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GNS 312 - DIGITAL SKILL ACQUISITION

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NOTE: Kindly note that this PDF was not made available to replace the textbooks
but rather provided as study guide, in other to help students have more understanding
on the course and to give an insight of how the C.A/EXAM will be. You are expected to
pay attention so that you can understand accordingly. Make sure to share this Study
Guide with your colleagues. Success is yours by God`s grace.

COURSE OUTLINE

 Computer Fundamentals
 Operating System
 Office Applications
 Database
 The Internet and the Web
 Computer Security and Privacy

COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS

Computer is as an electronic device that accepts data as input, processes the data and
generates results as output. The data are processed using a set of instructions called
program, while the instruction in the program directs the computer on how to arrive at
the result and generate the expected output known as information.

Elements of a Computer
A computer system can be divided into three main components: hardware, software
and humanware.

1) The Hardware is the physical components and the devices which make up the visible
computer. It is divided into two; Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the Peripherals. The
CPU is responsible for all processing that the computer does while the peripherals are
responsible for feeding data into the system and for collecting information from the
system.

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 The CPU consists of Main storage, Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control
Unit. The main storage is used for storing data to be processed as well as the
instructions for processing them. The ALU is the unit for arithmetic and logical
operations. The control unit ensures the smooth operation of the other hardware units.
It fetches instruction, decode (interprets) the instruction and issues commands to the
units responsible for executing the instructions.

 The peripherals are in three categories: Input devices, Output devices and auxiliary
storage devices. The input device is used for supplying data and instructions to the
computer. Examples are terminal Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Microphone, Scanner,
Webcam etc. Output device is used for obtaining result (information) from the computer.
Examples are Printers, Video Display Unit (VDU), loudspeaker, projector, etc. Auxiliary
Storage Devices are used for storing information on a long-term basis. Examples are hard
disk, flash disk, magnetic tape, memory card, and so on.

2) The Software is basically a computer program. A program consists of sequence of

instructions required to accomplish a well-defined task such as computing the
average score of students in a course and preparation of the employee payroll. It is the
software that drives the hardware to accomplish a given task. There are two main
categories of software; they are System software and Application software.

 System software are programs commonly written by computer manufacturers,

which have direct effect on the control, performance and ease of usage of the computer
system. Examples are Operating System, Language Translators, Utilities and Service
Programs, Device drivers, etc.

 Application Software are programs written by a user to solve specific task(s) not
directly tied to the system hardware. They do not have any effect on the efficiency of
the computer system. An example is a program to calculate the grade point average of
all the 100L students. Application software can be User application program or
Application package.

 User's Application Program is a program written by the user to solve specific

problem which is not generalized in nature. Examples include writing a program to
find the roots of quadratic equation, payroll application program, and program to
compute students' results.
 Application Package is the application programs can also be written such that
they can be adopted by a number of different organizations or persons to solve similar
problem. They include word processors,Database packages,Spreadsheet packages,
Graphic packages, and Statistical packages.

3) The Humanware is the third element that can be identified in a computer system

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apart from the hardware and software. The components of the humanware in a computer
system include the system analyst, the programmer, data entry operator, end users etc.

Characteristics of a Computer
 Electronic in nature- data are represented in form of electronic pulses.
 Speed- computers can perform millions of calculation in few seconds.
 High degree of accuracy- It is garbage-in-garbage-out (GIGO)
 Consistency – That is, given the same set of input data, the same result will
always be produced
 Iterative - Ability to perform repetitive operations without getting bored or
fatigued
 Storage: Can store data/information on a long term basis.

Types/Classifications of Computer
 By Nature of Data
 By Size
 By Generation
 By Purpose

By Nature of Data:
Analogue Computer: This deals with quantities that and continuously varying. It
measures changes in current, temperature or pressure and translates these data into
electrical pulses for processing. Examples are speedometer, electric meter, water meter,
thermometer, etc.

Digital Computers: This operates on data representation in the form of discrete values or
digits, i.e. it processes data represented in the form of 0s and 1s. this type is common at
home and offices.

Hybrid Computers: = Analogue features + digital features. They handle data in both
discrete and variable quantities. They are mostly found in industrial processes for data
acquisition and data processing purposes which may therefore need Analogue-to-Digital
Converter and Digital-to-Analogue Converter Modulator/Demodulator (MODEM)

By Size
Super Computers: They are extraordinarily powerful computers. They are the largest and
fastest computer systems. They were highly accurate, precise , speed for mathematical
computer, used for animation purposes, mostly in Hollywood movies, meteorological,
astronomical and oil exploration applications, also for forecasting wether reports.
Examples: Cray-1, Cyber series, Fujistu, ETA-10 system.

Mainframe Computers: are powerful Central Processing Unit (CPU) linked by cable to
hundreds or thousands of terminals and can accept data at the same time. They are very
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big, expensive, general-purpose computers with memory capacity more than 100 million
bytes and processing power of well above 10 Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS). They
are used in organization like banks, oil companies, big hospitals, examination bodies erc.
Examples: ICL 1900 and IBM 360/370 series, IBM 704.

Minicomputer: It share the same features like the mainframe but It is smaller, It
generates lower amount of heat, has less number of instruction set Cost and it is not as
expensive as mainframe. Examples: IBM AS/400, NCR Tower 32, DEC System’s PDP 7. This
type is being used in the University of Ilorin COMSIT; Computer services and information
technology.

