Basic computer knowledge

By Cedrick Tshiyoyo

MBA/BSC Networking

cedricktshiyoyo@gmail.com

1. Computer Basics:

- A computer is an electronic device that processes data and performs tasks according to a set of
instructions.

- It consists of hardware (physical components) and software (programs and instructions).

2. Hardware Components:

Computer hardware components are the physical parts that make up a computer system. These
components work together to enable the computer to process and store data. Here are some
essential hardware components:

a) Central Processing Unit (CPU):

• Often referred to as the brain of the computer.

• Executes instructions and performs calculations.

• Manufacturers: Intel, AMD.

b) Random Access Memory (RAM):

• Temporary memory used by the CPU to store data that is actively being used or
processed.

• Fast access for quick retrieval of information.

• Volatile memory (loses data when power is turned off).

c) Storage Devices:

• Hard Disk Drive (HDD):

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 • Provides long-term storage for data.

• Slower than SSD but typically offers larger storage capacities.

• Solid State Drive (SSD):

• Faster than HDD as it has no moving parts.

• Commonly used for faster system boot-up and application loading.

d) Motherboard:

• Main circuit board that connects all hardware components.

• Houses the CPU, RAM, and other essential components.

• Contains connectors for peripherals and expansion cards.

e) Power Supply Unit (PSU):

• Converts electrical power from an outlet into usable power for the computer
components.

• Supplies power to the motherboard, CPU, GPU, and other peripherals.

f) Graphics Processing Unit (GPU):

• Responsible for rendering graphics and accelerating certain calculations.

• Used for gaming, video editing, and other graphics-intensive tasks.

• Integrated GPUs are part of the CPU, while dedicated GPUs are standalone cards.

g) Input Devices:

• Keyboard: Input device for typing.

• Mouse: Pointing device for navigation.

• Webcam, Microphone, and Others: Capture audio and video inputs.

h) Output Devices:

• Monitor: Displays visual output.

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 • Printer: Produces hard copies of documents.

• Speakers: Output audio.

i) Networking Components:

• Network Interface Card (NIC): Connects the computer to a network.

• Wi-Fi Adapter: Enables wireless network connectivity.

j) Cooling Systems:

• Fans: Keep the system cool by dissipating heat from the CPU and other
components.

• Heat Sinks: Absorb and disperse heat from critical components.

k) Peripheral Devices:

• External Hard Drives, USB Drives: Additional storage.

• Scanners, Printers, and Other External Devices: Expand functionality.

l) Expansion Cards:

• Graphics Cards, Sound Cards, Network Cards: Enhance or add specific

functionalities.

• Connect to expansion slots on the motherboard (PCIe, PCI).

m) Cables and Connectors:

• Power Cables, Data Cables: Connect various components.

• USB, HDMI, Ethernet Cables: Connect peripherals and external devices.

Understanding these hardware components is crucial for anyone working with computers, whether
for building, upgrading, or troubleshooting systems.

3. Software:

• Operating System (OS): Manages hardware and provides a user interface (e.g.,
Windows, macOS, Linux).

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 • Application Software: Programs for specific tasks (e.g., Microsoft Office, web
browsers).

4. File Systems:

• FAT, NTFS (Windows): File systems for organizing and storing data on storage devices.
• HFS+, APFS (macOS): Apple's file systems.
• EXT4 (Linux): Common file system for Linux.

5. Computer Networks:

- Internet: Global network connecting computers worldwide.

- LAN (Local Area Network): Connects computers within a limited area.

- WAN (Wide Area Network): Spans a larger geographical area.

- Wi-Fi: Wireless networking technology.

6. Internet Basics:

• Web Browsers: Software for accessing the internet (e.g., Chrome, Firefox).
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator): Web address.
• HTTP/HTTPS: Protocols for transferring web data securely.

7. Basic Security Concepts:

• Firewall: Security barrier between a computer and the internet.

• Antivirus Software: Protects against viruses and malware.
• Password Security: Use strong, unique passwords.

Computer security refers to protecting and securing computers and their related data, networks,
software, hardware from unauthorized access, misuse, theft, information loss, and other security
issues. The Internet has made our lives easier and has provided us with lots of advantages, but it
has also put our system’s security at risk of being infected by a virus, of being hacked, information
theft, damage to the system, and much more.

Technology is growing day by day and the entire world is in its grasp. We cannot imagine even a
day without electronic devices around us. With the use of this growing technology, invaders,

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hackers and thieves are trying to harm our computer’s security for monetary gains, recognition
purposes, ransom demands, bullying others, invading into other businesses, organizations, etc. To
protect our system from all these risks, computer security is important.

Types of computer security

Computer security can be classified into four types:

1. Cyber Security: Cyber security means securing our computers, electronic devices,
networks , programs, systems from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks are those attacks that
happen when our system is connected to the Internet.

2. Information Security: Information security means protecting our system’s information

from theft, illegal use and piracy from unauthorized use. Information security has mainly
three objectives: confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
3. Application Security: Application security means securing our applications and data
so that they don’t get hacked and also the databases of the applications remain safe and
private to the owner itself so that user’s data remains confidential.
4. Network Security: Network security means securing a network and protecting the
user’s information about who is connected through that network. Over the network
hackers steal, the packets of data through sniffing and spoofing attacks, man in the middle
attack, war driving, etc, and misuse the data for their benefits.

