Exam practice

An ATM (automated teller machine) is an electromechanical machine, a computer-controlled device with moving parts, that gives automated banking services without a bank teller. It is connected to the bank’s server and works with input devices (card reader, keypad) and output devices (screen, speaker, receipt printer, cash dispenser).
Its functions: withdrawing cash, depositing cash, checking the account balance, giving a short account statement, paying bills, transferring money between accounts, and changing the PIN, at any time of day or night.

• Glass (platen) and lid: where the document is placed face down.
• Control panel: to choose the number of copies, size, darkness and color.
• Lamp, mirrors and lens: light the document and carry its image to the drum.
• Drum: a light-sensitive cylinder that holds the image as electric charge.
• Charger (corona wire): gives the drum its charge.
• Toner cartridge: holds the toner powder.
• Paper tray: holds blank paper.
• Fuser: hot rollers that melt the toner into the paper.
• Output tray: where the copies come out.

A printer is a hard-copy output device that puts text and pictures stored in a computer or another device onto paper.
Its function: it takes digital data (a document or photo file) from the computer or phone and prints it as a hard copy, in black-and-white or color. Dot-matrix printers strike an inked ribbon, inkjet printers spray drops of ink, and laser printers use a laser, a drum and toner. Its speed is measured in characters per second (CPS), lines per minute (LPM) or pages per minute (PPM).

A search engine is a software system that searches the information on the internet and shows the web pages most useful for the keywords the user types. Examples: Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo.
We need them because:

• There are billions of web pages, and we usually don’t know which website has the information we need, or its address. Typing a few keywords is enough.
• They save time: results come in under a second.
• They give more exact results, best first, and help us find official sources.

For example, to find the Curriculum Development Centre’s textbooks without knowing its address, we search “Curriculum Development Centre” on Google and choose moecdc.gov.np from the results.

An ISP (internet service provider) is a company that gives people and organizations access to the internet. Its main features:

• It provides a high-speed internet connection, by optical fiber, cable, telephone line or wireless.
• Most ISPs give their customers email addresses.
• Most protect their customers against phishing, malware and other dangers.
• Some also provide web hosting and domain registration.
• Customers pay according to their package (speed or amount of data).

Examples in Nepal: Nepal Telecom, WorldLink, Vianet.

• A strong medium: people can share their joys and sorrows, discuss and debate ideas, and raise issues; it is used in election campaigns. Everyone gets a voice.
• Brand development: businesses can introduce and advertise their products, and customers can learn about them.
• Customer interaction: businesses hear directly from customers; good reviews attract others, and bad ones show what to improve.
• Learning: lessons, virtual classes (such as NCED Virtual) and science videos are freely shared.
• Keeping in touch: families and friends far apart can talk and share news every day, cheaply.
• Quick news and help: news, warnings and appeals (for example after a flood or earthquake) spread within minutes.

Cybercrime is any crime committed through computers, phones, networks or the internet that harms a person, group or government, for example their money, reputation or mental health. It is also called computer crime.
Its forms:

• Identity theft: using someone’s personal information to pretend to be them and steal from them.
• Cyber terrorism: attacks through computers to cause serious harm or fear, or to extort money.
• Cyberbullying: threatening, harassing or humiliating someone through electronic means.
• Hacking: getting into or shutting down a computer, website or network without permission.
• Defamation: posting false statements that harm someone’s reputation.
• Others: spreading obscene content, online harassment, spreading hatred, encouraging terrorism, and crimes against children.

Dangers:

• Malware (viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware) that steals information, damages files or takes control of a computer.
• Phishing: fake messages that trick people into giving away passwords, PINs or card numbers.
• Identity theft: stealing personal information to cheat in someone’s name.
• Hacking: getting into a computer or network without permission.
• Botnets: networks of hijacked computers used for large attacks.

Ways to avoid them:

• Use strong, different passwords, and turn on two-factor authentication.
• Keep the operating system and apps up to date.
• Use trusted antivirus software and a firewall.
• Back up important data regularly.
• Don’t open suspicious emails, links or attachments, and never share a PIN or OTP.

Computer ethics (the computer code of conduct) is a set of guidelines for behaving honestly and responsibly when using computers and technology. It asks users to respect others’ intellectual property, keep data and systems secure, behave properly online without harassing anyone, publish only accurate information, obey the laws about computer use, and report anyone who breaks the code. It stops people from using computers to steal, cheat, or harm others.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the making of computer programs or machines that can do tasks that normally need human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing objects, making decisions and solving problems. Most AI today learns from examples (machine learning).
Its main objective is to make machines that can think, learn and solve problems like humans, so that they can help people do work faster, better and more safely, for example in health care, education, agriculture and transport.

Robotics is the branch of science and engineering that designs, builds, operates and uses robots. It combines mechanical, electrical and computer engineering with mathematics, to make machines that help humans and can copy human actions.
Important tasks done by robots:

• welding, painting and assembling in factories;
• helping surgeons in precise operations, and delivering medicines;
• planting, harvesting and watching crops;
• packing, sorting and carrying goods in warehouses;
• exploring space (such as the Mars rovers) and the deep sea;
• finding and defusing bombs, fighting fires and rescuing people;
• working where there is dangerous radiation.

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-made, three-dimensional world that a person can look around and act in as if it were real, using special equipment: a headset with a screen for each eye, headphones, and sensors that follow the movement of the head and hands.
It is used in:

• the military, for training soldiers and pilots, and treating PTSD;
• education, for virtual field trips and classrooms;
• sports, for training players and watching live games;
• mental health, for treating anxiety and phobias (VRET);
• medical training, for practicing surgery safely;
• fashion, for showing products and planning shops;
• architecture, for walking through buildings before they are built;
• and also research, heritage and archaeology, art, games, music and concerts.

Cloud computing is the use of remote servers in data centers, reached over the internet, to store, manage and process data and programs, instead of keeping them only on your own computer. The data can then be used from anywhere, on any device with an internet connection.
Two services it provides:

• Storage: keeping files, photos and backups online (for example Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud).
• Software over the internet: using programs without installing them, such as email (Gmail) and office programs (Google Docs).

A scanner. It digitizes a page printed on paper (hard copy) into a file in the computer (soft copy).

Social media (social networking sites), such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

Hacking.

A computer virus. (A virus spreads when infected files are copied or opened; one that spreads by itself across a network is called a worm. Both are kinds of malware.)

Cyber law. In Nepal, the main one is the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063.

• i.ATM: automated teller machine (also called automatic teller machine)
• ii.WWW: World Wide Web
• iii.URL: Uniform Resource Locator
• iv.Wi-Fi: wireless fidelity
• v.ISP: internet service provider
• vi.AI: artificial intelligence
• vii.VR: virtual reality