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: Peggy reaches out to inform the support desk that her smartphone suddenly has no internet connectivity despite being con. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- Peggy reaches out to inform the support desk that her smartphone suddenly has no internet connectivity despit…
- A coffee shop owner wants to block a specific customer's device from the WiFi network. Which configuration bl…
- Why might a user choose to disable browser extensions?
- Your company hires 10 college interns each summer for 8 weeks who return annually. What is the BEST policy to…
- A company has had several virus infections over the past few months. The root cause was determined to be know…
- A technician wants to conduct a vulnerability scan on a server every morning at 3:00 am. Which of the followi…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. Peggy reaches out to inform the support desk that her smartphone suddenly has no internet connectivity despite being connected to a Wi-Fi network. Other devices connected to the same network work fine. She mentions receiving an unusual not…
Answer: D. Investigate for malware and run a full security scan on the device
Sudden connectivity loss paired with a high traffic warning strongly indicates malware hijacking the network interface. Basic steps like toggling airplane mode or rebooting the router ignore the underlying security threat flagged by the notification.
Q2. A coffee shop owner wants to block a specific customer's device from the WiFi network. Which configuration blocks devices based on their unique hardware identifier?
Answer: C. MAC filtering
MAC filtering blocks or allows network connections based on a device's unique hardware address. Port forwarding or passwords handle broader network routing and access, but they do not target one specific device identifier.
Q3. Why might a user choose to disable browser extensions?
Answer: C. To temporarily improve browser performance or security.
Disabling extensions directly removes background processes and potential vulnerabilities, improving browser performance and security. Extensions do not manage cookies or browser updates, so disabling them won't affect those functions.
Q4. Your company hires 10 college interns each summer for 8 weeks who return annually. What is the BEST policy to allow access during summer while preventing login during the school year?
Answer: A. Disable the user accounts at the end of each summer
Disabling accounts temporarily revokes access while preserving user data for their return. Deleting accounts permanently removes access and configurations, while login hour restrictions only limit daily access.
Q5. A company has had several virus infections over the past few months. The root cause was determined to be known vulnerabilities in the software applications in use by the company. What should an administrator implement to prevent future out…
Answer: D. Patch management
Patch management directly fixes known software vulnerabilities by applying updates. Policies and detection systems might warn or guide users, but they do not eliminate the underlying code flaws.
Q6. A technician wants to conduct a vulnerability scan on a server every morning at 3:00 am. Which of the following tools should the technician use?
Answer: C. Task scheduler
Task Scheduler automates scripts and applications to run at specific times like 3:00 AM. Event Viewer reviews past logs, while MSConfig manages startup items, not scheduled scans.
Q7. Which of the following commands can be used to install software on a Linux system?
Answer: D. yum
The yum command is a package manager used to install, update, and remove software on RPM-based Linux distributions. For the exam, associate yum and apt with package installation, while commands like grep and cat are used for reading and searching text.
Q8. An IT supervisor is training new technicians about regulatory compliance during electronic disposal. Which of the following actions accurately aligns with regulatory best practices?
Answer: B. Recycling electronic equipment through certified disposal service providers.
Using certified disposal service providers ensures proper hardware recycling and adherence to environmental compliance standards. Donating equipment without data sanitization poses a significant security risk and violates data privacy regulations.
Q9. A team is working on a shared document, but some users say their edits are disappearing. What is the most likely cause?
Answer: A. Multiple users are overwriting changes at the same time.
When multiple users edit a shared document simultaneously, they can easily overwrite each other's changes if collaboration features are not syncing properly. Modern word processors do not automatically reset to older versions or have a strict limit on saved edits.
Q10. Which of the following regulations or standards applies to credit card transactions?
Answer: B. PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS, is the specific framework that regulates how credit card transactions are processed and secured. PHI and PII are data classifications, not regulatory standards themselves.
Q11. A user returns from vacation and can't see shared inbox folders in their email client, though they can send/receive email. What MOST likely changed?
Answer: B. The network file share's permission has been modified
Email clients often map shared inboxes or archives to network file shares, so if those share permissions change, the folders disappear even though standard mail send and receive still work. Client security settings would usually block all mail synchronization, making that a weaker distractor.
Q12. Which of the following is considered a form of regulated data?
Answer: A. PII
Personally identifiable information, or PII, is a key form of regulated data that technicians must secure according to laws and company policies. The other options are security policies, copyright laws, or protection technologies.
Q13. Your supervisor has requested remote access to a particular server to check on specific data and processes in the evenings and weekends. You are concerned that the server could become infected and want to take some precautions. Which of th…
Answer: D. Install the latest security updates and patches to the server
Installing the latest security patches ensures known vulnerabilities are closed before exposing the server to remote access. Antivirus updates are helpful but secondary to patching critical system exploits.
Q14. What kind of attack is an example of IP spoofing?
Answer: B. On-path attack
An on-path attack intercepts communications between two parties by spoofing identities to appear as a trusted endpoint. However, ARP poisoning also relies heavily on spoofing, making this question slightly ambiguous.
Q15. You're configuring a printer for a small office with 4 computers connected to a 4-port switch/router/modem with no open ports. The network has no servers or domain controller. Which method would BEST allow all computers to access the print…
Answer: A. Configure it as a shared printer connected to one of the four workstations
Connecting the printer to one workstation and sharing it provides a quick fix when all switch ports are occupied. While a dedicated print server is a better enterprise solution, it is unavailable because the office lacks extra hardware.
Q16. A company's new messaging platform causes employees to miss important updates in busy chats. What is the best way to fix this?
Answer: B. Use dedicated channels to keep messages organized.
Dedicated channels organize conversations, keeping important updates visible and preventing them from being buried in busy chat logs. Disabling group chats entirely or simply reducing user counts negatively impacts collaboration without solving the visibility problem.
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