Students should:
4.4 Software 4.4.1 Know what an operating system is and how
it manages files, processes, hardware and
the user interface.
4.4.2 Understand the purpose and functions of
utility software (managing, repairing and
converting files; compression;
defragmentation; backing up; anti-malware
(antivirus, anti-spyware)).
4.4.3 Understand how software can be used to
simulate and model aspects of the real
world.
4.4.4 Understand what is meant by system
software and application software.
4.5 Programming languages 4.5.1 Understand what is meant by high-level and
low-level programming languages and
understand their suitability for a particular
task.
4.5.2 Understand what is meant by an assembler,
a compiler and an interpreter when
translating programming languages and
know the advantages and disadvantages of
each.
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Topic 5: Communication and the internet
Computer networks and the internet are now ubiquitous. Many computer applications in
use today would not be possible without networks. Students should understand the key
principles behind the organisation of computer networks. Ideally, they should be able to
experiment by setting up a simple network. Our increasing reliance on computer networks
makes us vulnerable to a range of attacks from cyber criminals. As IT system security
defences become more robust, attack methods become more sophisticated. Students
should have a good understanding of the current IT security threats and how to apply
appropriate protection methods.
Students should:
5.1 Networks 5.1.1 Understand why computers are connected in
a network.
5.1.2 Understand the different types of networks
(local area network (LAN), wide area
network (WAN), personal area network
(PAN)) and usage models (client-server,
peer-to-peer).
5.1.3 Understand wired and wireless connectivity.
5.1.4 Understand that network data speeds are
measured in bits per second (Mbps, Gbps).
5.1.5 Understand the role of and need for network
protocols (Ethernet®, Wi-Fi, TCP/IP, HTTP,
HTTPS, FTP, email (POP3, SMTP, IMAP)).
5.1.6 Understand that data can be transmitted in
packets using layered protocol stacks and
the 4-layer TCP/IP model (application,
transport, network, data link).
5.1.7 Understand characteristics of network
topologies (bus, ring, star, mesh).
5.1.8 Understand the different mobile
communication standards (3G, 4G and
subsequent generations).
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Students should:
5.2 Network security 5.2.1 Understand the importance of network
security and be able to use appropriate
validation and authentication techniques
(access control, physical security and
firewalls).
5.2.2 Understand security issues associated with
the ‘cloud’ and other contemporary storage.
5.2.3 Understand different forms of cyber attack
(based on technical weaknesses and
behaviour), including social engineering
(phishing, shoulder surfing, pharming),
unpatched software, USB devices, digital
devices and eavesdropping.
5.2.4 Understand methods of identifying
vulnerabilities, including penetration testing,
ethical hacking, commercial analysis tools
and review of network and user policies.
5.2.5 Understand how to protect software systems
from cyber attacks, including considerations
at the software (application) design stage,
audit trails, securing operating systems,
secure coding, code reviews to remove code
vulnerabilities in programming languages
and bad programming practices, modular
testing and effective network security
provision.
5.3 The internet and the world 5.3.1 Understand what is meant by the internet
wide web and how the internet is structured (IP
addressing, domain name service (DNS)).
5.3.2 Understand what is meant by the world wide
web (WWW) and components of the WWW
(web server URLs, ISP, HTTP, HTTPS, HTML).
5.3.3 Understand the need for IP addressing
standards and the formats of IPv4 and IPv6.
5.3.4 Understand the role of components used to
access the internet (modem, router, switch,
wireless access point (WAP)) and how these
are combined.
18 Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Computer Science – Specification
Issue 1 – November 2016 © Pearson Education Limited 2016