Utility software is a category of system software used to describe programs that maintain a computer.
There are many different forms of utility software.
Defragmentation utility programs reorganise the data stored on a hard disk drive (HDD).
HDDs use a moving read/write head. This means that if a file's data is split across several locations on the HDD, the read/write times for that file will increase. This can dramatically affect the performance of the computer.
To solve this issue, defragmentation utilities reorder the data on a HDD so that the data for the same files are in adjacent blocks, thus increasing the performance of the computer.
Solid State Drives (SSDs) do not need defragmentation as they have no moving parts, and thus reordering the data will not affect read/write times. We will learn more about HDDs and SSDs in 4.14 (Magnetic Storage) and 4.15 (Flash Storage).
Backup software allows the user to schedule backups for their files.
A backup is a copy of a computer's files stored externally that can be restored in the event of data loss.
Encryption utilities scramble data to prevent unauthorised access.
They apply an encryption algorithm to the binary data that represents the file. Only authorised users can decrypt the data.
Compression utilities apply a form of lossless compression to a file's binary data.
This reduces the amount of disk space required to store a file. Compressed files must be "extracted" (decompressed) before they can be used.
Can you think of any other forms of utility software?
Virus scanners, file managers, firewalls, software auto-update, and more.