Computer Awareness GK Notes
हिंदी में पढ़ेंComputer fundamentals, MS Office, internet and IT abbreviations.
42 topics591 MCQs174 previous-year questions91 quizzesUpdated
Computer Awareness is the working knowledge of computers that an office expects from a new recruit, tested as multiple-choice facts. The topics on this page move from Basics of Computers and Generations, Hardware: Input and Output Devices and Memory and Storage to MS Word, MS Excel, Internet and Email, Computer Networks, Cyber Security and Threats, Keyboard Shortcuts and File Extensions, and Computer Abbreviations and Terminology, with Digital India and emerging technologies towards the end.
Banking exams are the main users of this subject: IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk, RBI Assistant and RRB Office Assistant all ask it, either as a separate section or inside General Awareness. SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and RRB NTPC ask a few questions from it too, and state clerk and stenographer exams often have a full computer paper. Expect full forms, shortcut keys, the generation a technology belongs to, the function of a device, and one-line definitions of terms like firewall or phishing.
Work through the topic notes in the order listed, since the later topics assume the basics. Each note on GK24 has its own practice MCQs, and the previous-year questions are tagged with the exam and year so you can see which topics a particular bank exam favours. Mixed quiz sets pull questions from across the syllabus and are the best way to check whether the abbreviations and shortcuts have actually stuck.
Topic-wise notes
- 1
Basics of Computers and Generations
What a computer is, its input-process-output cycle, the parts of the CPU, memory and storage units, the five generations of computers and the inventors, dates and machines exams ask about.
15 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 2
Hardware: Input and Output Devices
Keyboard, mouse and pointing devices, scanners and the OMR, OCR and MICR readers, monitors, impact and non-impact printers, plotters and the devices that are both input and output, with the pairs exams ask.
17 MCQs5 previous-year questions
- 3
Memory and Storage
The memory hierarchy from registers and cache to RAM, ROM and secondary storage, the volatile and non-volatile divide, the units from bit to terabyte and the disc and flash capacities exams ask.
24 MCQs12 previous-year questions
- 4
Software and Operating Systems
System and application software, the functions and types of an operating system, kernel, booting, scheduling, deadlock, virtual memory and the file systems and OS names exams ask about.
20 MCQs9 previous-year questions
- 5
MS Word
The ribbon and its tabs, file extensions, text and paragraph formatting, page setup, tables, mail merge and the keyboard shortcuts and default settings SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask about MS Word.
14 MCQs5 previous-year questions
- 6
MS Excel
Workbooks and worksheets, the size of the grid, cell references, formulas and operators, the functions and error values, charts and the shortcut keys SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask about MS Excel.
14 MCQs7 previous-year questions
- 7
MS PowerPoint
Origin and file extensions of MS PowerPoint, its views and Slide Master, layouts, transitions and animations, printing handouts and the shortcut keys SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask.
14 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 8
Internet and Email
ARPANET to the World Wide Web, IP addresses and domain names, the protocols and port numbers, and the fields and folders of an email, with the facts SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask.
16 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 9
Computer Networks
LAN, MAN and WAN, the six topologies, transmission media, hubs, switches and routers, the OSI and TCP/IP layers and IP addressing, with the facts SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask.
21 MCQs12 previous-year questions
- 10
Number Systems and Data Representation
Binary, octal, decimal and hexadecimal systems, conversions between them, bits, bytes and storage units, ASCII, EBCDIC, BCD and Unicode, with the facts SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask.
19 MCQs11 previous-year questions
- 11
Cyber Security and Threats
The CIA triad, malware such as viruses, worms, Trojans and ransomware, phishing and network attacks, firewalls and encryption, and India's cyber security agencies.
21 MCQs13 previous-year questions
- 12
Databases and DBMS
Databases and database management systems for exams: data models, tables, keys, SQL command groups, normalisation, ACID properties and the software that is asked by name.
14 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 13
Programming Languages
Generations of programming languages, machine and assembly code, compilers and interpreters, and the famous languages with their creators and years.
15 MCQs8 previous-year questions
- 14
Keyboard Shortcuts and File Extensions
Windows and MS Office keyboard shortcuts, function keys, and the file extensions of documents, images, audio, video, archives and programs that computer awareness papers ask.