Types of cyber attack

1. Denial of service attack or DOS: A denial of service attack is a kind of cyber attack
in which the attackers disrupt the services of the particular network by sending infinite
requests and temporary or permanently making the network or machine resources
unavailable to the intended audience.
2. Backdoor: In a backdoor attack, malware, trojan horse or virus gets installed in our
system and start affecting it’s security along with the main file. Consider an example:
suppose you are installing free software from a certain website on the Internet. Now,
unknowingly, along with this software, a malicious file also gets installed, and as soon

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as you execute the installed software that file’s malware gets affected and starts affecting
your computer security. This is known as a backdoor.
3.Eavesdropping: Eavesdropping refers to secretly listening to someone’s talk without
their permission or knowledge. Attackers try to steal, manipulate, modify, hack
information or systems by passively listening to network communication, knowing
passwords etc. A physical example would be, suppose if you are talking to another person
of your organization and if a third person listens to your private talks then he/ she is said
to eavesdrop on your conversation. Similarly, your conversation on the internet maybe
eavesdropped by attackers listening to your private conversation by connecting to your
network if it is insecure.
4. Phishing: Phishing is pronounced as “fishing” and working functioning is also similar.
While fishing, we catch fish by luring them with bait. Similarly, in phishing, a user is
tricked by the attacker who gains the trust of the user or acts as if he is a genuine person
and then steals the information by ditching. Not only attackers but some certain websites
that seem to be genuine, but they are fraud sites. These sites trick the users, and they end
up giving their personal information such as login details or bank details or card number
etc. Phishing is of many types: Voice phishing, text phishing etc.
5. Spoofing: Spoofing is the act of masquerading as a valid entity through falsification
of data (such as an IP address or username), to gain access to information or resources
that one is otherwise unauthorized to obtain. Spoofing is of several types- email spoofing,
IP address spoofing, MAC spoofing, biometric spoofing etc.
6. Malware: Malware is made up of two terms: Malicious + Software = Malware.
Malware intrudes into the system and is designed to damage our computers. Different
types of malwares are adware, spyware, ransomware, Trojan horse, etc.
7. Social engineering: Social engineering attack involves manipulating users
psychologically and extracting confidential or sensitive data from them by gaining their
trust. The attacker generally exploits the trust of people or users by relying on their
cognitive basis.
8. Polymorphic Attacks: Poly means “many” and morph means “form”, polymorphic
attacks are those in which attacker adopts multiple forms and changes them so that they

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 are not recognized easily. These kinds of attacks are difficult to detect due to their
changing forms.

Steps to ensure computer security

To protect our system from the above-mentioned attacks, users should take certain steps to
ensure system security:

1. Always keep your Operating System up to date. Keeping it up to date reduces the risk of
their getting attacked by malware, viruses, etc.

2. Always use a secure network connection. One should always connect to a secure network.
Public wi-fi’s and unsecured networks should be avoided as they are at risk of being attacked by
the attacker.

3. Always install an Antivirus and keep it up to date. An antivirus is software that scans your
PC against viruses and isolates the infected file from other system files so that they don’t get
affected. Also, we should try to go for paid anti-viruses as they are more secure.

4. Enable firewall. A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to/from a

computer or even to a private network of computers. A firewall can be either in hardware,
software or a combination of both.

5. Use strong passwords. Always make strong passwords and different passwords for all social
media accounts so that they cannot be key logged, brute forced or detected easily using
dictionary attacks. A strong password is one that has 16 characters which are a combination of
upper case and lower case alphabets, numbers and special characters. Also, keep changing your
passwords regularly.

6. Don’t trust someone easily. You never know someone’s intention, so don’t trust someone
easily and end up giving your personal information to them. You don’t know how they are going
to use your information.

7. Keep your personal information hidden. Don’t post all your personal information on social
media. You never know who is spying on you. As in the real world, we try to avoid talking to

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strangers and sharing anything with them. Similarly, social media also have people whom you
don’t know and if you share all your information on it you may end up troubling yourself.

8. Don’t download attachments that come along with e-mails unless and until you know that
e-mail is from a genuine source. Mostly, these attachments contain malware which, upon
execution infect or harms your system.

9. Don’t purchase things online from anywhere. Make sure whenever you are shopping online
you are doing so from a well-known website. There are multiple fraud websites that may steal
your card information as soon as you checkout and you may get bankrupt by them.

10. Learn about computer security and ethics. You should be aware of the safe computing
and ethics of the computing world. Gaining appropriate knowledge is always helpful in reducing
cyber-crime.

11. If you are attacked, immediately inform the cyber cell so that they may take appropriate
action and protect others from getting attacked by the same person. Don’t hesitate to complain
just because you think people may make your fun.

12. Don’t use pirated content. Often, people try to download pirated movies, videos or web
series to get them for free. These pirated contents are at major risk of being infected with viruses,
worms, or malware, and when you download them, you end up compromising your system
security.

8. Basic Troubleshooting:

• Restart/Reboot: Often solves software-related issues.

• Check Connections: Ensure cables are properly connected.
• Update Software: Keep the operating system and applications up to date.

9. Data Backup:

• Regularly back up important files to prevent data loss.

10. Cloud Computing:

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 • Storing and accessing data and programs over the internet instead of a computer's hard
drive.

These are just some fundamental concepts. Computer knowledge can be vast, so feel free to
explore based on your specific interests or needs.