Microcomputer: It is also called Personal Computer (PC) . It is smaller in size compared to

mini and mainframe computers and it is cheaper in terms of cost compared to others. It is
made up of ICs and elements of computer are replaced by a single IC (integrated circuit)
called “chip”. It was first developed by companies like Apple Computers and later by IBM
PC in 1981.

Other types in size are palmtop and personal digital assistance (PDA).

By Generation
First Generation Computers: are the early computer that were manufactured in the1940s
and last till 1950s. They use vacuum tubes as its major components. They introduced
stored programs and they were programmable only in Machine Language (ML). Examples:
UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer), ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Calculator) etc.

Second Generation Computers: were manufactured in the early 1950s and lasted until
late1950s. They were built around transistors which replaced the vacuum tube in the first
generation and resulted to reduction in size, less power consumption, generation of less
heat and improved storage facility due to introduction of magnetic devices for storage
medium. They were programmable using symbolic languages. Examples: ATLAS, IBM 1400
series (International business Machine) , PDP I & II (Programmed Data Processor I & II)

Third Generation Computers: manufactured in the early 1960s to the late 1960s. They
use Integrated Circuitry (IC): thousands of transistors combined into a single unit
component, reduction in size, less power consumption, generation of less heat. The concept
of multi-programming was introduced. They were programmable using High Level
Languages. Examples: IBM 360/370 series, ICL 1900 series (International Computers
Limited) , PDP I & II (Programmed Data Processor I & II)

Fourth Generation Computers: manufactured in the early 1970s and were built with
Very Large-Scale Integrated Circuitry (VLSI): over ten thousand flip-flops were placed in a
single silicon chip, i.e. thousands of ICs were combined into a single chip. This generation
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witnessed the microcomputer with the introduction of microprocessors as its major

component. There ware reduction in size, less power consumption, generation of less heat.
programmable using High Level Languages. Examples:
IBM, COMPAQ 2000 series, Dell series, Toshiba

Fifth Generation Computers: started in the 1980s and classical researches are still going
on in this generation of computers. The research is to build a computer system that mimics
the intelligence of human expert in a knowledge domain such as medicine, law, education,
criminal investigation, etc. They use the concept of Artificial Intelligence and Expert
Systems Development.

By Purpose
Special purpose Computers: are developed to perform only one task. The program for the
machine is built into the machine permanently. They are used in air traffic control system;
military weapons control system, ship navigation system and industrial process controls

General Purpose Computers: have ability to handle a wide variety of programs and to
solve many problems such as payroll, numerical analysis, software development for
accounting, inventory system, etc. It makes use of stored program for switching from one
application to another

Computer Memory
A computer memory is the store in which data/information and instructions can be
temporarily or permanently kept for processing or future use. It is made up of elements
called BIT (BInarydigiT). Bits are organized into 8-bit addressable units called BYTES.

Memory Sizes
Size Equiv. in Byte
1 Kilobyte (KB) 1,024 bytes
1 Megabyte (MB) 1,048,576 bytes = 1024 KB
1 Gigabyte (GB) 1, 073, 741, 824 bytes = 1024 MB
1 Terabyte (TB) 1, 099, 511, 627, 776 bytes = 1024 GB
1 Petabyte (PB) 1, 125, 899, 906, 8242, 626 bytes = 1024 TB

Types of Memory
Primary/Main Memory : resides inside the CPU and hold data/instruction undergoing
processing. It is regarded as RAM, Random Access Memory. Data stored in it lost when
power is off or has failure. Also, data can be read and written into the memory.

Secondary/Auxiliary Memory: is an external memory used to store data/information

permanently for future use. Data stored in it is not lost when power is off or has failure.
Examples; Local HD, External HD, Optical Disks (CD, DVD), Flash Drive/Pen Drive , Zip
Drive, Floppy Drive, and Memory Card
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Cache Memory
Cache Memory (pronounced as Kash) : is the memory that serves as a buffer between the
CPU and main memory.

Data/information and instruction frequently used in the CPU are kept in the cache for
faster access

Input and Output Devices

Input Devices: Data and instructions are fed into the computer through input devices
The input device translates data and instruction into the form the computer can process
Examples: Keyboard, Mouse, Bluetooth, Scanner, Web camera, Joy stick, Touch pad, Light
pen, Bar code Reader, Digital camera, Track ball, Microphone, Graphics tablets, Magnetic
ink character reader, Optical card reader (OCR), Magnetic Card reader (MCR), Biometric
device.

Output Devices: Information are received from the computer through the output devices.
The output device translates information into the form users can understand. Examples:
Monitor/ visual display unit (VDU) , Printer, Graph Plotter, Speaker, Projector.

Computer Network
A computer network is a system of computers interconnected to share data and resources
with one another.

Types of Computer Network

1) Local Area Network (LAN): It is a network that interconnects computers within a
limited area and has its equipment locally managed. The limited area covered by a LAN
could be a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building.

2) Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): It is a network that connects computers in a

geographical area larger than that covered by LAN such as a city.

3) Wide Area Network (WAN): It is a network that extends over a large

geographical distance. The area covered is wider than that of MAN.

