This is a practice exam for IT professionals studying for the CompTIA A+ 220-802. A+ covers the fundamentals of computer technology, installation and configuration of PCs, laptops and related hardware, and basic networking.
1) Which of the following passwords is the MOST secure according to industry best practices?
A good password can be defined in many different ways - however at a minimum it should contain letters, numbers, special characters and be at least 8 characters long.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
Password strength is a measure of the effectiveness of a password against guessing or brute-force attacks In its usual form, it estimates how many trials an attacker who does not have direct access to the password would need, on average, to guess it correctly The strength of a password is a function of length, complexity, and unpredictabilityUsing strong passwords lowers overall risk of a security breach, but strong passwords do not replace the need for other effective security controls The effectiveness of a password of a given strength is strongly determined by the design and implementation of the factors (knowledge, ownership, inherence)… Read More
2) Which of the following security threats requires the attacker to be physically located near the target machine?
Shoulder Surfing is the practice of spying on a user while they use a computer, ATM, or other electronic device.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
In computer security, shoulder surfing is a type of social engineering technique used to obtain information such as personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords and other confidential data by looking over the victim's shoulder, either from keystrokes on a device or sensitive information being spoken and heard, also known as eavesdropping … Read More
3) Of which of the following Windows System Power States saves the contents of memory to a file on the PC's hard drive?
Sleep, Hibernation, and Stand By are the only true System Power States. Of the three, only hibernation provides no power to memory, and saves memory contents to the hard drive to be loaded back into memory when the computer wakes up.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
Hibernation (or suspend to disk) in computing is powering down a computer while retaining its state Upon hibernation, the computer saves the contents of its random access memory (RAM) to a hard disk or other non-volatile storage Upon resumption, the computer is exactly as it was before entering hibernation … Read More
4) A friend has come to you seeking help with a gaming PC he uses at home. He has replaced his monitor with a very large 1080p TV, but when he runs any games on the PC they appear much smaller and do not fit the entire TV screen. Which answer is most likely the problem?
Because your friend did not mention having issues until the games were opened, we can safely assume they are the culprit. Many games (especially older ones) cannot support large resolutions - but it really depends on the game.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
5) A new company policy requires privacy screens for all computers in publicly accessible spaces. Privacy screens help protect against which of the following?
A privacy screen (or privacy filter) is a device applied to a computer monitor to make it difficult to see the screen unless directly in front of the monitor. This provides limited protection against shoulder surfing.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
In computer security, shoulder surfing is a type of social engineering technique used to obtain information such as personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords and other confidential data by looking over the victim's shoulder, either from keystrokes on a device or sensitive information being spoken and heard, also known as eavesdropping … Read More
6) A technician would like to restart a computer from a command line tool. Which of the following tools should the technician use?
Shutdown is a Windows command line tool that shuts down the PC. With the /r flag, the Shutdown command will restart the PC.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
To shut down or power off a computer is to remove power from a computer's main components in a controlled way After a computer is shut down, main components such as CPUs, RAM modules and hard disk drives are powered down, although some internal components, such as an internal clock, may retain power … Read More
7) Which of the following is TRUE about the difference between a worm and a virus?
Both worms and viruses have the ability to spread themselves and they both have malicious intent. They differ in that a worm is a standalone program while a virus has to attach itself to a host program.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers It often uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it It will use this machine as a host to scan and infect other computers When these new worm-invaded computers are controlled, the worm will continue to scan and infect other computers using these computers as hosts, and this behavior will continue Computer worms use recursive method to copy themselves without host program and distribute themselves based on the law of exponential growth, and then controlling and infecting more and more computers in a short time… Read More
8) A user is concerned about an issue with iOS. Which technology is the user referring too?
iOS is Apple's operating system for their mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). IOS can also refer to Cisco's Internetwork OS, but not typically from a user.
This question is filed under objective 3, Mobile Devices
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc exclusively for its hardware It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch it also powered the iPad until the introduction of iPadOS, a derivative of iOS, in 2019 It is the world's second-most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android It is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS It is proprietary software, although some parts of it are open source under the Apple Public Source License and other licenses… Read More
9) Susan, a new user, was recently given a new company laptop. While traveling, Susan reports that her laptop shuts off whenever it is unplugged, even if the battery is 100% charged. Which of the following should the technician do?
The first step here should always be to try a new battery. Although the issue could possibly be more complicated than that, it is most likely a failing battery.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
10) Which of the following boot methods receives the bootstrap files from a network server?
PXE (PreBoot Execution Environment) is an industry standard protocol that allows client computer(s) to boot to an environment located on a central server.
This question is filed under objective 1, Operating Systems
In computing, the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE, most often pronounced as pixie) specification describes a standardized client-server environment that boots a software assembly, retrieved from a network, on PXE-enabled clients On the client side it requires only a PXE-capable network interface controller (NIC), and uses a small set of industry-standard network protocols such as DHCP and TFTP The concept behind the PXE originated in the early days of protocols like BOOTP/DHCP/TFTP, and as of 2015 it forms part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) standard In modern data centers, PXE is the most frequent choice for operating system booting, installation and deployment… Read More
11) The payroll department works with company financial data and had an incident that involved employee’s salary being shared across the network. Which of the following actions would solve this problem?
