then all neighbouring columns in
your data base that hold data would be sorted alongside the selected column
based on the data entries in the selected column. However if you choose to
continue sorting with the current selection then only the data entries in the
selected column would be sorted in the order selected.
Select the desired option from the message box and click the sort button.
FILTERING DATA
Sometimes it may become necessary to display some rows or hide others based on
some entries made into a column. For example, this feature would come very handy
if we are trying to generate a list of all the studnts in the class who have second class
upper from the general class list. To filter data;
Select the column based on which you would like to perform the sorting
From the editing tools collection in the home tab select the sort and search
thumb
From the drop down options menu select the filter thumb by left clicking on it.
This action places a show all button on the first record in the column you
selected
By left clicking on that button, the following message box is shown

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In this box you are given the option of selecting the records that you would
want to be shown based on the whether they contain any of the ticked values
or not.
Select the desired values and left click ok to effect the change

AUTO SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT NUMBERS, MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES

All these fuctions are available under the sum icon which can be found in the editing
tools collection of the hometab. They do literary what they it is said they do. To
perform any of the above mentioned functions;
Select the range cells in a particular row or column
Left click on the arrow by the sigma sign in the editing tools collection in the
home tab.
From the drop down menu select the required tool by left clicking on it.

MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
INTRODUCTION
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PowerPoint is the powerful and ubiquitous presentation program from Microsoft. It

gives you the facility to create stunning presentations that incorporate video and
PowerPoint animations. The image editing capabilities that PowerPoint offers get
better and better with every new version. Starting to learn Microsoft PowerPoint can
seem like a daunting task if you are not familiar with its environment. The tutorials
you would go through would take you by the hand and teach you the basics of using
this application.
CREATING A NEW PRESENTATION
There are a variety of ways of creating your PowerPoint presentations and one of
them is to start from scratch, in doing so you are creating your presentation from a
blank presentation and you have much more flexibility over how it looks.
The first step as usual is to open the PowerPoint application by clicking on its icon.
The power point icon looks something like this and can be found in the Microsoft
office suite.

In the window that appears click on the office button and select the new thumb
Ensure that blank presentation is selected. You can click on the thumbnail
image to select it if it isnt and then click create. A new presentation based on a
blank presentation opens for you to start work on. As soon as you can, save the
presentation so you dont lose any changes
NB: Remember that the save procedure is the same for all applications that form the
Microsoft office suite.

POWERPOINT BASIC TASKS

ADDING SLIDES
There are a couple of ways to add a new slide. In each way, the slide that is currently
selected is a important as the new slide will be placed after the selected one. This
means that if you want to insert a slide before the end of the presentation, you will
need to select the slide that appears before the one you want to insert. To select the
slide, just click on it. You can select the slide in whichever view you happen to be
using, whether it is slides view or outline view. Once you have selected;
Select the new slide option that is found under the slides thumb in the home
tab

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You will notice that the new slides button is in two halves, if you click on the new
slide button, the default title and content type slide will be added. If, instead, you
click the bottom half of the button, you will be able to select what type of slide is
added.

Once the new slide has been added, you can click into one of the editable content
boxes to make your changes.
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The keyboard shortcut for adding a new slide is ctrl + m.

DELETING SLIDES
You have learned how to add slides to a presentation; the time has come to learn
how to delete unwanted slides. Deleting slides can be performed in three ways.
Select the slide and then
Press the delete key on the keyboard
Press the backspace key on the keyboard
Right click on the slide and select Delete Slide
Also, there are a variety of places that you can delete the slide in question. The
easiest way is to work in normal view (on the view tab, in the presentations views
group, click normal). You can then work on either slides or outline tab: find and select
the slide you want to delete and then press the delete key, you can select multiple
slides by holding down the control key as you click on additional slides. If you press
the delete key now, you will delete all the selected slides. If you have a group of
slides that run in sequence, you can select them all by selecting the first one and
then holding down the shift key whilst you click on the last slide.
If you have many slides to delete, you may find it easier from an organizational point
of view to work in slide sorter view. The same process applies: select single or
multiple slides and then press the delete key.
MOVING SLIDES
You have spent time planning how you want your presentation to look and you have
painstakingly designed its look and feel. You have taken great care with every stylish
slide you have added, but at the last moment you realize that slide six actually
belongs before slide five! What do you do, start from scratch??? There is no need. All
you have to do is move the slide. You can change the sequence of your slides by
moving them around your presentation.
To move a slide in your presentation, all you have to do is drag and drop it where you
need it. As you drag the slide, you should see an insertion point that looks like either
a horizontal or vertical line, depending on which PowerPoint view you are using, that
tells you where your slide will appear.
You can move several slides around as a group by selecting them all first and then
dragging and dropping them. To select multiple slides, hold down the control key and
the keyboard as you click on additional slides. Alternatively if the slides you need to
select occur in an unbroken sequence, you can select the first slide and then hold
down the shift key as you click on the last slide.

