Technology Essentials for Global Information & Social Enterprise Studies

1. Technology Essentials for Global Information & Social Enterprise Studies

2. Why Technology? • Sustainable • Malleable • Means of creating a better world • It's everywhere!

4. Goals of Tech Essentials • Remove you from the abyss of anxiety • Show that technology can be easy (and fun) to use • Teach a set of skills that can be readily deployed  • Disseminate the need and desire to teach oneself

5. The Anatomy of a Computer

6. Case • The case is the physical structure that houses all components of a computer.  • Most cases will come with built-in fans to allow for cooling, as well as internal bays to house hard drives and optical drives.  • USB and audio ports are usually provided on the exterior of a case, with cables that need to be connected to the motherboard to make full use of them.

7. Motherboard • A central component to a computer that links all hardware parts together.  • The CPU,RAM, and PCI cards are installed here. The motherboard has PCI slots, in which you can install a variety of devices such as video cards and network cards.  • When building a computer from scratch, it is imperative to research the motherboard and ensure that your CPU and RAM will be compatible (as well as that your MB will fit in the case).  • Most motherboards come with built in audio and Ethernet ports, with some having integrated video and wireless networking.

8. Central Processing Unit (CPU) • Commonly abbreviated as CPU, this component processes all information in the computer.  • Without it, a computer cannot function. (Be wary when installing/replacing them to not bend any pins. ONE bent pin will result in a broken CPU).  • CPU speed commonly affects load time for programs as well as how fast data can be transferred. CPU speed is measured in gigahertz (ghz).

9. Random Access Memory (RAM) • This acts as volatile storage space (meaning data is wiped after shutting down) for the computer.  • RAM is fairly cheap and easy to replace, with desktop RAM being the cheapest to buy and easiest to install.  • More RAM commonly allows for more programs to be open at one time without seeing significant decrease in speed.  • Most RAM comes in 1gigabyte-2gb sticks. Modern PC standards are anywhere from 2gb in laptops to 8gb in advanced workstation desktops. 

10. Hard Drive • The hard drive is where files are stored on a computer. Unlike RAM, this storage does not go away after bootup.  • Hard drive size increases drastically over time, and adding new ones to increase space is very easy.  • Most hard drives have moving parts, though newer flash drives and solid state drives have no moving parts, making them ideal for computers where hardware failure is an issue.  • Platter-based harddrives are expected to fail after ~5 years of continual use, so backing up to external hardrives or using a RAID configuration is ideal to not lose data.  • Common sizes range from 320gb-2TB.

11. Power Supply Unit (PSU) • Also referred to as the PSU, this is the main unit in a computer that provides power to all computing parts.  • Most PSUs have a failsafe built into them so in the event of a power surge the PSU will blow instead of your parts.  • Power Supply wattage is usually only relevent when using a lot of power-needy components (video cards, multiple harddrives), with 350-500W being enough to run most computers.

12. Optical Drive (CD/DVD Drive) • Also referred to as an optical drive, CD/DVD drives connect to the motherboard and allow for CD/DVDS to be read and written to.  • Some modern drives have the capacity to read BluRay discs, though these are usually not needed for uses other than entertainment purposes.

13. Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) • Graphics cards (also known as a graphics processing unit, GPU) allows for a computer to render visual output to a monitor or display.  • GPUs come in two forms: dedicated and integrated.  • Integrated video cards are built into the motherboard and are usually weaker than their counterpart • Dedicated video cards are installed on the motherboards PCI slots as individual seperate components • Modern GPU’s can be ran in tandem (see SLI and CrossFirex) to allow for massive amounts of dedicated video processing.

14. In the end a computer is just a bunch of different hardware components that connect to each other • A single faulty component is sometimes the only problem

15. So then whats the difference between these two? vs.

16. Basically nothing

17. Macintosh vs. Windows (vs. Linux) an objective comparison

18. Macintosh • UNIX based • Fewer hardware customization options (for most Macs) • Emphasis on native software • Unable to run a lot of third-party applications • Fewer security issues • UNIX-based system • majority of malware is written for a Windows system

19. Windows • Can be used with a majority of hardware configurations • Security issues occur more frequently • More natural vulnerabilities in OS vs. UNIX systems • More Windows users = more viruses • Heavy third-party application options • Originally designed for an office environment

20. Linux (Ubuntu) • UNIX based • Open source (free) • Uses processing power extremely efficiently, making it ideal when running servers

21. Common Hardware Issues & Their Solutions

22. General smart troubleshooting tips • Search online the problem your confronting (or if nothing shows up, word your problem differently) • Check all cable connections • Keep your software and hardware up to date • As a last resort, swap out parts for known working ones if available

23. Power Supply • As electricity is a central component to a working computer, a faulty power supply can cause serious damage to a computer system. • A problematic power supply can cause some of the following: •  Random rebooting •  Unexplained lockups & freezes •  Corrupted display with fuzzy and distorted picture • Other devices fail to start or just stop working • Fortunately, power supplies are cheap and relatively easy to replace. 

24. RAM • Bad RAM modules can lead to multiple issues, most frequently full system lockups and extremely slow boot-up time • RAM is easily replaced and available, and swapping out modules for known working ones is common practice • RAM can occasionally get infected by powerful malware, which needs to be removed by programs that can specifically target RAM

25. Hard Drive • Broken platter-based hard drives will 'click' when broken, meaning that internal hardware parts have failed • Clicking drives are often beyond repair, though expensive data recovery services can retrieve data from these drives on a case-basis • Backing up is that much more important!

26. Viruses and Malware

27. What is malware? • Malware is general term describing any type of software that is designed to access a computer system without the informed consent of the user • Malware can be broken down into various types: • Computer Viruses • Worms • Trojans • Spyware • Keylogger

28. Worm - self-replicating program that uses networks to replicate itself Trojan Horse - a program that appears to have function but instead provides back-door access to a system  Adware - aka ad-supported software, these are software packages that displays or downloads advertisements usually as a pop-up  Spyware - a type of malware that collects and logs small bits of information about a users actions, such as personal and financial information  Keylogger - a keylogger is a problem that records the keystrokes of a user, often to steal passwords, bank account numbers, and other personal information Other Malware classifications

29. Computer Virus • A computer virus is a software program that can copy itself and infect a computer • True viruses spread from one computer to another through a network, the Internet, or removable mediums • Most viruses are written with the intention of never being discovered • Like biological viruses, as software systems become more diverse, viruses have a harder time infecting systems

30. Because malware can be so pervasive, it should be removed ASAP to prevent infecting other systems ... though the best offense is a good defense

31. Don't let pre-installed "trial" software programs fool you • Windows laptops often come with a bevy of unnecessary software programs (sometimes referred to as 'bloatware') that generally causes more harm than good • Trial versions of anti-virus software are notorious for this, despite that it often conflicts and decreases the efficacy of other anti-virus programs

32. Good anti-malware software for Windows systems • Microsoft Security Essentials • MSE is, arguably, one of the best free anti-virus software programs in the Windows environment. It protects against almost all sorts of malware and is easy to use.   •  Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBAM) •  A powerful free malware removal program  • Spybot Search & Destroy (S&D) • A popular spyware and adware removal program that can scan both hard drives and RAM for malicious software 

33. ... so what about Macintosh? • As stated, Macs were designed with security in mind • Macs are not backwards compatible • Administrative privileges make it difficult to install unwanted software without the user knowing • Anti-virus software is still recommended •  ClamXav •  Virus Barrier

34. Malware can hide in lots of different places To keep your computer in an operable state, it's important to do some cleaning every once in a while