Avast Version History

» version 4.8.1335 - posted on 2009-03-23
anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, new strong-self protection features added, plus: new scanner progress, Aavmker4.sys vulnerability fixed, improved boot time scanner, malicious URL blocker

» version 4.8.1296 - posted on 2008-12-19
anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, new strong-self protection features added, plus: new scanner progress, Aavmker4.sys vulnerability fixed, improved boot time scanner, malicious URL blocker

» version 4.8.11 - posted on 2008-09-11
anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, new strong-self protection features added, plus: new scanner progress, Aavmker4.sys vulnerability fixed, improved boot time scanner

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Avira Antivirus

AntiVir Personal Edition is a software that helps you protect and monitor your PC.AntiVir software is a reliable free antivirus solution, that constantly and rapidly scans your computer for malicious programs (such as viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, hoaxes, worms, dialers etc.), monitoring every action executed by the user or by the operating system and being able to react promptly when a malicious program is detected.Protects your computer against dangerous viruses, worms, Trojans and costly dialers. Avira AntiVir Personal gives you the following functions:· Control Center for monitoring, administering and controlling the entire program· Central configuration with user-friendly standard and advanced options and context-sensitive help· Scanner (On-Demand Scan) with profile-controlled and configurable search for all known types of virus and malware· Integration into the Windows Vista User Account Control allows you to carry out tasks requiring administrator rights· Guard (On-Access Scan) for continuous monitoring of all file access attempts· Integrated quarantine management to isolate and process suspicious files· Rootkit protection for detecting hidden malware installed in your computer system (rootkits) (Only for 32-bit systems)· Direct access to detailed information on the detected viruses and malware via the Internet · Simple and quick updates to the program, virus definitions, and search engine through Single File Update and incremental VDF updates via a webserver on the Internet · Integrated Scheduler to plan one-off or recurring tasks, such as updates or test runs· Very high rates of virus and malware detection using innovative search technologies (search engines) and heuristic search processes· Detection of all common archive types, including detection of nested archives and smart extensions· High-performance multithreading function (simultaneous high-speed scanning of multiple files)

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Home Theater PC (HTPC) or media PC

is a convergence device that combines the functions of a personal computer and a media center software which feature video and music playback, and usually but not always also digital video recorder functionality. It usually has a 10-foot user interface and is connected to a television or a television-sized computer display, and is often used as a digital photo, music, video player, TV receiver and digital video recorder, and normally controlled with a remote control.
The general goal of an HTPC is usually to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into a single machine that will be located where the home theater system is desired. An HTPC system is typically controlled with a remote control for controlling the main interface, and the GUI normally has a 10-foot user interface design so that it can be comfortably viewed from a such distance. An HTPC can be purchased pre-configured with the required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be cobbled together out of discrete components as is commonly done with Windows Media Center, MediaPortal ,SageTV, MythTV, Freevo, or LinuxMCE.

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Editor's review of CutePDF Writer

The freeware PDF writer opts for ease over customization with a one-step conversion app that works its will over any printable document. Once installed, pressing Print and selecting CutePDF Writer as a printer choice allows you to save the newly-made PDF anywhere in your file system. While we found the process flawless, advanced users who enjoy rolling up their sleeves for configuring greater DIY control should keep looking. Folks whose needs are more basic have in CutePDF Writer a fine choice.

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Publisher's description of CutePDF Writer

Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world. CutePDF Writer (formerly CutePDF Printer) is the free version of commercial PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a printer subsystem. This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents with just a push of a button.

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Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition

With behavior-based threat detection and integrated real-time monitoring, Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition focuses on core consumer security needs. Instead of adding layers of bells and whistles--thereby slowing your computer and scans down--we have decided to focus on what really matters. Anniversary Edition provides advanced threat protection, and is significantly lighter and faster than our previous versions.
Numerous changes in Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition include: Behavior-based heuristical detection; Ad-Watch Live! integrated real-time protection; Customizable Profile Scans and full integration with Windows Security Center.

