220-1101-AND-220-1102 Practice Questions

A corporate End-User License Agreement (EULA) is specifically designed for deployment within a large organization. This type of license, often referred to as enterprise or volume licensing, allows for software installation on multiple systems for a large number of users. It aligns with the requirements of a "multiuser environment" and is the standard model for "proprietary software" that includes dedicated "vendor support" and management features essential for a business context. The terms are negotiated to fit the scale and needs of the organization, unlike personal licenses.

B. Perpetual: This describes the license's duration (it does not expire), not the user scope. A corporate license can be perpetual, but this term alone is not a EULA type.

C. Open-source: This is incorrect as the question explicitly states the organization is researching "proprietary software," which has a closed-source, restrictive licensing model.

D. Personal: This license is intended for a single individual's use and is unsuitable for a large organization with a multiuser environment.

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1. CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) Exam Objectives

Version 5.0

Section 1.6. The official objectives list "Types of licenses (e.g.

single-use

corporate

open-source)" as required knowledge

validating "Corporate" as a distinct and relevant license type for the exam.

2. Microsoft Licensing Documentation

"Microsoft Product Terms". Microsoft

a major software vendor

outlines various licensing programs for organizations

such as Enterprise Agreements and Open Value. These programs are examples of corporate EULAs designed for multiuser environments with support

contrasting with licenses for individual consumers. (Refer to the "Licensing Programs" section for commercial customers).

3. Pressman

R. S.

& Maxim

B. R. (2020). Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach (9th ed.). Chapter 28

"Software Project Management

" discusses software acquisition and licensing. It implicitly distinguishes between individual licenses and site/corporate licenses that are necessary for organizational deployment

covering aspects like user count and support levels.

A rootkit is a type of malicious software designed to gain administrative-level control over a computer system while remaining undetected. Due to its deep integration into the operating system (OS), often at the kernel or even firmware level, it can subvert the very security and monitoring tools used to find it. Standard anti-malware software may be rendered ineffective. Therefore, the most thorough and reliable method to ensure complete removal is to completely wipe the system's storage and perform a clean reinstallation of the OS from a trusted, known-good source. This process guarantees the eradication of the rootkit and any associated malware.

A. Application updates are a preventative security measure to patch vulnerabilities but do not remove an existing, deeply embedded infection like a rootkit.

B. Anti-malware software is often ineffective against rootkits, as the rootkit can hide its presence and interfere with the software's ability to scan and remove it.

D. A file restore only replaces specific files and does not address the rootkit's core components, which are integrated into the operating system itself.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2013). Guide to Malware Incident Prevention and Handling for Desktops and Laptops (NIST Special Publication 800-83

Revision 1). In Section 4.4

"Eradication and Recovery

" the document states

"For some incidents

the most effective and efficient way to recover is to reimage the infected hosts. This is particularly true for hosts that have been compromised by rootkits or other advanced malware." (p. 4-6).

2. Stallings

W.

& Brown

L. (2018). Computer Security: Principles and Practice (4th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 6

"Malicious Software

" the text discusses the difficulty of rootkit removal: "Once a rootkit is on a system

detection and removal can be very difficult... it may be necessary to completely reinstall the operating system on a compromised machine." This textbook is widely used in university computer science and cybersecurity curricula.

3. Microsoft Support. (n.d.). Recovery options in Windows. Microsoft's official documentation for end-users and technicians outlines that for severe system corruption or malware infections that cannot be otherwise resolved

the ultimate recovery options are to "Reset this PC" (which reinstalls Windows) or to "Use installation media to reinstall Windows

" which is a clean installation. This is the vendor-recommended procedure for intractable malware like rootkits.

The operating system feature that suspends USB devices to conserve energy is called "USB selective suspend." This is a power-saving setting that is configured within the advanced settings of a specific power plan. The Control Panel utility for managing power plans, including advanced options like USB selective suspend, is Power Options. A technician would navigate to Power Options, select a power plan, go to its advanced settings, and then locate and disable the "USB selective suspend setting" to prevent the OS from powering down USB devices.

A. System: This utility is used for viewing basic computer information, changing the computer name, and accessing performance or remote settings, not for managing power plans.

C. Devices and Printers: This utility is for adding, removing, and managing peripheral devices, but it does not control the system-wide power policies that govern them.

D. Ease of Access: This utility provides accessibility features for users with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments and is unrelated to hardware power management.

