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2. Utilities
A utility is an application that has a very specific task to carry out related to the running of the system. It is often a small program in terms of programming code as it only needs to do one thing.
An operating system usually has lots of utilities integrated into it. For example:
- De-fragmenting a hard disk
- File compression
- Testing memory performance
- Network configuration
- Network performance
Utilities are also available from third party suppliers which you can install yourself. They can be used for:
- Handling zip files
- Analysing disk useage
- Backup utilities
- Schedule tasks
- Manage battery power
- Anti-virus software
- and many other tasks
Smart phones have many 'apps' that could be classed as utilities because they only do one thing, for example an app that uses the screen as a light source.
Challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you
Click on this link: What are software utilities