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: Your company's wireless network was recently compromised by an attacker who utilized a brute force attack against the ne. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- Your company's wireless network was recently compromised by an attacker who utilized a brute force attack aga…
- Jason is using a Windows 10 workstation in the Dion Training conference room. The workstation is acting extre…
- You are cleaning out the closet in your office and find several bottles of cleaner that need to be disposed o…
- Help desk technicians use an AI-driven tool to generate troubleshooting guides for common IT issues. After im…
- You are troubleshooting a computer that is operating slowly. Which of the following tools should you use to t…
- John is a PC technician. To perform his job, he needs to be able to install and remove programs, modify syste…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. Your company's wireless network was recently compromised by an attacker who utilized a brute force attack against the network's PIN to gain access. Once connected to the network, the attacker modified the DNS settings on the router and spr…
Answer: D,F. Default administrative login credentials || WPS enabled
Wi-Fi Protected Setup uses an easily brute-forced PIN, and default credentials let attackers modify router settings. While outdated firmware is risky, it does not specifically explain the PIN-based initial access described.
Q2. Jason is using a Windows 10 workstation in the Dion Training conference room. The workstation is acting extremely slow and he suspects there are other accounts logged on to the workstation. Which of the following features in the Task Manag…
Answer: A. Users
The Task Manager Users tab displays all active user sessions on the workstation. The Processes tab shows running applications, but it does not cleanly identify the different logged-in user accounts.
Q3. You are cleaning out the closet in your office and find several bottles of cleaner that need to be disposed of. Which of the following should you consult to determine the proper method of disposal?
Answer: D. MSDS
A Material Safety Data Sheet, now commonly called a Safety Data Sheet, provides safe handling and disposal instructions for chemical products. SOW and MOU documents outline project scopes and business agreements, not chemical hazards.
Q4. Help desk technicians use an AI-driven tool to generate troubleshooting guides for common IT issues. After implementation, users report that some instructions contain incorrect software commands or outdated procedures, leading to failed tr…
Answer: D. Inaccuracies
The generated guides contain incorrect or outdated procedures, which directly describes an issue with AI inaccuracies. Hallucination involves the AI generating entirely fabricated content rather than simply relying on outdated information.
Q5. You are troubleshooting a computer that is operating slowly. Which of the following tools should you use to troubleshoot this workstation?
Answer: B. Performance monitor
Performance Monitor tracks detailed system resource usage over time to help identify bottlenecks causing poor performance. Device Manager is only used to manage hardware drivers, while Task Scheduler automates routine background tasks.
Q6. John is a PC technician. To perform his job, he needs to be able to install and remove programs, modify system files, and change user permissions on the Windows workstation in his office. Which of the following types of user account types…
Answer: B. Administrator
An administrator account has the necessary permissions to modify system files, change user permissions, and install applications. Power Users have limited administrative abilities and cannot modify core operating system files.
Q7. A user's desktop computer shows consistently high CPU and network utilization (90-100%) even when no applications are visibly running. In addition the computer has become noticeably slower. Network monitoring reveals the computer is making…
Answer: B. The computer has been compromised and is participating in a botnet DDoS attack
High resource usage combined with thousands of unexpected outbound connections indicates the machine is part of a botnet. Corrupted drivers or standard Windows updates typically connect to specific vendor servers, not random IP addresses.
Q8. You recently moved 1.5 TB of data from your office's file server to a new 16 TB NAS and decommissioned the old file server. You verified all users had been given the same permissions to the new file shares on the NAS as they had on the old…
Answer: D. The users are still mapped to the old share drive
The error indicates the desktop shortcut still points to the decommissioned server rather than the new NAS. Users need their drive mappings updated to reflect the new network share path and resolve the access issue.
Q9. A user reports that a specific social media app on their Android phone has been crashing immediately upon launch for the past two days. Other apps function normally, the device has adequate storage space, and the app was working fine earli…
Answer: C. Clear the application's cache and data
Clearing the application cache and data removes corrupted temporary files that commonly cause single apps to crash on launch. Reinstalling the app is a more disruptive step best reserved if clearing the cache fails.
Q10. Jason checks the Dion Training server room and finds that it currently has over 80% humidity. Which of the following risks to the servers could occur due to this high humidity level?
Answer: D. Corrosion of the servers
High humidity introduces excess moisture into the air, which leads to condensation and component corrosion. Low humidity creates the opposite problem, increasing the risk of accidental electrostatic discharge around sensitive electronics.
Q11. A smartphone user notices that their phone gets very hot, and their battery is draining quickly. Even when the phone is in their pocket, the phone gets hot to the touch. What is likely the problem?
Answer: B. The smartphone is using a lot of processing power
A device generating excessive heat and draining its battery quickly in your pocket indicates runaway background processes or malware using heavy processing power. A faulty charging port would only cause issues while plugged in, making it the strongest distractor here.
Q12. What is the native file system format used by Windows 10 during installation?
Answer: A. NTFS
NTFS is the default and native file system for Windows installations, providing security and large partition support. FAT32 and exFAT are mainly used for external flash drives, while APFS is designed specifically for Apple operating systems.
Q13. A customer is complaining that her laptop is too slow. You have thoroughly checked the device but cannot find anything wrong with it. Which of the following is the best thing to say NEXT?
Answer: A. "Can you tell me more about the problem? What do you mean by 'it is acting slow'?"
Asking an open-ended question clarifies the customer issue without being dismissive or defensive, adhering to troubleshooting best practices. Telling a customer nothing is wrong dismisses their concern, which violates professional communication standards.
Q14. Joanne is having a drink at a coffee shop near her office. She takes out her Windows 10 laptop and connects it to the coffee shop's wireless network to check her email. Which type of network should she select to hide their computer from ot…
Answer: A. Public
Selecting the public network profile disables network discovery and file sharing to protect the device on untrusted networks. The private profile is used for trusted networks where you want to share files and discover other devices.
Q15. Which of the following best describes the benefit of instant messaging for workplace collaboration?
Answer: B. Messages are sent instantly, allowing quick communication.
Instant messaging provides real-time communication that allows teams to collaborate efficiently. Unlike asynchronous email, messages appear immediately without delay. Employees can communicate from anywhere over the internet, and chat histories can generally be deleted by users.
Q16. Which of the following would a technician use when trying to find the exact steps required to install a custom software package within their organization?
Answer: A. SOP
A standard operating procedure provides the detailed, step-by-step instructions required to perform routine organizational tasks like software installation. A statement of work defines project deliverables, while an acceptable use policy dictates network usage rules.
Q17. You have just finished installing a new workstation for a user in your office. They need to be able to see the other workstations on the company's workgroup. Which of the following settings should you ensure is enabled?
Answer: D. Enable network discovery
Enabling network discovery allows a Windows workstation to find other computers and devices on the network. While file sharing lets users exchange data, discovery is the specific feature required to visually browse neighboring workstations in the network directory.
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