Service software. System utilities

Utilities are specialized programs, designed to maintain and optimize the operation of the system, assistant programs, problem solvers with whom she operating system unable to cope. Most utilities are designed for maintenance file system and disks. Some utilities are used to maintain data archives, and special anti-virus programs protect the system from computer viruses. Utilities - necessary component programmer's tools of any level and, first of all, applied ones. Initially, the word "utility" was identified with simple small programs. But today's utilities often take up tens of megabytes and are as complex as some office suites. And they can no longer perform one or two operations as before, but much more...

Many utilities are serious commercial packages that are sold in nice boxes in stores. But most utilities classified as shareware can be found freely available on the Internet.

Currently, there are many different sets of utilities (Microsoft PLUS 98, Norton Utilities, Nuts & Bolts 98), as well as many individual utilities (Anti Viral Toolkit Pro, First Aid (Cybermedia), Power Strip (Etitech), SciTech Display, Win Boost (Magellas Corp), etc.). This abstract takes a closer look at the Norton Utilities software package.

Software package Norton Utilities.

The name Peter Norton is no doubt familiar to any self-respecting computer geek. Norton is the creator of the world's most popular file manager, Norton Commander, and an equally famous set of utilities. True, Peter Norton himself has long since moved away from creating software products, becoming more of a trademark for a family of programs produced by Symantec Corporation. Despite this, Norton Utilities continues to be an excellent suite of computer maintenance software.

Utilities for checking and correcting errors in the system

Norton System Check - comprehensive system check. Checks HDD, scans the Windows 98 Registry, and also performs a number of other operations to increase the performance of your computer.

Norton WinDoctor - Register Optimizer - a database that stores various Windows settings. The register also sometimes needs optimization, because... Over time, it accumulates many unnecessary entries related to programs installed in the system. Many of them do not affect the operation of Windows, but some can cause harm. The Register especially suffers due to incorrect installation and removal of programs.

WinDoctor scans the Register and catches all kinds of errors and unnecessary entries in it: in particular, it controls the correctness of all existing Windows shortcuts programs and so-called “associations” (that is, what type of file (extension) does this or that editing and viewing program correspond to, and vice versa).

After Doctor has finished working and all existing problems are displayed on the screen, you will need to fix them - to do this, click the “Repair All” button on the WinDoctor button panel.

Norton Disk Doctor - a program that monitors physical and logical health hard drive. By “physical” we mean control over the presence on the hard drive physical damage magnetic layer, under “logical” - tracking and eliminating various damage to the file system, “lost” fragments of data that may appear when incorrect termination program operation, and many other logical errors.

It is not advisable to carry out a “physical” check frequently - it is a long procedure. But it is advisable to run the “logical” one every day. However, most often you don’t have to make any effort for this. Norton Disc Doctor starts automatically every time it crashes Windows operation.

When launching Norton Disc Doctor, the user is offered a choice of the following program operating modes:

Diagnose Disc - disk diagnostic mode;

Surface Test - allows you to test the surface of the disk;

Undo Changes - if something happened to the disk, before fixing it, NDD*

* NDD is an abbreviation for Norton Disc Doctor.

saves the original state of the disk in the NDDUNDO.DAT file in root directory user-selected drive. The Undo Changes option undoes all changes and returns the disk to its original state;

Options - defines the NDD configuration;

Quit Disc Doctor - exit from NDD.

Diagnose Disc. After selecting the drive diagnostic mode, you need to determine which drive to test. After this, diagnostics of the system areas of the disk will begin. If errors are found, then you need to follow all the actions that will be proposed by NDD in this case.

After diagnosing system areas, NDD will offer disk surface testing (Surface Test). Before running the test, you need to determine its configuration:

Entire Disc Area - conduct a test over the entire disk;

Area Used by Files - conduct a surface test in areas containing files;

Normal Test - normal test; quick scan disk;

Thorough Test full test; the test is longer in time, but detects errors that were missed by Normal;

Thorough Test only on Fridays - the full test will be performed only on Fridays.