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MOVING SLIDES WITH KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Another way to move slides around is to cut and paste them. Select the slide(s) you
want to move, right click on the selection and select cut. Select the slide that is
positioned before where you want the slide to go and then right click and select
paste. The slide(s) will appear after the selected slide. If you want to speed things up
you can use keyboard shortcuts; select the side you want to move, press ctrl + x to
cut and then ctrl + v to paste it.
POWERPOINT VIEWS
There are six different views you can use to look at your PowerPoint presentation and
each one has its advantages over the others. The default view in PowerPoint is
normal view. This means that when you start PowerPoint, and as long as you dont
change the view, you will be working in normal view. There are two places to change
to a different view; at the top of the left side panel and at the bottom of the
workspace to the right (next to the zoom slider). OK, make that three, since you can
also see the presentation views on the view tab.
To change the slides views view or outline view, click the corresponding tab at the
top of the left side panel.

Slides View and Outline View

To change to any other PowerPoint view, use the small toolbar at the bottom:
Normal view, slide sorter view, reading view, slide show
Here is an explanation of how you should use the different views:
POWERPOINT VIEW
Slides view

Outline view

Normal view
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DESCRIPTION
This is a great place to view the slides in your
presentation as thumbnail-sized images while you
edit l the thumbnails make it easy for you to
navigate through your presentations and to see the
effect of any design changes. You can also easily
rearrange, add, or delete slides here
This is a great place to start writing your content,
to capture your ideas , plan how you want to
present them and move slides and text around.
The outline tab shows your slide text in outline
form
Normal vies is the main editing view, where you

Slide sorter view

Reading view

Slide show view

write and design your presentations

Slide sorter view gives you a view of your slides in
thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to
sort and organize the sequence of your slides as
you create your presentation and then also as you
prepare your presentation for printing.
Use reading view to deliver your presentations not
to an audience but instead to someone viewing
your presentation on their own computer. Or use
reading view on your own computer when you
want to view a presentation not in a full-screen
slide show view, but in a window with simple
controls that make the presentation easy to review.
You can always switch from reading view to one of
the other views if you want to change the
presentation.
Use the slide show view to deliver your
presentation to your audience. Slide show view
occupies the full computer screen, exactly like an
actual presentation. In this view, you see your
presentation the way your audience will/ you can
see how your graphics, timings, movies, animated
effects, and transition effects will look during the
actual presentation.

MODIFYING BCKGROUNDS
For the background to your PowerPoint presentation, you can specify the following;
A solid fill
A gradient fill
A picture texture fill
To change your presentation background
Click on format background
Click on background styles
Select background
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And then click on design

Alternatively, you can right click on a free area on a slide (and area that does not
contain an object) and then select format background from there.
You should now see the format background window

Ensure that the fill tab is selected (as in the image above) and then make the
changes according to what kind of background you want for your presentation.

SOLID FILL
To specify a solid fill color, ensure that the appropriate radio button is selected and
then click on the fill color swatch, a panel is displayed for you select a color.

34

The colors in the main part of the grid are all theme colors, so if you select one you
can be pretty confident that the background will blend in well with the rest of the
presentations colors. At the bottom of the color selection panel are standard colors
and if you want even more colors to choose from, you can click more colors at the
bottom.
GRADIENT FILL
A gradient is the smooth transition of one color into another

When this option is selected, you can choose from a selection of readymade
gradients by clicking on the preset colors button. Alternatively, you can exercise
more control by defining the gradient yourself. If you do this, you will need to tell
PowerPoint whether the gradient is linear, radial, rectangular, path or shade from
title. Additionally you will need to specify the gradient (with the gradient stops) and
the properties of each color in the gradient, these properties include what the color
is, how bright and how transparent it is.
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PICTURE OR TEXTURE FILL

When specifying a picture or texture fill for your PowerPoint background, you are
actually using a picture as the background.

