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 commands is used on a Linux system to perform an overwrite of an entire hard disk with zeros?. 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 commands is used on a Linux system to perform an overwrite of an entire hard disk with…
- A business is preparing to retire multiple printers, laptops, and storage devices. They must follow environme…
- What type of malicious application does not require user intervention or another application to act as a host…
- Which of the following Windows tools should a technician use to import and install data in the x.509 format?
- After a data breach, your company wants to change the default administrator password on 1,250 workstations. W…
- Which of the following types of remote access technologies should NOT be used in a network due to its lack of…
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 commands is used on a Linux system to perform an overwrite of an entire hard disk with zeros?
Answer: B. dd
The dd command is used to clone disks or wipe data by overwriting block devices with zeros. Basic file operations like cp, rm, and mv cannot write directly to the disk to perform a low-level wipe.
Q2. A business is preparing to retire multiple printers, laptops, and storage devices. They must follow environmental regulations closely. What action ensures adherence to environmental disposal requirements?
Answer: C. Contracting with certified electronics recyclers to manage disposal processes.
Contracting with certified electronics recyclers ensures hardware is disposed of safely according to local environmental regulations. Throwing equipment in standard commercial bins or sending it to landfills violates e-waste rules.
Q3. What type of malicious application does not require user intervention or another application to act as a host to replicate?
Answer: C. Worm
A worm actively self-replicates across networks without requiring user interaction or a host application. Viruses and macro malware require human action, while Trojans disguise themselves inside seemingly harmless applications.
Q4. Which of the following Windows tools should a technician use to import and install data in the x.509 format?
Answer: C. Certificate manager
The Certificate Manager utility imports, exports, and manages digital certificates, including those in the x.509 format. Device Manager strictly handles hardware devices, not software-based cryptographic certificates.
Q5. After a data breach, your company wants to change the default administrator password on 1,250 workstations. What is the easiest way to perform this password change across the network?
Answer: D. Deploy a new group policy
Deploying a new Group Policy Object is the easiest way to mass-update configurations across a Windows domain network. Manually changing settings on 1,250 machines would be highly inefficient and prone to error.
Q6. Which of the following types of remote access technologies should NOT be used in a network due to its lack of security?
Answer: B. Telnet
Telnet transmits data, including passwords, as unencrypted plain text, making it a major security risk. Secure Shell provides encrypted remote management and completely replaces Telnet in corporate networks.
Q7. Which command-line tool on a Windows system is used to display the resulting set of policy settings that were enforced on a computer for a specified user when they logged on?
Answer: D. gpresult
The gpresult command displays the Resultant Set of Policy, showing exactly which Group Policies apply to a specific user. In contrast, gpupdate is only used to force an immediate refresh of these policies.
Q8. A user's tablet OS update repeatedly fails with an 'Update failed' error. The device is connected to Wi-Fi and has 25% battery. The user hasn't updated the OS in several months. What is the best solution to this issue?
Answer: C. Plug the device into a charger and retry the update
Mobile operating system updates require a minimum battery threshold or external power to prevent bricking. Since the tablet only has 25 percent battery, it must be plugged into a charger. Destructive actions like factory resets should always be a last resort.
Q9. You are assisting a member of Dion Training's security team during an incident response. The team member asks you to determine if any strange TCP connections are occurring on a given workstation. You open the command prompt on the workstat…
Answer: B. netstat
The netstat command displays active TCP connections, routing tables, and listening ports, making it ideal for incident response. Tracert shows the path packets take to a destination, while arp and route manage MAC address and routing tables respectively.
Q10. A company wants to upgrade its employees' workstations from Windows 10 to Windows 11. All of the employees' data and files are saved to the company's shared drive. The technician has been told to choose an installation type that will delet…
Answer: D. Clean install
A clean install completely wipes the existing operating system, data, and applications during installation. An in-place upgrade preserves user data and settings, while repair and refresh installations attempt to fix the existing system.
Q11. You are working as part of a penetration testing team during an assessment of a company's headquarters. Your boss has requested that you search the company's recycling bins for any information that might be valuable during the reconnaissan…
Answer: D. Dumpster diving
Dumpster diving involves searching through physical trash or recycling to find sensitive documents and information during reconnaissance. Phishing and whaling are digital email-based attacks, while impersonation involves pretending to be another person.
Q12. A user frequently encounters disruptive advertisements opening in new browser windows when visiting certain websites. Which browser setting would most directly address this issue?
Answer: B. Activating the built-in pop-up blocker feature in the browser settings.
Activating the browser's built-in pop-up blocker directly prevents disruptive advertisement windows from opening automatically. Clearing cookies updates software versions, and disabling extensions are good security practices but do not directly stop website pop-ups.
Q13. David is troubleshooting a new Android application his company is creating. He has installed the app on an Android tablet and needs to see diagnostic information about the app and its network connections while it is running to identify and…
Answer: B. Developer mode
Enabling developer mode unlocks Android diagnostic tools needed to debug applications and inspect network activity. Sideloading only installs the APK, while rooting or jailbreaking grants administrative access that is unnecessary for standard troubleshooting.
Q14. Nicole's smartphone works fine when she is at work or the mall, but she has limited bandwidth on the device when she is in her apartment building. Nicole has asked you to help her. What is the FIRST step you should take in troubleshooting…
Answer: C. Verify the smartphone has adequate signal strength
Checking cellular signal strength first follows standard troubleshooting methodology by identifying the simplest environmental cause. Dropping bars inside an apartment explains the bandwidth drop, making aggressive resets or OS updates premature at this stage.
Q15. Janice called the help desk because her computer will not boot up. After 20 minutes of troubleshooting, the computer is still not working, and Janice tells the technician she feels her time is being wasted. How should the technician respon…
Answer: C. The technician should ask open-ended questions to properly identify the issue by narrowing down the possible symptoms or causes
Asking open-ended questions helps efficiently narrow the scope while showing empathy and professionalism to a frustrated user. Citing strict procedures or dismissing the user can escalate tension rather than resolve the underlying technical issue.
Q16. Which of the following types of encryption uses a 128-bit encryption key but is considered weak due to its use of a 24-bit initialization vector?
Answer: B. WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy uses a 24-bit initialization vector, making its encryption highly vulnerable to compromise. Modern protocols like WPA and WPA2 replaced it, so remember WEP only for legacy contexts on the exam.
Q17. Which of the following backup rotation schemes requires backups to be stored to at least two different types of media?
Answer: A. 3-2-1 backup
The 3-2-1 backup rule specifically requires storing data on two different media types. The other options, such as Grandfather-father-son and Tower of Hanoi, are rotation schemes that dictate tape reuse schedules without enforcing diverse media types.
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