Hardware Components of Computer Network:

 Network Cable
 Distributor
 External Network Card
 Internal Network Card
 Router

Benefits of Computer Network:

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 Share files stored in one location(network) by multiple users

 Shares devices such as printers or access the internet
 Company information is organized in one central area for storage, maintenance
and backup

Computer Troubleshooting
This is the act of identifying and correcting faults in a computer system. It involves a step-
by-step logical and systematic search for the sources of faults or problems in order to fix
them and make the computer work properly as expected.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Operating System (OS) is a system software that manages computer hardware and
software resources and provides common services for computer programs. OS is the
program that is first loaded when power button is on.

Functions of OS
 OS allocates memory
 Prioritizes the processing of instructions
 Controls input and output devices
 Facilitates Networking
 Manages files and schedules the execution of other programs in a computer

Types of OS
1) MS-DOS is an acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System and was developed by
Microsoft for IBM-compatible personal computers. To use DOS, you follow the following
steps: - Click on window start button - Type command - Press the enter key

List of some DOS Command Description

The cd command is the shorthand version of the chdir command.
The chdir command is used to display the drive letter and folder that you are currently in.
It can also be used to change the drive and/or directory that you want to work in.
The chkdsk command, often referred to as check disk, is used to identify and correct
certain hard drive errors.
The cls command clears the screen of all previously entered commands and other text.
The rename command is used to change the name of the individual file that you specify.
The copy command does simply that - it copies one or more files from one location to
another.
The date command is used to show or change the current date.
The del command is used to delete one or more files.The del command is the same as the
erase command.
ETC.
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2) Microsoft Windows (or simply Windows) is a family of graphical based operating

systems developed by Microsoft in 1995. It consists of several versions, each of which is
made available to a certain sector of the computing industry.

Various versions of windows OS

 Windows OS Year
 Windows 1.0 1985
 Windows 2.0-2.11 1987
 Windows 3.0 1990
 Windows NT 1993
 Windows 95 1995
 Windows 98 1998
 Windows ME 2000
 Windows XP 2001
 Windows Vista 2006
 Windows 7 2009
 Windows 8 2012
 Windows 10 2015

There are many different versions of Windows but the fundamentals are the same. Some of
the basics of windows are: - Desktop - Start Menu - Icons - Taskbar - Title bar, etc. Windows
Fundamentals

The “Desktop” is the general work area of your computer. It gives you access to programs,
folders and documents that you use frequently. The figure below is a desktop of a computer.
Desktop Desktop.

Start Menu is located at the lower left hand corner of the screen. It is indicated by window
icon with or without the word start. Clicking on the “Start” button will give you access to
settings, help, other programs and documents and many other features.

An icon is a symbol/picture in a windows environment which acts as a button in order to

open up application, document, folder or other object. It has 3 types; Application icon,
Folder icon, and Document icon.
The taskbar is what you see at the very bottom of your screen. It contains the “Start”
button, which allows access to other Windows programs and features that are not on the
desktop.

System tray or simply systray shows programs running in the background, the clock,
volume control, etc. It is at the lower right corner of the desktop on desktop on the taskbar.

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Title Bar is at the top of the window containing the following items such as Minimize,
Maximize, Restore and Close.

Types of Windows
Program Windows – are used to open applications like Word, Internet Explorer, etc.
Document Windows – open specific documents within the applicable program windows.
Folder Windows – open folders that contain other folders, documents, programs, etc.

Menu bar: allows access to features within a particular program. Office 2010 programs
have a menu bar configured in a different way called “the ribbon”

Scroll Bars: When there is a more content than a window can contain, the scroll bars
appear at the bottom and even more often on the right hand side of a window. Scroll bars
are disabled when the content displayed is limited enough to fit within the dimensions of
the window.

Cut, copy, and paste commands in windows can be used to move text, graphics and other
items from one application to the other such as from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Word.
Copied or cut items are placed in temporary storage called the Clipboard and can be
retrieved as long as the computer is on or if the item has not been replaced by another
selected item. An item on the Clipboard can be pasted multiple times.

OFFICE APPLICATIONS

Word Processing

Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing softwares supported by both
Mac and PC platforms. It is used to create documents, brochure, leaflets outlines, resumes,
lists, and simple web pages.

Toolbars and Tabs

The new Microsoft Word uses one main toolbar to allow you to modify your document.
Within this toolbar.

The Main Toolbar contains all the options available to you in Microsoft Word. The file tab
allows you to Save, Save As, Save as Adobe PDF, Open, Close, Print, Export, and Share

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The Home Tab is Microsoft Words standard view. This is the view most widely used. It
allows you to format text by Font Style, Font Size, Bold, Italic, Underline, Alignment,
Numbered List, Bulleted List, Indentation, Spacing, and Font Color.

The Insert Tab contains any additives you want to place in your document including but
not limited to: Tables, Online Picture/Clip Art Searches, Headers, and Footers.

The Design tab contains different styles of page formatting. When you type, your layout
will automatically match the format selected. It allows you to change the color scheme,
watermark, paragraph spacing of the document.

The Page Layout Tab contains icons for page setup and paragraph actions, such as Margin,
Orientation, Size and Columns.

The References Tab makes it simple to add Table of Contents, Footnotes, Bibliographic
Information, Indexes and Citations.

The Mailings Tab is meant for post-office related uses. It is used to create custom
Envelopes or Labels.