PowerPoint comes with some built in textures you can use, or you can select an
image that is stored on your hard drive. When you select an image in this way, you
can choose to have the image appearing just once in the background or to have it
repeating like a texture. As you can see from the screenshot, there are many outer
attributes you can use to set that control the pictures appearance.
RESETTING THE POWERPOINT BACKGROUND
If you decide to reset your background, but you have made so many changes that it
would take too long to reverse each one. Or you can use the reset background button
at the bottom of the format background window. You can also tell PowerPoint to apply
the background you just designed to all slides in the presentation using the apply
to all button. If you dont apply the background to all slides, then only the currently
selected slide is affected.
POWERPOINT TEXT
ADDING A TEXTBOX
When adding text to their PowerPoint presentations, many people limit themselves to
using only the placeholder boxes that are present by default when you add a new
slide. For example when you add a title and a content slide, there is always a title
placeholder in which you will see the words Click to add text. It is then a simple
case of clicking into each of those boxes and then typing your content
However, another way of adding text that gives you more flexibility over positioning
is to add a textbox. To add a textbox simply click on the textbox thumb in the in the
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text tools collection which can be found under the insert tab. The cursor is supposed
to change to;
Left click with the mouse and drag out the textbox. Once the text box has been
drawn, you can start typing in it. When you drag out you initial text box, it retains its
width. But the height contracts temporarily to be the height of one line of text. When
you type multiple lines, the height will adjust to fit but the width of the textbox will
remain the same.
This is what the textbox looks like.

You can see the resizing handles at each corner and also halfway along each edge,
you can resize the textbox by clicking and dragging on any of those handles.
You can actually move the textbox to any position on the slide by simply moving the
cursor over it until it turn into something like this;
And then whilst holding the left mouse button down, dragging it to the desired
position.
CONTENT PLACEHOLDERS
Microsoft PowerPoint placeholders are boxes with dotted borders that contain content
and reside within a slide layout. All built-in slide layouts that come with the
application contain content placeholders. If you click on the bottom half of the new
slide button, PowerPoint displays all the slide layouts you can insert and on each you
can see content placeholders

37

If you insert a two content slide layout, for example, you will get three placeholders;
one for the slides title and two for the content. To add your own text, click in a
placeholder and start typing. You can style the text however you please using the
usual formatting options.
But how does PowerPoint know what placeholders should appear on each slide? This
is determined by the slide master. If you click on the slide master which can be found
under the master view in the views collection, you will see all the slide layouts
available for use in your presentation. The layout in each is controlled by, among
other things, the content placeholders on them.
Click on any slide layout to select it and you will see the placeholders already
present. You can add new placeholders by clicking Insert Placeholder in the master
layout group of the slide master tab. If you click the top half of the button you will
add the same placeholders as you added last time, whereas if you click the bottom
half; you get a choice of placeholders to add. Usually you will not add content
placeholders to exiting slide layouts (though you might). Placeholders are more
useful when you create a new slide layout.
FORMATTING TEXT
Most of the time, you will probably leave the text you type in your PowerPoint
presentation as its without formatting it. However, sometimes you might like to style
certain pieces of text so that it stands out.
To format some text first of all select it as you move the cursor, the mini toolbar
appears as if by magic. The mini toolbar contains some of the more commonly used
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formatting commands that PowerPoint guesses you are likely to use. Using it you can
bold text, italicize it and do various other text formatting tasks, all at the click of a
button. You will probably be familiar with all of the commands available on the mini
toolbar.

If you want to apply more adventurous formatting head over to the ribbon. When you
select text, the format contextual tab appears. On this tab are many different
formatting functions. Let us get to grips with formatting text by running through a
quick example.
GRAPHICS
INSERT POWERPOINT I IMAGE
To insert an image in PowerPoint, click on the images thumb in the insert collection.
you can see that there are four different types of images you can insert here, and we
will explore each one now.

