Portal:Software
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Software is a program that enables a computer to perform a specific task, as opposed to the physical components of the system (hardware). This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to perform a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run properly, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.
Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about a user without their informed consent. The term, coined in 1995 but not widely used for another five years, is often used interchangeably with adware and malware(software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer).
Personal information is secretly recorded with a variety of techniques, including logging keystrokes, recording Internet web browsing history, and scanning documents on the computer's hard disk. Purposes range from overtly criminal (theft of passwords and financial details) to the merely annoying (recording Internet search history for targeted advertising, while consuming computer resources). Spyware collects many different types of information. Some variants attempt to track the websites a user visits and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a user enters them into a web form or other application.
The spread of spyware has led to the development of an entire anti-spyware industry. Its products remove or disable existing spyware on the computers they are installed on and prevent its installation. However, a number of companies have incorporated forms of spyware into their products. These programs are not considered malware, but are still spyware as they watch and observe with for advertising purposes. It is somewhat arguable whether such 'legitimate' uses of adware/spyware are malware since the user often has no knowledge of these 'legitimate' programs being installed on his/her computer and is generally unaware that these programs are infringing on his/her privacy. In any case, these programs still use the resources of the host computer without permission.
Google Earth is a free-of-charge, downloadable virtual globe program. It maps the earth by superimposing images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS over a 3D globe.
Screenshot of Google Campus in California using Google Earth.
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington) is the co-founder, chairman, former chief software architect, and former CEO of Microsoft. Forbes magazine's The World's Billionaires list has ranked him as the richest person on earth for the last thirteen consecutive years. According to the Forbes 2006 magazine, Bill Gates's current net worth is approximately $53 billion. When family wealth is considered, his family ranks second behind the Walton family.
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Software is also part of the wider category Computing.
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