A Plus Part 6

Microsoft account

Account used to sign in to Microsoft services and devices

Settings app

Application for configuring system settings on a computer

Format command

Command to prepare a storage device for use by creating a file system

User account

Credentials used to access a computer or network

User security groups

Groups that define the level of access and permissions for users

Private license

License for personal use on a single computer

System performance

Measurement of how well a computer system is performing

How would you update an app purchased from the Mac App Store?

Open the Mac App Store and select the Updates button.

Joining a computer to a domain

Process of connecting a computer to a network domain

Default gateway

Router used to send network traffic outside of the local network

In terms of system hardware, what is the main advantage of a 64-bit version of Windows?

Support for more than 4 GB RAM.

Command prompt

Text-based interface for executing commands on a computer

What are the prerequisites for joining a computer to a domain?

The computer must be running a supported edition of Windows (Pro, Enterprise, or Education). The PC must be configured with an appropriate IP address and have access to the domain DNS servers. An account with domain administrative credentials must be used to authorize the join operation.

You are developing a script to ensure that the M: drive is mapped consistently to the same network folder on all client workstations. What type of construct might you use to ensure the script runs without errors?

Use a conditional block (If statement) to check for an existing mapping, and remove it before applying the correct mapping.

What command would allow you to delete the contents of the folder /home/jaime/junk and all its subdirectories?

rm -r /home/jaime/junk

Which Linux command allows a user to run a specific command or program with superuser/root privileges?

sudo

DHCP reservation

Configuration setting that assigns a specific IP address to a device

Port mapping

Configuration setting that forwards network traffic from one port to another

File system

Method of organizing and storing files on a computer

Angel brought in the new tablet he just purchased and tried to connect to the corporate network. He knows the SSID of the wireless network and the password used to access the wireless network. He was denied access, and a warning message was displayed that he must contact the IT Department immediately. What happened, and why did he receive the message?

Mobile device management (MDM) is being used to mediate network access. The device must be enrolled with the MDM software before it can join the network.

Windows 11

New version of the Windows operating system

A security consultant has recommended blocking end-user access to the chrome://flags browser page. Does this prevent a user from changing any browser settings?

No. The chrome://flags page is for advanced configuration settings. General user, security, and privacy settings are configured via chrome://settings.

You are pinging a host at 192.168.0.99 from a host at 192.168.0.200. The response is "Reply from 192.168.0.200: Destination host unreachable." The hosts use the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Does the ping output indicate a problem with the default gateway?

No. The hosts are on the same IP network (192.168.0.0/24). This means that 192.168.0.200 does not try to use a router (the gateway) to send the probes. 192.168.0.200 uses address resolution protocol (ARP) to find the host with the IP 192.168.0.99. The host unreachable message indicates that there was no response, but the problem will be an issue such as the host being disconnected from the network or configured to block discovery rather than a gateway issue.

An employee has a private license for a graphics editing application that was bundled with the purchase of a digital camera. The employee needs to use this temporarily for a project and installs it on her computer at work. Is this a valid use of the license?

No. The license is likely to permit installation to only one computer at a time. It might or might not prohibit commercial use, but regardless of the license terms, any installation of software must be managed by the IT department.

You are supporting a home user with upgrading a computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11. You have run Microsoft's PC Health Check tool, and it verifies that the computer meets the hardware requirements. Should you now proceed with the in-place upgrade?

No. You must backup user data and settings first. A backup is essential as a security precaution.

You are monitoring system performance and notice that a substantial number of page faults are occurring. Does this indicate that a memory module is faulty?

No—it shows the system is using the pagefile intensively and could benefit from more system RAM being installed. When a system is using the pagefile intensively, it means that the operating system is relying heavily on virtual memory to manage its memory resources. The pagefile, also known as the swap file, is a file on the hard drive that the operating system uses as an extension of physical memory (RAM).

IP address

Numeric label assigned to each device on a network

You are supporting a user who has installed a vendor keyboard driver. The keyboard no longer functions correctly. Under Windows 10, what are the steps to revert to the previous driver?

Open Device Manager from the WinX menu, Instant Search, or the Computer Management console. Expand Keyboards, then right-click the device and select Properties. On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver.

You are attempting to run a command but receive the message "The requested operation requires elevation." What must you do to run the command?

Open a new command prompt window with sufficient privileges. You can right-click the Command Prompt icon and select Run as administrator or press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to execute the icon or cmd.exe command.

You are assisting a user over the phone and need to identify the edition of Windows that is installed. What step instructions must you give for the user to report this information to you?

