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Free University of Bolzano Bozen Dr. Paolo Coletti Edition 8.0 (25 January 2015)
Introduction
ThisbookcontainscourseslessonsheldattheFreeUniversityofBolzanoBozen.Itcontainsonlythefirst
partofthecourses,namelythelessonson:
computerintroduction,
MicrosoftWindows,
computernetworks,
computerdangersandsecurity.
It does not contain the parts on Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, financial functions, Microsoft Access,
computer algorithms, SPSS, Visual Basic for Applications, which are very well covered by the respective
coursessuggestedbooks.
Thisbookisusuallyupdatedeveryyear,pleasetakealookattheeditiondate.
Disclaimers
This book is designed for very novice computer users. It often contains oversimplifications of reality and
everytechnicaldetailispurposelyomitted.Expertuserswillfindthisbookuselessand,forcertainaspects,
partiallywrong.
This book supposes that the user is using Microsoft Windows 7 operating system in English language.
However, most of the book is perfectly readable with other Windows versions, while some menus and
instructionscanberatherdifferentifthelanguageisnotEnglish(Windowslanguagemaybechangedon
multilanguageinstallations:seepage7forfurtherinformation).
The novice user in this book is, for simplicity, always considered male. This is not meant to be gender
discrimination.
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................1
1. Computers....................................................2
1.1. Storage.........................................................2
1.2. Software.......................................................3
2. MicrosoftWindows......................................6
2.1. Versionsandeditions...................................6
2.2. Regionalandlanguagesettings....................7
2.3. Filesystem....................................................8
3. Computernetworks...................................14
3.1. Technicalaspects........................................14
3.2.
3.3.
4.
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
4.4.
4.5.
4.6.
4.7.
Communication.........................................15
Internetconnections.................................18
Computersecurity.....................................20
Encryption..................................................20
Passwords..................................................23
Viruses.......................................................25
Emails.........................................................27
Navigation..................................................29
Attacksfromoutside.................................30
Backup.......................................................31
Dr.PaoloColetti
BasicComputercoursebook
1. Computers
Thischapterpresentswithabriefdescriptionofcomputermaincomponents,ofthemostcommondevices
andofthetypicalsoftwarecomponentsfornoviceuser.
1.1. Storage
1.1.1. Measures
Before starting with the computer description, it is useful to become proficient with the data size
terminology,whichwilloftenbeusedinthisbook.
Computershaveaveryelementarywaytostoredata:theycanrememberonly0or1.Avalueof0or1is
calledbitandallcomputerdataarestoredassequencesofbits.Asequenceof8bitsiscalledabyte,which
isaquantitylargeenoughtostoreusuallyaletteroradigit(eventhoughsometimes2bytesarenecessary).
Modern computers are able to deal with enormous quantity of bytes, forcing us to introduce other
quantities:
Kilobyte(KB),approximately1,000bytes,
Megabyte(MB),approximately1,000KBoronemillionbytes,
Gigabyte(GB),approximately1,000MBoronebillionbytes,
Terabyte(TB),approximately1,000GBoronetrillionbytes.
UsuallytheunformattedtextofawholebookcanfitinsomeKB,whileforanimageinagoodresolution
(letssayreadytobeprintedonA4paper)orforamodernsongsomeMBarerequired,whileafilminhigh
qualityneedssomeGB.
1.1.3. Devices
The computer uses several devices to permanently store and move data, which vary a lot in terms of
capability,cost,speedandportability.
Themostusedistheinternalharddisk,whichusuallyisinsidethecomputerboxand
cannotbemoved.Itssizecurrentlyrangesfrom500GBto2TB.Ontheotherhand,an
externalharddiskisoutsidethecomputer,hasthesamesizeandobviouslycanbe
moved.Itsonlydisadvantageisbeingslightlyslower.
SSDSolidStateDrivesarestartingtoslowlyinvadethemarket.Theyarenotdisksatall,
but very large memory cards shaped like a hard disks which can entirely replace the internal hard disk.
Theirmainadvantagesarethatnothavingmovingparts(theydonotrotateathighspeedlikeharddisks)
aremorerobustandthatinmostsituationstheyarefasterthanharddisks(upto10timesfaster).Their
disadvantageisthelimitedsizewhichcurrentlyis500GBandtheirhighprice.
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CD and DVD in an alternative way to store data. They contain about 700 MB and 4 GB,
respectively.TheyaredividedintoRwhichmayonlybewrittenonceandRWwhichmaybe
writtenarerewrittenseveraltimes.TheyrequireaCDreaderoraDVDreadertoberead,
whichareavailableonmostcomputers,andaCDwriterorDVDwritertobewritten,which
are available only on some computers. A new generation of high capacity discs has
appearedonthemarket,theBluraywith25GBsize.
MemorystickorUSBpendriveisthemostusedwaytotemporarystoreandmovedata.Its
sizeisnowupto64GB,howeveritsreliabilityisnotperfect,thereforeit
isusedmostlytomovedata.
Othercommonwaystostoreandmovedataarethroughamemorycard,usedby
externaldevicessuchasphotocameras,mobilephonesormusicplayers.
1.2. Software
Softwarecanbedividedintothreebigcategories:operatingsystems,programsanddata.
Theoperatingsystemtakescareofcontrollingcomputerhardwareandhumancomputerinteraction.There
arecurrentlythreewidelyusedoperatingsystems:
MicrosoftWindows,whichisthemarketleader,
MacintoshcomputershavetheirownoperatingsystemMacOSX,
Linux(itisafamilyofverysimilaroperatingsystems),whichisacostlessoperatingsystem,
Android,afamilyofverysimilarLinuxbasedoperatingsystemsformobiledevices,
iOS,forApplemobiledevices,
WindowsPhone,Microsoftsoperatingsystemformobiledevices.
Programsaresoftwarewhichisusedtodoparticulartasks,e.g.Wordfordocumentwriting,Explorerfor
Internetnavigation,theCalculatorformathematicaloperations.
Dataiseverythingwhichisproducedeitherbytheuserorbyprograms(sometimesevenbytheoperating
system) tostoreinformation,e.g.adocumentfileproduced by Wordisdata,adownloadedweb pageis
data.
freeware, software which is completely costless. The producers of this software are either public
institutionssuchasuniversities,ordeveloperswhodoitforpersonalinterestoradvertisementor
private company who do it for dumping reasons. Some examples are Skype communication
programorLinuxoperatingsystem;
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shareware,softwarewhichisinitiallycostlessbutafteracertainperiodtheuserisaskedtopaya
fee or delete it; or software which has two versions: a free one, but incomplete or with
advertisementbanners,andacompleteadvertisementfreeone,forwhichtheusermustpay.The
mostpopularexamplesaremobilephonesapps;
commercial, software for which the user has to pay a license to use it. Common examples are
MicrosoftWindowsoperatingsystemorPhotoshopimageeditingprogram;
subscriptionbased,softwareforwhichtheuserpaysaperiodicfeetouseit.Thissoftwaretypically
is also offered on the web and in this case the user does not have to care about installation nor
updates.ExampleareMicrosoftOffice365andPhotoshopCreativeClouds;
private,softwareuniquelybuilt,underpayment,foraspecificcustomertofithisneeds.Onlythe
costumer may use it. A typical example is the universitys studentscoursesexamsprofessors
databasesystem.