It is necessary to determine the number of passes for testing the disk (Repetitions) - a value from 1 to 999. If Continuos is selected, then the disk will be tested until the test is interrupted by the user (the test is interrupted by pressing the Esc key). After testing is completed, a report on the test will appear on the screen, which can be written to disk (it is recommended to use a non-tested disk for these purposes).

Options. This option defines the NDD configuration. Below are some mode Options:

General Options - here you can set basic options, for example, whether or not to offer disk surface testing;

Surface Test - overrides the default settings for testing the disk surface;

Custom Message - if the user is not satisfied with the messages issued by NDD when there are any errors, you can set your own.

Norton Connection Doctor - checks the modem installed in your computer and tests connections to the Internet.

Norton UnErase - search and restore deleted (erased) files and directories.

When you call a program, the contents of the directory from which it was called will appear on the screen. this utility. Files that have been deleted will be shown on the screen without the first letters of their names (instead of the first letter of the file name there is a "?" sign).

The following information is provided about each file:

Name - file name;

Size - file size;

Date - date of file creation;

Time - file creation time;

Prognosis - probability of recovery (if "good" or "excellent" - recovery of a deleted file is possible, if "poor" - recovery is impossible).

The lower part of the window allows you to choose between:

Info - view complete information about the file the cursor points to;

View - view the file;

UnErase - file recovery. If this item is selected, the user will be prompted to enter the first letter of the file to be restored.

To enter the main menu, use the F10 key.

File submenu:

View Current Directory - display all deleted files in the current directory, including subdirectories;

View All directories - show all deleted files on the entire disk;

Change Drive - change the drive;

Change Directory - change directory;

Select - select;

Select Group - select a group of files by mask;

As has already been shown, software is divided into system and application. The operating system is necessary to ensure the operation of the computer, so it is installed on the computer in any case. We can say that the OS is the main and necessary system program. However, after installation operating system, you can find that in addition to the OS itself, it already has a lot of additional programs, which are not necessary. Such programs are called distribution– a software product supplied complete with the main (actually purchased) software product “in addition”. Various programs, such as “solitaire”, “calculator”, “universal player”, text editor “notepad” and “WordPad”, as well as many other things, supplied with the Windows OS are nothing more than a distribution kit.

Besides custom applications, as a distribution package, Microsoft Corporation offers a number of system programs in its operating system. System programs, which are not an operating system, are called utilities. These standard utilities can be accessed by clicking Start → Programs → Accessories → System Tools. This list contains the following utilities:

· Data archiving

· System Restore

· Disk Defragmenter

System Information

· File and Settings Transfer Wizard

Disk Cleanup

The data archiving program is designed for Reserve copy the most important logical areas of the hard drive with its compression.

System Restore creates and opens restore points that allow you to roll back system settings in the event of incorrect settings or any failure.

The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard allows you to transfer all user settings from one computer to another (for example, desktop settings, shortcuts located on it) literally by pressing a few keys.

Disk Cleanup is designed to remove temporary files, folders, clean up special folder"baskets".

Besides standard utilities There is still a very saturated market for this type of software. In general, we can distinguish utilities that solve the following ranges of problems:

· Computer monitoring and diagnostics;

· Disk maintenance;

· Working with archives;

· Operating system maintenance;

· Network maintenance;

· Detection and neutralization of viruses;

· Work with optical drives.

There are utility packages (Norton Utilities, Fix-It, Norton System Works), as well as powerful individual utilities (Tweak-XP, ReСliner). Utility packages combine several programs into one control center. Such a complex can solve several of the above problems. In addition, these programs interact very well with each other.

The most popular anti-virus programs (Kaspersky Anti-Virus), the recording program for optical media(Nero) various programs hard recovery disk (NTFSundelete), archivers (WinRar), Sisoft Sandra tester program, which allows you to find out absolutely everything about your computer (down to the fan speed).

As you know, each program is responsible for its own specific area of ​​work.

Some help create text or graphics, others help put things in order on your hard drive, and others help you surf the Internet.

