CIW Pre-Assessment

You recently returned from a vacation and you want to share some photos with your co-workers. You would like to share these photos via e-mail. What should you consider when attaching several high-resolution photos to an e-mail message?

High-resolution photos are usually subject to large file sizes. Large file attachments can clog up e-mail servers or can be blocked if they are too large by the receiving mail server.

You are part of a development team that needs to adopt an integrated development environment tool to increase programmer productivity. The team narrowed the options down to two. One is open-source; the other will require an expensive site license. The tool you choose must be reliable, stable and well maintained. Which of the following could be a disadvantage for you to choose open-source, and thus a compelling enough reason to purchase the licensed software instead of using the open-source solution?

In this scenario, the tool you choose must be reliable, stable and well maintained. Maintenance of an open-source solution relies on developers who volunteer to work on the code, so it would be better for you to purchase the licensed software that will offer stronger, more consistent maintenance services. Software that is distributed with an open-source license is in the public domain. This is considered an advantage of open-source solutions. Open-source means users can modify and redistribute the software's source code.

What is the function of a CAPTCHA?

A CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a test that uses a word-verification graphic designed to differentiate humans from automated senders during online transactions. CAPTCHAs require that a user view a distorted text image and then enter the text shown in the graphic into a form field before he or she is allowed to proceed with a transaction. The distorted image is easily recognizable by humans, but is a difficult challenge for a machine.

In contrast to meetings that take place in person, a Webcast offers the advantage of:

A Webcast is an audio and/or video media file that is distributed over the Internet. A Webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. The term "Webcasting" refers to conducting a broadcast over the Internet. A Webcast uses streaming media technology to take a single Web event and distribute it to many participants simultaneously. In contrast to meetings that take place in person, a Webcast offers the advantage of being available for retransmission any time after the original event has taken place. Disadvantages include potential pitfalls with the technology, which may interrupt the meeting or event, as well as the lack of interactivity between people that would take place in face-to-face meetings.

A relational database record can best be described as:

A database record is a collection of information consisting of one or more related fields about a specific entity, such as a person, product or event.

How does a LAN differ from a WAN?

A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers connected within a confined geographic area. A LAN can consist of as few as two computers, or any number up to hundreds of computers and various types of servers. LANs are commonly used for intraoffice communication and home networks. A wide area network (WAN) consists of two or more LANs that span a wide geographic area. For example, a large business may have offices in several locations across the country or around the world. Each site has its own LAN with which to share resources and data locally, but it also needs to communicate with the other sites. By connecting the LANs via public networks (such as high-speed telephone lines, leased lines such as T1 lines, or satellites), the company creates a WAN. The largest WAN is the Internet.

You want to find information about Great Danes. You visit a popular search engine and manually search through a directory tree of topics until you find a directory titled "Dogs" and a subdirectory titled "Breeds." You select the topic "Great Dane" and look through a list of indexed pages on that topic, then choose one page with which to begin your research. Which type of search index did you use?

A static index/site map enables users to manually search information portals to locate indexed information. Some portals are presented as directory trees of all indexed pages. Many Web sites present site maps, which allow users to view the site contents without visiting each page.

Which is the most appropriate question to ask a potential employer regarding your resume?

All the example questions given are worth considering as you prepare your resume, but the only one of these questions you should ask a potential employer is: In what format do you want to receive my resume? A potential employer may have preferences or varying capabilities regarding the file format in which you provide your resume. The other issues require that you consider the position for which you are applying and include all relevant information about your experience and accomplishments. Asking a potential employer to answer these questions for you may demonstrate to that employer that you are unable or unwilling to dedicate yourself to the task, or that you do not understand the job for which you are applying.

Intranets and extranets can both be considered subsets of the Internet. Which statement best describes the difference between intranets and extranets?

An intranet is an internal, or in-house, Web site and network used only by employees within a company. An extranet is an internal network designed to provide access to selected external users, and is not available to the Internet public. Extranets are an efficient way for business partners to share and exchange information. Customer support tasks can also be performed using an extranet.

Which of the following Internet communication practices is unethical but not illegal?

Asking another user in a chatroom for personal information is not illegal, but it is an unethical practice when communicating on the Web. Similarly, no one should ask you for personal information, and if they do, you should not supply it. If you post false claims about another person on your Facebook page, that person can prosecute you for libel, which is illegal. If you copy artwork or code from the Web and claim it as your own or use it on your site without permission, you can be prosecuted for copyright infringement. Copyright protects all works of authorship, including writing, art, music and application code.

You use Pandora (an automated Internet radio service) to build a collection of songs you like. When you select certain songs or artists, Pandora will play selections that are musically similar and you can approve or disapprove of the selections. The selections are determined by other Pandora users who have selected the same or similar songs/artists and categorized them together based on their own approval/disapproval decisions. This scenario is an example of:

Cloud computing refers to hosted applications and services offered by a third party and run almost entirely from one or more servers that reside on the Internet. Some cloud computing applications use crowdsourcing (also known as collaborative filtering) to help you define and refine choices you make in a cloud-computing application to personalize its content. Crowdsourcing is the practice of outsourcing a task to an undefined group of people or community to obtain and analyze large amounts of data.