The permission to be modified can seem a trivial question for the novice user, however for program
developersandcomputerexpertsbeingauthorizedtomodifyasoftwareisagreatadvantagesinceitcan
be improved, checked for errors and tailored to specific needs. The open source versus proprietary
softwareisastrongethicalandeconomicaldebateinthecomputerscientistscommunity.Subdivisionby
permissiontomodifyis:
open source software may be studied, used and especially modified by anyone. The software
developers at the same time legally authorize any modification and they distribute the source of
thesoftwaretoputotherdevelopersinaconditiontoeasilymodifyit.Opensourcesoftwareisalso
automaticallyfreeware.ThemosttypicalexampleisLinuxoperatingsystem.
copyleft software is open source but carries the restriction that any modification must be
distributed as open source and copyleft, thus impeding that software becomes, after a
modification,proprietary.ThemostfamouscopyleftcontractlicenseistheGNUPublicLicense(see
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html).
proprietarysoftwareisdistributed(costlessasAdobeAcrobatReader,orasasharewareasWinZip,
ormostoftensoldascommercialsoftwareasMicrosoftOffice)withtheexplicitlegalwarningnot
tomodifyitandtechnicallylockedtopreventotherdeveloperstoseeormodifyitssource.
closedproprietary,aformatownedbyasoftwarecompanyandkeptasatradesecret.Inthisway
only programs build by that company can use those data files and no other company is able to
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endanger its monopoly. A famous example is DOC format which, until 2007, was kept secret by
Microsoft,thuspreventingcompetitorsfrombuildingalternativestoMicrosoftWordprogram.
openproprietary,aformatpubliclyavailablebutwhoseimprovementsandcontrolareunderthe
ownershipofasoftwarecompany.AtypicalexampleisthenewWordformatDOCX.
open,apubliclyavailableformatwhichfollowsofficialstandardswhosecontrolisunderownership
of public organizations, such as American ANSI, German DIN or Italian UNI. Typical examples are
imagesformatGIForformattedtextsformatPDForwebpagesformatHTML.
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2. Microsoft Windows
MicrosoftWindowsiscurrentlythemarketleaderoperatingsystem,itistheusualinterfacewhichappears
whentheuserturnsonapersonalcomputerwithWindowsoperatingsystem.
Starter and Home Basic, cheap versions with severe limitations, used
mostlyonsmallnotebooks;
HomePremium,homeusersedition;
Professional, personal business edition which includes more network
programs;
Enterprise/Ultimate, Professional edition with more network utilities
availabletocompanies/individualusers.Enterpriseeditioniscurrently
(December2014)installedonsomeUNIBZcomputers.
MicrosoftreleasedWindows8in2013withanewuserinterfacecalledand
designedfortabletswithtouchscreen,whichwasnotwelcomedbymany
professionalusers,inordertoincreasecompatibilitywithitsmobiledevices
operatingsystemWindowsPhone8.WithitsfirstupdateMicrosoftdecided
to change name to Windows 8.1. It is installed on approximately 21% of
computers. It is available in only three editions. Enterprise edition is
currently(December2014)installedonmostUNIBZcomputers.
Starter
HomeBasic
HomePremium
Professional
Enterprise/Ultimate
Windows8
Windows8Pro Basic
Windows8Enterprise
Onsomecomputersamultibootsystemisinstalled.Whenthecomputerisswitchedon,itaskstheuser
which operating system he would like to use and, after a short time, it starts with the default operating
system. In case the user wants to use a different operating systems, he obviously must restart the
computer.
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1. ifthemouseworks,clicktheXbuttononthe
programwindoworotherwisepressALT+F4;
2. press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC; select the program
fromthelistandpressEndProgram;
3. press CTRL+ALT+DEL and, from the bottom
righticon,chooseShutDown;
4. pressthecomputeron/offbutton;
5. unplugtheelectricpower.
Inanycaseallthecurrentunsavedworkwillbelost;
in the last two cases the operating system can
sometimesbedamagedbutveryoftenitwillrepair
by itself the next time the computer is turned on.
Thereforeitisalwaysaverygoodideatosavevery
often the current work, especially when it is
important,urgent,ordifficulttoredo.
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thecurrencyandthedateformat,especiallytheEnglish(monthday)andEuropean(daymonth)formats.
Moreover,itisalwaysagoodideatocheckthatthelistseparatorbesetalwaystosemicolon,otherwise
Excelsfunctionswillnotworkproperly.
STRG
Windows
ALT
ALTGR
F1toF12
DEL
INS
HOMEor
END
PGandPG
BACKSPACEor
Windows
ALT
ALTGR
F1toF12
ENTF
EINFG
POS1
ENDE
BILDandBILD
ENTERor
TABor
SHIFTor
CAPSLOCKor
ARROWS
Mainfunction
CTRL
ActivateshortcutsinWindows8
Windows
ALT
ALTGR
Producecharacteronthekeysrightleft
F1toF12
CANC
Deletenextcharacter
INS
Toggleinsert/overwritemode
Gotobeginning
FINE
Gotoend
PAGandPAG
Goonepageupordown
Deletelastcharacter
Enterdata
INVIOor
TABor
Movethroughthewindow
Capitalizeletters
KeepSHIFTpressed
Movethecursor
InthisbooktheEnglishnameforkeyswillbeindicated.WhenA+Bisindicated,itmeansthattheusermust
presskeyA,thenpresskeyB,andthenreleasebothkeys.
Another operation which can be useful in a multilanguage environment is changing the keyboard. While
thiscanbedonefromtheLanguagemenuoftheControlPanel,itismucheasiertoadjustitdirectlyfrom
therightsideoftheapplicationbar,simplyclickingonkeyboardiconandselectingtheappropriateone.If
nokeyboardschoiceappearsontheapplicationbar,justpressSHIFTwiththeleftALTkeytotoggleamong
availablekeyboardssettings.
PressWindows+I
opentheControlPanel
chooseAppearanceandPersonalization
chooseFolderOptions
chooseView
deselectHideextensionsforknownfiletypes.
