A company named e-Waste Technologies Africa specialises in the recycling of electronic waste - NSC Information Technology - Question 6 - 2022 - Paper 2

Electronic waste often contains toxic and harmful materials that can leak into the environment, contaminating soil and water sources, posing risks to both human health and wildlife.

1. Keep old devices only if necessary, and recycle or donate them when they are no longer useful.
2. Properly dispose of electronics by recycling them through certified e-waste recycling programs.

Before recycling or discarding any electronic storage device, it is crucial to format, clear, or factory reset the device to permanently erase user's personal information. This helps ensure that sensitive data cannot be accessed or retrieved by others.

E-mail is used as a primary method for communication among employees for sharing information and coordinating tasks.

With POP, emails are downloaded to your device and deleted from the server, while IMAP allows emails to remain on the server, enabling access from multiple devices.

Spam clogs the internet and generates unnecessary traffic, impacting productivity and making it difficult for employees to manage their inboxes.

To identify fake news, it is essential to check the references of the author and apply common sense to recognize unrealistic news.

The file should be uploaded to cloud storage or service and shared, using services like Google Drive or WeTransfer.

One risk is that the cloud service might not have good security practices, potentially exposing sensitive information.

A media repository is an online storage location for sharing and downloading multimedia files, enabling easy access and management.

Ubiquity refers to the ability to access files and data from anywhere at any time, facilitated by internet connectivity and cloud services.

A RAT (Remote Access Trojan) is a type of malware that allows unauthorized remote access to a user’s computer, often used for stealing information.

1. Users may unknowingly download or install a Trojan file from a malicious site.
2. Opening an infected attachment in an email can also lead to a Trojan infection.

1. Hackers often target websites to steal users' personal information for identity theft.
2. Websites may be hacked to redirect users to phishing sites, creating further risks.

A distributed database is a database that is spread across multiple locations, often across different servers, facilitating data access and management.

The Duplication model maintains a complete copy of the database at each site, whereas the Partitioning model divides the database into segments stored at different locations.

Regular data synchronisation is essential to ensure that all copies of the database remain consistent and up to date, preventing data discrepancies between locations.

Such a system is called a Decision Support System (DSS).

An expert system can analyze data collected by the DSS and provide rule-based recommendations, thereby speeding up the decision-making process.

Open-source refers to software that provides public access to its source code, allowing users to modify and adapt the software to their requirements.

The disk clean-up program will identify and remove temporary or redundant files, which are unnecessary for system operations.

The digital divide is the gap between individuals who have access to digital technology, like computers and the internet, and those who do not.

1. Lack of financial resources to acquire technology.
2. Differences in educational levels which affect technology literacy.

Hyper-automation refers to the process of automating all potential steps in business processes, including advanced technologies like AI, while RPA focuses on automating simple, rule-based tasks.

RPA can assist in maintaining productivity in factories by automating repetitive tasks, allowing existing workers to focus on more complex duties, thereby compensating for the reduced labor force.

Virtual reality immerses users in a completely digital environment, while augmented reality enhances the real world by overlaying digital information or images.

Further improvement can be achieved by integrating more interactive and realistic feedback mechanisms in software, which could enhance user engagement and realism.