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The CompTIA 220-902 exam is one of two exams requires to obtain the CompTIA A+ (900 series). This exam will cover operating systems like Windows, Macintosh OSX and Linux as well as topics like security, software troubleshooting and operational procedures.
- Questions: 20
- Time: 60 seconds per question (0 hours, 20 minutes, 0 seconds)
During your daily technical support duties you accidentally view a user's password as they enter it. You inadvertently committed a _______ attack.
- Man-in-the-middle
- Social engineering
- Shoulder surfing
- Tailgating
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Answer Description
The act of observing a user enter confidential, security-related information while they are unaware is referred to as shoulder surfing.
Wikipedia
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. Unauthorized users watch the keystrokes inputted on a device or listen to sensitive information being spoken, which is also known as eavesdropping.
Shoulder_surfing_(computer_security) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- A mantrap is a set of doors separated by a hallway and access control devices that precludes individuals from accessing one door without access control requirements being met
- A mantrap is a floor with a sticky material meant to trap would-be intruders by restricting the ability of movement, allowing for IT security staff to remove intruders at a later time and humanely dispose of or release them into the wild
- A mantrap is a spring-loaded device that it sometimes baited with fine cheeses or savory snacks, meant to ensnare and sever the spinal cord of hungry Blackhat hackers
- A mantrap is a fall-away floor with large, sharpened spikes at the bottom of a pit to prevent unauthorized access to secure rooms by both humans and bears
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Answer Description
A mantrap is often used to secure server rooms, distribution closets or IT resources that may be susceptible to attack by tailgaters.
Wikipedia
A mantrap, security mantrap portal, airlock, sally port or access control vestibule is a physical security access control system comprising a small space with two sets of interlocking doors, such that the first set of doors must close before the second set opens. Airlocks have a very similar design, allowing free ingress and egress while also restricting airflow. In a manual mantrap, a guard locks and unlocks each door in sequence. An intercom and/or video camera are often used to allow the guard to control the trap from a remote location. In an automatic mantrap, identification may be required for each door, sometimes even different measures for each door. For example, a key may open the first door, but a personal identification number entered on a number pad opens the second. Other methods of opening doors include proximity cards or biometric devices such as fingerprint readers or iris recognition scans. Time of Flight sensors are used in high security environments. Metal detectors are often built in to prevent the entrance of people carrying weapons. This use is particularly frequent in banks and jewelry shops. Turnkey, installed systems are provided by some suppliers due to need for technically trained installers. Fire codes require that automatic mantraps allow exit from the intermediate space while denying access to a secure space such as a data center or research lab. A manually-operated mantrap may allow a guard to lock both doors, trapping a suspect between the doors for questioning or detainment.
Mantrap_(access_control) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe Linux operating system has many command line base functions. For instance the command "sudo" is utilized to:
- Supersede domain requirements
- Search text via regular expression
- Select a directory
- Run a program in the security context of another user
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Answer Description
Sudo, which is a portmanteau of the words "superuser" and "do", is utilized to run applications in the security context of a superuser or another user with differing security permissions.
Wikipedia
sudo ( or ) is a program for Unix-like computer operating systems that enables users to run programs with the security privileges of another user, by default the superuser. It originally stood for "superuser do", as that was all it did, and it is its most common usage; however, the official Sudo project page lists it as "su 'do' ". The current Linux manual pages for su define it as "substitute user", making the correct meaning of sudo "substitute user, do", because sudo can run a command as other users as well.Unlike the similar command su, users must, by default, supply their own password for authentication, rather than the password of the target user. After authentication, and if the configuration file (typically /etc/sudoers) permits the user access, the system invokes the requested command. The configuration file offers detailed access permissions, including enabling commands only from the invoking terminal; requiring a password per user or group; requiring re-entry of a password every time or never requiring a password at all for a particular command line. It can also be configured to permit passing arguments or multiple commands.
Sudo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPersonally Identifiable Information (PII) should be safeguarded from unauthorized access. Which of the following would be considered PII?
- Height
- Medical diagnosis
- Driver's license number
- Favorite color
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Answer Description
An individual's driver's license number would be considered PII. While you may be tempted to select medical diagnosis, that would be considered HIPPA information.