17 MCQs8 previous-year questions
- 15
Digital India and E-Governance
The launch, vision areas and nine pillars of Digital India, the Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker building blocks, the IT Act 2000 and the G2C, G2B, G2G and G2E models.
12 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 16
Emerging Technologies: AI, Cloud and IoT
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud service and deployment models, the Internet of Things, blockchain, big data and quantum computing for exams.
16 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 17
History of Computing and Its Pioneers
From the abacus and the Analytical Engine to the microprocessor: the five generations of computers and the pioneers from Babbage and Ada Lovelace to Turing and Berners-Lee.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 18
CPU, Motherboard and Computer Architecture
The ALU, control unit and registers, the machine cycle, von Neumann architecture and the three buses, the parts of a motherboard, the memory hierarchy and the microprocessor, with the facts exams ask.
14 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 19
Logic Gates and Boolean Algebra
Basic and derived logic gates, truth tables, universal gates, Boolean laws and De Morgan's theorems, half and full adders, and the digital circuits exams ask about.
11 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 20
Windows and File Management
The Windows desktop, taskbar and Start menu, files, folders and paths, extensions, FAT32 against NTFS, the Recycle Bin and the shortcut keys that SSC, Railway and banking papers ask.
13 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 21
MS Office: Access, Outlook and Other Tools
MS Access objects and data types, MS Outlook mail, folders and data files, and Publisher, OneNote, Visio and Project with their file extensions, for computer awareness.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 22
Web Browsers, Websites and Search Engines
Browsers and their engines, the parts of a URL, domains and protocols, and how search engines crawl, index and rank pages, with the facts computer awareness papers ask.
14 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 23
Data Communication and Transmission Media
The components of a data communication system, simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex modes, twisted pair, coaxial cable and optical fibre, and the wireless bands.
14 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 24
Mobile Computing and Smartphones
Cellular networks and the generations from 1G to 5G, SIM and IMEI, mobile operating systems, smartphone hardware and sensors, Bluetooth, NFC, NavIC and mobile payment basics.
13 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 25
Multimedia and Graphics Software
The elements of multimedia, raster and vector graphics, image, audio and video file formats, colour models, animation terms and the editing software SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask about.
14 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 26
IT Act and Cyber Laws in India
The Information Technology Act, 2000 and its 2008 amendment: digital signatures, the key sections and punishments, Section 66A and the agencies and newer data laws.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 27
Computer Abbreviations and Terminology
Full forms and one-line meanings of the computer abbreviations exams ask: hardware, memory, codes, languages, file formats, networking terms and India's IT bodies.
14 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 28
HTML and Web Designing Basics
Structure of an HTML document, container and empty tags, attributes, lists, tables and form controls, CSS basics, HTML5 and the vocabulary of the web.
16 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 29
Types of Software: Utility, Open Source, Freeware and Shareware
System and application software, utility programs, and the licence types proprietary, freeware, shareware, open source and public domain, with the examples exams ask.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 30
Computer Ports, Cables and Connectors
Serial, parallel, USB, HDMI, VGA and PS/2 ports, twisted pair, coaxial and optical fibre cables and the connectors used with each, with the facts banking, SSC and Railway exams ask.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 31
Wireless Technologies: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and RFID
The standards, frequencies and ranges of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and RFID, with piconets, Wi-Fi security protocols, passive and active tags, FASTag, Zigbee and Li-Fi for exams.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 32
Encryption, Digital Signatures and SSL/HTTPS
Symmetric and asymmetric encryption, DES and AES, RSA and Diffie-Hellman, hash functions, how a digital signature works, SSL, TLS, HTTPS and the IT Act, 2000, for exams.
11 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 33
E-Commerce and M-Commerce
Models of e-commerce from B2B to G2C, payment gateways, UPI and other payment systems, m-commerce, GeM and ONDC, and the IT Act and consumer rules behind online trade.
16 MCQs7 previous-year questions
- 34
Algorithms, Flowcharts and the Software Development Life Cycle
Properties of an algorithm, pseudocode, the standard flowchart symbols, time complexity, the phases of the SDLC and the waterfall, prototype, spiral, V and agile models, with exam questions.