The Review Tab is where one can find Spelling & Grammar, the built in Thesaurus and
Dictionary, you can Track Changes, Check Word Count, and Show/Add Comments.

The View Tab allows you to change the views of your document.

The Acrobat Tab is the final tab. It allows users to format their word documents to Adobe
PDFs.

Formatting Paragraphs

Highlight the paragraph you wish to format. To highlight more than one paragraph, click
at the beginning of the paragraph and drag the mouse over the text. To apply changes to
the entire document, select all by hitting Ctrl + A. To specify Alignment, Line Spacing,
Indentation, and Page Break, expand the Paragraph section of the Home Tab. This will open
up the Paragraph menu .

The Alignment option allows you to choose how you want your paragraph to look (i.e.
justified, right, center, or left). The Line Spacing option allows you to set the desired
spacing, such as single or double. The Indentation option allows you to tab/push the line(s)
in your paragraph either left or right. The Page Break option allows you to split a
paragraph or a page up into sections.

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Formatting Text

To change text that has already been typed, click and drag over the text to be changed to
highlight it (or go to Edit > Select All to select the entire document) and change it as
before.

Inserting and Adding Objects

To insert Clip Art or Pictures: Go to Insert Tab > Illustrations box > Online Pictures. A
dialogue box with the Clip Art gallery and the Bing Image Search engine will appear.

Creating a Table, Go to Insert Tab > Tables box > Table button. Choose the desired table
size and format by hovering over the boxes, and press Enter on the keyboard.

Printing

Go to File Tab > Print > Print, select your desired settings, and then click Print again. Saving
as A Pdf; Go to File Tab > Save As Adobe PDF. Or Go to Mailings Tab > Acrobat box > Merge
to Adobe PDF button.

OTHER HELPFUL FUNCTIONS

Undo and Redo: The easiest way to undo an action is with the key commands Ctrl + Z and
to redo an action with Ctrl + Y. There are also two icons above the Main Toolbar near the
Save Icon. The left icon is Undo and the right icon is Redo.

Word Count: Go to Review Tab > Proofing Box > Word Count. This will give you the total
number of words in your document . If you need to word-count a specific section,
highlight that section first, then click and drag over it and then go to Review Tab > Proofing
Box > Word Count as before.

Quitting: Go to File Tab > Exit Word. This is better than just closing the window, as it
ensures your document quits correctly.

SHORCUT KEYS FOR MICROSOFT OFFICE

 CTRL+K Create a hyperlink

 CTRL+/ Display HTML tags

 CTRL+T Create an Auto Thumbnail of the selected picture

 CTRL+SHIFT+B Preview a page in a Web browser

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 SHIFT+ALT+F11 Display the Microsoft Script Editor

 CTRL+N Create a new page

 CTRL+B Bold

 CTRL+I Italic

 CTRL+U Underline

 CTRL+C Copy

 CTRL+V Paste

 CTRL+Z Undo

 CTRL+S Save

 CTRL+P Print

 CTRL+O Open

SPREADSHEET

Spreadsheet is a type of application program which manipulates numerical and string data
in rows and columns of cells. It can also be defined as a computer software program that is
used for storing, organizing and manipulating data. It is such an interactive computer
application for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. The best known
spreadsheets are MS Excel and Lotus.

Three Commonly Used Toolbars

The Home Tab: One of the most common tabs used in Excel. You are able to format the
text in your document, cut, copy, and paste information. Change the alignment of your data,
insert, delete, and format cells. It also allows you to change the number of your data
(i.e. currency, time, date).

The Insert Tab: Mainly used for inserting visuals and graphics into your document. There
are various different things that can be inserted from this tab such as pictures, clip art,
charts, links, headers and footers, and word art.

The Page Layout Tab: Able to add margins, themes to your document, change the
orientation, page breaks, and titles.

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Cells are Important part of any project being used in Microsoft Excel. They hold all of the
data that is being used to create the spreadsheet or workbook.

To enter data into a cell you simply click once inside of the desired cell, a green border will
appear around the cell. This border indicates that it is a selected cell. You may then begin
typing in the data for that cell. You may change an entry within a cell two different ways:

1. Click the cell one time and begin typing.

2. Double click the cell and a cursor will appear inside. This allows you to edit certain
pieces of information within the cells instead of replacing all of the data.

Formatting Cells

There are various options that can be changed to format the spreadsheets cells. When
changing the format within cells you must select the cells that you wish to format.

1. Drag and select the cells you wish to change.

2. Click Home Tab > Format > Format Cells. A box will appear on the screen with six
different tab options.

Number: Allows you to change the measurement in which your data is used. (If your data
is concerned with money the number that you would use is currency)

Alignment: This allows you to change the horizontal and vertical alignment of your text
within each cell.

Font: Gives the option to change the size, style, color, and effects.

Border: Gives the option to change the design of the border around or through the cells.

Columns are cells that run vertically down the document. You can insert an extra column
of cells like this:

1. Drag select along the column of cells where you want your new column to appear.

2. Go to Home Tab > Insert > Insert Sheet Column. The column will automatically be
place on the spreadsheet and any data to the right of the new column will be moved more
to the right.

Charts are an important part to being able to create a visual for spreadsheet data.

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1. In order to create a chart within Excel, the data to be used for it needs to be entered
already into the spreadsheet document. Once the data is entered, the cells that are going to
be used for the chart need to be highlighted so that the software knows what to include.
Next, click on the Insert Tab that is located at the top of the screen.