How can you reduce file size so that files can be sent more efficiently across the Internet?

Compression utilities enable you to compress large files into smaller sizes so you can send them efficiently across the Internet.

Companies increasingly want to allow employees to share files directly without having to maintain servers to provide FTP access. Which technology can companies use to maximize processing power while protecting privacy and sensitive materials?

Corporations are beginning to consider P2P as a way for employees to share files directly, eliminating the cost and maintenance associated with a centralized server. P2P allows companies to utilize the otherwise dormant processing power of each employee's computer. In order to protect privacy and sensitive materials, companies will be able to control access to information, and will be able to password-protect files. Many large corporations (such as Intel, Amerada Hess and Boeing) have been using peer-to-peer technology to maximize processing power and even eliminate the need for mainframes. SCP, S/FTP and FTPS all offer secure methods of transferring files but still require the use of FTP servers.

Non-repudiation is the security principle of providing proof that a transaction occurred between identified parties. Which of the following can you use to enforce non-repudiation in an electronic data transfer?

Digital signatures can be used to enforce non-repudiation, which is the ability to prove that a transaction occurred. Sending data with a digital signature proves that the message was both sent and received. Neither party can repudiate the transaction. Digital signatures do not provide data confidentiality because they do not encrypt the data; they simply verify the integrity of the data and the identity of the sender.

Which Internet resource is used to resolve domain names to IP addresses?

Domain name servers are servers on the Internet whose sole function is to resolve human-readable domain names into computer-readable IP addresses. For example, when you enter www.CIWcertified.com into your browser's address box, the browser contacts a domain name server to obtain the IP address related to this domain name. When your browser receives the IP address 72.44.192.233 from the domain name server, the CIW Web site displays on your screen.

How many mail servers does the use of e-mail involve?

E-mail involves two mail servers: outgoing and incoming. The outgoing and incoming servers use various protocols to handle sending, receiving and storing e-mail messages. You send e-mail to others with an outgoing server using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SMTP is the Internet standard protocol for transferring e-mail messages from one computer to another. It specifies how two e-mail systems interact. SMTP is responsible solely for sending e-mail messages, and is part of the TCP/IP suite. You receive mail from an incoming mail server using Post Office Protocol (POP) or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). POP and IMAP are used to store and access e-mail messages.

You are a network administrator for your company. When establishing the company encryption policies, you must determine the risk of sending unencrypted data based on the nature of the data and its risk to the company if obtained by unauthorized users. Much of the data your company sends is proprietary and sensitive in nature, so you determine that encrypting company transmissions is critical. What is the disadvantage of your decision to encrypt company transmissions?

Encrypting data slows data communication because each packet of data must be encrypted and decrypted. When establishing company encryption policies, network administrators must determine the risk of sending unencrypted data based on the nature of the data and its risk to the company if it were obtained by unauthorized users. If the data is proprietary or sensitive in nature, then encrypting transmissions becomes critical. If not, network administrators need not encrypt their transmissions. Many businesses encrypt network transmissions in order to protect data, prevent data from being intercepted by malicious outsiders, deter hackers, respond to customer or competitor pressure for increased security, and comply with government requirements regulating the security of Internet data transmissions.

You are almost finished updating a Web site. As part of the update, you have converted all pages from HTML 4.0 to HTML5. The project is currently on schedule. However, your project manager has been asked by the marketing team manager to justify a day of time spent validating the site's HTML5 pages. The marketing team manager does not have technical knowledge of the Internet or the Web. Which is the most appropriate explanation to provide to the marketing team manager?

In this scenario, you should explain that the team needs to verify that the site will appear as expected in as many browsers as possible. All other answers are needlessly technical or might alarm the manager. It is essential that you are able to explain technical concepts in non-technical ways. Your description must be accurate, but it must also convey as much information as necessary. In this case, too much information may cause more communication problems than it can solve.

You were replying to e-mail when suddenly your computer started to display random messages, and stopped responding to keyboard and mouse input. You suspect that you have accidentally downloaded a virus. Which of the following actions most likely caused this?

One of the most likely ways to contract a computer virus is by opening an e-mail attachment. A virus can cause a computer to display messages, use all available memory, corrupt or destroy files, and erase the contents of a hard drive. Two common ways of transferring viruses are e-mail attachments and flash drives. A company's portal is unlikely to spread a virus because of strong security practices. Sending an e-mail attachment might give the recipient a virus, but not the sender.

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) are both used to encrypt:

PGP and GPG encrypt the e-mail message and its attachments. However, neither encrypts the authentication session (that is, your user name and password for signing on and for receiving and sending mail) or the e-mail's Subject field. When you use the PGP and GPG encryption tools, you should not include sensitive information in the Subject field.