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1. Microsoft Corporation. (2021). USB selective suspend. Microsoft Docs. Retrieved from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/usb-selective-suspend. The document states

"The selective suspend feature suspends the USB device... To configure selective suspend

you can use Power Options in Control Panel."

2. Purdue University Information Technology. (n.d.). How do I prevent my computer from turning off my USB devices? ITaP Customer Service. Retrieved from https://support.purdue.edu/goldanswers/162133. The guide provides step-by-step instructions: "1. Open the Control Panel. 2. Click on Power Options... 5. Expand USB settings

then expand USB selective suspend setting. 6. Select Disabled from the drop-down menu." This directly confirms the use of the Power Options utility for this specific task.

The accelerometer is a sensor within a mobile device that measures acceleration and detects the device's orientation relative to gravity. This functionality is essential for the auto-rotate feature of the screen. When a device is dropped, the physical shock can damage sensitive internal components like the accelerometer. Since the software settings for rotation are confirmed to be correct, the failure of the screen to rotate points directly to a hardware issue with the orientation sensor. Therefore, replacing the damaged accelerometer is the correct troubleshooting step to resolve this specific problem.

A. LCD: The LCD is the display screen itself. A failure would manifest as visual defects like cracks, dead pixels, or a blank screen, not a loss of rotation functionality.

B. Battery: The battery is the power source. A damaged battery would cause power-related issues, such as the device not turning on or holding a charge, but it does not affect screen orientation.

D. Digitizer: The digitizer is the touch-sensitive layer over the LCD. If it were damaged, the device would have unresponsive or inaccurate touch input, which is unrelated to screen rotation.

1. CompTIA. (2022). CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1102) Exam Objectives. Version 5.0. Section 1.4

under the "Features" subsection

explicitly lists "Screen orientation (accelerometer/gyroscope)

" directly linking the accelerometer component to the screen orientation feature.

2. Android Developers. (n.d.). Sensors Overview. Google. In the "Motion sensors" section

the documentation states that accelerometers are used to "measure acceleration forces and rotational forces" and are "useful for monitoring device movement

such as tilt

shake

rotation

or swing." This confirms the accelerometer's primary role in detecting orientation changes for screen rotation.

3. Patterson

D. A.

& Hennessy

J. L. (2017). Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface (5th ed.). Morgan Kaufmann. In Chapter 1

Section 1.6

"Trends in Cost

" the text identifies components in a modern smartphone

stating

"MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) chips are used for the accelerometer and gyroscope

which allow the smartphone to sense its orientation" (p. 43).

A successful ping confirms the target desktop is powered on, has a valid IP address, and is reachable over the network. This eliminates general network connectivity, power state, or IP configuration problems. The issue is specific to the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) service. Microsoft Windows 10 Home edition is designed for consumer use and does not include the RDP host feature, meaning it cannot accept incoming Remote Desktop connections. It can only function as an RDP client. In a Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) environment, it is common for computers to have the Home edition installed, making this the most probable cause of the connection failure.

B. A successful ping requires the desktop to have a functional IP address, which it would get from DHCP or a static configuration.

C. The network medium (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) does not inherently block RDP; the successful ping confirms network connectivity is established.

D. A computer in hibernation is in a powered-down state and would not be active on the network to respond to a ping.

1. Microsoft. (n.d.). Compare Windows 10 Home vs Pro. Microsoft. Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compare-windows-10-home-vs-pro. In the feature comparison table under "Business Management and deployment

" the "Remote Desktop" feature is listed as available for Windows 10 Pro but is absent for Windows 10 Home.

2. Microsoft. (n.d.). How to use Remote Desktop. Microsoft Support. Retrieved from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-remote-desktop-5fe128d5-8fb1-7a23-3b8a-41e636865e8c. In the section "Set up the PC you want to connect to

" a note explicitly states

"Remote Desktop is not available in the Windows 10 Home edition." This document also confirms that a PC cannot be connected to if it is asleep or hibernating.

3. University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2023

August 2). Remote Desktop (Win) - Set up a computer to accept remote desktop connections. DoIT KnowledgeBase. KB Article ID: 6996. The article states

"Important: You must have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise to use Remote Desktop. You cannot connect to computers running a Home edition (e.g.

Windows 10 Home)."

