Across
- 2. Software used to gather information through your Internet connection without your knowledge; it can track where you go on the Internet.
- 4. A visual display on a computer’s screen that allows you to interact with your computer more easily by clicking graphical elements.
- 6. The software built into the ROM chip that is the first code run by a computer when it is powered on. Its primary function is to identify and test the devices attached to the computer that are used to input and output information, such as the keyboard, monitor, hard drives, serial communications, and so on. Some newer computers, such as Apple Macintosh computers, use EFI instead of BIOS.
- 8. Running more than one computer program or application at a time.
- 11. The process of copying data from the hard drive to another storage device.
- 12. A collection of related information that’s been given a unique name.
- 13. A set of characters added to a file name to identify the category or type of file it is.
- 14. An on-screen work area provided by an operating system and designed to make a computer easier to use.
- 15. Comes from a company for a licensing fee and may include customer support.
- 16. The breaking apart of files into separate segments as they are stored by an operating system on the hard drive.
- 18. A software interface between an operating system and platform firmware that is much larger and more complex than the older BIOS firmware interface. The EFI specification was originally developed by Intel and is now managed by the Unified EFI Forum.
- 19. To install a newer (and presumably better) version of software, or to add new or additional components to a computer system.
- 21. Software that controls a computer, managing hardware, software, utilities, and the user interface, and that helps to repair and restore computer functionality as needed.
- 22. A community-developed Linux-based operating system with a GUI similar to that of Windows.
- 23. A small on-screen picture or symbol used to represent an object, a file, or a program.
Down
- 1. A harmful piece of software installed without a user’s knowledge.
- 3. The ability to share files or functionality across different operating systems.
- 5. A bar in the Windows operating system interface that displays by default at the bottom of the screen. Each application launched appears as a button on this bar. This is similar to the Dock found in the Mac OS.
- 7. A process that reduces a file’s size for storage or transmission purposes.
- 9. The building blocks needed to create a software program. An API provides the guidelines that guarantee that all programs that use that API will have similar interfaces across operating systems and hardware platforms.
- 10. Software packages with a specific purpose in mind, such as word processing, email, web browsing, spreadsheets, and so on.
- 17. Software whose source code is made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify, and redistribute the source code without paying royalties or fees.
- 20. A commercially or community-developed version of Linux. There are currently more than 300 distributions of Linux worldwide, including Red Hat, SUSE, and Ubuntu.