CIS 285 Lecture 7 (Ch12 Test Book) Fall 2021-2022 PDF

CIS 285:End User Training and Support A User Support Utility Tool Kite Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 10/21/202 Lecture 7 Ou...

CIS 285:End User Training and Support A User Support Utility Tool Kite Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 10/21/202 Lecture 7 Outline: A User Support Utility Tool Kite (Ch 12 of the book) Software utilities and information resources used by support specialists Categories of common user support utilities Some useful support utilities 2 2 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 3 Lecture Outline Software utilities and information resources used by support specialists Categories of common user support utilities Some useful support utilities 2 3 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 4 Use of Support utility Support specialists use utility software to: – Diagnose and repair user problems – Locate information about questions and problems – Prevent common problems – Increase the productivity of support specialists Before use: – All utility software should be researched – Operation and side effects should be understood – All utility software should be tested and evaluated by IT – Details about software and information resources change over time ▪ Features ▪ Prices ▪ Limitations 2 4 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 5 Utility Software Options What are the differences between: – Freeware, Donationware, Shareware, open source Freeware – May be limited to home or personal use (Antivirus, winzip) Donationware – Use is free, but donation is requested (Imapsync) Shareware – May offer free, limited trial period (Disk cleanup tool, Antivirus) Open source – May be developed in a collaborative public manner. (VNC, Firefox) Commercial – Off the Shelf commercial (COTS) 2 5 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 6 Utility Software Provisions Privacy policy: a statement of how vendors collect, maintain, and use information provided by and about customers or users End-user license agreement (EULA): a legal contract between the vendor and the user – Governs the use of a software package or an information service – The use of the software implies agreement to the EULA’s terms Opt-in check boxes: an input form on a download website often requires users to agree to specified services and provisions – Tip: Not all opt-in boxes are obvious and straightforward 2 6 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 7 Caveats on Utility Software Cost, features, download instructions, and documentation change frequently Open source, freeware, and shareware utilities may not include all features of commercial utilities Trial versions of utility software may have disabled features or time limitations Vendors of free utility software may encourage users to purchase their commercial version Software utilities offered as “free downloads” may require payment to use some features Opt-in check boxes may default to permit vendors to sell user information to third parties 2 7 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 8 Lecture Outline Software utilities and information resources used by support specialists Categories of common user support utilities Some useful support utilities 2 8 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 9 Categories of Utility Software Tools 2 9 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 10 Hardware Support Examples of use: Evaluate hardware reliability and stability during a burn-in period Stress test: a repetitive operation to evaluate a PC’s ability to operate at peak efficiency for a period of time under maximum processing load Find and download updated device drivers Perform diagnostic tests of hard disk media Perform diagnostic tests of memory modules 2 10 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 11 Hardware Support Utility Examples 2 11 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 12 System Information Utilities and Resources (1-2) Tools to help support agents locate information about a PC include: – Prepare reports on installed hardware, software, and configuration information – Monitor the PC start-up process; lists device drivers and system services identified during start-up 2 12 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 13 System Information Utilities and Resources (2-2) 2 13 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 14 Software Support—Operating Systems Utilities & Resources Tools to help support agents diagnose problems with operating system software include – Identify and control which software gets launched automatically during system start-up – Clean debris from the system Registry – Perform Registry management tasks, including edits to keys and values – Use Windows command-line utilities (DOS commands) – Create a Windows recovery disk ▪ Recovery disk: a disk medium that contains software images to reinstall, repair, or restore the operating system on a PC hard drive to its original condition ▪ ISO image: an archive file format that contains software modules in a form that can be burned (copied) onto CD, DVD or USB flash drive media 2 14 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 15 Software Support—Operating Systems Utility Examples 2 15 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 16 Software Support—Applications Tools to help support agents manage application software include – Audit software installed on a PC or network ▪ Audit: a process to determine software versions installed on a PC or server to gauge compliance with terms of licenses ▪ Software license: a legal contract between a vendor and a user that governs the use of a software package or an information service according to terms and conditions – Assess the patch status of installed software and obtain needed updates ▪ Patch status: determines whether current updates have been downloaded and applied to the software package – Uninstall software when the Programs and Features uninstall tool in Windows doesn’t work completely ▪ The Windows uninstall tool is called Add/Delete Programs in earlier versions of Windows 2 16 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 17 Software Support—Applications utility Example 2 17 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 18 System Problem Diagnosis Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents include – Find, analyze, and repair hardware and software problems in computer systems – Utility suites bundle several utility tools into an integrated collection of related tools 2 18 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 19 System Problem Diagnosis Utilities and Resources Example 2 19 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 20 Windows System Health Report 2 20 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 21 Sysinternals Utility Tools Windows Sysinternals Suite is a comprehensive collection of over 75 freeware utilities – File and disk utilities – Networking utilities – Process utilities – Security utilities – System information utilities – Miscellaneous utilities 2 21 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 22 Popular Sysinternals Utility Tools 2 22 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 23 Network Support Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents diagnose problems with networks include – Monitor network performance and identify throughput bottlenecks ▪ Throughput bottleneck: an interruption of normal network traffic that restricts or halts the flow of data – Diagnose and troubleshoot network operation to identify faults in network infrastructure ▪ Service fault: an interruption of service in a network environment; degrades or terminates network services ▪ Dashboard: a real-time display of statistical performance information and service fault alerts in visual graphical format 2 23 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 24 Network Support Utility Examples 2 24 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 25 Internet Support Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents monitor and identify problems with Internet use include – Test a PC’s Internet connection bandwidth, download, and upload speeds – Identify potential connectivity vulnerabilities due to an external Internet device’s ability to penetrate connected PCs ▪ Vulnerability: a weakness in a system connected to the Internet or other network that permits an attacker to violate the integrity of the system ▪ Messenger spam: uses a common network communication service to broadcast multiple, continuous messages to users ▪ Browser header: identification information sent to an Internet server by Web browser software 2 25 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 26 File Management Tasks Tools to help support agents manage files and folders on a PC include – Back up files and folders from a disk to a local or network device – A service that provides file and folder backup on an Internet server – Convert files from one format to another – Attempt to recover deleted files from media 2 26 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 27 Performance Enhancement Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents monitor and improve PC performance include – Evaluate and benchmark a PC’s operating speed against that of other systems or known standards – Optimize PC performance by adjusting the configuration and settings of a PC – Free up disk space by erasing temporary, unused, damaged, obsolete, and archived files – Speed up disk access by defragmenting disk space to reduce the number of input/output operations required to read and write files 2 27 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 28 Security Solutions Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents provide users with Internet security solutions include – Scan hard drives, memory, email messages, attachments, data files, and webpages for viruses – Scan for malware and spyware that can compromise the user’s identity, privacy, or confidentiality, or the PC’s performance – Monitor firewall breaches and identify the PC’s open ports to the Internet ▪ Firewall: hardware or software to intercept and prevent unauthorized attempts to access a PC from an external network – Detect hidden files and folders that may indicate the presence of a rootkit ▪ Rootkit: malware that permits viruses and spyware to be installed on a user’s PC without his or her knowledge or consent – Evaluate the strength of a user’s password ▪ Password guesser: attempts to discover a user’s online password by repeated or obvious tries – Perform a secure erase operation on a PC before recycling, donating, or use by another user ▪ Secure erase: obliterates data in disk files and folders by repeatedly writing random bit patterns on media 2 28 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 29 Security Solutions Utility Examples 2 29 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 30 User Support Tools Utilities and Resources Tools to help support agents perform their work include – Access a user’s PC to perform diagnostic tests, troubleshoot problems, install software, or configure settings 2 30 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 31 Tablet and Mobile Device Support Tools (1-2) Increased use of tablet and mobile devices in workplace challenges support organizations and workers – Pressure to support additional hardware and software – Trend to bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to workplace creates new problems for user support ▪ Security of mobile devices and impact on company network security and services ▪ Need to backup data from mobile devices ▪ Need to support and troubleshoot various tablet PCs and other mobile devices Support tools are available for Android, iOS and Windows platforms – Security and antivirus utilities – System information and diagnostic utilities – Performance monitors and system cleaners – File management and backup – User support (remote access) 2 31 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 32 Tablet and Mobile Device Support Tools (2-2) 2 32 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 33 Lecture Summary (1-2) User support specialists use a variety of software tools and information resources Tools used should be: – Appropriate to the task – Up to date – Tested – Used where authorized 2 33 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 34 Lecture Summary (2-2) Categories of support tools and resources include: Hardware Support Internet Support System Information File Management Tasks System Support Performance Enhancements Operating Systems Security Solutions Application Software User Support System Problem Diagnosis Tablet and mobile device support Network Support 2 34 Fall 21-22 10/21/202