Inthiswayextensions(seesection2.3.3)areshownandfiletypesarebetterrecognized.
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Eachstoragedeviceisabigdirectory,accessiblefromMyComputer
window, which contains directories and files. Each of these
subdirectories may contain other files and other subsubdirectories,
andsooninahierarchicalway,formingatreewiththeharddisk(or
anotherstoragedevice)astheroot,directoriesasbranchesandfiles
as leaves. On UNIBZ computers, the usual hard disk are C: which
containsprograms,E:whichcontainscoursesinformationandF:
whichcontainsusersreservedspace.DisksdirectoriesA:andB:
areusuallyreservedforfloppydisks,andD:orZ:forCDreader.
ChoosingtheViewmenuofadirectorywindowsprovidestheuserwithseveraldifferentwaystolookat
filesanddirectories,themostimportantwaybeingtheDetailswhichcanshowinterestinginformationon
filesanddirectoriessuchastheirsizeanddateoflastmodification.
Eachfileanddirectorycanbeunivocallyidentifiedbyitsabsolutepathoraddress.Fordirectoriesitisthe
path which appears on the address bar of the directory window, while for files it is the path of their
containing directory followed by \ and the file name. For example, the absolute path of directory
Common in HP directory in Program Files directory in the C: hard disk is C:\Program
Files\HP\Commonascanbeseenfromtheaddressbar.While,theHPeDiag.dllfilehastheabsolutepath
C:\ProgramFiles\HP\Common\HPeDiag.dll.
Notethat,forWindowsoperatingsystem,capitalorsmallcapslettersinpathsareperfectlyequal.
Aspecialandtrickyobjectisthelinkorshortcut.Althoughitsiconlookslikeafileicon,
thesmallcurvedarrowontheleftcornerclearlyindicatesthatthisobjectisalink.A
linkissimplyanaddresstoafileordirectory,itisnotarealfileordirectory.Whenthe
user clicks on the link, the computer behaves exactly as if the user is clicking on the
realfileordirectory(ifWindowscanfindtherealone,whichisnotthecaseifinthe
meantime somebody deleted or moved it). However, any copy/move operation on the link will simply
copy/movethelinkandnottherealfileordirectory;especiallycopying/movingthelinktoanotherdiskwill
probablycauseittomalfunction.Thereforeitisagoodideafornoviceuserstoavoidusinglinksatall.
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dragtheobjecttothedestination.Ifaplussymboldoesnot
appear, press CTRL key to have it appear while dragging.
Releasetheobjectinthedestination;
select the object and click the right mouse button. Select
copy. Point the mouse to the destination and click the
rightmousebutton.Selectpaste.Ifthedestinationisthe
originallocation,thefilenamechangestocopyof;
select the object and press CTRL+C. Point the mouse to the destination and press CTRL+V. If the
destinationistheoriginallocation,thefilenamechangestocopyof.
Movingafilemeansmovingittoanotherlocationlosingthefileintheoriginalplace.Movingadirectory
meansmovingittoanotherlocationtogetherwithitsentiretreeofsubdirectoriesandfiles.Tomoveafile
ordirectorywindowsoffersseveralmethods,themostusedbeing:
dragtheobjecttothedestination.Ifaplusoralinksymboldoesappear,pressCTRLorSHIFTkeyto
removeit.Releasetheobjectinthedestination;
select the object and click the right mouse button. Select cut and the icon
becomes lighter. Point the mouse to the destination and click the right mouse
button.Selectpaste;
select the object and press CTRL+X and the icon becomes lighter. Point the mouse to the
destinationandpressCTRL+V.
Tocreatealinktoafileordirectory:
dragtheobjecttothedestinationofthelink.Ifalinksymboldoesnotappear,pressCTRL+SHIFT
untilitappears.Releasetheobjectinthedestination;
selecttheobjectandclicktherightmousebutton.Selectcreateshortcut.Alinkiscreatedinthe
samedirectory.
Deletingafilemeansoftenputtingitintothetrashcanwhereitcanberecuperatedunlessthe
trashcanisemptied.Deletingadirectorymeansputtingittothetrashcantogetherwithitsentire
treeofsubdirectoriesandfiles.Payspecialattention,sincenotalwaysthetrashcanworksasuser
expectsandsometimesfilesaredeletedwithoutpassingthroughthetrashcan.Todeleteafileordirectory
windowsoffersseveralmethods,themostusedbeing:
dragtheobjecttothetrashcanandreleaseit;
selecttheobjectandclicktherightmousebutton.Selectdelete;
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selecttheobjectandpressDELkey.
Torenameafileordirectory,simplyselecttheobject,clickon
thenameandretypeit.UsuallyWindowsacceptsmostnames,
but novice users should stick with only letters, numbers and
spaces,sinceothercharactersmaybeforbidden.
Tocreateanewdirectory,simplyrightclickthemouseandchoose
NewandFolder.Afterthecreation,renameit.
Sometimesfilesoccupyalotofspaceandneedtobereducedtosavediskspaceortobesentby
email;othertimesfilesmustbeputinapackagetoremaintogetherortobesentasasinglefile
via email. These two operations are accomplished compressing a set of files and directories,
which means using a special program (WinZip or 7Zip or IZArc or the operative system itself) to reduce
(from0%to90%dependingonthefiletype)thefilesizeandproduceanewsinglefilecalledziparchive
containingalltheselectedfilesanddirectories.
Tocompressasetoffilesanddirectories:
1. selectthefilesanddirectoriesalltogether,
2. clicktherightmousekey,
3. select IzArc or the installed compression program and select something like Add to Archive
File,
4. adialogboxappearsaskingyoutochoosetheziparchivenameanditsdestination;
5. inthisdialogboxyoumustalsochoosethecompressionmethod,whichisstronglysuggestedtobe
ZIPtobecompatiblewithotherprograms;
6. inthisdialoganencryptionmethod(seesection4.1onpage20)maybechosen.Ifyourziparchive
shouldbeopenedbyanybody,thenchooseNone:Otherwise,ifyouwanttheziparchivetobe
uncompressedonlybypeopleknowingaproperpassword,chooseanyoftheencryptionmethods,
suchasAES128bit,andprovidethepassword.
Otherfilesordirectoriesmaybeaddedlatertotheziparchivesimplydraggingthemontheziparchivefile
(thisisacopyandnotamoveoperation)ifitisnotencrypted.
Toextractfilesfromaziparchivefile,simplyclicktherightmousekeyonthefileandfromthedropdown
menu choose the appropriate extract option: the content will appear in the location you have chosen,
togetherwithallitsdirectoriesstructure.
