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: Jennifer contacts the help desk, reporting that their smartphone's data usage has significantly increased over the past . Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- Jennifer contacts the help desk, reporting that their smartphone's data usage has significantly increased ove…
- A coworker is creating a file containing a script. You look over their shoulder and see "#!/bin/bash" as the…
- Which of the following actions should you take to prevent someone from connecting to your wireless network wi…
- Susan is installing several updates on a Windows computer. Nine of the updates were installed without any iss…
- What is the primary function of a pop-up blocker?
- You are troubleshooting an issue with multiple workstations that are having network connectivity issues. The…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. Jennifer contacts the help desk, reporting that their smartphone's data usage has significantly increased over the past few days without any change in usage habits. They have received several notifications warning that they are nearing the…
Answer: D. Uninstall the mentioned application and run a mobile malware scan
Uninstalling the suspicious application and running a malware scan directly targets the root cause of the excessive data usage. Switching to Wi-Fi or increasing the data limit only masks the symptoms without removing the malware.
Q2. A coworker is creating a file containing a script. You look over their shoulder and see "#!/bin/bash" as the first line in the file. Based on this, what type of file extension should this script use?
Answer: D. .sh
The .sh extension is used for Bash shell scripts in Linux and macOS. The shebang line directs the system to use the Bash interpreter, making Python or batch file extensions incorrect for this specific script.
Q3. Which of the following actions should you take to prevent someone from connecting to your wireless network without the proper WPA3 password?
Answer: A. Disable WPS
Disabling WPS prevents attackers from exploiting its vulnerable PIN feature to bypass your WPA3 password. Disabling the SSID broadcast hides the network name but does not stop someone who already knows it.
Q4. Susan is installing several updates on a Windows computer. Nine of the updates were installed without any issues, but one update produced an error and failed to install. Susan restarts the computer as part of the troubleshooting process, a…
Answer: D. Research the error number for the failed update and determine if there is a known issue with this update
When a Windows update repeatedly fails, researching the specific error code is the best next step to identify known issues or required prerequisites. Reviewing the Event Viewer is a valid troubleshooting step, but it is less direct than simply looking up the exact error number provided by the failed update.
Q5. What is the primary function of a pop-up blocker?
Answer: C. It stops unwanted new windows or advertisements from opening automatically.
A pop-up blocker prevents unwanted browser windows or advertisements from opening automatically while you navigate the web. Options involving cookies, browsing history, or insecure website redirects address general privacy and security settings rather than specifically stopping intrusive pop-up windows.
Q6. You are troubleshooting an issue with multiple workstations that are having network connectivity issues. The network also has two servers connected to the network, but they do not have any connectivity issues. You look at the network confi…
Answer: A. The workstations are most likely configured to use dynamically assigned IP addresses and DHCP is not working properly
Because the servers with static IP addresses are working fine but the workstations are not, a DHCP server failure is the most likely cause. If the internet or router was down, the statically assigned servers would also lose connectivity, which eliminates those options.
Q7. A user's Android smartphone is becoming sluggish and slow to load applications. Which of the following should you perform FIRST to fix this problem?
Answer: A. Close all of the running applications
Closing background apps is the fastest first step to free up memory on a sluggish phone. A factory reset is too disruptive for an initial troubleshooting step. If issues persist after closing apps, rebooting the device clears remaining processes.
Q8. A technician is troubleshooting a slow system where applications frequently freeze. Task Manager shows that 90% of RAM is in use, while CPU and disk usage remain low. What is the best way to improve performance?
Answer: B. Increase the system's RAM to provide more available memory for applications.
When RAM is nearly maxed out, the system slows down by relying on sluggish virtual memory. Adding more physical RAM resolves this memory bottleneck. Upgrading the CPU or hard drive will not help since their usage is already low.
Q9. A user sees a full-screen 'virus detected' alert while browsing. Clicking the removal button is blocked by the content filter. What MOST likely occurred?
Answer: A. The user is the victim of a rogue antivirus attack
A fake alert trying to scare the user into clicking or paying is a rogue antivirus attack. An outdated antivirus typically operates silently. Ransomware explicitly locks files and demands payment rather than displaying basic pop-ups.
Q10. The network administrator noticed that the border router has high network capacity loading during non-working hours. This excessive load is causing outages for the company's web servers. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of t…
Answer: A. Distributed DoS
High traffic causing web server outages indicates a distributed denial of service attack. DDoS floods bandwidth using multiple systems. Session hijacking targets individual user connections, while ARP spoofing affects local network traffic.
Q11. Which type of security measure is used to control access to an area by using a retina scan?
Answer: B. Biometric
Retina scans are a biometric control because they use unique biological characteristics for authentication. An optical reader is hardware, while two-factor combines different authentication factors. Cipher locks use mechanical keypads.
Q12. A complaint is received at the helpdesk claiming that when connecting multiple USB devices (a mouse, keyboard, and external hard drive) to their desktop computer, a user receives a "USB Controller Resource Exceeded" warning. Some devices s…
Answer: B. Use a powered USB hub for the external devices
A powered USB hub provides additional electrical power to connected devices, which can resolve resource warnings. However, the warning specifically indicates controller exhaustion, where adding a hub with its own controller might be required to resolve endpoint limits.
Q13. After removing malware from a Windows computer, a few valid websites still connect to malicious sites instead of the valid website. This occurs on all three of the computer's browsers. Scans using the updated antivirus show that new infect…
Answer: B. Verify the hosts.ini file has not been maliciously modified
Persistent redirection across all browsers strongly points to a modified hosts file. Attackers edit this file to override DNS and reroute specific domains to malicious IP addresses, which standard antivirus scans might not restore.
Q14. During a power outage, which security control protecting a server room would still function?
Answer: A. Door locks
Traditional mechanical door locks do not require electricity to secure a facility, making them reliable during a power outage. Be careful with exam wording, as modern fail-safe electronic locks unlock when power is lost, while fail-secure locks stay locked, but a standard deadbolt needs no power.
Q15. Dion Training uses a patch management server to control the distribution and installation of security patches. A technician needs to configure a new Windows 10 workstation to not perform Windows Updates automatically. Which of the followin…
Answer: B. Services
The Services tab in Task Manager allows a technician to quickly start, stop, or disable background services like Windows Update. While Services is technically correct, the Services console or Group Policy is the preferred administrative tool for permanently disabling this specific update behavior.
Q16. A user connects to public WiFi but sees a question mark icon on the device's toolbar. Webpages won't load, though phone calls work. What is MOST likely the issue?
Answer: D. The smartphone is connected to the FreeAirportWifi but is not authenticated yet
The question mark indicates a Wi-Fi connection without internet access, typical of a public captive portal. The user must open a browser to authenticate. Phone calls working means cellular hardware is fine, ruling out SIM or data plan issues.
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