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Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a high performance anti-malware application that thoroughly removes even the most advanced malware and spyware. With one of the fastest, most effective quick scans and malware removal capabilities on the market, this program is the perfect addition to your PC's defenses. The full version of the product includes a number of key features, including the ability to schedule updates and scans and most importantly, a real-time malware protection module that blocks malicious processes before they even start.

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Spybot - Search & Destroy

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer. Modules chosen for removal can be sent directly to the included file shredder, ensuring complete elimination from your system. For advanced users, it allows you to fix Registry inconsistencies related to adware and to malicious program installations. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents.

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Avast 4 Professional Edition

Avast 4 Professional Edition is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus, Checkmark certified anti-spyware & anti-rootkit software package for corporate and advanced home use. Avast Professional Edition includes an on demand scanner with two user interfaces, a skinnable simple interface: just select what you want to scan and in which way and press the play button, an enhanced user interface: Outlook like UI allows users to set any feature of Avast, prepare and run tasks, store and check task results, on access scanner: special providers to protect: most available e-mail clients, instant messaging: ICQ or Miranda, network traffic: lightweight firewall, P2P protection for Kazaa, BitTorrent, Web shield: all HTTP traffic, script blocker. avast Professional Edition is available in 32 languages. Small, true incremental, updates are downloaded and installed automatically. Version 4.8.1335.90319 brings improvements in the rootkit scanner as well as performance optimizations.

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AVG Technologies

This antivirus program for your home or office computer is easy on system resources and simple to install and use. The fully automated update process will keep your computer protected at all times. Components include AVG Email Scanner, which checks your incoming and outgoing e-mail for viruses; AVG Resident Shield, which checks for viruses as files are opened, executed, and saved and will prevent you from opening or running an infected file; and AVG Virus Vault, a place where infected files are isolated so they cannot cause damage to your system.

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Set it and forget it in Avira AntiVir 9

In this First Look video, Avira AntiVir's latest features take the stage. From one-click threat removal and full antispyware protections to a new heuristics engine, check out what the free AntiVir 9 offers up.

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Norton remains strong

Symantec has been listening to its users, and this year the company delivers a slimmed-down and faster Norton AntiVirus 2009. Almost all the security vendors this year have recognized the changing threat landscape and have rethought traditional protection. Norton Antivirus 2009 is available as a full-function download, free for 15 days.
We especially like the Insight feature, which identifies "trusted" files and applications and doesn't waste time rescanning them unless there's been a change. No other product does this. The redesigned logic behind Norton AntiVirus 2009 clearly shows in CNET performance testing: it is faster and considerably lighter than last year's version. Norton continues to win awards in third-party effectiveness testing. Lagging behind, though, is Symantec's technical support. While Norton users now have free telephone support, Symantec still doesn't provide enough of a knowledge base, or even an adequate user's manual.

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Norton AntiVirus 2009

Norton AntiVirus 2009 provides fast, responsive defense against all types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, worms, and other software threats. It protects your system without slowing it down. Rapid pulse updates every 5 to 15 minutes help to ensure that you're protected from the latest threats. Working quickly and quietly in the background, Norton AntiVirus requires little memory and system resources. The new Norton Insight relies on extensive online intelligence to target only those processes at risk, resulting in faster, shorter, fewer scans. And the new Norton Protection System employs a multilayered set of security technologies that work in concert to detect, identify, and block attacks. Version 2009 improves on product performance.

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general kinds of application software include

Productivity software, which includes word processors, spreadsheets, and tools for use by most computer users Presentation software Graphics software for graphic designers CAD/CAM software Specialized scientific applications vertical market or industry-specific software (for example, for banking, insurance, retail, and manufacturing environments)

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Defination of Software

Software is a general term for the various kinds of programs used to operate computers and related devices. (The term hardware describes the physical aspects of computers and related devices.) Software can be thought of as the variable part of a computer and hardware the invariable part. Software is often divided into application software (programs that do work users are directly interested in) and system software (which includes operating systems and any program that supports application software). The term middleware is sometimes used to describe programming that mediates between application and system software or between two different kinds of application software (for example, sending a remote work request from an application in a computer that has one kind of operating system to an application in a computer with a different operating system). An additional and difficult-to-classify category of software is the utility, which is a small useful program with limited capability. Some utilities come with operating systems. Like applications, utilities tend to be separately installable and capable of being used independently from the rest of the operating system

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Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer: It’s a must-have.