Whendoubleclickingonacompressedfile,ifthecompressionprogramisproperlyinstalled,itwillopenin
awindowasifitwereadirectory.Butitisnotanormaldirectory,itissimplyawindow,producedbythe
compression program, with the list of the ziparchives content: the user should not open files from this
window since it is a very unreliable way to modify files! Files can be copied from this window to a real
directory simply dragging them to the directory. When the entire content of the ziparchive has to be
extracted or when the user wants to preserve the original tree structure, it is better to use the Extract
buttonofthisspecialwindow.
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Filetype
Typicalprogramsthatopenit
BasicComputercoursebook
Typicalextensions
Program
itself
.exe.com.bat
Compressed
WinZip/7Zip/IZArc
.zip
Text
Notepad
.txt
Document
Word/Acrobat/PowerPoint
.docx.doc.rtf.pdf.ppt
Sheet
Excel
.xlsx.xls.csv
Image
Explorer/PictureFaxViewer/Paint/
OfficePictureManager
.jpg.jpeg.gif.bmp.png
Video
MediaPlayer
.avi.mov.mpg.mpeg
Audio
MediaPlayer/WinAmp
.mp3.wav
Webpage
Explorer
.html.htm
Typicalicons
readpermission,tocopyandopentheobject;
readandexecute,sameasread,plusruntheobjectifit
isaprogram;
listcontent(fordirectories),toseethecontent;
write permission (for directories), to create files and
subdirectories;
modifypermission(alsocalled,whenreferredtoafile,
write permission), same as read and execute, plus
delete,move,rename,savemodifications;
fullcontrol,sameasmodify,pluschangepermissions.
The owner of the file usually has full control on it and may change permissions or add new authorized
groups or users. A special group is the Administrators group (containing the users involved in technical
administrationofcomputers)whichhasfullcontroloneveryobject.
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\\ubz01fst\courses\course_coletti which contains utility files that will be used during the course.
These files must never be opened doubleclicking from here, otherwise they will be locked (see
section2.3.4onpage12);theyshouldbecopiedoneachusersdesktopbeforeopeningthem;
\\ubz01fst\courses\exam_coletti\,followedbyusersloginnameortheuserslastnameandfirst
name,whichwillcontainexamfilesandwhichisaccessibleonlybytheuser;
\\ubz01fst\students\, followed by year, faculty and users login name, contains a copy of the
studentsdiskF,desktop,andconfiguration.
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3. Computer networks
Thispartofthebookisdedicatedtocomputernetworksfromausersperspective.Nowadaysacomputer
is very likely to belong to some companys network, or to be connected to the Internet via an Internet
provider, and is therefore exposed to all the typical network problems. Without entering into technical
details,thissectionwillexplorethesituationsinwhichanoviceusercanfindhimselfintroublesandhow
hecantrytosurvivedialoguingwithnetworkadministratorsintheirownstrangetechnicallanguage.
3.1.2. Areas
Computernetworksarecommonlydividedintothreecategories:
Local Area Network (LAN or Intranet), usually the network of computers in the same building or
belongingto thesameowner.InsidetheLANevery computeris wellidentifiedandusuallyevery
userisknown.Itisconsideredatrustedarea.
WideAreaNetwork(WANorInternet),whichiseverythingwhichconnectsLANs.Computersand
usersidentificationisveryhardandanonymityispossible.Itisconsideredadangerousarea.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a way to recognize a computer outside the LAN as a trusted
computer: the user is identified with a password and his computer, even though connected via
Internet,willbeconsideredaspartoftheLAN,foraslongasitremainsconnected.VPNistypically
requiredtoidentifyportablecomputersconnectedviawirelessconnection.
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Ethernetcableshaveaspeedof10Mbpsandcanthuscarry1.25MBeachsecond,meaningthat,
forexample,a600MBmoviecanbetransferredin8minutesfromonecomputertoanotherone,
supposing no one (neither users nor computers) is using that network tract for other purposes
duringthetransfer.
FastEthernetcableshaveaspeedof100Mbps.
GigabitEthernetcableshaveaspeedof1Gbps.
Awirelessnetwork,acablelessnetworkwhere computersuseradiosignalstocommunicate,has
usuallyaspeedaround3080Mbps,dependingonthewirelessgeneration.
To find out how much time does it take to transfer a file with a size expressed in bytes, divide the
connectionspeedinbpsby8tofindoutthebyteratepersecondandthendividethefilesizebythespeed
to find out the number of seconds it takes for the file transfer. For example, to transfer a 600 MB file
through an Fast Ethernet connection, find out the speed of 12.5 MB per second (12,500,000 bytes per
second)andthendivide600MB(or600,000,000bytes)by12.5(orby12,500,000)tofindoutthetimeof
48seconds.
3.2. Communication
InsideacomputernetworkmanycommunicationprogramsareinstalledonIntranetcomputerstoconnect
totheInternetoreventointernalcomputers.
Anotherwaytoreadandsendemailsisthroughwebmailsystems,whicharewebsiteswheretheusercan
enter and read his received email and send new ones acting directly on the mailserver, without
downloading them nor using any client. It can be useful for various reasons: it does not require the
installationofamailreaderprogram;oldreceivedemailsarealwaysavailableonthewebsiteandcanthus
be accessed from home, office and while traveling, even without a personal laptop; the mailserver takes
careofemailsbackup.Butontheotherhanditrequiresacontinuousfastconnectioneventowriteasingle
longemail,whichcanbecostlyand,insomesituations,impossibleandusuallytheemailspaceislimited.
The mostfamouswebsiteinterfaces arethe MicrosoftOutlookWebApp, where thewebinterfacelooks
exactly like Microsoft Outlook, and the Webmail interface, used and personalized by most Internet
providers.
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and digit the keywords, or sometimes even a complete question, and the website returns the list of
relevantwebpages.
Searchenginesuseacrawlertechnique:theycontinuouslygothroughtheknownwebpagesmemorizing
theircontentandtryingtodiscoverotherwebpagesthroughthecontainedlinks.Inthiswaytheyareable
tomemorizemostoftheWWWspages(morethan8billionpages),eventhoughsomenotlinkedwebsites
canremainunknowntosearchengines.
ThemostpopularsearchenginesareGoogle,thecurrentmarketleader,Yahoo!
andBing.Inordertochoosetheorderinwhichwebpagesaredisplayedtothe
user, search engines use scoring system. The most famous one is Googles
which relies on the idea that a linked page is very important and useful;
thereforeawebpagereceivesascoreproportionaltothenumberofwebpages
whichputalinktoit.Accordingtorecentresearches,thepercentageofuseof
theseenginesareGoogle83%,Yahoo6%,andBing4%.