Wikipedia
Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person The abbreviation PII is widely accepted in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates has four common variants based on personal or personally, and identifiable or identifying Not all are equivalent, and for legal purposes the effective definitions vary depending on the jurisdiction and the purposes for which the term is being used Under European and other data protection regimes, which centre primarily on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the term "personal data" is significantly broader, and determines the scope of the regulatory regime
Personally_identifiable_information - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaTrue or false: It is best practice to allow system administrators to have administrator privileges associated with their normal user account.
- False
- True
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Answer Description
Best practices dictate that administrators should have a secondary account with administrator privileges, separate from their main user account. This leads to improved security due to maintaining separation of duties and minimizes damage done if user accounts are compromised.
Wikipedia
Separation of duties (SoD), also known as segregation of duties, is the concept of having more than one person required to complete a task. It is an administrative control used by organisations to prevent fraud, sabotage, theft, misuse of information, and other security compromises. In the political realm, it is known as the separation of powers, as can be seen in democracies where the government is separated into three independent branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary.
Separation_of_duties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou have been tasked with determining why a service fails to start in a server test environment. There are numerous services required for the application to function, but a single service is failing to start upon boot. This service also happens to be the last service that is supposed to start. A delayed start is not required, nor is a manual start and the service is enabled. You can manually start the service and it will function normally until the next system reboot. The service is run under "System". Knowing these things you open up the "Services" application and check:
- Dependencies
- Service restart timer
- Start parameters
- Recovery options
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Answer Description
Based on the prompt for this question, the most likely cause is a dependency missing. This most likely means that a requirement for another service being active is not set. You should attempt to ensure that all dependencies are correctly enabled.
Wikipedia
In the contexts of software architecture, service-orientation and service-oriented architecture, the term service refers to a software functionality, or a set of software functionalities (such as the retrieval of specified information or the execution of a set of operations) with a purpose that different clients can reuse for different purposes, together with the policies that should control its usage (based on the identity of the client requesting the service, for example). OASIS defines a service as "a mechanism to enable access to one or more capabilities, where the access is provided using a prescribed interface and is exercised consistent with constraints and policies as specified by the service description".
Service_(systems_architecture) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou have been tasked with deploying full device encryption on Windows 10 devices in your office. Choose the Microsoft provided utility to achieve this task.
- Sophos
- CertainSafe
- BitLocker
- Endpoint Encryption
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Answer Description
Microsoft BitLocker is the full disk encryption provided by...you guessed it...Microsoft! BitLocker has been available for Windows since Vista.
Wikipedia
BitLocker is a full volume encryption feature included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with Windows Vista. It is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes. By default, it uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm in cipher block chaining (CBC) or "xor–encrypt–xor (XEX)-based Tweaked codebook mode with ciphertext Stealing" (XTS) mode with a 128-bit or 256-bit key. CBC is not used over the whole disk; it is applied to each individual sector.
BitLocker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou are deploying a web server in a Windows environment and are tasked with ensuring that internal clients can access the resources hosted on the server via an internet browser. Firewall ports have been opened for 80, 443, 20, 21 and 23. Your server is running Windows Server 2012 R2 and it is configured with teamed NICs. Which service is most likely needed on this server?
- NLB
- NPS
- IIS
- VDI
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Answer Description
IIS or Internet Information Services is the Windows term for the Web Server role. While, you may be tempted to choose Network Load Balancing (NLB) as the correct answer, please note that teamed NICs can operate without the NLB service implemented.
Wikipedia
Internet Information Services (IIS) is an extensible web server created by Microsoft for use with the Windows NT family. IIS supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP and NNTP. It has been an integral part of the Windows NT family since Windows NT 4.0, though it may be absent from some editions (e.g. Windows XP Home edition), and is not active by default.
Internet_Information_Services - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou are tasked with creating scripts that will run on a schedule, checking the status of various Windows system resources and services. Your boss has stated that they would prefer you to utilize a scripting language that is best suited for the task at hand and does not require you code basic resource and service-checking functionality for the task. You choose to utilize:
- VBScript
- PowerShell
- C#
- Bash
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Answer Description
PowerShell would be the best choice of scripting language for this task as it has many pre-built commands for querying the status of Windows System resources and services. While all of the other choices, with the exception of Bash, would work for this task, they will likely require more effort being spent on the task than PowerShell.
