Unit 2 Task 3 P3

A firewall is a piece of software or hardware that is designed to help keep out hackers, viruses and worms that try to reach your computer via the internet. When you are using a computer it is important that the firewall is turned on to stop these things happening. This will mean that your computer will be able to run at its best and it stops the memory from corrupting. Firewalls build a protective barrier around computers connected to the internet so that only authorized programs can access data on a specific work station.

Certain programs that are being run on your computer leave small programs that are there to keep track of your internet viewing habits. The company can sell the data collected from these cookies to anyone who wants it. A cookie cleaner removes these. Cookies are used by the internet to keep a record of the users information e.g not having to re-enter a password for a website you have already been on. Removing cookies means that if someone was to hack into your computer or you were using a public computer your data won't still be saved from that website.

In order for storage media to be recognized by your computer so it can be used to store files it has to be formatted. There are two stages that have to be carried out. One is physical formatting which tests the surface and setting aside the sectors that can no longer be used. The other is logical formatting which sets up a file system that then defines how files and folders will be stored.