IT APPLICATION

TOOLS IN BUSINESS
ITEC 5 – Lecture 1
Hardware and Software
• Hardware: Hardware refers to the physical components
of a computer.
• Examples of hardware in a computer are the Processor, Memory
Devices, Monitor, Printer, Keyboard, Mouse, and the Central
Processing Unit.

• Software: Software is a collection of instructions,

procedures, documentation that performs different tasks
on a computer system.
• Examples of software are MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Google
Chrome, Photoshop, MySQL etc.
Hardware and Software
• Two Major class of Software
• System software: Helps run the computer hardware and
computer system itself. System software includes
operating systems, device drivers, diagnostic tools and
more. System software is almost always pre-installed on
your computer.
• Application software: Allows users to accomplish one or
more tasks. It includes word processing, web browsing
and almost any other task for which you might install
software. (Some application software is pre-installed on
most computer systems.)
File Management
• A file management system is a type of software that
manages data files in a computer system. It has limited
capabilities and is designed to manage individual or group
files, such as special office documents and records. It
may display report details, like owner, creation date, state
of completion and similar features useful in an office
environment.
• A file management system is also known as a file
manager.
File Management
• Drive: a drive is a computer storage device that holds
information.
• Folder: a folder is a storage location within a drive.
• File: a file can be a document, spreadsheet, image, or
other type of item that is stored on a computer.
• File Extension: The file extension appears after the
period in the filename and is used to indicate the type of
format the files is in.
• Path: The path refers to the exact location of the file and
indicates to the computer user the entire sequence that
must be followed to find the file.
Transferring Data
• Data transfer is the process of using computing
techniques and technologies to transmit or transfer
electronic or analog data from one computer node to
another. Data is transferred in the form of bits and bytes
over a digital or analog medium, and the process enables
digital or analog communications and its movement
between devices.
• Data transfer is also known as data transmission.
Security
• Data security refers to protective digital privacy
measures that are applied to prevent unauthorized access
to computers, databases and websites. Data security also
protects data from corruption. Data security is an essential
aspect of IT for organizations of every size and type.
• Data security is also known as information security (IS)
or computer security.
Network System
• Network: In computing, is a group of two or more devices
that can communicate. A network is compromised of a
number of different computer systems connected by
physical and/or wireless connections.
• Computer Networks serve a number of purposes:
• Communications such as email, instant messaging, chat rooms,
etc.
• Shared hardware such as printers and input devices
• Shared data and information through the use of shared storage
devices
• Shared software, which is achieved by running applications on
remote computers
Maintenance
• Predictive maintenance is a maintenance strategy
driven by predictive analytics. The solutions are used for
detecting failure patterns or anomalies, but are only
deployed when there is high probability of imminent
failure. This helps in deploying limited resources,
maximizing device or equipment uptime, enhancing
quality and supply chain processes, and thus improving
the overall satisfaction for all the stakeholders involved.
Commerce and Information Technology
Terminology
• E-Commerce - The process of buying and selling online
or electronically. This term may refer to online retail as a
whole, or more specifically the transaction type.

• Brick and Mortar: A business that has a physical store

that customers can go to rather than just having an online
presence.

• Business to Business (B2B): The process of selling

services or products to another business, which typically
then sells to the customer.
Commerce and Information Technology
Terminology
• Business to Consumer (B2C): The process of selling
services or products directly from the business to the
consumer.
• Call-to-Action: Typically a slogan or phrase, this is the
action you are persuading the user to take.
• Conversion: Arguably one of the most crucial part of
e-commerce. The conversion is the process of
transforming or “converting” the user to a customer.
• Conversion Funnel: The conversion funnel often referred
to as a “sales funnel,” is the path the visitor takes until the
end conversion.
Commerce and Information Technology
Terminology
• Conversion Rate: The number of visitors who
transformed into paying customers divided by the total
number of visits to the page overall.
• Cookies: Small amount of data generate by a website
and saved by the web browser.
• Domain: The main page or main URL for a website. This
is often the “Homepage” or root portion of the web
address.
• Email Marketing: Engaging your audience with products
and services promoted through email.
 Consequences of unsafe, illegal and
unethical use of technology systems
and digital content
• Media Piracy: Digital media piracy is a prominent
unethical practice undertaken with computers. Piracy is
the illegal distribution of music, movies, books and other
intellectual media.
• Ransom ware Attacks: Thieves like to use the anonymity
of the internet to attack businesses. By hacking into a
company’s main server, cyber attackers can hold a
business hostage. The hacker encrypts the entire website,
shutting the business down until the business owners pay
the hackers a fee – the ransom – in what is called a
denial-of-service attack.
 Consequences of unsafe, illegal and
unethical use of technology systems
and digital content
• Identity Theft: Along with protecting a business against
ransomware, businesses must protect consumer
information. Identity theft concerns consumers.
Companies of all sizes are susceptible to data breaches.
Major companies from leading industries have been
hacked with consumer personal information stolen.
Hackers obtain everything from names, dates of birth and
Social Security information to addresses and other
contact information that is used to create phony accounts.
 Consequences of unsafe, illegal and
unethical use of technology systems
and digital content
• Financial Theft: Some hackers don't steal the information
but instead hack systems to divert financial information
input away from the company to steal money.
• Intellectual Property Theft: Piracy isn't the only type of
intellectual property that is unethically distributed by
computer use. Competitors use any number of methods to
gain access to proprietary information that other
companies pay millions to develop. Theft often includes
patented or patent-pending information. Intellectual
property theft is often achieved by internal moles or
contract workers who have access to a company's
computer server.
Copyright Laws
• Origins of Software Copyrights: When computer
software was first introduced it was not clear if copyright
protection was applicable. The U.S. Copyright Office
determined that a computer program was similar to a
how-to guide and granted copyright protection to
computer software provided that the software met certain
requirements.
Copyright Laws
• Scope of Protection: A copyright cannot protect every
aspect of computer software as many aspects are
inherently functional, as opposed to expressive, and
based on algorithms, ideas, methods, concepts or logical
systems.
• Some of these aspects of computer software may be
eligible for patent protection rather than copyright
protection.
• The expressive elements of ideas and concepts may be
protected under copyright law but the underlying ideas
and concepts themselves are not independently worthy of
registration.
Copyright Laws
• Making Copies: Copyright law prohibits the unauthorized
copying, distribution or dissemination of copyrighted
works. These restrictions create a unique circumstance
for computer software because of the ease with which
computer software can be copied and distributed to third
parties.
• Under Section 117 of the United States Copyright Act,
individuals who hold a valid copy of computer software
are entitled to make one copy for the limited purpose of
archiving or backing up their computer software.
Copyright Laws
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act: The DMCA is one of
the major modern copyright laws governing the use of
copyrighted material over the Internet.
• The "safe harbor" provisions of the DMCA protect Internet
service providers and website hosts from liability
associated with copyrighted material that may be posted
on their website by third parties.
• The DMCA allows a party who believes that his copyright
has been infringed to send a notice of infringement
demanding that the website host remove the content. As
long as website hosts comply with such demands they are
generally protected from claims of vicarious copyright
infringement.