INSERT IMAGE
If you have an image, for example a photo you have taken, on your PCs hard drive,
you would click on the picture button. Then you would navigate to the place in your
hard drive where the picture was located and either double click on it or select it and
then click insert.
INSERT CLIP ART
When you click the clip art button, the clip art panel opens on the right of the
workspace.

39

We can use this panel to search for clip art images of certain things. In the image
above I searched for telephone and found four related images. To narrow down the
search, you can click on the results should be drop down list and select one of the
categories of;
Illustrations
Photograph
Videos
Audios
To insert any of the images just click on it.
ADDING TRANSITIONS TO POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS
In Microsoft PowerPoint, slide transitions are motion effects that occur in slide show
view when you move from one slide to the next during a presentation. You can
control the speed, add sound and even customize the properties of transitions
effects. To add a transition first of all select a slide in the left hand panel that
contains the slides and outline tabs. The transition will occur immediately before the
selected slide is displayed. To select a transition just click on the transition thumb
under the transitions, under the animations tab.
When you hover over a thumbnail image of a transition, you can see a live preview
of it applied to your slide. When you move the cursor away, the preview is removed.
If, after having applied a transition to the selected slide, you decide that you want
the transition applied to all slides, click on the Apply To All button in the timing
group on the same tab.
POWERPOINT ANIMATIONS
To add an animation to an object in Microsoft PowerPoint, first of all select the object,
then click animation in the ribbon to see all the animation options that you have at

40

your disposal. We can see a few thumbnail images representing entrance effects in
the animation group.

To preview any of the animations above all you have to do is to hover your mouse
over the option. You can see a preview of what that animation would look like, if
applied. The animation plays once. You also get to see what the animation looks like
when you actually apply it to the object. If you want to see a preview of the
animation at any other time, click the preview button to the far left of the animations
tab.
All slides that include an animation display a wooshing star next to the slide in slide
view and slide sorter view.
To remove an animation from an object, click on the dialogue box launcher and select
none at the top.
SLIDE SHOW PRESENTATION
At any time during the PowerPoint presentation, you can run it to see a preview. This
will show you how you presentation looks when you run it for real.
There are several ways to start your presentation. You can;
Click on the slide show button at the bottom of your workspace
Press F5
Click slide show in the start slide shown of the ribbon, and then choose the
most appropriate way to run your slide show.
Generally speaking you have two options: to start the presentation from the current
slide, of from the beginning.

MULTIMEDIA
INTRODUCTION

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With the introduction of the graphical user interface (GUI), the possible uses of
computers increased rapidly. One of the areas that benefitted most from this was the
area of multimedia applications. Multimedia refers to a combination of text, audio,
still images, animation, video, and interactivity content forms. Initially access to
these media types were restricted to dedicated devices however with time these
functionalities were incorporated into personal computers. Today it is almost
impossible to find a computer that would not have a media player or a picture viewer.
Since this is a basic introduction we would only consider the use of the windows
medial player in playing media (sound and video) files. The windows media player is
a very powerful media tool that was designed by Microsoft and is shipped in with all
of their operating systems. In fact it is the default media player for all windows
operating systems.
To begin with, let us open the media player by left clicking on the icon. By default you
can locate this icon in the start menu.

Doing this opens up one of the two windows medial player views, either the now
playing view;

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Or the library view.

The now playing view is used to show the current files that have been loaded and are
currently being played. In the library view you have access to the various storage
locations on the computer as well as various categories of multimedia data that can
be found on them. To toggle between the views you would simply have to left click on
the toggle view in either of the windows. This buttons look something like;
or
As stated before the windows media player is used to play audio and video files. To
play an audio or a video file you can follow any of the following procedures.
Drag and drop the audio/video file into the now playing window and press play

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Drag and drop the files to be played into the portion of the library window
where you have the Drag items here to create a playlist text.
Please note that even though we drag and drop the actual media files in the media
player. We do not actually move them from their storage locations. What we do is
pass a shortcut string to the media player. The player uses this shortcut strings as a
path to locate the media files where ever they are really stored and plays them from
there. These shortcuts can then be organized and played in a predefined pattern. A
collection of such shortcuts is referred to as a playlist.
Now let us have a look at the player controls.
The player controls consist of a set of standardized buttons that are displayed on the
screen and used to control the playback of media files. These controls are;