Server performance is a first priority issue. Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer is the first solution that allows you keep it defragmented in real-time, regardless of work load, without setting a defrag schedule and without competing for system resources. Diskeeper can take on your largest Home Sever volumes and drives and ensure they are fragmentation free. Best of all, you’ll find Diskeeper can extend the effective life of your server as much as 3 years!

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The Breakthrough Of InvisiTasking

InvisiTasking's true transparent, background processing technology allows Diskeeper 2009 to defragment your computer in real-time, eliminating the need for cumbersome maintenance operations. You’ll never need to log in to your Windows Home Server to manage fragmentation again. Free up gridlocked resources and let your computer hum along at peak performance while you work. Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer enhances the reliability and performance of your computer—automatically!

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Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer Edition

Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer edition is essential to achieve consistently maximum system performance and reliability for your Windows® Home Server (WHS). Fragmented hard drives drain critical system resources and compromise almost every aspect of daily computer use, leading to longer load times, persistent lags and costly crashes. Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer elevates system performance, debugging fragmentation-based problems as they occur, without ever compromising vital system resources, even when the whole family is connected to the computer.

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Diskeeper 2009 Administrator

Provides centralized defragmentation management, alerting, and reporting tools to empower System Administrators with easy network-wide control

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Diskeeper 2009 Server

Get maximum server speed, reliability, and performance. Designed from the ground up to provide real time file system performance for your servers

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Diskeeper 2009 Professional

Designed for the typical office PC user, Diskeeper 2009 Professional includes advanced protection against performance problems for PCs and Laptops.

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Diskkeeper

New Diskeeper 2009 defrag products listed below were designedspecifically to increase the productivity of the workplace and keepbusiness systems always running at their maximum peak performance.
Choose the Diskeeper 2009 business solution that is right for you

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Folder Lock

Folder Lock™ is a fast file encryption software that can also password protect folders, lock files, protect USB Drives and lock CD/DVDs. Works perfectly on all flavors of Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000 (supports 64-bit OS as well).
Folder Lock creates encrypted storages called 'Lockers'. You can keep as many of your private files & folders in your Locker and password protect it with a single click. You can transfer, secure and backup these Lockers. Lockers are portable, you can keep them in USB Drives, CD/DVD, & notebooks or transfer them via email or upload. These Lockers are undeletable on the computer where Folder Lock is installed.
You can create as many Lockers as you want. Different users can create different Lockers with different passwords as well. With Folder Lock, you can choose either to encrypt using 256-bit AES on-the-fly encryption or lock files, folders and drives anywhere on your computer. Each Locker can contain your encrypted files as well as your personal list of locked items.
Furthermore, Folder Lock's options like hack monitoring, stealth mode, data shredding, history cleaning, auto protection, portable USB autoplay feature & virtual keyboard can enhance file locking and encryption beyond anything ever achieved. In addition, a locker's delete, move and rename are password protected to prevent data loss.

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Industry and organizations

Software has its own niche industry that is called the software industry made up of different entities and peoples that produce software, and as a result there are many software companies and programmers in the world. Because software is increasingly used in many different areas like in finance, searching, mathematics, space exploration, gaming and mining and such, software companies and people usually specialize in certain areas. For instance, Electronic Arts primarily creates video games.
Also selling a software can be quite a profitable industry. For instance, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft is the second richest man in the world in 2008 largely by selling the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software programs, and same goes for Larry Ellison largely through his Oracle database software.