Wikipedia
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made open-source and cross-platform on August 18, 2016, with the introduction of PowerShell Core. The former is built on the .NET Framework, the latter on .NET (previously .NET Core). Since Windows 10 build 14971, PowerShell replaced Command Prompt and became the default command shell for File Explorer.In PowerShell, administrative tasks are generally performed via cmdlets (pronounced command-lets), which are specialized .NET classes implementing a particular operation. These work by accessing data in different data stores, like the file system or Windows Registry, which are made available to PowerShell via providers. Third-party developers can add cmdlets and providers to PowerShell. Cmdlets may be used by scripts, which may in turn be packaged into modules. Cmdlets work in tandem with the .NET API. PowerShell's support for .NET Remoting, WS-Management, CIM, and SSH enables administrators to perform administrative tasks on both local and remote Windows systems. PowerShell also provides a hosting API with which the PowerShell runtime can be embedded inside other applications. These applications can then use PowerShell functionality to implement certain operations, including those exposed via the graphical interface. This capability has been used by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 to expose its management functionality as PowerShell cmdlets and providers and implement the graphical management tools as PowerShell hosts which invoke the necessary cmdlets. Other Microsoft applications including Microsoft SQL Server 2008
PowerShell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- Post-it notes
- Ticketing system
- Phone calls
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Answer Description
The best method for tracking issues and maintaining a central repository that can be used for incident monitoring, knowledge-basing and reporting is a ticketing system.
Wikipedia
An issue tracking system (also ITS, trouble ticket system, support ticket, request management or incident ticket system) is a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues. Issue tracking systems are generally used in collaborative settings, especially in large or distributed collaborations, but can also be employed by individuals as part of a time management or personal productivity regimen. These systems often encompass resource allocation, time accounting, priority management, and oversight workflow in addition to implementing a centralized issue registry.
Issue_tracking_system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- Southern Fried Chicken
- Suggested File Closure
- System Fault Criteria
- System File Checker
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Answer Description
SFC or System File Checker is used to restore corrupted files in Microsoft Windows.
Wikipedia
System File Checker (SFC) is a utility in Microsoft Windows that allows users to scan for and restore corrupted Windows system files.
System_File_Checker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- Virtual machines can only be created in Windows environments
- Virtual machines can have resources added or removed from them at any time, without requiring a reboot
- A physical machine can be virtualized, but a virtual machine cannot be converted to physical
- There is a limit of one virtual machine per host
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Answer Description
Virtual machines can have resources allocated to them from the host without requiring that the virtual machine be powered down. This depends on the virtualization platform and guest OS specifically but in general you can "hot add" memory and CPU resources to virtual machines.
Wikipedia
In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization or emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide the functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardware, software, or a combination of the two. Virtual machines differ and are organized by their function, shown here: System virtual machines (also called full virtualization VMs) provide a substitute for a real machine. They provide the functionality needed to execute entire operating systems. A hypervisor uses native execution to share and manage hardware, allowing for multiple environments that are isolated from one another yet exist on the same physical machine. Modern hypervisors use hardware-assisted virtualization, with virtualization-specific hardware features on the host CPUs providing assistance to hypervisors. Process virtual machines are designed to execute computer programs in a platform-independent environment. Some virtual machine emulators, such as QEMU and video game console emulators, are designed to also emulate (or "virtually imitate") different system architectures, thus allowing execution of software applications and operating systems written for another CPU or architecture. OS-level virtualization allows the resources of a computer to be partitioned via the kernel. The terms are not universally interchangeable.
Virtual_machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA client has received a DLL not found error and has reported the issue to you. The client has also informed you that they have downloaded the the missing DLL file from the internet and believes they have resolved the issue. What is the first action should you take to regarding this situation?
- No action needed, the missing DLL has been restored
- Quarantine the computer
- Re-image the PC to ensure no other DLL files are missing
- Verify that the correct DLL was downloaded
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Answer Description
DLL not found errors should never be remediated by downloading the missing DLL. A missing DLL can be a symptom of a greater issue, but more pressingly DLL download sites can deploy malware via the downloads or open security loopholes on your PC. You should quarantine the PC, verifying that there has been no intrusion or compromise of the system before proceeding with investigating the missing DLL's root cause.