10 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 35
MS-DOS and Linux Commands
Internal and external MS-DOS commands, the Linux shell and its common commands, the DOS to Linux equivalents, file permissions and chmod numbers, with exam traps.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 36
IT Companies, Their Founders and Headquarters
Founders, founding years and headquarters of the big global and Indian technology companies, the famous acquisitions and the firsts of Indian IT, with the facts SSC, Banking and Railway exams ask.
11 MCQs
- 37
Computing in India: From TIFRAC to PARAM
The history of computing in India: HEC-2M, TIFRAC, ECIL, NIC, ERNET, C-DAC and the PARAM supercomputers up to the National Supercomputing Mission.
12 MCQs
- 38
Big Data, Data Mining and Data Analytics
The Vs of big data, Hadoop and HDFS, data warehouses and data marts, OLTP against OLAP, the data mining tasks and the four kinds of analytics, with the facts banking, SSC and Railway exams ask.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 39
Cloud Storage and Online Collaboration Tools
Cloud storage and online collaboration explained for exams: what the cloud is, the IaaS, PaaS and SaaS models, the main storage services, Indian initiatives such as MeghRaj and DigiLocker, and the security terms asked in papers.
10 MCQs
- 40
Object-Oriented Programming Concepts
Object-oriented programming for exams: class and object, encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance and polymorphism, constructors, access specifiers, and the languages with their developers.
12 MCQs
- 41
Business Software: ERP, CRM, MIS and Tally
Business and enterprise software for exams: types of information systems from TPS to MIS and DSS, what ERP and CRM do, supply chain and business intelligence tools, well-known products, and the basics of Tally accounting software.
12 MCQs
- 42
Hindi Computing: Unicode, InScript Keyboard and Fonts
Hindi computing for exams: ASCII and ISCII, the Unicode standard and the Devanagari block, UTF-8, the InScript and Remington keyboard layouts, Unicode and legacy fonts such as Mangal and Kruti Dev, and the TDIL programme.
11 MCQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is computer awareness asked in SSC CGL and SSC CHSL?
Yes, in a small dose. SSC CGL Tier 2 has a separate computer knowledge module, and Tier 1 and CHSL sometimes place a couple of computer questions inside General Awareness. The questions are basic: input and output devices, memory units, common software, internet terms and full forms. A quick pass through the fundamentals and abbreviations topics is enough for SSC; banking aspirants need the full syllabus.
Which computer topics are asked most in IBPS and SBI exams?
MS Office, especially Word and Excel, comes up most, followed by internet and email terms, networking basics, input and output devices, memory and storage units, and cyber security threats such as phishing and malware. Full forms and keyboard shortcuts appear in almost every paper. Number systems and basic DBMS questions are fewer but easy to score once practised.
How much time should I give to computer awareness for bank exams?
It is one of the fastest sections to prepare because the syllabus is limited and the questions are direct. Most candidates can cover the notes in two to three weeks with an hour a day, then keep it alive with a short quiz every few days. Give extra time to MS Office features and shortcuts, since those questions are specific and easy to lose if you rely on guesswork.
Do I need to know programming for computer awareness questions?
No. Exams ask about programming languages, not programming. You should know which language is used for what, the difference between a compiler and an interpreter, what high-level and low-level languages mean, and a few language names with their creators. You will not be asked to write or debug code in any banking, SSC or Railway paper.
What are the most asked computer abbreviations in exams?
The regulars include CPU, RAM, ROM, USB, URL, HTTP, HTTPS, LAN, WAN, ISP, IP, DNS, HTML, OS, GUI, PDF, and storage units like KB, MB, GB and TB. Banking papers add UPI, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS and ATM. Learn them in groups by topic, such as networking or storage, rather than as a single alphabetical list, and test yourself with MCQs until the full forms are automatic.
Is computer awareness a separate section in IBPS Clerk and SBI Clerk Mains?
In IBPS Clerk Mains and SBI Clerk Mains, computer aptitude is paired with reasoning ability in one section rather than being a separate paper, and IBPS PO and SBI PO Mains follow the same pattern. That means computer questions sit among reasoning puzzles and get no separate time. The pattern is revised from time to time, so always confirm it in the latest notification.