Open the Settings app, and then select System. Select the About section, and read the text next to Edition under the Windows specifications heading.

Windows 10

Operating system for personal computers

Roll Back Driver

Option in Device Manager to revert to a previous version of a driver

You are updating data handling guidance to help employees recognize different types of regulated data. What examples could you add to help identify healthcare data?

Personal healthcare data is medical records, insurance forms, hospital/laboratory test results, and so on. Healthcare information is also present in de-identified or anonymized data sets.

A different user wants to configure a multiplayer game server by using the DMZ feature of the router. Is this the best configuration option?

Probably not. Using the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) feature of a router to configure a multiplayer game server is not generally considered the best configuration option from a security standpoint. While it may simplify the setup process, it can expose your game server and potentially your entire network to security risks. The DMZ feature of a router allows you to forward all incoming traffic from the internet to a specific device on your local network. By placing your game server in the DMZ, you effectively remove any firewall protection for that device, exposing it directly to the internet.

You are monitoring CPU Usage and notice that it often jumps to 100% and then falls back. Does this indicate a problem?

Probably not—CPU Usage usually peaks and falls. If it stays over 80-90%, the system could require a faster CPU, or if it spikes continually, there could be a faulty application.

Backup

Process of creating a copy of data for safekeeping

A file is secured with the numeric permissions 0774. What rights does another user account have over the file?

Read-only.

A user calls saying that their screen occasionally goes blue, and the system shuts down. What should you advise the user to do?

Record STOP Error Information: Ask the user to take note of the STOP error code and any error messages that appear on the blue screen when the system crashes. The STOP error code, also known as the "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD) code, can provide valuable clues about the cause of the issue.

You are joining a new startup business that will perform outsourced IT management for client firms. You have been asked to identify an appropriate software solution for off-site support and to ensure that service level agreement (SLA) metrics for downtime incidents are adhered to. What general class of remote access technology will be most suitable?

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools are principally designed for use by managed service providers (MSPs). As well as remote access and monitoring, this class of tools supports management of multiple client accounts and billing/reporting.

If you suspect improper handling during installation has caused damage to a RAM module, how could you test that suspicion?

Run a Memory Diagnostic. Because this tests each RAM cell, it should uncover any fault.

You are troubleshooting a print problem, which turned out to be caused by user error. The user is not confident that the problem is solved and wants more reassurance. You have already explained what the user was doing wrong in some detail. What should you do?

Run through the print process step-by-step to show that it works. It is very important to get a customer's acceptance that a problem is closed.

VPN connection

Secure connection to a private network over the internet

You have a computer with two SATA disks. You want to evaluate the performance of the primary disk. How would you select this in Performance Monitor, and what might be appropriate counters to use?

Select the Physical Disk object, select the counter, and then select the 0 C: instance. Counters that are useful for evaluating performance include % Disk Time and Average Disk Queue Length.

Vendor keyboard driver

Software that enables a specific keyboard to function

Graphics editing application

Software used for editing images or graphics

You are writing work instructions for third-party app deployments using the CompTIA A+ objectives to guide you. In the section on system requirements for applications, you have covered the following topics: 32-bit- vs. 64-bit-dependent Operating System requirements Dedicated graphics card vs. integrated (VRAM requirements) RAM requirements CPU requirements External hardware tokens What additional topic should you include, if any?

Storage requirements. Each app takes up a certain amount of space when installed to the fixed disk. Also, you must plan for user-generated file storage, temp files, log files, and other data generated through use of the app.

You are assisting with the development of end-user security awareness documentation. What is the difference between tailgating and shoulder surfing?

Tailgating means following someone else through a door or gateway to enter premises without authorization. Shoulder surfing means covertly observing someone type a PIN or password or other confidential data.

A security consultant has recommended more frequent monitoring of the antivirus software on workstations. What sort of checks should this monitoring perform?

That the antivirus is enabled, is up to date with scan engine components and definitions, and has only authorized exclusions configured.

What primary indicator must be verified in the browser before using a web form?

That the browser address bar displays the lock icon to indicate that the site uses a trusted certificate. This validates the site identity and protects information submitted via the form from interception.

Your company is replacing its Windows desktops with Mac workstations, and you need to assist users with the transition. What is the equivalent of File Explorer in macOS?

The Finder.

You are assisting another user who is trying to configure a static IP on a Windows workstation. The user says that 255.255.255.0 is not being accepted in the prefix length box. Should the user open a different dialog to complete the configuration or enter a different value?