2. You may choose the chart that is desired by clicking the category of the chart you will use.
Once the category is chosen the charts will appear as small graphics within a drop down
menu. To choose a particular chart, just click on its icon and it will be placed within the
spreadsheet you are working on.

3. To move the chart to a page of its own, select the border of the chart and Right Click. This
will bring up a drop down menu, navigate to the option that says Move Chart. This will
bring up a dialog box that says Chart Location. From here, you will need to select the circle
next to As A New Sheet and name the sheet that will hold your chart. The chart will pop up
larger in a separate sheet but in the same workbook as your entered data.

Chart Design: are features that you can use to make changes to your chart

Microsoft PowerPoint is a slide show presentation program developed by Microsoft, for

use on both Microsoft and Apple Macintosh operating systems.

There are three features that you should remember as you work within PowerPoint
2013: the File menu tab, the Quick Access Toolbar, and the Ribbon.

File Menu Tab allows you to create a new presentation, Open an existing presentation,
save and save as, print, send, set options, and close.

Ribbon is the panel at the top portion of the document. It has seven tabs: Home, Insert,
Design, Transitions, Animations, Slide Show, Review and View.

Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable toolbar that contains commands that you may
want to use.

Mini Toolbar is a floating toolbar that is displayed when you select text or right-click
text. It displays common text formatting tools, such as Bold, Italics, Fonts, Font Size and
Font Color.

INTRODUCTION TO DATABASE

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A database is a structured collection of related data. The data could be that of an

organization such as the records of all employees in an establishment.

A database (DB) is most often electronic which can be saved on computer memory,
retrieved and sorted or processed electronically. A relational database management system
comprise of data organized into tables.

The tables are made of tuples called records which represent (semi) complete information
about an entity. The records are made up of fields which are the attributes of an entity
represented as a record. The table contains 12 records with 5 fields each: ID, Name,
Country Code, District and Population.

Database component

A typical relational database management system such as MS Access contains four

components:

i. Tables

ii. Queries

iii. Forms

iv. Report

1. Tables are the store in which data are kept in a database. Accessing data requires direct
access to the tables in a database. All Queries, Forms and Reports pull from the data saved
in the tables. In MS Access, there are two views for Tables (and other components as well):
the Data View and the Design View. The Design view can be used to build the structure of
a table by specifying the fields, their data types, size and other information. The Data View
can be used for record manipulations: entry, sorting, filtering, editing, and deleting.

In the design of Tables in a relational database such as MS Access, two principal

components needs to be specified to facilitate the accessing of data from one or more tables
in the database. These components are the Primary Key and the Foreign Key.

 The primary key is the field in a Table that is unique in value for each of the records in
the Table. It is used to identify each record from among others. Fields such as
Employee ID and Student Matric Number are good primary for Employee and Students
Tables respectively.

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 A foreign key is simply one or more fields in a given Table that are primary key in
another Table. Foreign key helps in uniquely identifying a related record from the
other Table in which the field (Foreign key) is a primary key.

2. Queries are commands or instructions designed to retrieve data from one or more
tables in the database. They can be designed to fetch data that satisfy certain criteria from
the tables and also to perform some computation on data retrieved from some fields in the
tables. Queries can also be accessed both in Design view and the data view. The design view
provides the features for creating queries while the data view executes and display the
results of queries.

3. Forms are well-organized medium for entering data into a database. Similar to the
conventional form filled by humans, database forms arranges database fields with
corresponding text boxes for entering data for the fields. It main purpose is for users to
enter data into the database without accidentally altering the structure or design of the
database tables. It is also used to view the records in the tables of a database. The form
consist of the fields in the customer table and thus can be used to view old records and
enter new records in the customer table.

4. Reports are the output of data in an organized form for human consumption. It is simply
the print out of data in one or more tables or the results of queries. The report consists of
the eight fields of the Customer table. Reports can also be created from query result.

INTERNET AND THE WEB

The Internet is often referred to as the Net. It's a means by which a computer is connected
to any other computer anywhere in the world via dedicated routers and servers.

Computers that get connected globally over the Internet can send and receive all kinds of
information such as text, graphics, voice, video, and computer programs. Information that
travels over the internet does so through languages known as protocols. Any computer on
the internet is identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

The Web is also referred to as World Wide Web (WWW). It's a way of accessing
information over the medium of the Internet. It's a collection of interconnected documents
and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). The
Web also utilizes browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera Mini,Google Chrome
etc to access Web pages. Web documents contain graphics,sounds, text and video.

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WWW is one of the services provided by the Internet, it's an information sharing model
that is built on it. It relies on simple mail transfer protocols (SMTP), usernet news group,
instant messaging, and FTP.

Internet Service Provider(ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing,

using, or participating in the internet activities. ISP may be organized in various forms,
such as commercial, community owned, non-profit, or otherwise privately owned.

Services provided by ISPs include Internet access, Internet transit, domain name
registration, web hosting,Usenet service, and collocation. Connection technologies used by
ISP include dial-up, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable, and wireless modems. The most
widely used ISP are national and wireless.

An ISP can be categorized into Access provider ISPs, Edge provider, Mailbox provider,
Hosting ISPs, Transit ISPs, Virtual ISPs, Free ISPs and Wireless ISPs. An ISP serves as the
main entry or gateway access to the world largest network of computers, the Internet.