Wikipedia
Dynamic-link library (DLL) is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems. These libraries usually have the file extension DLL, OCX (for libraries containing ActiveX controls), or DRV (for legacy system drivers). The file formats for DLLs are the same as for Windows EXE files – that is, Portable Executable (PE) for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, and New Executable (NE) for 16-bit Windows. As with EXEs, DLLs can contain code, data, and resources, in any combination. Data files with the same file format as a DLL, but with different file extensions and possibly containing only resource sections, can be called resource DLLs. Examples of such DLLs include icon libraries, sometimes having the extension ICL, and font files, having the extensions FON and FOT.
Dynamic-link_library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou are copying several very large files to a remote server that experiences intermittent connectivity issues. Choose the tool that would be best used for this task.
- Robocopy
- CD
- Xcopy
- Copy
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Answer Description
Robocopy is the best option for copying files in this case. Robocopy has functionality to tolerate connection failure and still resume copying.
Wikipedia
Robocopy is a command-line file transfer utility for Microsoft Windows. Robocopy is functionally more comprehensive than the COPY command and XCOPY, but replaces neither. Created by Kevin Allen and first released as part of the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit, it has been a standard feature of Windows since Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
Robocopy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- Routing
- Load balancing
- Virtualization
- Hyper-threading
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A hypervisor is used to host virtual machines and can be used for Linux, Windows and macOS environments.
Wikipedia
A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor, VMM, or virtualizer) is a type of computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is called a host machine, and each virtual machine is called a guest machine. The hypervisor presents the guest operating systems with a virtual operating platform and manages the execution of the guest operating systems. Unlike an emulator, the guest executes most instructions on the native hardware. Multiple instances of a variety of operating systems may share the virtualized hardware resources: for example, Linux, Windows, and macOS instances can all run on a single physical x86 machine. This contrasts with operating-system–level virtualization, where all instances (usually called containers) must share a single kernel, though the guest operating systems can differ in user space, such as different Linux distributions with the same kernel. The term hypervisor is a variant of supervisor, a traditional term for the kernel of an operating system: the hypervisor is the supervisor of the supervisors, with hyper- used as a stronger variant of super-. The term dates to circa 1970; IBM coined it for the 360/65 and later used it for the DIAG handler of CP-67. In the earlier CP/CMS (1967) system, the term Control Program was used instead.
Hypervisor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWhich of the following statements is true regarding the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit version of the Windows OS?
- There are no fundamental differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows
- All processors can utilize 32-bit and 64-bit Windows interchangeably
- 32-bit is the more modern of the two architectures
- 64-bit Windows can utilize more than 4 GB of RAM
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Answer Description
64-bit Windows is capable of utilizing in excess of 4 GB of RAM. While most modern processors can utilize 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, that has not always been the case.
Wikipedia
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A computer that uses such a processor is a 64-bit computer. From the software perspective, 64-bit computing means the use of machine code with 64-bit virtual memory addresses. However, not all 64-bit instruction sets support full 64-bit virtual memory addresses; x86-64 and ARMv8, for example, support only 48 bits of virtual address, with the remaining 16 bits of the virtual address required to be all 0's or all 1's, and several 64-bit instruction sets support fewer than 64 bits of physical memory address. The term 64-bit also describes a generation of computers in which 64-bit processors are the norm. 64 bits is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory, and CPUs and, by extension, the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have been used in supercomputers since the 1970s (Cray-1, 1975) and in reduced instruction set computers (RISC) based workstations and servers since the early 1990s. In 2003, 64-bit CPUs were introduced to the mainstream PC market in the form of x86-64 processors and the PowerPC G5. A 64-bit register can hold any of 264 (over 18 quintillion or 1.8×1019) different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 64 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two most common representations,
64-bit_computing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- True
- False
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You should refrain from using a vacuum for the purposes of cleaning computer components, as they can generate static electricity that can destroy sensitive electronics. Compressed air is the often used to remove dust in the place of a vacuum.
Wikipedia
Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material or between materials. The charge remains until it is able to move away by means of an electric current or electrical discharge. Static electricity is named in contrast with current electricity, where the electric charge flows through an electrical conductor or space, and transmits energy.A static electric charge can be created whenever two surfaces contact and or slide against each other and then separated. The effects of static electricity are familiar to most people because people can feel, hear, and even see the spark as the excess charge is neutralized when brought close to an electrical conductor (for example, a path to ground), or a region with an excess charge of the opposite polarity (positive or negative). The familiar phenomenon of a static shock – more specifically, an electrostatic discharge – is caused by the neutralization of a charge.
