Practice for the CompTIA A+ Core 2 exam with 17 exam-style practice questions, instant answer reveals, and concise explanations of every correct answer. Topics include: Jonni is installing Windows 11 (64-bit) in a virtual machine on his Linux desktop. The installation is continually faili. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- Jonni is installing Windows 11 (64-bit) in a virtual machine on his Linux desktop. The installation is contin…
- A new corporate policy dictates that all access to network resources will be controlled based on the user's j…
- You unlock a server room door with your badge. Before the door closes, someone walks in behind you without us…
- Which of the following technologies would you use to securely access the command line interface of a network'…
- Which of the following commands is used on a Linux system to safely turn off a server?
- Which of the following types of attacks is conducted against a database server by inserting code into an entr…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. Jonni is installing Windows 11 (64-bit) in a virtual machine on his Linux desktop. The installation is continually failing and producing an error. Jonni has configured the virtual machine with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 4 GB of memory…
Answer: C. Amount of hard drive space
The correct answer works because Windows 11 strictly requires at least 64 GB of storage space to install. The virtual machine only has 32 GB assigned, so the setup will fail until the virtual disk size is increased.
Q2. A new corporate policy dictates that all access to network resources will be controlled based on the user's job functions and tasks within the organization. For example, only people working in Human Resources can access employee records, a…
Answer: D. Least privilege
Least privilege ensures users only receive the access necessary for their specific job functions, improving overall security. Permission creep is incorrect because it refers to the accumulation of unnecessary access rights over time as users change roles.
Q3. You unlock a server room door with your badge. Before the door closes, someone walks in behind you without using credentials. What social engineering technique is this?
Answer: D. Tailgating
Tailgating occurs when an unauthorized person follows closely behind an authorized user through a secure door. Shoulder surfing involves stealing passwords visually, and impersonation involves pretending to be someone else.
Q4. Which of the following technologies would you use to securely access the command line interface of a network's switches and routers remotely for configuration?
Answer: C. SSH
SSH provides a secure, encrypted command-line connection for remotely configuring network switches and routers. Telnet transmits data in plain text, making it insecure and obsolete for production networks.
Q5. Which of the following commands is used on a Linux system to safely turn off a server?
Answer: D. shutdown
The shutdown command safely brings the Linux system down by notifying users and stopping processes. The ps command lists running processes, while kill terminates specific processes and rm removes files, making them incorrect for this scenario.
Q6. Which of the following types of attacks is conducted against a database server by inserting code into an entry field on a web application form for execution to try and gain access to the contents of the database?
Answer: A. SQL injection
An SQL injection attack inserts malicious code into entry fields to access or manipulate database contents. Cross-site scripting targets the end user's browser by injecting scripts into trusted websites, making it a different type of vulnerability.
Q7. Which of the following policies or plans would dictate the complexity requirements for a wireless network's shared secret key?
Answer: B. Password policy
A password policy dictates complexity requirements for keys and passwords. For the exam, remember that acceptable use governs user behavior, while password rules determine length and complexity.
Q8. An employee notices their browser is running slowly and often freezes after installing a plug-in from an unknown source. What step should IT advise to promptly resolve this performance issue?
Answer: A. Disable or remove the recently installed browser plug-in.
Disabling or removing the recently installed plug-in directly resolves the performance issue by eliminating the problematic software. Clearing the cache or updating the browser addresses general performance, not a specific bad plug-in.
Q9. Which of the following threats can policies, procedures, and end-user training help to effectively mitigate?
Answer: B. Social engineering attempts
Social engineering targets human behavior, making policies and training the most effective mitigation. Technical attacks like DDoS or on-path attacks require network security controls rather than user education to prevent successfully.
Q10. Which of the following types of attacks are usually used as part of an on-path attack?
Answer: D. Spoofing
Spoofing disguises communications, allowing attackers to insert themselves into the data path. Tailgating is a physical security breach, while brute force attacks target authentication mechanisms.
Q11. What occurs when a standard formatting is performed on a drive?
Answer: A. The file system structure is reset removing data references
Standard formatting resets the file system structure and removes data references, leaving recovery possible. Overwriting data completely requires a secure wipe, and encryption simply scrambles data rather than removing file references.
Q12. Which of the following contains virtual memory that can supplement the physical system memory in a Linux system?
Answer: D. Swap partition
A swap partition provides virtual memory to supplement physical RAM in Linux. The ext4 and ext3 options are file systems, while NFS is a network sharing protocol, none of which act as system memory.
Q13. Darcy is a user running Windows 11, who reports that after downloading a free screen recording application from an unofficial website, they are experiencing frequent pop-up ads and slow system performance. They mention that their default w…
Answer: C. Uninstall the application and run a full malware scan
Uninstalling the suspicious application and running a malware scan removes the root cause of the adware. Resetting the browser only fixes the symptom, while updates will not eliminate existing malicious software.
Q14. Which of the following commands is used to display the amount of disk space available on the file system in Linux?
Answer: A. df
The df command displays available disk space on mounted Linux file systems. Remember common Linux commands: ls lists files, cat reads them, and pwd shows your current directory.
Q15. A manager wants employees to review a shared document without making changes. What is the best way to do this?
Answer: A. Set the document to view-only mode.
Setting the document to view-only mode enforces the restriction while allowing employees to read the file. Asking staff not to edit relies on trust, whereas locking the document blocks access entirely.
Q16. Your smartphone data usage tripled this month with no change in usage patterns. What should you check FIRST?
Answer: A. Check network permissions and data usage for any applications installed within the last month
Checking recently installed applications identifies background processes consuming cellular data. A factory restore is unnecessary, and restricting large WiFi downloads fails to isolate the sudden spike.
Q17. An attacker tries sequential PIN values (00000000, 00000001, 00000002…) until finding the correct WPS PIN. What type of attack is this?
Answer: A. Brute-force
A brute-force attack sequentially submits every possible combination until the correct PIN is found. Dictionary attacks only use known words, whereas rainbow tables rely on precomputed password hashes.
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