Shuffle on/off; this button is used to turn the shuffle on(files are played in a
random manner) or off (files are played in the order in which they appear in the
playlist.
Repeat on/of; this button is used to determine if the playlist or single media
file should be played just once or over and over again.
Stop; this button is used to stop playback
Previous; if this button is clicked once during playback, it starts playing the
current file from the beginning. If it is clicked on twice then it plays the media
file that is found right before the file that is currently playing.
Play; this button is used to either pause or resume playback
Next; this button is used to skip to the next file in the playlist. If the mouse
button is held down on this key, it forwards the file.
Mute; the mute button is used to completely eliminate all the audio output of
the file that was currently playing.
Volume; the volume slide bar is used to either increase or decrease the
volume.
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Another very useful feature of the windows media player is its ability to synchronize
the playlists in the library with any portable storage device. This feature can be
accessed through the media library view and is in the form of a tab with a Sync
label. When an external storage device is connected to the computer, aside being
visible in the windows explorer, it is also shown in the media player under the Sync
tab. To copy media files to that device all you have to do is to click on the sync tab
and drag the media items that you want to synchronize then to complete the process
you have to click on the start sync button.

This feature becomes very useful when we want transfer media files onto portable
media players.
The media player can also be used to burn media files to discs. Burning is a term that
is used to refer to the process of permanently saving files to optical discs. To access
this feature, click on the burn tab. Then drag the media files to the burn list and click
on the start burn thumbnail.

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FILE EXTENSIONS AND CODECS

Another very important issue that deserves some attention is the encoding of media
files. Just as every software component of the computer media files are simply strings
of 0s and 1s. These strings are arranged in specific patterns. Before the media
player can play back the multimedia content of the file it has to be able to know the
formula for the arrangement. The process through which the media player converts
these strings of 0s and 1s into comprehensible media material is called decoding.
The tool that the media player uses to perform the decoding is called a codec.
Without the codec or plug-in for a particular media format, the player will not be able
to play that media file. Currently there are many codecs available in the software
market and these can be downloaded and installed to increase the compatibility of
the media player. Media formats can be easily identified by the three letter suffix that
accompanies the file name. Examples of these include; .wma, .wmv, .mp3, .avi, . . .
WINDOWS EXPLORER AND THE USE OF REMOVABE STORAGE DEVICES
The windows explorer is a file manager application that comes with the Microsoft
office operating system and was first introduced with the Windows 95 version of the
OS. It provides a GUI that can be used to assess the file system; it is also the
component of windows that presents some of the user interfaces such as the desktop
icons, the start menu, the taskbar, and the control panel. Collectively, these features
are known as the windows shell.
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To access the windows explorer you would have to click on the start button and then
go to the accessories file. The windows explorer can then be opened by clicking on
the icon.

The image above the home screen of the windows explorer. This window is split into
two. The left portion of it is used to show the file system of the entire computer,
including any external storage devices. The right collection shows the files and
folders that can be found in the selected storage location on the right. For example in
the window above the files, folders and icons shown in the left portion of the window
are all found on the desktop.
You can use the windows explorer to add and delete files and folders. To add a file or
a folder simply right clicks on an empty space in the right window and from the drop
down menu select new. Then select folder by clicking on it.
As soon as your new file/folder is created you would be asked to enter a name for it n
the text box below the folder icon. Push the enter or return key to save the changes.
In a case where you made a mistake whilst entering the file name, it is actually
possible to change it. To change the file name, select the file by clicking on it and

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then right click on it to reveal the drop down menu. In the menu select the rename
option. Edit the file name and push the enter key to save changes.
NB: a folder is a collection of files.