With some diligence, you can try to reduce all the software abundance to a few main sections. Let’s also indulge in classification, creating a small “Periodic Table of Programs” in the spirit of Mendeleev.

1. System programs

This is the first and largest group of programs with which we will have to deal. They are needed to ensure normal operation of the computer, its maintenance and configuration. This is first and foremost an operating system. And a number of small auxiliary programs - utilities.

operating system - this is the first and main intermediary between computer hardware and all other programs, the soul and heart of the computer. There is essentially no choice of operating systems for the home user. Microsoft's Windows, a universally recognized standard. And you can’t escape it anywhere. That is why we will not talk about operating systems on the pages of this book, especially since a special section of the “Newest Encyclopedia of the Personal Computer” is dedicated to this.

Utilities. Under this name hides a huge amount useful programs, designed to improve the performance of your computer. The choice of utilities must be approached especially carefully so as not to overdo it. But you shouldn’t miss anything really useful - a properly selected utility can make your life much easier. You can also include tests here - programs for testing both software and PC hardware resources.

2. Application programs

Of course, it is unfair that the largest number of programs are created to serve the needs of the computer, and not its owner - the person. For us, the most important are creative programs, working tools designed for creating and processing information. In short - application programs.

The user, unlike the computer, is an unusually whimsical creature. Therefore, there are much more types of application programs than system ones. Let's name just a few of them.

Office programs . The purpose of these programs is to create and edit documents, be it text, a spreadsheet, an image, or a combination of them. However, the basis of office information still remains text, and image, sound, and even more so video are considered secondary elements. That is why professional programs for processing these types of information are placed in a special group.

The most popular programs designed for creating and editing documents are editors.

Once upon a time, the programs included in office packages “lived” alone. But today there are almost no individual programs of this class left on the market. The most popular office suite is Microsoft Office. Consists of a Microsoft Word text editor, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and a program for preparing presentations

Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access database management programs and a number of smaller supporting programs.

Financial and accounting programs . Home accounting has not yet become fashionable in our country, but it is only a matter of time! In the West, programs for planning expenses, accounting for family finances and calculating taxes have always been among the most popular. In the same group are spreadsheets and financial support utilities.

3. Multimedia programs

“Media” in translation means “carrier”, “messenger”, and in the modern interpretation - a type of information. Therefore, “multimedia” is a collection of all types of information. This term itself was born in an era when the use of any information media, in addition to the “bare” text, was a novelty for the computer. Strictly speaking, only those programs that can work with several types of information can be called “multimedia”. But there are not many such programs in nature. And it just so happened that “multimedia” today refers to graphic, sound, and video programs... in short, those that work with a type of information other than text.

Programs for processing and creating images . These are already quite professional programs, which are worth installing on your computer only in one case: if you at least know how to draw. If not, then even this powerful program as editor vector graphics(drawings) CorelDraw will not help you. The same applies to photo processing programs, for example, Adobe Photoshop. Of course, with their help you can create a magnificent photo montage or make fun of a photo of your adored wife. But again, is this vital for you?

P Programs for working with sound . A minimum set of programs for processing and playing sounds and music is already included with your operating system. A few additional programs (for example, players - “players”) will not hurt you. And leave serious, professional packages for sound processing (Sound Forge, CoolEdit) to the professionals.

Players (players) and viewing programs (viewers) unlike editors, they do not allow you to edit a text document, audio file or video. Their task is simpler - for example, play a musical composition or display a picture on the screen.

4. Entertainment and educational programs

Educational multimedia programs They can hardly be called serious work tools, but they are the ones that have gained perhaps the greatest popularity among software products today. This is understandable - there is always a demand for entertaining learning. “Tutorials” are especially popular foreign language- although it is difficult to imagine that anyone could actually learn a language from a CD.

Encyclopedias, reference books, “living books” - here are the programs you should pay attention to first! They are the ones who will make your computer useful not only for you, but also for the whole family.

Games- no comments.

5. Professional programs

A very conditional group. In fact, a program of any group can be classified as professional - it depends only on its “sophistication”, demand by a relatively small circle of people and, as a consequence, high price. They are not suitable for everyday use. And they need specialists who know why they actually need these programs.

