Inspired by: External Reference(s):

Cyber Security

turn your interest in [[IT]] into a career with the skills gained from this video. You’ll develop the skills and expertise to protect organizational data and defend against cyber threats.

In this program, you will:

• Differentiate between various types of systems security threats that can lead to the loss of a major system security goal
• Demonstrate comparative understanding of the benefits gained from applying various security measures to enterprise infrastructure
• Evaluate the impact of hacker and computer espionage activities on the overall security of an organization
• Utilize methods and tools to maintain access to systems during penetration testing
• Identify common IT network attacks and explain how attacker motivations have evolved over time

Use your certificate to get promoted or enter the field with proven skills. Stackable toward a bachelor’s degree, this nationally recognized certificate positions you as an accredited IT professional.

Please note: Students should fully grasp basic computer skills and information security before enrolling, including understanding the controls and concepts needed to safeguard organizational data. Please speak to an enrollment counselor for more information.

Internal Components

Internal hardware parts may also be called "components." These consist of everything inside a computer's case, including the following examples:

• A motherboard is the main system board every other component connects to, consisting of a large circuit board with many integrated chipsets and controllers. Motherboards also include sockets, slots, and ports that you can use to connect new components.
• A CPU is the brain of a computer that processes instructions and controls the rest of the hardware.
• Memory, or RAM, temporarily stores information for the CPU to process.
• Storage devices like hard drives and solid state drives hold the computer's applications and files. Unlike memory, which temporarily holds data, storage devices keep data even after the computer is powered off.
• Controller cards and expansion cards plug into special slots on a motherboard to expand a computer's capabilities. Examples include more powerful video cards, additional network interfaces, and extra ports.
• A power supply converts the alternating current from a wall socket into a direct current that powers a computer's components.

External Peripherals

External hardware devices, meanwhile, are usually called "peripherals." These include everything that connects to a computer by one of its ports or plugs, including these common examples:

• Monitors display the output of a computer's video card to provide a graphical user interface that someone can use to monitor and control the computer.
• Keyboards and mice accept input from the person operating the computer, allowing them to enter text, issue commands, and manipulate objects displayed on the screen.
• Speakers and headphones play the sounds generated by a computer.
• Printers allow a person to print a document from their computer onto paper, while scanners allow them to create a digital copy of a document or photograph. Multi-function printers that combine these functions are now common.
• External storage devices store data just like internal storage devices do, but you can easily disconnect one from one computer and reconnect to another to move data between computers.

You can add new hardware to a computer to extend its functionality. You need to turn the computer off before installing new internal components, but external peripherals are often plug-and-play. Most hardware requires drivers — data files containing instructions for the computer's operating system on how to control the new hardware — either provided on a disc bundled with the hardware or available for download from the manufacturer's website.

We got this question about WDDM WRONG

Software Quiz - Hard Level

![[Pasted image 20250624180107.png]]

WDDM Stands for "Windows Display Driver Model."

WDDM ([[20250624AD180147PST - Windows]] Display Driver Model) is a display driver architecture introduced with Windows Vista. It improves graphics performance over the previous Windows XP architecture by more fully utilizing a computer's GPU to render system graphics.

When Microsoft released the Vista operating system at the beginning of 2007, dedicated graphics processors (or GPUs) had become standard computer components. Additionally, GPU performance was increasing by a much faster rate than CPUs. Therefore, software developers needed an efficient way to "offload" as much graphics processing from the CPU to the GPU as possible. This lead Microsoft to rewrite the graphics driver system during the development of Windows Vista. The more efficient WDDM graphics architecture was the result.

One of the biggest benefits of the WDDM architecture is that it supports GPU multitasking. This allows Windows users to run multiple graphics intensive applications at the same time. It also simplifies graphics programming, making it easier for 3D game developers to take fully advantage of a system's GPU. Additionally, the WDDM offers improved stability by detecting when the driver hangs and restarting the display driver instead of requiring a full system restart.

While the WDDM architecture was introduced with Windows Vista, it is also used by newer versions of the Windows operating systems, such as Windows 7 and Windows 8. Windows 7 includes WDDM 1.1, while Windows 8 includes WDDM 1.2. These updates include improvements designed to support new graphics processing capabilities offered by modern GPUs.

NOTE: WDDM may also be referred to as WVDDM or "Windows Vista Display Driver Model." However, this term is not commonly used since WDDM is now used by newer versions of Windows.

Origin Concept: [[20250624AD🐇F0110W]]