Some ISP companies who are responsible for providing, distributing and regulating
internet access to individuals, organizations and government establishment in Nigeria
include NETOM Africa, SWIFT, IPNX Nigeria, ETISALAT, SPECTRANET, SMILES,GLOBACOM,
VDT Communications,MTN Nigeria and VISAFONE.

Connections and Protocols

A connection is the successful completion of necessary arrangements so that two or more

parties (for example, people or programs) can communicate at a long distance. It has a
strong physical (hardware) connotation although logical (software) elements are usually
involved.

Protocols are set of rules that makes communications possible between computers. They
specify interactions between the communicating entities.

The two most important protocols that allow networks to cooperate with one another and
exchange information are called TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet
Protocol). Collectively, these two protocols are known as Transmission Control Protocol
{TCP} and IP. Other protocols include File Transfer Protocol {FTP}, Hypertext Transfer
Protocol {HTTP}, Real Time Transfer Protocol {RTP}, Trivial File Transfer Protocol {TFTP},
User Datagram Protocol {UDP}, Point to Point Protocol {PPP}, etc.

Mailing System

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Mailing system always involves the sender and receiver. At the sender end, data is broken
into packets and sent to the nearest node (router). At each router, it sends the packet to
another router that is closer to the final destination. At the receiver end; packets are
reassembled to get the original data. Examples include E-mail

Electronic mail, most commonly called e-mail or e-mail since around 1993 is a method of
exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. It is an information
and communication technology {ICT}. There are many software platforms available to send
and receive. Popular e-mail platforms include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and
many others.

A typical e-mail address consists of four basic components which include the user name,
the "@" symbol, the mail server and the top-level domain. Example of an e-mail address is
[email protected]

'abikoye.o' is the username, the '@' symbol is used to separate the username from
the mail server. 'unilorin' is the mail server that describe the company or institution
that owns the email server. '.edu.ng' is the one the top-level domain; this is what
breaks down various websites into hierarchies. Other top-level domain include '.fom'
which is used for commercial business, '.org' which is used for non-profit agencies
and groups, '.edu' which is for educational institutions and '.gov' for government
agencies.

Internet Services

• Electronic mail

• Remote terminal: allows you to log on to a remote machine

• File transfer: This is the achieved by FTP. It's used to send a copy of file from one
computer to another.

• Newsgroups: Usernet Newsgroups are special groups set up by people who want to
share common interests ranging from current topic to cultural heritage. Newsgroups
include;

 File sharing

 Resource distribution

 World Wide Web

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 Video conferencing

 Games

E-Commerce

E-Commerce known as electronic commerce or EC is the buying and selling of goods and
services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the
Internet. It draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer,
supply chain management, internet marketing,online transaction processing, Electronic
Data Interchange(EDI), Inventory management systems and automated data collection
systems.

Types of E-Commerce

Three basic types are

1. Business-to- consumer : is between companies and consumers and widely used for/by
online banking,online trading and shopping.

2. Business-to-business is between companies and about 80% of e-commerce use this

type.

3. Consumer- to-consumer: between private Individuals or consumers. Web auctions use

this type and the auction has two basic types, which are auction house sites and person to
person auction sites. This e-commerce can be in 3 forms, which are auction facilitated at a
Portal such as eBay , peer to peer systems such as the Napster model and classified ads at
Portal sites such as Excite Classifieds and eWanted, Pakwheels.com.

Other types of E-commerce include Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G, M-

commerce (mobile commerce), Consumer-to-Business (C2B), Business-to-Administration
(B2A) & Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)

Browsers and Search Tools

A web browser is a client program that requests services from a web server. Web sites
are hosted on dedicated computers known as 'web servers'. Web browsers display web
pages delivered from a web server. Browsers access the Web, allowing you to surf or
explore. Some related terms are:

• URLs : addresses to web resources which include protocol and domain name.

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• HTML : commends to display web pages.

• JavaScript: a scripting language that adds basic interactivity and form checking to web
pages.

• Applet : special programs link r to web pages and typically written in JAVA.

• Mobile browsers: run on portable devices , display on very small screens.

Examples of web browser include: Opera, Firefox, iCab, Safari, Konqueror, Google Chrome,
Epiphany, SeaMonkey, K-Meleon, OmniWeb.

Search Tools

Search allows you to search content created by tools within a worksite or course. It
indexes many different types of content, including messages, web pages in Hyper Text
Markup Language (HTML) format, documents in DOC, Portable Document File (PDF), or
Rich Text Format(RTF) format, spreadsheets in XLS format, and Wiki pages. There are
three basic types of search tools :

1) Search engine is a computer program that is used to find or locate information on the
internet. It includes Google, Infospace, Bing, info, Yahoo! Search,DuckDuckGo, Ask, Blekko,
Aol Search, Contenko, Wow, Dogpile, Webcrawler, Alhea, My WebSearch

2) Subject Directories are generally smaller and selective than search engines. They use
categories to focus your search, and their sites are arranged by categories, not just by
keywords. A good example of a search directory is Yahoo, a combination search
engine/search directory/search portal, or one of the original search directories,Open
Directory or DMOZ for short.