Therearemanytrickstospeedupthewebsearchandarrivequicklytotherightresult:
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whenlookingsimplyforsomeimages,itismoreconvenienttousethespecificsearchratherthan
tryingtofindwebpagescontainingthem.
telephoneline
modem
500Kbpsinupload
820Mbpsdownload
Speeddependson
subscriptionfeeand
networktraffic
Internetcable
UMTS(UniversalMobile
TelecommunicationsSystem)
3G
HSDPA(HighSpeedDownlink
PacketAccess)
LTE(LongTermEvolution)
4G
Wireless
WiFi
Specialcontract
someGbps
3Gmobilephone
5Mbpsinupload
40Mbpsin
download
Speeddepends
stronglyon
environment
LTEmobilephone
upto100Mbps
wirelesscard
30300Mbps
antennainlineofsight
modem
40Mbps
WiMAX
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Dependsoncoverage
andcontract
Speeddependson
wirelessgeneration
Speeddepends
stronglyondistance
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Manyfastconnections,especiallyADSL,sufferfromnetworkcongestion:toomanyusersareconnectingat
thesametimeandtheInternetprovidersmaincablesarenotabletosupporttheusersmaximumspeed
multiplied bythe number ofusers,andtherefore mustreduce thepracticalconnectionspeed.Therefore
the maximum speed is often only theoretical and some providers are offering a minimum band
guaranteed:aminimumspeedunderwhichtheconnectionmayneverfall.
Unfortunately, even in technologically advanced countries, there are still many areas where nor ADSL
neitherUMTSarrives,mostlyduetothegeographicconditions(mountains,islandsorlongdesertdistances)
and to the low inhabitants density. This phenomenon is called digital divide: there are people (e.g.
5,000,000ofItalianinhabitants)thatevenwillinglytopaycannotgetabroadbandconnection,and,onthe
otherhand,InternetservicesandespeciallytheWWWiscontinuouslygoingtowardslargesizecontents,
cuttingthesepeopleoff.Inordertoovercomethissocialproblem,WiMAXisspreading,asortofverylong
rangeWirelesswhicharrivesupto10Kmbutworksonlyifthetransmittingandreceivingantennasarein
lineofsightandwhosetheoreticalspeedof70Mbpsdecreaseswithdistancestoabout40Mbps.
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4. Computer security
Being connected to the Internet means giving anybody access to the computer. Despite the traditional
noviceusersbeliefthatheistheonewhogoesoutside,itisinsteadtheInternetworldwhichiscoming
inside,withallitsbenefitsanddangers.Knowingalittlebitofsecurityissuesisnowadaysnecessaryevento
thenonexpertuser,toavoidbeingluredintotrapsoradoptingpotentiallydangerousbehaviors.
Moreover,therecentItalianlaw196/2003onprivacyissuescontainsintheAllegatoBtheminimalsecurity
techniques which must be adopted by system administrators but also by normal users. This law
requirements apply clearly to all companies and professionals which handle data, but they also apply to
personaluserswhocommunicatedata.Topersonaluserswhodonotcommunicatedatastillthesecurity
requirementstoavoiddatatheftapply.
Law196/2003inparticularsplitsdatainto:
personaldata
sensitivedata:dataaboutraceandethnicity,religious/philosophical/politicalopinions,belonging
toreligious/philosophical/political/workersorganization
sensitivedataabouthealthandsex
justicedata,whichhavethesameprescriptionsassensitivedata
geneticdata,whichneedextremelyparticularprocedureswhichwillnotbedescribedhere.
Law196/2003prescribesthat:
eachusermustbeauthenticatedbyapersonalusernameandapasswordorabiometricdeviceora
personaltoken;
eachusermusthaveitsownpermissions,limitedonlytothedataheneedsforhiswork,andthe
permissionsmustberevokedwhentheuserdoesnotneedthemanymore;
usersmustreceivespecifictrainingorinstructionstobeabletousetheirauthenticationandtobe
awareoftheirresponsibilities,dutiesandthepossibledangers;
alldatamustbebackedup(seesection4.6onpage30)atleasteveryweek;
security software must be updated at least every year and or 6 months when handling sensitive
data;
sensitive data receive special care: they must be stored and transmitted using encryption or the
people must be unidentifiable, for example by assigning to each persons data a numeric code
insteadofhisnameandsurname.
4.1. Encryption
Encryptionisatextmaskingtechnique,derivedfrommilitaryuse,whichtransformsinformationinsucha
waythatitmaybecorrectlyreadonlywithaspecialpasswordcalledkey.Itusestwokeys,apublickeyfor
encrypting,usuallyknownonlytoonecomputerorperson,andaprivatekeyfordecrypting,usuallyknown
by all the computers or people which legitimately may read the information. The size of these keys, and
thus the difficulty to be guessed, is expressed in bits, with 128 bits being the typically most secure size
used.
ThetwofollowingschemasillustrateshowB,CandDcansendsecretmessagesusingAspublickey
ThesentmessagesareencryptedandlaterdecryptedbyAwithhisprivatekey
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.Incasesomebody
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interceptsamessage,heisunabletodecryptitcorrectlysincehedoesnothaveAsprivatekey
isknownonlytoA.Evenwhensomebody
,which
usesthepublickeytodecrypt,itdoesnotwork.
Thesameprocesshappenswheneverabrowsertriestosendapasswordorsecretinformationtoawebsite
usingasecureconnection(seesection4.5onpage29):thewebsitetellsthebrowseritspublickeyandthe
browserusesittoencryptinformationwhichcanbereadonlybythearrivingwebsite.
message 1
encrypt
message 2
encrypt
message 3
encrypt
G#4hg!
decrypt
message 1
f@d*s
decrypt
message 2
^(iw,
decrypt
message 3
message 1
encrypt
message 2
encrypt
message 3
encrypt
G#4hg!
decrypt
Trb:-
f@d*s
decrypt
Dr4^\|9
^(iw,
decrypt
%$&/L
Anotheranalogoususageofencryptionistomakestoreddataunreadableexceptbytheowner.Inthiscase
private and public keys coincides and are kept secret. The encryption and decryption process is done
automatically by a program (PDF creation programs or compression programs can do it, see page 11 for
instructionshowtodoit)orevenbytheoperativesystem(iftheentirediskisencrypted),whichasksthe
passwordtotheusereverytime.
secret
data
encrypt
D(
*+]dH
decrypt
secret
data
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secret
data
encrypt
D(
*+]dH
BasicComputercoursebook
decrypt
%)(84
jhgds?
document
document
encrypt
G#4$h
&?2y
decrypt
document
document
2?=zx:-ki
false
document
encrypt
Y&:[
fgj?^d
decrypt
2?=zx:-ki
2?=zx:-ki
Whileencryptiontoreceivesecretmessagesortohideinformationsimplyrequirestheuserortheprogram
to create its own couple of private and public keys (programs, for example browsers, do this operation
automaticallywithouttheusersintervention),fordigitalsignatureitisnotsosimple.Sinceeverybodymust
be sure that the public key is really the authors public key, digital signature requires a certification
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authoritytodistributeprivateandpublickeys.Eventhoughtheoreticallyasimplepasswordisenough,to
besurethattheuserdoesnotgivetheprivatepasswordaround,thecertificationauthoritygiveshim,after
having identified him through a governmental identity card, a password usually together with another
identificationtool(asmartcard,atelephonenumberforanOTPtobesend),which,whenusedtogether,
correspond to his private key. An automatic signature program takes care of automatically encrypting
documents.