The Network & Internet settings Edit IP settings dialog can be used. 255.255.255.0 is the subnet mask in dotted decimal format. The dialog just requires the number of mask bits. Each "255" in a dotted decimal mask represents 8 bits, so the user should enter 24.

You are repurposing an old computer. You perform a clean OS install using optical media. During setup, you configured the partition manager to apply GPT style. After the file copy stage, the new installation fails to boot. What is the likely cause?

The PC is set to boot using the legacy BIOS method. This is not compatible with GPT-style partitioning. If supported by system firmware setup, switch to UEFI boot. If the firmware is BIOS only, change the boot method back to optical disc, run setup again, and choose MBR partitioning.

What are the requirements for configuring fingerprint authentication via Windows Hello?

The computer must have a fingerprint reader and a trusted platform module (TPM). Windows Hello must first be configured with a personal identification number (PIN) as a backup method.

You are troubleshooting an issue with a wireless adapter. When you open Device Manager, you find the device's icon is shown with a down arrow superimposed. What does this mean, and why might this configuration have been imposed?

The icon indicates that the device has been disabled. It could be that there was a fault, or there may be a network configuration or security reason for disabling the adapter. In this sort of situation, use incident logs and device documentation to establish the reason behind the configuration change.

A customer asks whether an iOS app that your company developed will also work on her Apple macOS computer. What issue does this raise, and what answer might you give?

The issue here is compatibility between different operating systems. Even though both are produced by Apple, iOS and macOS use different environments, so the iOS app cannot necessarily be installed directly. Your company might make a macOS version. However (do not worry if you did not include this in your answer), with the latest versions of macOS, there is support for native iOS apps, so this might be something you can offer.

For which backup/restore issue is a cloud-based backup service an effective solution?

The issue of provisioning an off-site copy of a backup. Cloud storage can also provide extra capacity.

What care should you take when lifting a heavy object?

The main concern is damaging your back. Lift slowly and use your legs for power, not your back muscles.

Apart from Windows and macOS, what operating system options are there for client PCs installed to a local network?

The other main choice is one of the distributions of Linux. A company might also use some sort of UNIX. Finally, Chrome OS is installed on Chromebox PCs. These are often used by educational institutions and businesses that rely primarily on web applications rather than locally installed desktop software.

A company must deploy custom browser software to employees' workstations. What method can be used to validate the download and installation of this custom software?

The package can be signed using a developer certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority. Alternatively, a cryptographic hash of the installer can be made, and this value can be given to each support technician. When installing the software, the technician can make his or her own hash of the downloaded installer and compare it to the reference hash.

While you are assigning privileges to the accounting department in your organization, Cindy, a human resource administrative assistant, insists that she needs access to the employee records database so that she can fulfill change of address requests from employees. After checking with her manager and referring to the organization's access control security policy, you discover that Cindy's job role does not fall into the authorized category for access to that database. What security concept are you practicing in this scenario?

The principle of least privilege.

You take a support call where the user doesn't understand why a program runs at startup when the Startup folder is empty. What is the likely cause, and how could you verify this?

The program has added a registry entry to run at startup. You could check this (and optionally disable the program) by using Task Manager.

Which Windows command is probably best suited for scripting file backup operations?

The robocopy command offers more options than those offered by the xcopy command, so it will usually be the better choice. The copy command is quite basic and probably not suitable.

What is the significance of a $ symbol at the end of a share name?

The share is hidden from the file browser. It can be accessed by typing a UNC. The default administrative shares are all configured as hidden.

In Windows, what is the difference between the boot partition and the system partition?

The system partition contains the boot files; the boot partition contains the system root (OS files). The boot partition is normally assigned the drive letter C. The system partition is not normally assigned a drive letter.

You receive a call from a user trying to save a file and receiving an "Access Denied" error. Assuming a normal configuration with no underlying file corruption, encryption, or malware issue, what is the cause and what do you suggest?

The user does not have "Write" or "Modify" permission to that folder. If there is no configuration issue, you should advise the user about the storage locations permitted for user-generated files. If there were a configuration issue, you would investigate why the user had not been granted the correct permissions for the target folder.

Assuming default Explorer view settings are configured, what steps should the user take to get better context of files?

The user must first show file extensions, using the View tab in the File Explorer Options applet (you might also note that this can be done via a check box on the View menu ribbon of File Explorer).

