Testing the IP configuration Before doing anything else, you are advised to check the computer's IP configuration. Windows systems offer a command-line tool, called ipconfig, that lets you find out your computer's IP configuration. The ... Read more
2D Accelerator Cards A graphics card, sometimes called a graphics adapter, video card or graphics accelerator, is a computer component which converts digital data into a graphical form which can be displayed on a monitor. The initial role ... Read more
The Scanner A scanner is an acquisition peripheral for scanning documents, i.e. converting a paper document to a digital image. There are generally three types of scanner: Flat scanners let you scan a document by placing it flat against a ... Read more
autorun - autorun.exe The process autorun.exe (autorun) is a generic Windows 98/NT/Me/2000/XP process which automatically runs a program from a CD-ROM when the CD is inserted in the disk drive. The process autorun is not in any way a virus ... Read more
srvany - srvany.exe srvany.exe (srvany stands for Run any program as a service) is a Windows NT/2000/XP generic process which lets any program be run as a service. The process srvany is not in any way a virus, a worm, a Trojan horse, ... Read more
Environment variables An environment variable is a dynamic value loaded into the memory that can be used by several processes operating simultaneously. On most operating systems, the location of some libraries or of the main system ... Read more
Third-party application maintenance The term third-party application maintenance (acronym TMA) refers to outsourcing the maintenance of applications, i.e. entrust all or part of the maintenance of applications to a third-party computer ... Read more
Routers Routers are devices which make it possible to "choose" the path that datagrams will take to arrive at the destination. They are machines with several network interface cards each one of which is linked to a different network. So, ... Read more
Definition of polymorphism The word polymorphism comes from Greek and means having several different forms. This is one of the essential concepts of object-oriented programming. Where inheritance is related to classes and (their hierarchy ... Read more
Introduction to Vi Despite its very limited ergonomics, Vi i is one of the most popular text editors texte under Unix type systems (with Emacs and pico). Under Linux, there is a free version of Vi called Vim (Vi Improved). Vi (pronounced ... Read more
Why set up a local area network? When you have several computers, it can be convenient to connect them to each other to create a local area network (LAN). Setting up such a network costs very little, contrary to what people may think. Here ... Read more
The development of MS-DOS MS-DOS is the most well known operating system, the most commercialised version is that of Microsoft, christened "MS-DOS" (there are other versions such as DR-DOS). MS-DOS was created in 1981 when it was used on ... Read more
Introduction to the Telnet protocol The Telnet protocol is a standard internet protocol enabling terminals and applications to interface over the Internet. This protocol provides the basic rules making it possible to link a client (system ... Read more
ntvdm - ntvdm.exe ntvdm.exe (Windows 16-bit Virtual Machine) is a Windows NT/2000/XP generic process used for providing a 16-bit environment for old 16-bit applications. The process ntvdm is not in any way a virus, a worm, a Trojan horse, ... Read more
As Internet use is developing, more and more companies are opening their information system to their partners and suppliers. Therefore, it is essential to know which of the company's resources need protecting and to control system access ... Read more
Trojan horses A Trojan horse is a computer program which carries out malicious operations without the user's knowledge. The name "Trojan horse" comes from a legend told in the Iliad (by the writer Homer) about the siege of the city of Troy ... Read more
Introduction to attacks Any computer connected to a computing network is potentially vulnerable to an attack. An "attack" is the exploitation of a flaw in a computing system (operating system, software program or user system) for purposes ... Read more
What is DNS? Each computer directly connected to the Internet has at least one specific IP address. However, users do not want to work with numerical addresses such as 194.153.205.26 but with a domain name or more specifically addresses ( ... Read more
The principle of NAT Network address translation or NAT was developed in order to respond to the shortage of IP addresses with IPv4 protocol (in time the IPv6 protocol will respond to this problem). In fact, in IPv4 addressing the number ... Read more
Introduction to IT professions Today, information technology is such an integral part of most businesses that the profession of being a computer expert has broadened into a multitude of specialized occupations, involving networking, ... Read more