SeveralItalianpublicinstitutionsarenowusingthenationalhealthcarecard
asasmartcardand,usingitascertificationofusersidentity,offeraccessto
many services, even though they do not offer yet the digital signature of
personal documents. The service to digitally sign documents is offered by
private certification companies, with prices currently affordable also by
privateusersandwithalternativedevicessuchassmartcardsorOTPdevices
(seesection4.2.1onpage25).
Whocanverify
Digitalsignature
Needskeysfromcertificationauthority
andpropertools
Everybody(withpropertools)
Verificationreliability
Sureforsomeyears
Temporalduration
Someyears(canberenewed)
Masssignatures
Somesecondsforalldocuments(with
propertools)
Somesecondsperdocument
Datereliability
Objectiveiftemporalmark
Basedonothersubjectiveelements
(papersandinksage)
Whocansign
Handwrittensignature
Everybodyinstantly
Handwritinganalysts
Subjectiveindubiouscases,notime
limit
Untilotherreliablesignaturesare
available
4.2. Passwords
OntheIntranettheuserisidentifiedonlybyhisusername,knowntoeverybody,andhispassword,known
onlytohim.Thepasswordiswhatmakesanunknownpersonanauthenticateduser,withallhisprivileges
and his identitys responsibilities. If somebody else uses the right users password, for the Intranet this
otherpersonisexactlytheuser.Law196/2003explicitlyforbidsusersfromgivingtheirpasswordtoother
users, even when they are absent from work. These are some, often underestimated, malign actions a
passwordsthiefcando:
stealpersonalinformation:thethiefcanreadtheusersemailsandpersonalinformation;
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steal privacy protected data: the thief can gain access to data about other people protected by
privacy,orreademailsreceivedfromotherpeople.Thelegalresponsibleofthisprivacyviolationis
thethiefaswellastheuserwhodidnotprotectotherpeoplesdata;
steal money: the thief can find the users bank account numbers and passwords, sometimes
directlyfromtheuserswebbrowsershistory;
deleteandmodifydata:thethiefcandeleteusersimportantdata,orevenworsehecanmodify
these data without the users knowledge (bank numbers, friends email addresses, degree thesis
content,addillegalpictures);
stealidentity:forthecomputerthethiefisnowtheuser,andthereforehecanacttotheoutside
world exactly as if it were the user, for example answering to emails, subscribing to websites,
withdrawingfromexams;
start illegal activities: anybody who wants to start an illegal Internet activity will obviously use
somebodyelseidentity,sohewillnotgetintotroubleswhentheactivityisdiscovered.
There exist automatic programs which are able to try 4 billion passwords each second, and they usually
starttryingcombinationsofwordsandnumbers(thecompletesetofallItalian,GermanandEnglishwords
canbetriedinlessthan1second).Checkonhttps://howsecureismypassword.nethowmuchtimedoesit
taketooneoftheseprogramstodiscoveryoureasypasswords.
Law196/2003explicitlyrequiresthatpassworddohavesomefeatures:
changethepasswordoften,atleasteverysixmonths(3ifsensitivedataarehandled);
avoidwordsrelatedtoyourself,suchasnames,birthdates,birthplacesandaddresses;
useminimum8characters.
Moreover,othergoodproceduresare:
useaspasswordagoodmixofnumbers,strangecharacters,smallcapsandcapitalletters,avoiding
anycommonword(otherpeoplesnamesorwordswhichcanbefoundinadictionary);
use different passwords for different purposes. Unfortunately every website asks the user to
registerwithapasswordanduserswhousealwaysthesamepasswordaregivingitawaytoevery
website they register, even untrustworthy ones. It is a good procedure to have at least three
passwords:oneforimportantuse(bankaccount),asecondoneforeverydayuseandalastonefor
unimportantuse(registeringtounknownwebsitesortoservicesthatwillnotbeusedanymore).
bewareofpasswordsstoredinprograms:mailreaders,InternetExplorerandmanyotherprograms
store your password masked with asterisks. They
seem to be unreadable, but computer experts can
reveal them instantly. Store passwords in programs
onlyifthatcomputerhasasingleuser(i.e.thehome
computerorthepersonallaptop)orifaccesstothatcomputerisonausernamebasis,butneverin
publicplacessuchasanInternetcaf.
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4.3. Viruses
FromtheInternetmanyunauthorizedconnectionattemptsarrive.Someofthesearemistakenlyauthorized
and manage to reach the Intranet or at least to come in contact with programs which are behind the
firewall.If theseconnectionscarry malignintentions,usually theiraimis toexploreandusethe Intranet
computers,todestroyIntranetdataortostopsomeIntranetservices(whichisadangerousattackifthese
servicesaremanagingstocktradesortelephonecalls).Defenseagainstthesekindsofattacksisincharge
systemadministrators.
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While normal external attacks do not involve normal users, the virus is a special attack which arrives
directlyontheuserscomputerandmustbepreventedandstoppedbyhim.Thevirusisalittleprogram
whichhasthisnamebecauseitslifecycleisthesameofabiologicalorganism:surviveandduplicate.
1. Itarrivesonthecomputerthroughemailattachments,downloadedfiles,CDsandfloppydisksor
directlyfromtheIntranet.Itisoftenhiddeninsideothergoodfilesorprograms,whicharecalled
infected. In the last years many free programs deliberately install small advertisement programs
withouttheusersexplicitconsent;thiskindofbehaviorsisconsideredborderlinebetweenavirus
andawayoffinancingtheprogramsdevelopment.
2. Assoonastheusermistakenlyrunsit(oftentryingtorunthegoodprogramortoopenthegood
file),thevirusordersthecomputertorunitselfeverytimethecomputeristurnedon,thusassuring
itssurvival.
3. Itstartsduplicatingitself,infectingotherfiles,CDsandfloppydisks,andtryingtosenditselfaround
byemailorontheIntranet.