When you sign in to your instant messaging (IM) service, your online status is advertised (or published) to the people on your contacts list. What does this scenario represent?

Presence information is a status indicator that conveys a person's willingness and ability to engage in communication. For example, when a user signs in to an instant messaging (IM) service, his or her status (e.g., online) is advertised (or published) to the people on a contacts list.

Cloud computing is software services that are provided over the Internet. Which of the following IT job roles should be most familiar with cloud computing software, infrastructure and platform services?

Server administrators are responsible for designing, implementing, managing and maintaining network servers, and associated applications and peripheral devices. Server administrators must be familiar with cloud computing. Cloud computing is software services that are provided over the Internet, rather than at a company site. For instance, in the past, companies had to have a server room with Web, e-mail, file and database servers. These servers can now be located in the "cloud" (i.e., a remote data center that is accessed over the Internet). Server administrators are needed to configure and maintain these cloud servers. This can be done at the actual data center with rows of rack-mounted blade servers, or virtually at your company's headquarters. Even if a company moves its IT services to the cloud, someone has to configure, maintain and secure them.

Which of the following is true regarding smartphones and PIM applications?

Smartphone PIM tools work best when they work in tandem with traditional desktop or laptop computers. The information you enter into your smartphone can be synchronized with the data you enter into your PIM software on your desktop or laptop system in order to make the most effective use of both your smartphone and your computer. Many smartphones can install PIM software that can also be installed on your computer. Mainstream PIM packages that support data synchronization are also available. These tools, such as Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Outlook, keep both your smartphone and your computer up to date.

Which term is used to describe a software application that is secretly placed on a user's system to gather information and relay it to outside parties, usually for advertising purposes?

Spyware (or adware) is a software application that is secretly placed on a user's system to gather information and relay it to outside parties, usually for advertising purposes.

Stephen is creating video tutorials to sell his company's products. The target audience will consist of company employees using primarily new computers with the Windows operating systems and Internet Explorer 9. Stephen is debating whether to publish the videos using the MP4 or the OGG video format. Both formats are compatible with the HTML5 video element, which he is using in his tutorials. Which of the following would be a reason for Stephen to choose one format over the over?

The MP4 video format is natively supported by Internet Explorer 9 and does not require a plug-in. MP4 is not open-source and is not supported on all browsers. Ogg is an open-source video format and requires a plug-in, but is not supported by all browsers. MP4 is proprietary. Windows Media Player and most Windows multimedia players do not natively support Ogg. However, you can load DirectShow filters to decode Ogg in them.

Cloud computing is a computing paradigm in which:

The network of servers and connections that make up the Internet is collectively known as "the cloud." The term "cloud" derives from the practice of representing the Internet as a cloud in network diagrams. Cloud computing refers to hosted applications and services offered by a third party and run almost entirely from one or more servers that reside on the Internet. A Web browser is the only locally installed application necessary for the user to access these applications; no other software needs to be installed.

What are the three elements of the project triangle?

Three factors -- time, money and scope -- affect every project, and they form what is sometimes referred to as the project triangle. When any one of these elements is adjusted, the other two are also affected. For example, if you decrease the budget on a project, you may need to limit its scope as well. Or if you add more time to a schedule, you may be able to reduce costs by eliminating overtime expenses.

Which of the following is an example of a Web 2.0 community or service?

Wikipedia is an example of a Web 2.0 community or service because it involves the collaborative work of many users. Other community/services include Yelp, Google+, FourSquare, etc. Mashups are an example of a Web 2.0-enabled technology but is not a community or service. Bing is a general search engine of the traditional type, not specifically Web 2.0 in which collaboration is key. AJAX is a programming language, not a community or service.

In a business environment, in which situation would e-mail be more appropriate for communicating than texting?

With the advent of texting, many mobile phone users have questioned the usefulness of e-mail. However, e-mail is still the de facto standard communication tool for business. The benefits of using e-mail include the ability to include attachments; the ability write lengthy messages; and having a paper trail, or e-mail thread, of your communications. Texting is often used between employees for sending quick messages and alerts. For instance, if an employee is meeting with a customer, the parties may text one another about their current location or if they are running late. However, you would not send a business contract using a text message. Texting can be an alternative to e-mail in business, but it is not a replacement.

As part of the IT department, you configure the employee workstations for your company. When configuring a user's system, you always set the browser security levels to the company standard settings. What is restricted from downloading to the user's system when you configure browser security levels?

You can configure your browser for added security by controlling active content that is downloaded from a Web site and run locally on the client's browser. The most common types of active content are JavaScript and ActiveX controls. To protect your system from incursions, browsers provide control options to enable or disable the execution of JavaScript or ActiveX controls. Some corporate IT departments disable JavaScript and ActiveX on browsers used within the company. Disabling these features in a corporate environment can protect the corporate servers and computers from possible security compromises.