Static_electricity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA user has described an issue to you that requires your attention. While you think you grasp the concept of what they are asking for, the best course of action would be:
- Restate the issue in a manner that will lead to the user clarifying the issue.
- Wrap the user in a heavy blanket. The weight and coverage of a large, warm blanket can help stave off shock.
- Quickly leave the room and warm up some milk from the fridge. This classic comfort food will remind the user of home, taking their thoughts away from the chilling reality of needing technical support
- Slowly and silently extend your finger to their lips and make quiet shushing sounds. Experiencing computer issues can be frightening and this helps comfort the user.
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Answer Description
While the your user may appreciate (or be terribly offended) by these other actions, your best action would be to ensure you understand the user's issue by restating it and letting the user clarify their issue.
Wikipedia
The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds in several Western countries. It is a frequent competitor in dog shows and obedience trials; it is also used as a gundog, and may be trained for use as a guide dog. The breed was created by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks at his Scottish estate Guisachan in the late nineteenth century. He cross-bred Flat-coated Retrievers with Tweed Water Spaniels, with some further infusions of Red Setter, Labrador Retriever and Bloodhound. The breed was recognised by the Kennel Club in 1913, and during the interwar period spread to many parts of the world.
Golden_Retriever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA kernel panic is an error that can take place in Unix based systems that most closely resembles a similar fatal error in a Windows environment. Select the most similar fatal error.
- Red Screen of Death
- Getting a piece of a popcorn kernel stuck between your teeth and failing to get it out by picking at your teeth and experiencing the ensuing panic attack
- Blue Screen of Death
- Operating System Not Found
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Answer Description
A kernel panic most closely resembles the Blue Screen of Death or "BSOD" in Windows environments. A kernel panic or BSOD typically results from a fatal error that requires the system to shut down to prevent permanent damage.
Wikipedia
A kernel panic (sometimes abbreviated as KP) is a safety measure taken by an operating system's kernel upon detecting an internal fatal error in which either it is unable to safely recover or continuing to run the system would have a higher risk of major data loss. The term is largely specific to Unix and Unix-like systems. The equivalent on Microsoft Windows operating systems is a stop error, often called a "blue screen of death". The kernel routines that handle panics, known as panic() in AT&T-derived and BSD Unix source code, are generally designed to output an error message to the console, dump an image of kernel memory to disk for post-mortem debugging, and then either wait for the system to be manually rebooted, or initiate an automatic reboot. The information provided is of a highly technical nature and aims to assist a system administrator or software developer in diagnosing the problem. Kernel panics can also be caused by errors originating outside kernel space. For example, many Unix operating systems panic if the init process, which runs in user space, terminates.
Kernel_panic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThere have been reports of a Windows server system running slowly and a member of the application support team has suggested adding more CPU and memory resources to the virtual machine. Before doing this you should check the _________ utility.
- Device manager
- Performance monitor
- Windows memory diagnostics
- Component services
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Answer Description
The Windows Performance Monitor is used to check the state of resource usage and should be used as part of the process of verifying that additional resources are required.
Wikipedia
Performance Monitor (known as System Monitor in Windows 9x, Windows 2000 and Windows XP) is a system monitoring program introduced in Windows NT 3.1. It monitors various activities on a computer such as CPU or memory usage. This type of application may be used to determine the cause of problems on a local or remote computer by measuring the performance of hardware, software services, and applications. The program can define thresholds for alerts and automatic actions, generate reports, and view past performance data. In Windows 9x, System Monitor is not installed automatically during Windows setup, but could be installed manually using the Add/Remove Programs applet, located in the Control Panel. It has few counters available and offers little in the way of customization. In contrast, the Windows NT Performance Monitor is available out-of-the-box and has over 350 performance measurement criteria (called "counters") available. Performance Monitor can display information as a graph, a bar chart, or numeric values and can update information using a range of time intervals. The categories of information that can be monitored depends on which networking services are installed, but they always include file system, kernel, and memory manager. Other possible categories include Microsoft Network Client, Microsoft Network Server, and protocol categories. In Windows 2000, the System Monitor of Windows 9x and the Performance Monitor of Windows NT 4 and earlier, as well as another program called Network Monitor, were merged into a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) plug-in called Performance, which consisted of two parts: "System
Performance_Monitor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFinally!
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