this increases the risk of an attack. Others counter that this openness actually decreases the risk because the code is exposed to thousands of programmers who can incorporate code changes to quickly patch vulnerabilities. There are thousands of open-source applications available for download. For example, you can get the productivity suite from Open Office. One good place to search for open-source software is sourceforge.net, where thousands of programs are available for free download. Summary Software gives the instructions that tell the hardware what to do. There are two basic categories of software: operating systems and applications. Operating systems interface with the computer hardware and make system resources available. Application software allows users to accomplish specific tasks such as word processing, presentations, or databases. This group is also referred to as productivity software. An ERP system stores all data in a centralized database that is made accessible to all programs and departments across the organization. Cloud computing provides access to software and databases from the Internet via a web browser. Developers use various programming languages to develop software. Study Questions 1. Develop your own definition of software being certain to explain the key terms. 2. What are the primary functions of an operating system? 3. Which of the following are operating systems and which are Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 61
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