Practice for the CompTIA A+ Core 2 exam with 16 exam-style practice questions, instant answer reveals, and concise explanations of every correct answer. Topics include: Which of the following data types would be used to store a user's name?. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- Which of the following data types would be used to store a user's name?
- A macOS user is browsing the internet in Google Chrome when they see a notification that says, "Windows Enter…
- A multinational corporation is evaluating AI solutions to improve workflow automation. One option is a public…
- Dion Training wants to keep their wireless network open for students but prevent coffee shop customers next d…
- A user contacts the service desk and states that Microsoft Excel crashed while they were in the middle of upd…
- Jason wants to configure his Windows 10 laptop to more quickly find files when he is searching its hard drive…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. Which of the following data types would be used to store a user's name?
Answer: A. String
A string data type stores sequences of characters, making it the correct choice for text like a name. Integers and floating-point numbers handle mathematical values, while booleans only represent true or false states.
Q2. A macOS user is browsing the internet in Google Chrome when they see a notification that says, "Windows Enterprise Defender: Your computer is infected with a virus, please click here to remove it!" What type of threat is this user experien…
Answer: D. Rogue anti-virus
A rogue anti-virus uses fake alerts to trick users into installing malware. The Windows alert appearing on macOS clearly indicates a scam. Phishing typically harvests credentials via email, not browser pop-ups.
Q3. A multinational corporation is evaluating AI solutions to improve workflow automation. One option is a public cloud-based AI service requiring external data sharing, while another is a self-hosted AI system keeping data within the company'…
Answer: B. Data security
Data security is the most critical factor when deciding between external cloud sharing and internal hosting. Processing speed and scalability are important operational metrics but are secondary to protecting sensitive corporate information.
Q4. Dion Training wants to keep their wireless network open for students but prevent coffee shop customers next door from connecting. Which setting should be modified?
Answer: B. Signal strength or power level
The correct answer works because lowering the radio power limits how far the signal travels, keeping it inside the building. While MAC filtering is a valid security option, it requires heavy administrative overhead to manage constantly changing students.
Q5. A user contacts the service desk and states that Microsoft Excel crashed while they were in the middle of updating their spreadsheet. Which of the following log files should you review to determine the cause of the crash?
Answer: C. Application log
The correct answer works because the Windows application log captures errors and crashes for user-installed programs like Excel. The system log tracks operating system and hardware driver events, not individual software crashes.
Q6. Jason wants to configure his Windows 10 laptop to more quickly find files when he is searching its hard drive. Which of the following Control Panel sections should he use to configure his laptop for optimal searching performance?
Answer: A. Indexing Options
The correct answer works because Indexing Options catalogs file locations and metadata to dramatically speed up local search queries. File Explorer Options only changes how folders display visually, but it does not improve the underlying search speed.
Q7. Marta's organization is concerned with the vulnerability of a user's account being vulnerable for an extended period of time if their password was compromised. Which of the following controls should be configured as part of their password…
Answer: D. Password expiration
Password expiration forces periodic password changes, limiting the window of opportunity if a password is compromised. Password history prevents reusing old passwords, while complexity focuses on making the password harder to crack, not limiting its lifespan.
Q8. A technician suspects that a workstation has been infected with ransomware. What is the best immediate action to prevent further damage?
Answer: C. Disconnect the workstation from the network to stop the spread..
Isolating the workstation from the network immediately stops ransomware from spreading to shared network drives. Running an antivirus scan or copying files should only happen after containment to avoid spreading the infection or losing volatile evidence.
Q9. Which of the following tools should a technician use to modify the HOSTS file on a Windows 10 system to solve a website address resolution issue?
Answer: B. Notepad
The HOSTS file is a plain text file used for manual DNS resolution, so it can be easily modified using Notepad. Regedit is incorrect because it is used to modify the Windows Registry, not local text configuration files.
Q10. Ahmed, a software developer, enables Developer Mode on his Windows 11 machine to test a custom-built application. After enabling the mode, he notices increased battery drain and occasional security prompts warning about installing unsigned…
Answer: C. Disable Developer Mode when not actively testing the application
Disabling Developer Mode when not testing mitigates security risks and reduces battery drain by restoring default system restrictions. Disabling security warnings is a poor practice because it removes critical alerts against unsigned applications.
Q11. Which of the following types of backups generates the recovered files from a complete copy of a file created at some point in time and one or more partial backups created at later times to merge them into the recovered data?
Answer: A. Synthetic
A synthetic backup is assembled by merging a previous full backup with subsequent incremental backups. The exam cue here is the word merged or synthesized, which distinguishes it from standard differential and incremental backup methods.
Q12. An attacker attempts to crack your Windows password by repeatedly guessing until they either guess your password or try every possible combination. What type of password attack is this?
Answer: C. Brute-force
A brute-force attack systematically tries every possible character combination until the password is found. Dictionary attacks rely on word lists, so they fail against random strings, making brute force the correct choice for exhaustive guessing.
Q13. You are configuring a SOHO network and only denying specific IP addresses from accessing the network while allowing any IP addresses not found on the list. Which of the following should be implemented?
Answer: B. Blocklist
A blocklist explicitly denies specified items while implicitly allowing everything else. An allow list does the exact opposite by explicitly permitting items and blocking the rest, which is not the behavior described in the scenario.
Q14. Jason has an old 2017 Dell Laptop that he uses to connect to his office network while traveling. The computer is slow and is running Windows 7. The laptop's screen was recently cracked and needs replacement. Jason brings the laptop to the…
Answer: A. Purchase a new laptop as the cost to repair might be more than a new laptop
Recommending a new laptop is appropriate when repair costs approach or exceed the device's replacement value. Fixing an obsolete system with an unsupported operating system provides poor long-term value compared to purchasing newer hardware.
Q15. A user contacts the service desk and states a hardware conflict error is showing in their Device Manager. Which of the following log files should you review to determine the source of the conflict?
Answer: B. System log
The system log records operating system level events, including driver failures and hardware conflicts. The application log only tracks program errors, and the security log records audit events like logon attempts, making neither useful for hardware conflicts.
Q16. You have been asked to install a new hard drive in a Windows 10 system. You have already installed the hard drive and booted the system up. Which tool should you use to create the new partitions on the hard drive?
Answer: D. Disk Management
Disk Management is the primary Windows graphical utility used to initialize new drives and create or format partitions. The Disk Defragmenter optimizes existing file storage but cannot create new partitions on unallocated space.
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