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Relationship to computer hardware

Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

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SEAS Special Education Management System

Recently voted the country's #1 special education management system by eSCHOOL NEWS readers, Special Education Automation Software (SEAS) is dedicated to accurately and efficiently aide you in special education management. Over 1,800 school districts nationwide have adopted the SEAS program and enjoy the many benefits involved with implementing and utilizing our program. SEAS is a 100% web based product comprised of several modules which together allow districts of all sizes to manage their special needs programs:
IEP Management
Forms Management
Timeline Compliance
Messaging and Workflow Management
Administrative Management and Reporting
Customized Forms, Goals, Goal Banks, and Reports
Related Services Management and Medicaid Claim Generation
Assessment Report Manager

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Related subjects

Software as a Service
Software development process
Software ecosystem
Software industry
Software license

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Types of software

Custom Software
Free software
Freeware
Open source software
Proprietary software
Scientific software
Shareware

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Lists

List of basic computer programming topics
List of computer programming topics
Origins of computer terms

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Industry and organizations

Main article: Software industry
Software has its own niche industry that is called the software industry made up of different entities and peoples that produce software, and as a result there are many software companies and programmers in the world. Because software is increasingly used in many different areas like in finance, searching, mathematics, space exploration, gaming and mining and such, software companies and people usually specialize in certain areas. For instance, Electronic Arts primarily creates video games.
Also selling a software can be quite a profitable industry. For instance, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft is the second richest man in the world in 2008 largely by selling the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software programs, and same goes for Larry Ellison largely through his Oracle database software.

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Design and implementation

Main articles: Software development, Computer programming, and Software engineering
Design and implementation of a software varies depending on the complexity of the software. For instance design and creation of Microsoft Word software will take much longer time than designing and developing Microsoft Notepad because of the difference in functionalities in each one.
Software is usually designed and created (coded/written/programmed) in integrated development environments (IDE) like emacs, xemacs, Microsoft Visual Studio and Eclipse that can simplify the process and compile the program. As noted in different section, software is usually created on top of an existing software and the application programming interface (API) that the underlying software provides like GTK+, JavaBeans, Swing etc. Libraries (APIs) are categorized for different purposes. For instance JavaBeans library is used for designing enterprise applications, Windows Forms library is used for designing graphical user interface (GUI) applications like Microsoft Word and Windows Communication Foundation is used for designing web services. There are also underlying concepts in computer programming like quicksort, hashtable, array, binary tree that can be useful to creating a software. When a program is designed, it relies on the API. For instance, if a user is designing a Microsoft Windows desktop application, he/she might use the .NET Windows Forms library to design the desktop application and call its APIs like Form1.Close()

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Ethics and rights

There is more than one approach to creating, licensing, and distributing software. For instance, the free software or the open source community produces software under licensing that makes it free for inspection of its code, modification of its code, and distribution. While the software released under an open source license (such as General Public License, or GPL for short) can be sold for money,[6] the distribution cannot be restricted in the same way as software with copyright and patent restrictions (used by corporations to require licensing fees).
While some advocates of free software use slogans such as "information wants to be free," hinting that it is easy to copy digital data and that the licenses (enforced through laws) are unnatural restrictions, other creators and users of open source software recognize it to be one model among many for software creation, licensing, and distribution. And the laws themselves are put into place for the ostensible purpose of increasing creative output, by allowing the creators to control and profit most effectively from their intellectual property.

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Patents

Main articles: Software patent and Software patent debate
Software can be patented; however software patents can be controversial in the software industry with many people holding different views about it. The controversy over software patents is that a specific algorithm or technique that the software has cannot be duplicated by others and is considered an intellectual property and copyright infringement depending on the severity. Some people believe that software patent hinder software development, while others argue that software patents provide an important incentive to spur software innovation.

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License

Main article: Software license
The software's license gives the user the right to use the software in the licensed environment. Some software comes with the license when purchased off the shelf, or an OEM license when bundled with hardware. Other software comes with a free software license, granting the recipient the rights to modify and redistribute the software. Software can also be in the form of freeware or shareware. See also License Management.

