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: Which of the following is the MOST secure wireless security and encryption protocol?. 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 is the MOST secure wireless security and encryption protocol?
- A user reports that every time they try to access https://www.diontraining.com, they receive an error stating…
- Which of the following Windows tools can a technician use to display information about the performance of har…
- Employees must verify the security of websites before submitting confidential client data. Which browser indi…
- Which of the following MacOS features allows you to use multiple desktops or spaces on a single system?
- A programmer is writing a script to calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit when it receives input in Celsius…
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 is the MOST secure wireless security and encryption protocol?
Answer: D. WPA3
WPA3 is the most secure wireless encryption protocol because it uses Simultaneous Authentication of Equals to resist offline dictionary attacks. WPA2 is still widely used but is considered weaker due to known vulnerabilities.
Q2. A user reports that every time they try to access https://www.diontraining.com, they receive an error stating "Invalid or Expired Security Certificate." The technician attempts to connect to the same site from other computers on the networ…
Answer: A. Date and time
Web browsers rely on the local system clock to verify if a website's security certificate falls within its valid date range. If the workstation's date and time are incorrect, the browser will flag valid certificates as expired or invalid.
Q3. Which of the following Windows tools can a technician use to display information about the performance of hardware and software resources in real-time?
Answer: A. resmon.exe
Resource Monitor displays real-time usage of CPU, memory, disk, and network resources. System Information provides static hardware details, while Device Manager is used to manage drivers and hardware configurations.
Q4. Employees must verify the security of websites before submitting confidential client data. Which browser indicator best confirms that the website currently visited has a valid security certificate?
Answer: B. Browser displays a closed padlock icon next to the website address.
A closed padlock icon in the address bar confirms the website is using a valid security certificate to encrypt data. Sites starting with HTTP lack this secure encryption, while clearing cookies only affects local privacy.
Q5. Which of the following MacOS features allows you to use multiple desktops or spaces on a single system?
Answer: C. Mission Control
Mission Control allows macOS users to create and manage multiple virtual desktops, called Spaces, to organize applications efficiently. The Dock manages active applications, and Boot Camp facilitates dual-booting Windows.
Q6. A programmer is writing a script to calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit when it receives input in Celsius. The conversion factor used is 5/9. Which of the following is used to store this fixed conversion factor in the script?
Answer: D. Constant
A constant stores a fixed value that never changes during script execution, making it ideal for mathematical conversion factors. Variables hold data that can change, while loops repeat code blocks throughout the program.
Q7. Which of the following is a common sign that a computer may be infected with malware?
Answer: A. Unexpected pop-ups appear even when no browsers are open.
Unexpected pop-ups appearing without a browser open strongly indicate an adware or malware infection. Requiring manual restarts after updates is a normal software configuration behavior, not a definitive sign of malicious activity.
Q8. A company plans to dispose of numerous outdated laptops and hard drives containing customer financial records. To comply with regulatory requirements, what step must the company take during disposal?
Answer: D. Obtaining certificates of secure data destruction from disposal vendors.
Obtaining a certificate of destruction provides documented proof needed for regulatory compliance. Simple reformatting fails because data can still be recovered, making it insufficient for securely destroying sensitive customer financial records.
Q9. You need to determine where network connectivity is failing between your system and a remote website. Which tool tests the connection and reports on each hop?
Answer: C. tracert
The tracert tool traces the path of packets and reports on each hop to help isolate connectivity failures. Ping is incorrect because it only confirms end-to-end reachability without identifying where the path breaks.
Q10. An instructor explains browser settings in a training session. Which description accurately explains the function of clearing the browser cache?
Answer: B. It deletes stored copies of web pages to force fresh content loading.
Clearing the cache deletes locally stored copies of web pages, forcing the browser to fetch fresh content. Blocking harmful websites relies on security filters, while disabling tracking involves separate privacy settings.
Q11. Dion Training uses Windows 10 Pro workstations in a domain environment. The company wants to allow individual users to encrypt any files or folders they store on the local workstation's internal hard drive. Which of the following security…
Answer: D. Encrypting File System
The Encrypting File System allows individual users to encrypt specific files and folders on an NTFS drive. BitLocker is incorrect because it performs full disk encryption rather than individual file encryption.
Q12. A user complains that their smartphone has become increasingly sluggish over the past few weeks, with noticeable delays when opening apps, switching between applications, and typing messages. The device has 40% available storage space, all…
Answer: A. Applications are running in the background, consuming system resources
The correct answer works because excessive background processes continually drain RAM and CPU cycles, directly causing the progressive sluggishness described. For the exam, remember that local typing delays point to system resources, instantly ruling out network congestion.
Q13. What is the most significant danger of buying mobile applications from sources other than official stores?
Answer: A. Malware or malicious code that compromises device security
Applications from unverified sources often contain malware designed to steal data or compromise the device. While missing automatic updates is a drawback, it does not present the severe security threat posed by embedded malicious code.
Q14. After resetting your password, you're repeatedly prompted for network credentials when accessing shared drives. Which utility fixes this?
Answer: A. Credential Manager
Credential Manager caches network passwords, so outdated entries will constantly cause authentication prompts after a password reset. Updating or deleting the stored credentials resolves the conflict immediately.
Q15. A small business network was recently infected by a piece of malware from a USB drive that copied sensitive data from a computer, infected the system, and then spread across the network by infecting other systems. Which of the following ac…
Answer: B. Disabling AutoRun on the computer
Disabling AutoRun stops the malicious executable from launching automatically the moment the infected USB drive is connected. While strong passwords are good practice, they cannot prevent malware from executing directly via removable media.
Q16. Your company failed a recent security audit. The IT Directory has issued a new policy dictating that all workstations must be locked when not in use for more than 2 minutes. A password must be entered before booting up the operating system…
Answer: A,D,E. Enable BitLocker || Enable a screen lock || Enable a UEFI password
BitLocker handles the hard drive encryption, the screen lock enforces the two-minute timeout, and the UEFI password secures the pre-boot environment. Multifactor authentication is a great security layer but does not directly fulfill these specific mandates.
Q17. Which of the following policies allows an employee to connect their own laptop to the corporate network?
Answer: C. Bring your own device policy
A bring your own device or BYOD policy governs how employees connect personal devices to corporate networks. A remote access policy covers connecting from off-site, but it does not define the use of personal equipment.
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