Test Your Nerd Knowledge for Oct. 25, 2022

1. In computer parlance, what does SQL stand for?
2. Pierre Omidyar is the 24th richest person in the world and founder of what multinational e-commerce company?
3. What is defined as “a collection of software that enables access to a computer or an area of its software that is not otherwise allowed”?

And here are the answers:

1. Answer: Structured Query Language. Initially created in the 1970s, the principle behind SQL (pronounced “sequel” in the industry) is managing relational databases and the various operations on the data in them. The “query” part refers to analytical queries that can be run between adverse databases to achieve a common result of unification and integration. SQL’s historical use was related to IBM engineers attempting to retrieve and manipulate data from System R, its newly developed database management system. By 1979, Relational Software Inc., which eventually changed its name to Oracle, was providing SQL-based software to the U.S. Navy, the CIA and other government agencies. SQL’s language was adopted as a standard by ANSI and ISO.
2. Answer: eBay. Technology entrepreneur, software engineer and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar was born in France and his family relocated to the United States when he was a small child. After attending The University of California at Berkeley, he worked for Apple subsidiary Claris and eventually developed an e-commerce platform called eShop. His next initiative, Auction Web, evolved into eBay in 1995. The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. In the intervening years, Omidyar has seen his company grow into a top-tier operator in the Silicon Valley universe, while he has pursued interests in media, non-profit sustainability initiatives and philanthropic investments. He was also an executive producer of the 2015 Academy Award-winning film “Spotlight.”
3. Answer: Rootkit. The term rootkit is a compound of the word “root,” which is the traditional name for a privileged account on a Unix-like system, and “kit,” which refers to the software bundles implemented as the tool for gaining access. In the tech industry, the term rootkit has negative connotations through its association with malware. The earliest rootkits were written in 1990 by Lane Davis and Steven Dake on behalf of Sun Microsystems for the SunOS UNIX OS. The first documented rootkit for the Windows NT and newer operating systems was found in 1999. It was a Trojan virus called NTRootkit and was created by Greg Hoglund. Today, most rootkit applications can be thwarted by programs like Windows Defender.