3) Metasearch engine is also known as an aggregator. It is a search tool that uses another
search engine’s data to produce their own results from the Internet. Examples of Meta-
search Engines include Blingo, yippy(formerly Clusty), DeeperWeb, Dogpile, Excite, HotBot,
Info.com, Ixquick(StartPage), Kayak and sidestep, Mamma,metacrawler, Mobissimo, Otalo,
PCH Search and Win, Skyscanner, WebCrawlerr

Web Utilities

Web utilities are specialized utility programs that make the use of the Internet and the Web
easier and safer. It has two categories:

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1. Plug-ins : These arePrograms that automatically load and operate as part of your
browser. Many web sites require plug-ins for users to fully experience web page contents.
Some plug-ins are included in many of today’s browsers; others must be installed. Some
widely used plug-ins are: Shockwave, Quicktime

2. Helper Applications (add-ons) : are Independent programs that can be executed or

launched from your browser. It has four types:

1. Off-line browsers: These automatically connect you to selected web sites, download
HTML documents and save them to your hard disk. Example: FlashSite

2. Information pushers: They automatically gather information on topics areas (channels)

and send them to your hard disk. Examples: PointCast, Backweb.

3. Off-line search utilities: They automatically submit your search request to several
search engines. They receive the results, sort them, and eliminate duplicates. Examples:
Metacrawler, Dogpile.

4. Filters: These are Programs that can allow parents or organizations to block out selected
sites. They can monitor usage and generate reports detailing time spent on activities.
Examples: Cyber Patrol, Cybersitter, NetNanny.

File Transfer Utilities

File transfer utilities copy files to (downloading) and from (uploading) your computer. It
has three types :

1. File transfer protocol (FTP) and secure file transfer protocol (SFTP); allows you to
copy fuels across the Internet.

2. Web-based file transfer services make use of a Web browser to upload and download
files.

3. BitTorrent distributes file transfers across many different computers.

Intranet Intranet

An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to share

information, operational systems, or computing services within an organization. An
intranet is also basically a network that is local to a company. It include Local Area
Networks (LANs), private Wide Area Networks (WANs) and Metropolitan Area Networks
(MANs).
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An extranet is a private network that uses Internet technology and the public
telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or operations
with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet is also an
extended intranet, a network between organizations.

Firewall

A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and
outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. It establishes a barrier
between a trusted, secure internal network and another outside network, such as the
Internet, that is assumed not to be secure or trusted. It is a part of a computer system or
network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward
communication.

It is also a device or set of devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all
computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of rules and other
criteria. Firewalls are used in preventing unauthorized internet users from accessing
private networks connected to the internet.

COMPUTER SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Security is the freedom from risk or danger. Security in computer means the prevention of,
or protection against, access to information by unauthorized recipients, and intentional but
unauthorized destruction or alteration of that information.

Security is the ability of a system to protect information and system resources with respect
to confidentiality and integrity."

Computer security is connected to 3 core areas, with the acronym "CIA":

1. Confidentiality

2. Integrity

3. Availability

The primary goal and objectives of computer security are contained within the CIA Triad.

It is a good idea to be familiar with these principles and use them as guidelines and
measuring sticks against which to judge all things related to security.
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Aside from the CIA Triad, there are host of other security-related concepts, principles, and
tenets which include Privacy, Identification, Authentication, Authorization, Accountability,
Non-repudiation, and Auditing.

 Privacy is the prevention of unauthorized access. It's freedom from unauthorized

access to information. It's freedom from being observed, monitored or examined
without consent or knowledge.

 Identification is the process whereby a subject professes an identity and

accountability is initiated.

 Authentication is the process of verifying or testing that the claimed identity is valid.

 Authorization is the process of ensuring that the requested activity or access to an

object possible given the rights and privileges assigned to the authentication identity.

 Auditing is the process whereby authorized or abnormal activities are detected on a

system. It's the programmatic mean in which subjects are held accountable for their
actions while authenticated on a system.

 Accountability is established by linking a human to the activities of an online identity

through the security services and mechanisms of auditing, authorization,
authentication and identification.

 Non-repudiation is established by using digital certificates, session identifiers,

transaction logs and numerous other transactional and access control mechanisms.

The element of protection mechanisms.

These are common characteristics of security controls. Not all security controls must have
them, but many controls offer their protection for confidentiality, integrity, and availability
through the use of these mechanisms.

1. Layering; this is also known as defense in depth. It is simply the use of multiple controls
in a series.

2. Data hiding: This is preventing data from being discovered or accessed by a subject. For
example, keeping a database from being accessed by unauthorized person is a form of data
hiding.

3. Abstraction: This is used when classifying objects or assigning roles to users of a system
in way that the users can have access to a system based on the role assigned to them.
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4. Encryption is the art and science of hiding the meaning or intent of a communication
from unintended recipients. It can take many forms and be applied to every type of
electronic communication, including text, audio, and video, files, as well as applications
themselves.

Threats and Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability is a weakness which allows an attacker to reduce a system's information

assurance.

Threat is a set of circumstances that has the potential to cause loss or harm. It can be
viewed from interception, interruption, modification and fabrication

Computer security treat is a possible danger that might exploit a vulnerability of a

computer in order to breach the security and therefore causing possible harm to the
computer or it's assets. It can be hardware or software threat.

Malicious entities are focused on violating the security perimeter of a system to obtain
access to data, alter or destroy data, and inhibit valid access to data and resources.

