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space marked as deleted have not been overwritten by some other data. Data recovery is a
process of retrieving deleted, corrupted and lost data from secondary storage devices.
 Data Security Concerns

There are usually two security concerns associated with data. One is its deletion by some
unauthorized person or software. These concerns can be avoided by limiting access to
the computer system and using passwords for user accounts and files wherever possible.
There is also an option of encrypting files to protect them from unwanted modification.
The other concern is related to unwanted recovery of data by an unauthorized user/software.
Many times, we discard our old, broken or malfunctioning storage devices without taking
care to delete data. We assume that the contents of deleted files are permanently removed.
However, if these storage devices fall into the hands of mischief-mongers, they can easily
recover data from such devices; this poses a serious threat to data confidentiality. This
concern can be mitigated by using proper tools to delete or shred data before disposing
of any old or faulty storage device.

1.12 SOFTWARE

In our day-to-day life, when we go to the market to buy any electronic gadget like an LED/
LCD or a DVD player, we are actually purchasing hardware. But this hardware is of no use if we
don’t have a DVD or CD to play. Thus, the content of the DVD, which is referred to as software,
is essential to make this hardware device useful. Similarly, in case of a computer system also, all
the peripherals like keyboard, printer, mouse, speakers and the hardware like CPU, RAM, HDD
(Hard-disk drive), etc., are useless if there is no software to work upon this hardware.
Hardware needs to be operated by a set of instructions. These sets of instructions are referred
to as software. It is that component of a computer system which we cannot touch or view
physically. It comprises instructions and data to be processed using computer hardware. This
computer software and hardware together complete any task.
The software comprises the set of instructions which, on execution, deliver the desired outcome.
In other words, each software is written for some computational purpose. Some examples of
software include operating systems like Ubuntu or Windows 7/10, word processing tools like
LibreOffice Writer or Microsoft Word, video players like VLC Player, photo editors like Paint
Computer System (Additions)
and LibreOffice Draw. A document or image stored on the hard disk or pen drive is referred to
as a soft copy. Once printed, the document or an image is called a hard copy.
Need for Software

A computer system has two parts—Hardware and Software. Hardware refers to the physical
or tangible (which can be touched) components while software is the code or, in other words,
a set of instructions necessary to operate/run the computer hardware.
CTM: The physical or tangible components of a computer system are termed as Hardware.

Software is not only the basic requirement of a computer system but also makes a computer
more powerful and useful. Software can be divided into different types depending upon their
uses and application.

CTM: Software is the collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that performs
different tasks in a computer system.

1.5