VIRUSES
INTRODUCTION
A computer virus like any other application is a computer program. But unlike other
applications computer viruses do not perform any task that is of benefit to the user,
instead they are harmful programs that interfere with the normal functioning of other
useful programs. At this point I would expect you to be wondering. Why create
programs that would interfere with the proper operation of other useful programs.
The answer is simple; to cause damage, the reasons however may be diverse. Some
viruses are created by newbie programmers that want to make a name for
themselves, other viruses are created as a result of a strategic attack on corporate
data, again viruses have been created to destroy the market demand for
monopolistic software applications and hardware components.
In 1949 Hungarian American mathematician John von Neumann, at the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton, New Jersey, proposed that it was theoretically possible for a computer program to replicate. This
theory was tested in the 1950s at Bell Laboratories when a game called Core Wars was developed, in which
players created tiny computer programs that attacked, erased, and tried to propagate on an opponent's
system.
In 1983 American electrical engineer Fred Cohen, at the time a graduate student, coined the term virus to
describe a self-replicating computer program. In 1985 the first Trojan horses appeared, posing as a
graphics-enhancing program called EGABTR and as a game called NUKE-LA. A host of increasingly
complex viruses followed.
The so-called Brain virus appeared in 1986 and spread worldwide by 1987. In 1988 two new viruses
appeared: Stone, the first bootstrap-sector virus, and the Internet worm, which crossed the United States
overnight via computer network. The Dark Avenger virus, the first fast infector, appeared in 1989, followed
by the first polymorphic virus in 1990.
Computer viruses grew more sophisticated in the 1990s. In 1995 the first macro language virus, WinWord
Concept, was created. In 1999 the Melissa macro virus, spread by e-mail, disabled e-mail servers around
the world for several hours, and in some cases several days. Regarded by some as the most prolific virus
ever, Melissa cost corporations millions of dollars due to computer downtime and lost productivity.

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The VBS_LOVELETTER script virus, also known as the Love Bug and the ILOVEYOU virus, unseated
Melissa as the world's most prevalent and costly virus when it struck in May 2000. By the time the
outbreak was finally brought under control, losses were estimated at U.S.$10 billion, and the Love Bug is
said to have infected 1 in every 5 PCs worldwide.
The year 2003 was a particularly bad year for computer viruses and worms. First, the Blaster worm
infected more than 10 million machines worldwide by exploiting a flaw in Microsofts Windows operating
system. A machine that lacked the appropriate patch could be infected simply by connecting to the Internet.
Then, the SoBig worm infected millions more machines in an attempt to convert systems into networking
relays capable of sending massive amounts of junk e-mail known as spam. SoBig spread via e-mail, and
before the outbreak was 24 hours old, MessageLabs, a popular e-mail filtering company, captured more
than a million SoBig messages and called it the fastest-spreading virus in history. In January 2004,
however, the MyDoom virus set a new record, spreading even faster than SoBig, and, by most accounts,
causing even more damage.
TYPES OF VIRUSES

There are many categories of viruses, including parasitic or file viruses, bootstrap-sector, multipartite,
macro, and script viruses. Then there are so-called computer worms, which have become particularly
prevalent. A computer worm is a type of virus. However, instead of infecting files or operating systems, a
worm replicates from computer to computer by spreading entire copies of itself.
Parasitic or file viruses infect executable files or programs in the computer. These files are often identified
by the extension .exe in the name of the computer file. File viruses leave the contents of the host program
unchanged but attach to the host in such a way that the virus code is run first. These viruses can be either
direct-action or resident. A direct-action virus selects one or more programs to infect each time it is
executed. A resident virus hides in the computer's memory and infects a particular program when that
program is executed.
Bootstrap-sector viruses reside on the first portion of the hard disk or floppy disk, known as the boot sector.
These viruses replace either the programs that store information about the disk's contents or the programs
that start the computer. Typically, these viruses spread by means of the physical exchange of floppy disks.
Multipartite viruses combine the abilities of the parasitic and the bootstrap-sector viruses, and so are able to
infect either files or boot sectors. These types of viruses can spread if a computer user boots from an
infected diskette or accesses infected files.
Other viruses infect programs that contain powerful macro languages (programming languages that let the
user create new features and utilities). These viruses, called macro viruses, are written in macro languages
and automatically execute when the legitimate program is opened.

