39 Computer Trivia Questions and Answers
Hardware, software and the history of the machines we all now carry.
Every question below is shown with its answer, so you can scan the whole set, pick the ones you want, and run a round without clicking through. They are free to use for quiz nights, classrooms and pub quizzes. Where a question has extra background, it links to the full explanation.
1.From the computer world: What does the word "modem" abbreviate?
Answer: MODULATION AND DEMODULATION
Read the full explanation2.What early programming language was developed by John Backus at IBM in the 1950s for scientific computing?
Answer: FORTRAN
Read the full explanation3.What does the acronym VPN stand for?
Answer: Virtual Private Network
Read the full explanation4.Who founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985?
Answer: Richard Stallman
Read the full explanation5.What company is the largest producer of computer software for the personal computer?
Answer: Microsoft
Read the full explanation6.What programming language was created by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995?
Answer: Java
Read the full explanation7.What company manufactured the Commodore 64, one of the best-selling home computers of all time?
Answer: Commodore International
Read the full explanation8.What does HTML stand for?
Answer: HyperText Markup Language
Read the full explanation9.What computer virus, released in 2000, spread via email with the subject line 'ILOVEYOU'?
Answer: Love Bug
Read the full explanation10.What does the acronym SSD stand for in computer storage?
Answer: Solid State Drive
Read the full explanation11.Who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web in 1989?
Answer: Tim Berners-Lee
Read the full explanation12.What concept in computing refers to storing and accessing data over the internet rather than on a local hard drive?
Answer: Cloud computing
Read the full explanation13.What does the acronym URL stand for?
Answer: Uniform Resource Locator
Read the full explanation14.What does the acronym DNS stand for in networking?
Answer: Domain Name System
Read the full explanation15.What early computer language, developed in 1959, was designed primarily for business data processing?
Answer: COBOL
Read the full explanation16.What does the acronym BIOS stand for in computing?
Answer: Basic Input Output System
Read the full explanation17.What does the acronym GPU stand for?
Answer: Graphics Processing Unit
Read the full explanation18.What was the first widely used graphical web browser, released in 1993?
Answer: Mosaic
Read the full explanation19.What was the name of the first general-purpose electronic computer, completed in 1945?
Answer: ENIAC
Read the full explanation20.What search engine was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998?
Answer: Google
Read the full explanation21.What company created the first commercially successful personal computer, the Apple II?
Answer: Apple
Read the full explanation22.What mathematician wrote the first computer algorithm in 1843, before computers existed?
Answer: Ada Lovelace
Read the full explanation23.What does the acronym SQL stand for in database management?
Answer: Structured Query Language
Read the full explanation24.What company developed the MS-DOS operating system?
Answer: Microsoft
Read the full explanation25.What programming language, created by Guido van Rossum in 1991, is named after a comedy group?
Answer: Python
Read the full explanation26.What computer scientist is considered the father of artificial intelligence?
Answer: John McCarthy
Read the full explanation27.What is the name of the protocol used to send email over the internet?
Answer: SMTP
Read the full explanation28.What is the binary number system based on?
Answer: Two digits
Read the full explanation29.What does the term 'byte' represent in computing?
Answer: Eight bits
Read the full explanation30.What does the acronym USB stand for?
Answer: Universal Serial Bus
Read the full explanation31.What does the acronym IP stand for in IP address?
Answer: Internet Protocol
Read the full explanation32.What Finnish software engineer created the Linux operating system kernel in 1991?
Answer: Linus Torvalds
Read the full explanation33.What type of malicious software encrypts a victim's files and demands payment for decryption?
Answer: Ransomware
Read the full explanation34.What does the acronym CPU stand for in computing?
Answer: Central Processing Unit
Read the full explanation35.What does the acronym LAN stand for in networking?
Answer: Local Area Network
Read the full explanation36.Who co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs in 1976?
Answer: Steve Wozniak
Read the full explanation37.What does the acronym RAM stand for?
Answer: Random Access Memory
Read the full explanation38.Based on average income, what is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere?
Answer: Haiti
Read the full explanation39.What were the names of these two popular films: the remake from 1991 of the original film from 1950, with the same title, which starred Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor as father and daughter. What's the title?
Answer: Father of the bride
Read the full explanation