Service software – programs and software complexes that extend the capabilities of the basic software and organize a more comfortable environment for the user.

This is a set of service, additionally installed programs that can be classified according to their functionality as follows:

• Drivers of specific and special devices (those that do not come with the OS).
• Software to diagnose the computer’s operability;
• anti-virus software that protects the computer and detects and recovers infected files;
• disk maintenance programs that provide magnetic disk surface quality check, file system integrity control on logical and physical levels, disk compression, creation of disk insurance copies, data backup on external media, etc;
• data archiving programs, which provide the process of compressing information in files in order to reduce the amount of memory for its storage;
• network maintenance programs.

These programs are often called system utilities. (Note that this term usually does not apply to anti-viruses)

Utilities are programs used for performing auxiliary data processing or computer maintenance operations (diagnostics, hardware and software testing, optimization of disk space usage, recovery of information destroyed on a magnetic disk, etc.).

The most widespread utility kits today are: Norton Utilities – Symantec company; Checkit PRO Deliuxe 2.0 – Touch Stone company; PC Tools for Windows 2.0; backup program HP Colorado Backup for Windows 95.