You are assisting a user with configuring a static IP address. The user has entered the following configuration values and now cannot access the Internet. Is there a configuration issue or a different problem? IP: 192.168.1.1 Mask: 255.255.255.0 Gateway: 192.168.1.0 DNS: 192.168.1.0

There is a configuration problem. 192.168.1.0 is not a host address. With the subnet mask 255.255.255.0, it identifies the network range as 192.168.1.0/24. The gateway is usually configured as the first available host address in this range: 192.168.1.1. The DNS server should also be set to 192.168.1.1.

You are assisting with the design of a new campus building for a multinational firm. On the recommendation of a security consultant, the architect has added closely spaced sculpted stone posts with reinforced steel cores that surround the area between the building entrance and the street. At the most recent client meeting, the building owner has queried the cost of these. Can you explain their purpose?

These bollards are designed to prevent vehicles from crashing into the building lobby as part of a terrorist or criminal attack. The security consultant should only recommend the control if the risk of this type of attack justifies the expense.

When you set NTFS permissions on a folder, what happens to the files and subfolders by default?

They inherit the parent folder's permissions.

What are the principal characteristics of a surge protector?

This is a circuit designed to protect connected devices from the effect of sudden increases or spikes in the supply voltage and/or current. Surge protectors are rated by clamping voltage (low values are better), joules rating (higher values are better), and amperage (the maximum current that can be carried).

You discover that a threat actor has been able to harvest credentials from some visitors connecting to the company's wireless network from the lobby. The visitors had connected to a network named "Internet" and were presented with a web page requesting an email address and password to enable guest access. The company's access point had been disconnected from the cabled network. What type of attack has been perpetrated?

This is an evil twin attack where the threat actor uses social engineering techniques to persuade users to connect to an access point that spoofs a legitimate guest network service.

A computer cannot connect to the network. The machine is configured to obtain a TCP/IP configuration automatically. You use ipconfig to determine the IP address and it returns 0.0.0.0. What does this tell you?

This is an irregular state for a Windows PC. If a DHCP server cannot be contacted, the machine should default to using an APIPA address (169.254.x.y). As it has not done this, something is wrong with the networking software installed on the machine. The best option is probably to perform a network reset via the Settings > Network & Internet > Status page.

You are advising a customer with an older-model Android smartphone. The customer wants to update to the latest version of Android, but using the update option results in a "No updates available" message. What type of issue is this, and what advice can you provide?

This is an issue with update limitations. Android is quite a fragmented market, and customers must depend on the handset vendor to implement OS updates for a particular model. The customer can only check the handset vendor's website or helpline to find out if a version update will ever be supported for that model.

A user reports that a new device is not sustaining a battery charge for more than a couple of hours. What type of malware could this be a symptom of?

This is most characteristic of cryptomining malware as that explicitly hijacks the compute resources of a device to perform the intensive calculations required to mine blockchain currency.

You are writing a proposal to improve a company's current support procedures with a ticketing system. You have identified the following requirements for information that each ticket should capture. Following the CompTIA A+ objectives, what additional field or data point should be captured? User information Device information Problem description/Progress notes/Problem resolution Categories Escalation levels

This list contains no means of recording the severity of the ticket. This field is important for prioritizing issues.

If a single physical disk is divided into three partitions in a non-Windows environment, how many different file systems can be supported?

Three—each partition can use a different file system.

What is the name of Apple's backup software for macOS?

Time Machine.

You are writing guidance for departmental managers to request new software installs. You want each manager to consider impacts to the business, operation, network, and devices as part of their request. In terms of impacts to business, you have written guidance to consider support and training requirements. What other topic should you include?

To consider licensing requirements, such as number of users or devices. There also needs to be a system for monitoring license compliance and ensuring there are no unauthorized installs.

Why might you run the shutdown command with the /t switch?

To specify a delay between running the command and shutdown starting. You might do this to give users a chance to save work or to ensure that a computer is restarted overnight.

PC Health Check tool

Tool to verify if a computer meets the hardware requirements for Windows 11

True or false? If you want the same policy to apply to a number of computers within a domain, you could add the computers to the same Organizational Unit (OU) and apply the policy to the OU.

True.

True or false? You can configure a web server running on Linux to accept remote terminal connections from clients without using passwords.

True. This can be configured using public key authentication with the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. The server can be installed with the public keys of authorized users.

True or false? WPA3 personal mode is configured by selecting a passphrase shared between all users who are permitted to connect to the network.

True. WPA3-Personal uses group authentication via a shared passphrase. The simultaneous authentication of equals (SAE) mechanism by which this passphrase is used to generate network encryption keys is improved compared to the older WPA2 protocol, however.

A program is continually using 99-100% of processor time. What should you do?

Try to end the application or the process using Task Manager, and then contact the application vendor to find out why the problem is occurring.

