Utility software is a kind of system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool.
Utility software should be contrasted with application software, which allows users to do things like creating text documents, playing games, listening to music or surfing the web. Rather than providing these kinds of user-oriented or output-oriented functionality, utility software usually focuses on how the computer infrastructure (including the computer hardware, operating system, application software and data storage) operates. Due to this focus, utilities are often rather technical and targeted at people with an advanced level of computer knowledge.
Most utilities are highly specialized and designed to perform only a single task or a small range of tasks. However, there are also some utility suites that combine several features in one software. Most major operating systems come with several pre-installed utilities.
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Some Examples of utility software are:
Disk formatting-to divide up the surface of a disk into more easily manageable sectors.
File handling- to manage the files that are stored on a computer software system
File compression- utilities output a shorter stream or a smaller file when provided with a stream or file.
Virus checker- used to check any files on or entering the system for viruses.
Hardware drivers- used to control communication between computer and pheriperals.
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