Programmer Tools. Super complex programming systems, professional compilers and much more. For programmers, this is the number one tool, but home user most often they are not needed. Although many modern systems programming is so simple and “visual” that it allows you to create applications, constructing them like bricks, from ready-made blocks.

Computer Aided Design (CAD). These programs (for example, AutoCAD) are also often installed on home machines - out of ignorance, apparently, because drawing professional flowcharts is a difficult task and does not resemble a game.

3D graphics and animation editors . Thanks to “Jurassic Park” and other films stuffed with special effects, these programs have become surprisingly popular in our country (although in the West the same 3D Studio MAX or Softimage are purely professional programs costing tens of thousands of dollars).

Programs for scientific calculations - the patrimony of scientists and advanced engineers.

You can name dozens (if not hundreds) of other types of “professional” programs - in fact, today each specialty has its own software.

You can view the list of programs by going tolink .

System Software Structure

Basic software

operating system designed to manage the execution of user programs, planning and management of computer computing resources.

In the software and operating systems sector, the leading positions are occupied by IBM, Microsoft, UNISYS, and Novell. Revenue from sales of operating systems averages more than $20 billion. year. Let's look at the most common types of operating systems.

OS For personal computers are divided into:

The use of 32-bit operating systems for personal computers is of great importance today:

OS/2 in all modifications (IBM);

Windows NT in all modifications (Microsoft);

Unix in all modifications;

Next Step 3.2 (Next);

SCO Open Desktop 3.0 (Santa Cruz Operation);

Solaris 2.1 (SunSoft) - x86;

Operating shell– special programs designed to facilitate user communication with operating system commands. Operating shells have text and graphical interfaces end user.

Service programs– often called utilities.

Utilities– programs used to perform auxiliary data processing or computer maintenance operations.

Minimum system software:

Characteristic antivirus programs

Several types have been developed to detect, remove and protect against computer viruses. special programs, which allow you to detect and destroy viruses. Such programs are called antivirus.

Distinguish the following types antivirus programs:

Detector programs search for a sequence of bytes characteristic of a particular virus (virus signature) in random access memory both in the files and when detected, they issue a corresponding message. The disadvantage of such antivirus programs is that they can only find viruses that are known to the developers of such programs.

Doctor programs or phages, and vaccine programs not only find files infected with viruses, but also “treat” them, i.e. remove the body of the virus program from the file, returning the files to the initial state. At the beginning of their work, phages search for viruses in RAM, destroying them, and only then proceed to “cleaning” files. Among the phages there are polyphages, those. Doctor programs designed to search and destroy large quantity viruses. The most famous polyphages are programs Aidstest, Scan, Norton Anti Virus And Doctor Web.

Considering that new viruses are constantly appearing, detector programs and doctor programs quickly become outdated, and regular updates of their versions are required.

Auditor programs are among the most reliable means of protection against viruses. Auditors remember the initial state of programs, directories and system areas of the disk when the computer is not infected with a virus, and then periodically or at the user’s request compare the current state with the original one. Detected changes are displayed on the video monitor screen. As a rule, comparison of states is carried out immediately after loading the operating system. When comparing, the file length and cyclic control code ( check sum file), date and time of modification, other parameters. Auditor programs have fairly developed algorithms, detect step viruses and can even distinguish changes in the version of the program being checked from changes made by a virus. Among the audit programs is the widely used program in Russia ADinf"Dialog-Nauka" company.

Filter programs or "watchmen" are small resident programs designed to detect suspicious actions during computer operation, characteristic of viruses. Such actions may be:

When any program tries to perform the specified actions, the “guard” sends a message to the user and offers to prohibit or allow the corresponding action. Filter programs are very useful because they are able to detect a virus at the earliest stage of its existence before replication. However, they do not “clean” files and disks. To destroy viruses, you need to use other programs, such as phages. The disadvantages of watchdog programs include their “intrusiveness” (for example, they constantly issue a warning about any attempt to copy executable file), and possible conflicts with other software. An example of a filter program is the program Vsafe, included in the package of utilities for the MS DOS operating system.

