Computer Fundamentals and System Concepts

The four major data processing functions of a computer are: input, processing, output, and storage. Gathering data (input), storing data (storage), and processing data into information are core functions. Analyzing data or information is typically performed by humans or specialized software applications, not a fundamental computer data processing function.

Analog computers are specialized for specific tasks like industrial control, instrumentation, and scientific measurements. They process continuous physical signals (voltage, temperature) rather than digital data. They are NOT designed for general-purpose computation, information storage, or data transmission - those are digital computer functions.

CDAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) is an Indian organization established in 1988, while ENIAC, EDVAC, and UNIVAC are all early American computers from the 1940s-1950s. The odd one out is CDAC because it's a modern Indian institution, not a vintage computer like the others.

Third generation computers (1965-1971) used Integrated Circuits (ICs), while VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology was introduced in the fourth generation starting around 1971. VLSI allows thousands of transistors on a single chip, far more advanced than the ICs used in third generation systems.

Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline in the 17th century, which was one of the earliest mechanical calculators. It could perform addition and subtraction, making him a pioneer in the history of computing machines.

PARAM, developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in 1991, was India's first indigenously built supercomputer. It was developed in response to technology denial regimes and marked India's entry into high-performance computing. PARAM means 'supreme' in Sanskrit.

The Intel 4004, released in 1971, was a 4-bit processor and the first commercially available microprocessor. It contained 2,300 transistors and could execute 92,000 instructions per second. The '4004' designation reflects its 4-bit architecture.

NVNC '91 refers to the New Virus Naming Convention established in 1991 to standardize how antivirus vendors name malware. This convention aimed to reduce confusion when the same virus was given different names by different vendors. Options A and B are incorrect because neither the first antivirus software nor the first computer virus originated in 1991 - both appeared much earlier. Option D is incorrect as there was no major virus naming conference in New York in 1991.

A retrovirus is specifically designed to detect, disable, or delete antivirus software and other security programs on a system. By attacking the antivirus software first, it can evade detection and remain undetected while infecting the system.

By definition, an android is a robot designed to resemble a human in appearance and behavior. The word comes from Greek 'andros' meaning man/human. Options A, B, and C describe general robot capabilities, not the specific characteristic that makes a robot an android.

A retrovirus is specifically designed to attack antivirus programs by infecting and disabling them. Unlike worms or trojans, retroviruses target security software to avoid detection. This is a specialized malware category.

The Pentium FDIV bug (1994) was a floating point unit (FPU) flaw causing division errors. It specifically affected the FPU, not cache, socket, or other components. Intel eventually recalled affected chips.

A boot sector virus (also called a system virus in some contexts) infects the boot sector of a disk or master boot record of a hard drive, executing during the boot process before the operating system loads. This allows it to gain control early in the startup sequence. Trojan horses, file viruses, and macro viruses target different infection vectors and are not boot-specific.