You are supporting a user who has just replaced a wireless router. The user has joined the new wireless network successfully but can no longer find other computers on the network. What should you check first?

Use Network & Internet to check the network profile type. When the network changed, the user probably selected the wrong option at the prompt to allow the PC to be discoverable, and the profile is probably set to Public. Change the type Private.

You are updating an internal support knowledge base with advice for troubleshooting mobile devices. What is the first step to take if a user reports that an app will not close?

Use force stop if available and/or reboot the device.

Shadow IT

Use of unauthorized or unmanaged technology within an organization

A Windows user is trying to join a video conference and cannot hear any sound from her headset. Which tool can you suggest using to try to remedy the fault?

Use the Sound settings app or Control Panel applet to check the volume setting and that the headset is configured as the input and output device. If the headset is not listed, check the USB or Bluetooth connection.

Which three principal user security groups are created when Windows is installed?

Users, Administrators, and Guests. You might also include Power Users, though use of this group is deprecated. Going beyond the account types listed in the exam objectives, you might include groups such as Remote Desktop Users, Remote Management Users, or Backup Operators. There are also system groups, such as Everyone, but users cannot be assigned manually to these.

Your organization is donating workstations to a local college. The workstations have a mix of HDD and SSD fixed disks. There is a proposal to use a Windows boot disk to delete the partition information for each disk. What factors must be considered before proceeding with this method?

Using standard formatting tools will leave data remnants that could be recovered in some circumstances. This might not be considered high risk, but it would be safer to use a vendor low-level format tool with support for Secure Erase or Crypto Erase.

You have downloaded an installer for a third-party app from the vendor's website. What should you do before proceeding with setup?

Verify the integrity of the download using a hash value or the vendor's digital certificate.

A user calls to say that he clicked Yes to a prompt to allow the browser to access the computer's location service while using a particular site and is now worried about personal information being tracked by other sites. How can the user adjust the app permission in Windows?

Via the App permissions section under Privacy settings. You might also note that most browser software can be configured to only allow location information on a per-site basis.

You are updating a procedure that lists security considerations for remote access technologies. One of the precautions is to check that remote access ports have not been opened on the firewall without authorization. Which default port for VNC needs to be monitored?

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) uses TCP port 5900 by default.

A user works on a document and leaves the file open for lunch. Upon the user's return, the computer is in power-saving mode. How do you reassure the user and advise on the status of the file?

When a computer goes into a power-saving mode, it will either maintain a small amount of power to the memory modules or write the contents of memory to a hibernation file on disk. Consequently, the user should be able to start the laptop again, and the desktop will resume with the open file still there. You should advise the customer to save changes to files regularly, however.

You are developing a script to scan server hosts to discover which ports are open and to identify which server software is operating the port. What considerations should you make before deploying this script?

While the risk is low, scanning activity could cause problems with the target and possibly even crash it. Test the script in a sandbox environment before deploying it. Security software might block the operation of this script, and there is some risk from the script or its output being misused. Make sure that use of the script and its output are subject to access controls and that any system reconfiguration is properly change-managed.

What does chain-of-custody documentation prove?

Who has had access to evidence collected from a crime scene and where and how it has been stored.

You are advising a business that needs to provision video-editing workstations with 4-way multiprocessing. Which retail Windows edition will allow them to make full use of this hardware?

Windows Pro for Workstations supports 4-way multiprocessing (four CPUs installed to separate sockets) and up to 6 TB RAM. Windows Enterprise has the same hardware limits but is not available via a retail channel.

You are advising a customer whose business is expanding. The business owner needs to provision an additional 30 desktop computers, some of which will be installed at a second office location. The business is currently run with a workgroup network of five Windows 10 Home Premium desktop computers and one file server. Why might you suggest licenses for an edition of Windows 10 that supports corporate needs for the new computers and has upgrades for the old computers? Which specific edition(s) could you recommend?

Without a domain, accounts must be configured on each computer individually. With more than 30 computers to manage at two locations, this would be a substantial task, so switching to a domain network, where the accounts can be configured on the server, is likely to save costs in the long term. You can suggest either Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise for use on a domain.

What command could you use to move a file names.doc from your current directory to the USB stick linked to folder /mnt/usb?

mv names.doc /mnt/usb

You are checking that a remote Windows workstation will be able to dial into a web conference with good quality audio/video. What is the best tool to use to measure latency between the workstation's network and the web conferencing server?

pathping measures latency over a longer period and so will return a more accurate measurement than the individual round trip time (RTT) values returned by ping or tracert.