Common threats

Brute force and dictionary attacks are often discussed together because they work
against the same entity

which is in the case of password . A brute force attack is an attempt to discover passwords
for user accounts by systematically attempting every possible combination of letters,
numbers, and symbols.

A dictionary attack is when an attacker utilizes a dictionary in an attempt to crack a

password.

Denial of service (DoS) attacks are attacks where the attackers attempt to prevent
authorized user from accessing the system by transmitting so many data packets to a
server that it cannot processes them all. It can result in system crashes, system reboot, data
corruption, blockages of services etc.

Spoofing attacks ; Spoofing is the art of pretending to be something other than what you
are. A spoofing attack is when a malicious party impersonates another device or user on a
network in order to launch attacks against network hosts, steal data, spread malware or
bypass access controls

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A man-in-the-middle attack occurs when a malicious user is able to gain a position

between the two endpoints of a communications link. The types include; sniffer attack,
session hijack attack and replay/playback attack.

Countermeasures to these types of attacks require improvement in the session

establishment, identification, and authentication processes. Some man-in-the-middle
attacks are thwarted through patching the OS and software.

A sniffer attack is also known as a snooping attack. It is any activity that results in a
malicious user obtaining information about a network or the traffic over that network.
Type of this attack is replay attack.

Countermeasures to prevent or stop sniffing attacks require improvement in physical

access control, active monitoring for sniffing signatures (such as looking for packet delay,
additional routing hops, or lost packets, which can be performed by some IDSs), and using
encrypted traffic over internet and external network connections.

Crackers/computer hackers are malicious users intent on waging an attack against a

person or system. They are individuals who develop changes or attempt to circumvent
computer security hardware or software so as to gain access to confidential information.
They may be motivated by greed, power, or recognition. Their actions can result in stolen
property (data, ideas, etc.), disabled systems, compromised security, negative public
opinion, loss of market share, reduced profitability, and lost productivity.

Malicious Code is the general name for unanticipated or undesired effects in programs or
part of a program caused by an agent with the intent to harm the computer system. It
objects include ;

1. Computer virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer
without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. It's the earliest form of malicious
Code to plague security administrators. Viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer
viruses are replicable.

2. Logic Bombs are malicious code objects that infect a system and lie dormant until they
are triggered by the occurrence of one or more conditions such as time, program launch,
website logon, and so on.

3. Trojan horses are malicious codes which are used to hack into a computer system by
misleading user about its true intent. They, unlike viruses do not replicate themselves but
they are still very harmful to the computer system. Trojan horse is a software program that

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appears benevolent but carriers a malicious, behind the scenes payload that has the
potential to wreak havoc on a system or network.

4. Worms pose an unparalleled risk to network security: They contain the same
destructive potential as other malicious code objects with an added twist—they propagate
themselves without requiring any human intervention. A worm is a program that spread
the copies of itself through a network.

Computer security countermeasures

The solution to computer security threats can be grouped into 2 parts;

1. The active protection mechanisms include using original and updated Anti-virus and
Anti-Spyware software.

2. The preventive measures are the necessary conditions and practices that computer users
must always keep to.

The primary means of defense against malicious code is the use of antivirus filtering
software. These packages are primarily signature-based systems, designed to detect known
viruses running on a system. It is wise to consider implementing antivirus filters in at least
three key areas:

1. Client systems

2. Server systems

3. Content filters

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is defined as crimes committed on the internet using the computer as either a
tool or a targeted victim. A generalized definition of cybercrime may be “unlawful acts
wherein the computer is either a tool or target or both”. The computer may be used as a
tool in the following kinds of activity- financial crimes, sale of illegal articles, pornography,
online gambling, intellectual property crime, e-mail spoofing, forgery, cyber defamation,
cyber stalking, etc.

All cybercrimes involves both the computer and the person behind it as victims, so
computer will be viewed as either a target or tool for simplicity sake.

Cyber Criminals
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A cybercriminal is an individual who commits cybercrimes, where he/she makes use of the
computer either as a tool or as a target or as both. They are of various groups/categories.

1. Children and adolescents between the age group of 6 – 18years: The simple reason
for this type of delinquent behavior pattern in children is seen mostly due to the
inquisitiveness to know and explore the things.

2. Organized hackers : These kinds of hackers are mostly organized together to fulfill
certain objective. The reason may be to accomplish their political ambition, for
fundamentalism, etc.

3. Professional hackers / crackers: Their work is motivated by the colour of money.

These kinds of hackers are mostly employed to hack the site of the rivals and get credible,
reliable and valuable information.

4. Discontented employees: This group includes those people who have been either
sacked by their employer or are dissatisfied with their employer. To avenge, they normally
hack the system of their employees.

Prevention of Cyber Crime

Prevention is always better than cure. Sailesh Kumar Zarkar, a technical Advisor and
network security consultant to the Mumbai police cybercrime cell, advocates the 5ps for
online security: Precaution, Prevention, Protection, Preservation and Perseverance.

THE END!!!
REFERENCE: Courseware on Digital Skill Acquisition.

DON’T USE THIS STUDY MATERIAL AS A REPLACEMENT TO THE TEXTBOOK.

THANKS.

Make use of this material very well and share with your colleagues. If there is any
thing confusing, message A-Media on Whats-app. BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES.

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