4. Mostvirusesareprogrammedtododamagetothecomputerandtotheuser,alteringordeleting
files,sendingemailswithuserspersonaldata,preventingfirewallsandantivirusesfromrunning,or
turningthecomputeroff.Novirusesareknowntobeabletodamagehardware.
Manynamesareusedforvirusestypesaccordingtotheirdifferentbehaviors.
trojanhorseisaviruswhichlookslikeagoodprogramand,whendownloadedandrunbytheuser,
itperformstheuserswantedtaskbutatthesametimedoesotheractions;
keyloggerisaviruswhichrecordskeyboardsactivityandthensendsthekeystrokestoitscreator,
mostlytogetuserspasswords;
backdoorisaviruswhichopensaportonthecomputertoletexternalusersin;
adwareisaviruswhichdisplaysadvertisement;
spyware is a virus which spies users activity to get passwords or to target the user with specific
advertisement;
ransomwareisaviruswhichmakesits
presence public and demands to the
user money to be removed,
threateningtodamagehiminavariety
of ways, such as encrypting files or
pretending to be an authoritys tool
and asking the payment of a fine, as
the famous Italian Polizia di stato
virusdoes.
These types are not exclusive: for example a Trojan horse which is at the same time a spyware and an
adware.
Aninfectedcomputercanberecognizedbysomesymptoms.Thesearethemostfrequentones:
when the computer is turned on, unwanted programs start, advertisement appears, and the
desktoppresentssomenewbarsorfeatureswhichwerenotpresentnorinstalledbefore;
thecomputerstartsveryslowlyandunknownprogramsgivestrangeoperatingsystemerrors;
commercialorpornographicwebpagesappearonthewebbrowserwithouttheusersconsent;
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theanalogicalmodemmakestypicalconnectionnoisesevenwhenthecomputerisnotconnected
or the operating system asks the user to stop the current connection and start a new one to a
strangetelephonenumber;
theTaskManagerwindow(seepage7)presentsunknownprograms.
Most of the time, a responsible users behavior it the best weapon against viruses: it protects him from
getting viruses, helps him removing them and prevents him from diffusing them. Responsible behavior
means:
neveropendownloadedfilesandemailattachments,especiallywhentheycomefromafriendwith
a text such as please open it, urgent!, since simulating to be a users friend is a typical virus
tactics.Toopenthesefiles,savethemonthedesktop,checkthemwithanantivirusandthenopen
them;
donotinsertinyourcomputerCDs,DVDsandUSBpendrivescomingfromotherpeopleorwhich
were inserted in other computers, unless you have an antivirus running or unless you scan them
immediatelywithanantivirus;
avoid visiting strange websites, especially pornographic or hackers website, or websites which
openalotofpopupwindows;
have an antivirus always running or at least run an updated antivirus on your whole hard disks
everyweek(whileItalianlawcurrentlyprescribesminimumevery6months);keepyourantivirus
alwaysuptodate:morethan50newvirusesappeareveryweek;
keep communication programs and Microsoft products up to date. Microsoft and most software
companiesofferfreeupdatesandautomaticupdatingtools;
beware of free programs which often try to install adware programs, asking the permission very
quicklyduringinstallationssteps,relyingonthenoviceusershabitofclickingalwaysyes.
To check the computer for viruses and to try to remove viruses from the computer, the user can run a
specialprogramcalledantivirus.Theantivirusbasicallyhasthreepossibledifferentactions:
itcanscanallthestoragedevices(harddisks,thefloppydiskinsidethecomputer,theCDorDVD
insidethereader)forviruses.Ifavirusisfound,ittriestoremoveitandtorepairdamagedfiles.
Somefilescanbeunrecoverable.Completedevicesscanningtakesusuallysomehours;
itcanscanasinglefileoranentiredirectoryforviruses.Ifthereisaninfectedfile,ittriestodelete
thevirusandrepairit.Somefilescanbeunrecoverable.Singlefilescanningtakessomeseconds;
it can be always running. In this case, whenever a virus or a suspect file is run, the antivirus
preventsitfromrunningandwarnstheuser.
A lot of antivirus programs, free and commercial, exist. Their most important feature is obviously the
possibilitytobeconstantlyupdatedthroughtheInternet.
4.4. Emails
4.4.1. Attachments
Forviruses,emailattachmentsareafirstclasswayoftraveling,sincetheyareveryoftenopenedbyusers
withoutanyprecaution.Sometimesviruseshideinsidefileswhichwerereallysentbythesender,unaware
of having an infected computer. Other times a virus takes control of the mail reader program and sends
itselftothewholeaddressbook,counterfeitingthesenderaddress(oftenusinganaddresstakenfromthe
addressbook)inordertoavoidthattherealinfectedcomputerbeidentifiedandtogainthethrustofthe
receiver,andwritingintheemailtextsmartsentencespretendingtobearegularfriendofthereceiver.The
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arrivalofthiskindofemailusuallycreateshavoc,sincethereceiverissurethatthefakesenderhasavirus,
whiletheoriginalinfectedcomputerisanotherone.
Thebasicruleisneveropenanyattachmentfromthemailreaderprogram.Savetheattachedfilesonthe
desktop and run an antivirus program to check these files before opening them. Even when the email
comesfromafriend:hecannotknowthattohavegotavirus,orhecannotbetherealsender.
4.4.2. Spam
Spammessagesareunsolicitedunwantedbulkemails.Theyareunsolicited,meaningthattheuserdidnot
asktoreceivethem,theyareunwanted,meaningthattheuserdidnotwanttoreceivethem,andtheyare
bulk,meaningthattheyaresenttomillionsofaddresses.Theyareusedmainlyforfourdifferentpurposes:
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Thebestbehaviortoadoptagainstspammessagesistoignorethem.Complainingisworthless,sincetheir
senderaddressisalwaysfalse;clickingontheirlinks,especiallyiftheysuggesttoclicktheretoberemoved
from their lists, usually has the only effect of letting the spammer know that the users address is really
readbysomeone.
The best ways to defend from spammers are to avoid using the users main email address during
registrationinforums,newsgroupsandunnecessarywebsites,andtoavoidpublishingitonthepersonalor
thecompanyswebsite.Thesearetheplaceswherespammersgettheirmillionsofaddresses.Ifitisreally
necessary,agoodstrategyistohaveanalternativeemailaddressforregistrations,whichwillreceiveallthe
spam.
Thereareantispamprograms,whichputthesupposedspammessagesinaseparatejunkemailfolder,but
theyarenotcompletelyreliableandsometimestheytrashevengoodmessages.Theseprogramsrelieson
analysis of the emails content and on blacklists, which contains the Internet mailservers which are
supposed to let spammers send their emails; it may happen that a good mailserver ends up into those
blacklistsandthatemailssendfromcustomersoremployeesofthatInternetsitearemarkedasspamby
othersites.