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Quality and reliability

Main articles: Software quality, Software testing, and Software reliability
Software quality is very important, especially for commercial and system software like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Linux, etc. If software is faulty (buggy), it can delete a person's work, crash the computer and do other unexpected things. Faults and errors are called "bugs". Many bugs are discovered and eliminated (debugged) through software testing. However, software testing rarely – if ever – eliminates every bug; some programmers say that "every program has at least one more bug" (Lubarsky's Law). All major software companies, such as Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems, have their own software testing departments with the specific goal of just testing. Software can be tested through unit testing, regression testing and other methods, which are done manually, or most commonly, automatically, since the amount of code to be tested can be quite large. For instance, NASA has extremely rigorous software testing procedures for its Space Shuttle and other programs because faulty software can crash the whole program and make the vehicle not functional, at great expense.

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Execution

Main article: Execution (computing)
Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer's storage (such as a [hard drive], memory, or RAM). Once the software has loaded, the computer is able to execute the software. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation – moving data, carrying out a computation, or altering the control flow of instructions.
Data movement is typically from one place in memory to another. Sometimes it involves moving data between memory and registers which enable high-speed data access in the CPU. Moving data, especially large amounts of it, can be costly. So, this is sometimes avoided by using "pointers" to data instead. Computations include simple operations such as incrementing the value of a variable data element. More complex computations may involve many operations and data elements together

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Standard

Main article: Software standard
Since software can be designed using many different programming languages and in many different operating systems and operating environments, software standard is needed so that different software can understand and exchange information between each other. For instance, an email sent from a Microsoft Outlook should be readable from Yahoo! Mail and vice versa.

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] Library

Main article: Software library
A executable is almost always not sufficiently complete for direct execution. Software libraries include collections of functions and functionality that may be embedded in other applications. Operating systems include many standard Software libraries, and applications are often distributed with their own libraries.

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Documentation

Main article: Software documentation
Most software has software documentation so that the end user can understand the program, what it does and how to use it. Without a clear documentation a software can be hard to use and especially if it is a very specialized and relatively complex software like the Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc.
Developer documentation may also exist, either with the code as comments and/or as separate files, detailing how the programs works and can be modified.

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Architecture

See also: Software architecture
Users often see things differently than programmers. People who use modern general purpose computers (as opposed to embedded systems, analog computers, supercomputers, etc.) usually see three layers of software performing a variety of tasks: platform, application, and user software.
Platform software: Platform includes the firmware, device drivers, an operating system, and typically a graphical user interface which, in total, allow a user to interact with the computer and its peripherals (associated equipment). Platform software often comes bundled with the computer. On a PC you will usually have the ability to change the platform software.
Application software: Application software or Applications are what most people think of when they think of software. Typical examples include office suites and video games. Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. Sometimes applications are bundled with the computer, but that does not change the fact that they run as independent applications. Applications are almost always independent programs from the operating system, though they are often tailored for specific platforms. Most users think of compilers, databases, and other "system software" as applications.

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Application software

Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (not directly computer development related) tasks. Typical applications include:
industrial automation,
business software,
computer games,
telecommunications, (ie the internet and everything that flows on it)
databases,
educational software,
medical software,
Application software exists for and has impacted a wide variety of topics

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Programming software

Programming software usually provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs, and software using different programming languages in a more convenient way. The tools include:
compilers,
debuggers,
interpreters,
linkers,
text editors,
An Integrated development environment (IDE) is a single application that attempts to manage all these functions.

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System software

System software helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes:
device drivers,
operating systems,
servers,
utilities,
windowing systems,

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Types of software

Practical computer systems divide software systems into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.

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Relationship to computer hardware

Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

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Overview

Computer software are often regarded as anything but hardware, meaning that the "hard" are the parts that are tangible while the "soft" part is the intangible objects inside the computer. Software encompasses an extremely wide array of products and technologies developed using different techniques like programming languages, scripting languages or even microcode or a FPGA state. The types of software include web pages developed by technologies like HTML, PHP, Perl, JSP, ASP.NET, XML, and desktop applications like Microsoft Word, OpenOffice developed by technologies like C, C++, Java, C#, etc. Software usually runs on an underlying software operating systems such as the Microsoft Windows or Linux. Software also includes video games and the logic systems of modern consumer devices such as automobiles, televisions, toasters, etc.

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Adobe Acrobat Standard 6.0

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