Software Utilities/Utility Software

Utility software (program, tool, etc.) is any software that performs some specific task that is secondary to the main purpose of using the computer but is not essential to the operation of the computer (system software).

Many utilities could be considered as part of the system software, which can in turn be considered part of the operating system.

Software Utility	Example(s)	Purpose	How it improves computer performance
Security	AVG Anti-Virus, McCafee Anti-Virus, Norton Anti-Virus, Spybot: Search and Destroy	A security utility program is a computer program that is designed to protect your computer against harmful things. Common activities of security programs are; Removing viruses, rootkits, spyware and Trojans etc. Offer a firewall to deny access from incoming connections from the internet. Create backups, and restore your system if something dangerous were happening to it.	Prevents the infection of the system allowing the computer to function at optimum efficiency whilst protecting precious information that may be stored on the computer.
Firewall	Almost all operating systems come with in-built basic firewalls however independent security software will have more complex/higher grade firewalls.	Controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analysing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set	Stops harmful data before it even enters the system therefore preventing infection.
Clean-up Tools	Windows Disk Cleanup	Clean-up tools find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable amounts of space. They also help the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is full by prioritising data by usefulness and suggests which files to delete.	Frees-up data storage space allowing the user more room for newer data. Also ‘unclogs’ the storage device which allows the system to access the information more efficiently.
Defragmentation	Defraggler	Physically organises the contents of the mass storage device used to store files into the smallest number of connecting regions (fragments). It also attempts to create larger regions of free space using compaction to impede the return of fragmentation. Some defragmentation utilities try to keep smaller files within a single directory together, as they are often accessed in sequence.	Takes fragmented data and realigns it so the computer can access that data quicker rather than accessing multiple data fragments.