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Script viruses are written in script programming languages, such as VBScript (Visual Basic Script) and
JavaScript. These script languages can be seen as a special kind of macro language and are even more
powerful because most are closely related to the operating system environment. The 'ILOVEYOU' virus,
which appeared in 2000 and infected an estimated 1 in 5 personal computers, is a famous example of a
script virus.
Strictly speaking, a computer virus is always a program that attaches itself to some other program. But
computer virus has become a blanket term that also refers to computer worms. A worm operates entirely on
its own, without ever attaching itself to another program. Typically, a worm spreads over e-mail and
through other ways that computers exchange information over a network. In this way, a worm not only
wreaks havoc on machines, but also clogs network connections and slows network traffic, so that it takes
an excessively long time to load a Web page or send an e-mail.
however not all programs that interfere with the normal functioning of other computer programs are
viruses. Some of these are described below.
There are other harmful computer programs that can be part of a virus but are not considered viruses
because they do not have the ability to replicate. These programs fall into three categories: Trojan horses,
logic bombs, and deliberately harmful or malicious software programs that run within a Web browser, an
application program such as Internet Explorer and Netscape that displays Web sites.
A Trojan horse is a program that pretends to be something else. A Trojan horse may appear to be something
interesting and harmless, such as a game, but when it runs it may have harmful effects. The term comes
from the classic Greek story of the Trojan horse found in Homers Iliad.
A logic bomb infects a computers memory, but unlike a virus, it does not replicate itself. A logic bomb
delivers its instructions when it is triggered by a specific condition, such as when a particular date or time
is reached or when a combination of letters is typed on a keyboard. A logic bomb has the ability to erase a
hard drive or delete certain files.
Malicious software programs that run within a Web browser often appear in Java applets and ActiveX
controls. Although these applets and controls improve the usefulness of Web sites, they also increase a
vandals ability to interfere with unprotected systems. Because those controls and applets require that
certain components be downloaded to a users personal computer (PC), activating an applet or control
might actually download malicious code.
VIRAL CURE, PREVENTION AND DATA PROTECTION
Computer users can prepare for a viral infection by creating backups of legitimate
original software and data files regularly so that the computer system can be
restored if necessary. Viral infection can be prevented by obtaining software from
legitimate sources or by using a quarantined computerthat is, a computer not
connected to any networkto test new software. Plus, users should regularly install
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operating system (OS) patches, software updates that mend the sort of flaws, or
holes, in the OS often exploited by viruses. Patches can be downloaded from the Web
site of the operating systems developer. However, the best prevention may be the
installation of current and well-designed antiviral software. Such software can
prevent a viral infection and thereby help stop its spread.
Several types of antiviral software can be used to detect the presence of a virus. Scanning software can
recognize the characteristics of a virus's computer code and look for these characteristics in the computer's
files. Because new viruses must be analyzed as they appear, scanning software must be updated
periodically to be effective. Other scanners search for common features of viral programs and are usually
less reliable. Most antiviral software uses both on-demand and on-access scanners. On-demand scanners
are launched only when the user activates them. On-access scanners, on the other hand, are constantly
monitoring the computer for viruses but are always in the background and are not visible to the user. The
on-access scanners are seen as the proactive part of an antivirus package and the on-demand scanners are
seen as reactive. On-demand scanners usually detect a virus only after the infection has occurred and that is
why they are considered reactive.
Antivirus software is usually sold as packages containing many different software programs that are
independent of one another and perform different functions. When installed or packaged together, antiviral
packages provide complete protection against viruses. Within most antiviral packages, several methods are
used to detect viruses. Check summing, for example, uses mathematical calculations to compare the state
of executable programs before and after they are run. If the checksum has not changed, then the system is
uninfected. Check summing software can detect an infection only after it has occurred, however. As this
technology is dated and some viruses can evade it, check summing is rarely used today.
Most antivirus packages also use heuristics (problem-solving by trial and error) to detect new viruses. This
technology observes a programs behavior and evaluates how closely it resembles a virus. It relies on
experience with previous viruses to predict the likelihood that a suspicious file is an as-yet unidentified or
unclassified new virus.
Other types of antiviral software include monitoring software and integrity-shell software. Monitoring
software is different from scanning software. It detects illegal or potentially damaging viral activities such
as overwriting computer files or reformatting the computer's hard drive. Integrity-shell software establishes
layers through which any command to run a program must pass. Check summing is performed
automatically within the integrity shell, and infected programs, if detected, are not allowed to run.

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