The important information here is that the information was shared on the network. All of these options are good for security, but only using least privilege on the network directory will affect this specific problem.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
In information security, computer science, and other fields, the principle of least privilege (PoLP), also known as the principle of minimal privilege or the principle of least authority, requires that in a particular abstraction layer of a computing environment, every module (such as a process, a user, or a program, depending on the subject) must be able to access only the information and resources that are necessary for its legitimate purpose… Read More
12) Which of the following commands will allow a user to discover their IP address, subnet mask and DNS server address?
IPCONFIG will show the IP address and subnet mask but will not show the DNS server address. IPCONFIG /ALL will show the DNS address in addition to the IP and subnet mask.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
ipconfig (standing for "Internet Protocol configuration") is a console application program of some computer operating systems that displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and refreshes Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) settings… Read More
13) Which of the following commands will force the Windows Operating System to power off after one minute?
Shutdown /s tells the system to shutdown (without restarting) and /t [seconds] tells the system how many seconds to wait before doing so.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
To shut down or power off a computer is to remove power from a computer's main components in a controlled way After a computer is shut down, main components such as CPUs, RAM modules and hard disk drives are powered down, although some internal components, such as an internal clock, may retain power … Read More
14) Which of the following should be regularly scheduled to fix hard drive errors?
Check Disk (CHKDSK) is a Windows command line tool that will verify the integrity of a disk drive, as well as attempt to solve any errors that are found.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
In computing, CHKDSK (short for "check disk") is a system tool and command in DOS, Digital Research FlexOS, IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and related operating systems It verifies the file system integrity of a volume and fixes logical file system errors It is similar to the fsck command in Unix and similar to Microsoft ScanDisk which co-existed with CHKDSK in Windows 9x and MS-DOS 6x … Read More
15) Which of the following terms describes a group of devices communicating using Bluetooth?
A Piconet is a group of wireless devices connected using Bluetooth. An Extranet is an Intranet that is partially available to external users. WAP is a Wireless Access Point.
This question is filed under objective 1, Operating Systems
A piconet is an ad hoc network that links a wireless user group of devices using Bluetooth technology protocols A piconet consists of two or more devices occupying the same physical channel (synchronized to a common clock and hopping sequence) It allows one master device to interconnect with up to seven active slave devices Up to 255 further slave devices can be inactive, or parked, which the master device can bring into active status at any time, but an active station must go into parked first Some examples of piconets include a cell phone connected to a computer, a laptop and a Bluetooth-enabled digital camera, or several PDAs that are connected to each other… Read More
16) Which of the following is the MOST secure method of data removal that will still allow a drive to be reused, but will not allow erased data to be easily recovered from a hard drive?
Degaussing a disk will destroy it, so that is not an option. Re-partitioning or formatting the disk will mark areas on the disk as empty, but will not destroy the data until that space is needed for new data. Using a tool to overwrite the data, preferably multiple times, is the only way to ensure that data cannot be recovered while still allowing the disk to be reused.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
In computer data storage, overwriting is the process of replacing old information with new information Overwriting generally occurs when unused file system clusters are written upon with new data, though overwriting is also used in security algorithms These algorithms use a precise set of rules to remove any part of original data from the memory by writing new raw data on the memory Data that has been overwritten, even just once, is generally considered to be unrecoverable … Read More
17) Which of the following security best practices would prevent a program on a CD from immediately launching when inserted into a computer?
The Autorun.exe file is automatically run when Windows reads a new CD. Disabling this function in Windows will keep CD's from opening up when inserted.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
18) Social engineering makes use primarily of which of the following techniques, to bypass common corporate security barriers?
Social Engineering is the process of manipulating another person or group of people to divulge information or perform actions relevant to a systems security.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
In the context of information security, social engineering is the psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information This differs from social engineering within the social sciences, which does not concern the divulging of confidential information A type of confidence trick for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or system access, it differs from a traditional "con" in that it is often one of many steps in a more complex fraud schemeIt has also been defined as "any act that influences a person to take an action that may or may not be in their best interests… Read More
19) Which of the following security best practices would prevent a program on a CD from immediately launching when inserted into a computer?
The Autorun.exe file is automatically run when Windows reads a new CD. Disabling this function in Windows will keep CD's from opening up when inserted.
This question is filed under objective 2, Security
AutoRun and the companion feature AutoPlay are components of the Microsoft Windows operating system that dictate what actions the system takes when a drive is mounted AutoRun was introduced in Windows 95 to ease application installation for non-technical users and reduce the cost of software support calls When an appropriately configured CD-ROM is inserted into a CD-ROM drive, Windows detects the arrival and checks the contents for a special file containing a set of instructions For a CD containing software, these instructions normally initiate installation of the software from the CD-ROM onto the hard drive To maximise the likelihood of installation success, AutoRun also acts when the drive is accessed ("double-clicked") in Windows… Read More
20) A user has called the IT Department and states that their computer does not work. Which of the following would be the BEST question to obtain further information?
You should always try to get as much relevant information as possible before beginning to troubleshoot. But remember to start with basic information first, most users are not IT's or tech savvy.
This question is filed under objective 4, Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process operational again Troubleshooting is needed to identify the symptoms Determining the most likely cause is a process of elimination—eliminating potential causes of a problem Finally, troubleshooting requires confirmation that the solution restores the product or process to its working state In general, troubleshooting is the identification or diagnosis of "trouble" in the management flow of a system caused by a failure of some kind… Read More
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