4.5. Navigation
NavigationisthesecondmostdangerousInternetactivity.Ithasmoreorlessthesamedangersasemails:
theuserscomputercangetvirusesifhedoesnotrunanantivirusbeforeopeningdownloadedfiles,and
theusercanbeluredintophishingwebsitesifhedoesnottypepersonallythebanksaddressintheweb
browser.Moreover,thecomputercangetvirusesevenwhensimplyvisitingsomewebsites,andtherefore
twogoodsuggestionsaretoavoidvisitingstrange(pornographicwebsites,websiteswithalotofpopup
windows and illegal websites) or untrustworthy websites and to keep Internet Explorer and Windows
operatingsystemalwaysuptodate.
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Theothersecurityproblemwhilenavigatingisdatainterception.Whenconnectingtoawebsite,theusers
data travels long distances, passing through a large number of computers (to connect from unibz.it to
www.athesia.itthedatagotoPadua,MilanandBolognapassingthroughatleast13computers).Dataon
the Internet travel without any protection, any computer administrator can read them. Therefore, when
sendingpasswordsandotherprivatedatatoawebsite,theusershouldtakespecialcarethattheaddress
intheaddressbarstartswithhttps://(insteadofhttp://)andonsomebrowseralockiconappearsinthe
lower right part of the windows, while on others the address bar becomes green with a lock: these
indicationsmeanthattheconnectionissecure(SSL)sincedataaretravelingencrypted.BewarethattheSSL
connection guarantees only that data are not intercepted and that the user is connected to the same
websitefromwhichhestartedtheconnection,whileitdoesnotguaranteedthiswebsiteistherightone.
4.6.1. Firewall
Often programs security breaches
oncediscoveredneedsomedaysto
be fixed and somebody can take
benefit of them in this short time,
before the security update is
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installedontheuserscomputer.ThereforeoneveryLAN,usuallyinthepointwheretheLANconnectsto
the Internet, or more often on every computer a special program called firewall is running. The firewall
examinesalltheincomingandoutgoingtraffic,usingthefollowinganalysistechniques:
whichinternalprogramisoriginating/receivingthetraffic,
from/towhichexternaladdressisthetrafficoriginated/directed,
whatamountoftrafficispassingfrom/tothesameprogramto/fromthesameexternaladdress,
whichkindofdataarepassing.
Making an analysis of these data clearly slows down the connection but lets the firewall stop potential
unauthorizedconnection,puttingtheminawaitstateuntiltheusersgiveshisapprovalordenial.
WindowsSevenoperatingsystemcomeswithafirewallpreinstalled,whichletstheusercustomizewhich
kind of programs are allowed to make or receive connections and determine rules to approve or deny
automaticallyconnections.
4.7. Backup
Backup is the process of copying important data to another location to prevent their loss. Sometimes
programsandevenentireoperatingsystemsarecopied,tobeabletoimmediatelycontinueworkingeven
whenacomputerbreaks.Therearethreeverygoodreasonstodoregularbackups:
againsttheuser,whocanaccidentallydeletesomefilesorwhocanmodifyfilesandthenchange
hismind.Havingarecentbackuphandycanoftensavehoursofwork;
against the system, which can suddenly break due to hardware or softwareproblems. Even hard
diskstendtobeunreliableaftersomeyearsofcontinuousactivity.Arecentbackupsavestheuser
fromredoingalltheworkofthepreviousmonths;
againstvirusesandotherusers,whichcandeleteandalterfiles:abackupcansaveausercoming
backfromvacations.
Usuallytheoperatingsystemsandtheprogramsbackuparedonebysystemadministrators:law196/2003
explicitlyrequiresaninstantaneousbackupforallsensitivedataandthatdataarerestoredwithin7daysin
caseofloss.However,therearesomefileswhichshouldbetakeninchargebytheuserhimself:
personally created data files, including all documents and images created by the user, and any
otherfilewhichisaresultoftheuserspersonalwork;
incaseemailsarenothandledwithanonlinesystem:thecontacts,calendarandtheemails(mail
readersusuallyofferawaytosavethemintofilestobeusedforbackup);
some programs require a lot of configuration and store their configuration in configuration files,
whichareusuallyintheprogramsdirectory;
allthestuffwhichisdifficulttofindagain,suchasdocumentsfromotherpeopleordownloaded
fromforgottenwebsites.
Theplacewherethefilesarecopieddeterminesthereliabilityofthebackup.Itshouldbealarge,cheap
andfaststoragedevice.Itshouldalsobehandy,sincethetypicalproblemwithbackupisthattheuserdoes
nottakestimetodoitregularlyand,whenthebackupistooold,itisworthless.Forhomeorsimpleoffice
users,theFridaymorningbackupisagoodtimingsolution.Goodstoragedevicestobeusedare:
asecondharddisk,usedonlyforbackup,whichisveryfastandverylargeandalwaysreadytobe
used;
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onlinebackupsystems,whereusersdataareuploadedandarereadyfromanywhereintheworld
(given a broadband connection), with Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and Amazon Cloud being the
mostfamousandofferingsomeGBofspaceforfree;
USBpendrive,tobeusedonlyinemergencywhennootherappropriatestoragedeviceisavailable;
bigcompaniesusuallyhavespecialtapedevicesforbackups.
4.7.1. RAID
AverypopularbackupsolutionisRAID(RedundantArrayofIndependentDisks)technology,whichconsists
of several identical hard disks. There are different types of RAID implementations, which vary a lot in
functionalitiesandsecurity.
JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks) is a primitive form of RAID in
which all the disks are seen by the user simply as disks on
which they can write as usual. The advantage is that the
available space is the sum of the space of all the disks,
howeverthereisnoformofdataprotection:ifadiskbreaks,
anythingonthatdiskislost.
disk 1
file
userdecides
disk 2
RAID0usestwoidenticaldiskswhichareseenbytheuserasa
singledisk.Everytimehewritesafile,thefirstpartofthefile
is written on the first disk while the second on the second
this. This strategy has the big advantage that writing speed
doubles,withatotalavailablespacewhichisthesumofthe
size of the two disks. But if a disk breaks, all the content of
bothdisksislost,sincetheuserwilllosehalfofallthefiles.
file
part1
file
part2
disk 1
disk 2
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file
part1
disk 1
disk 3
file
part2
disk 2
disk 4
All the RAID techniques are good at either improving the speed or improving the reliability against
hardwarefailure,butarenotgoodagainstotherthreatsandthereforetheymustalwaysbecoupledwith
another form of backup, such as tape backup for large companies or weekly/daily copy on DVD or on
anotherharddiskforhomeusers.
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