Timely detection of virus-infected files and disks, complete destruction detected viruses on each computer help avoid the spread of a virus epidemic to other computers.

Laboratory work No. 11

Subject: Types of utilities, classifications.

Purpose: To study the types of utilities and their classifications.

Theoretical part

Utility(eng. Utility program, utility) - a service program that helps manage files, obtain information about the computer, diagnose and fix problems, provide efficient work systems. Utilities - service programs, expanding the capabilities of the OS.

A utility (in programming) is a small application program.

Utility functions:

· Monitoring of sensor indicators and equipment performance - monitoring of processor and video adapter temperatures; reading SMART hard drives; performance tests.

· Manage hardware parameters - limitation maximum speed rotation of the CD drive; changing the rotation speed of coolers.

· Monitoring indicators - checking referential integrity; correctness of data recording.

· Expansion of capabilities - formatting and/or re-partitioning the disk while saving data, deleting without the possibility of recovery.

· Fine tuning system parameters - tweaker.

Types of utilities:

· Utilities for checking and correcting errors in the system

· Utilities for optimizing system performance

· Additional utilities

· Windows fine-tuning programs

· Tests

· File managers

· Programs for working with archives

Utilities for checking and correcting errors in the system

Norton System Check – comprehensive system check. Checks the hard drive, scans Windows Registry 98, and also performs a number of other operations to increase the performance of your computer.

Norton WinDoctor is a registry optimizer. Registry is a database that stores various parameters Windows.

WinDoctor scans the Registry and catches all kinds of errors and unnecessary entries in it: in particular, it controls the correctness of all program shortcuts and so-called “associations” available in Windows.

Norton Disk Doctor is a program that monitors the physical and logical health of your hard drive. By “physical” we mean monitoring for the presence of physical damage to the magnetic layer on the hard drive. “Logical” means tracking and eliminating various damage to the file system, “lost” pieces of data that may appear when programs are terminated incorrectly, and many other logical errors. Small detail: if in old Windows versions NDD started without any problems, but it is not able to work under XP.

Norton Connection Doctor - checks the modem installed in the computer and tests connections to the Internet. Norton UnErase – search and restore deleted (erased) files and directories.

Utilities to optimize system performance

Norton Speed ​​Disc is a utility for optimizing access to hard drive. The utility reorganizes files and directories on the disk so as to minimize the movement of the read heads and, therefore, increase the speed of reading data from the hard drive. Basically, Speed ​​Disc does two things: it defragments files and moves any free space to the end of the disk onto internal tracks that are further away from the read heads.

When running the utility, the user is prompted to select a disk for optimization, after which the program analyzes the data on the specified disk and suggests an optimization method.

Full Optimization – the most full method disk optimization (but also the longest in terms of operating time). Files are defragmented and moved (along with directories) to the beginning of the disk. It is recommended to perform full disk optimization once or twice a month;

Unfragmented Files Only – this method execution time is faster than full optimization, but when selected, only files are defragmented. However, large files cannot be completely defragmented;

Unfragment Free Space - with this optimization method, data is simply moved to the beginning of the disk, filling empty spaces. Disk defragmentation is not performed. This quick method, but significant results in increasing the speed of reading data from the disk may not be achieved. The main advantage of the method is that again created files are placed completely (and not in small parts scattered throughout the disk);

Directory Optimization - in this method, directories are moved to the beginning of the disk, namely information about the directory structure of the disk.

Norton Space Wizard - Intelligent disk cleaner to remove clogs unnecessary files. These include temporary files with the *.tmp extension, created when Windows itself and other programs are running (in fact, these files should be deleted automatically after the program ends, but often the system “forgets” to do this), “ backups» documents and system files(files with *.bak extension), as well as extra copies of files.

When cleaning, the main thing is not to overdo it, since an overly zealous program often treats files too harshly. The opinions of Space Wizard and Windows about which files are considered unnecessary do not always coincide, and it is not uncommon for some programs to refuse to work as a result of overly thorough “cleaning”.