The principle of least privilege, a core security concept, dictates that users should only have the permissions essential to perform their job functions. A Standard account is the embodiment of this principle in a Windows environment. It allows a user to run applications, manage their own files, and change settings that affect only their user profile. For tasks requiring elevated permissions, such as installing software or changing system-wide configurations, User Account Control (UAC) will prompt for an administrator's credentials. This allows necessary tasks to be performed without granting the user permanent, excessive administrative rights, thus adhering strictly to the corporate policy.

A. Power user account: This is a deprecated user group from older Windows versions that grants more privileges than a standard user, violating the principle of least privilege.

C. Guest account: This account is severely restricted, intended for temporary, one-time users, and cannot be used for regular work or application configuration.

D. Administrator account: This account provides complete control over the system, which is an unnecessary security risk and a direct violation of the least privilege policy.

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1. Microsoft Documentation

"Local Accounts": "Standard users have pre-assigned privileges and permissions that allow them to be productive. They can create and manage their own profile

run applications

and use peripherals like printers... By default

standard users can install applications that only install for their user account." This document outlines the capabilities of a standard account

which align with the user's needs without violating least privilege.

Source: Microsoft Learn

"Local Accounts

" updated September 15

2023.

2. NIST Special Publication 800-53 Rev. 5

"Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations": Control AC-6 Least Privilege states

"The principle of least privilege is applied to user accounts... The information system enforces the most restrictive set of rights

permissions

or privileges needed for users... to perform their authorized tasks." This publication from a major standards body directly defines the policy mentioned in the question.

Source: Page 101

Control AC-6

National Institute of Standards and Technology

September 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-53r5

3. MIT OpenCourseWare

"6.858 Computer Systems Security

Fall 2014": Lecture 1

"Introduction and Threat Models

" introduces fundamental security design principles. It states

"Principle of least privilege: give each component the minimum privilege required to perform its task." This academic source establishes least privilege as a foundational concept in system security design

which is being implemented by the systems administrator.

Source: Section 2

"Security design principles

" MIT OpenCourseWare

6.858 Computer Systems Security

Fall 2014.

The S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) error is the critical piece of information. S.M.A.R.T. is a hardware-level monitoring system built into storage drives to detect and report on various indicators of reliability, with the primary goal of anticipating failures. A logged S.M.A.R.T. error is a direct warning of impending hardware failure. The subsequent "no OS found" message indicates the system's BIOS/UEFI could not locate or read the operating system from the storage device. The combination of a predictive hardware failure warning (S.M.A.R.T. error) followed by the inability to access the OS makes physical drive failure the most likely cause.

A. Boot order: An incorrect boot order is a BIOS/UEFI configuration issue and would not cause the drive's hardware to report a S.M.A.R.T. error.

B. Malware: Malware is a software issue. While it can corrupt boot files, it does not trigger hardware-specific S.M.A.R.T. alerts from the drive itself.

D. Windows updates: A failed operating system update is a software problem and is unrelated to the physical health monitoring that generates a S.M.A.R.T. error.

1. Pinheiro

E.

Weber

W. D.

& Barroso

L. A. (2007). Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population. 5th USENIX Conference on File and Storage Technologies (FAST '07). Section 4

"Analysis of SMART data

" discusses the correlation between specific S.M.A.R.T. parameters and the increased probability of drive failure.

2. Dell Inc. (2024). How to Troubleshoot Hard Drive or Solid-State Drive Issues on a Dell Computer. Dell Knowledge Base Article: 000132321. In the section "What are the symptoms of a hard drive failure?"

the article explicitly lists "S.M.A.R.T. (also called SMART) errors" as a primary symptom.

3. University of Washington

IT Connect. Hard Drive Failure: Warning Signs and Solutions. This document lists "S.M.A.R.T. Status is BAD" as a key warning sign that a hard drive is about to fail

advising users to back up data immediately.

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer (RFB) protocol to remotely control another computer. It is platform-independent and has a long history of use on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux, making it a standard and natively supported tool for remote graphical administration. A technician can use a VNC client to connect to a VNC server running on the user's Linux desktop, allowing the technician to see and interact with the user's graphical session directly to perform troubleshooting tasks.

B. MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is a security method that requires multiple forms of verification to grant access; it is not a remote connection tool.

C. MSRA (Microsoft Remote Assistance) is a remote assistance tool specifically designed for and integrated into the Microsoft Windows operating system.

D. RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft primarily for Windows. While RDP servers exist for Linux, VNC is more traditionally considered a native solution.

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1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Documentation. (2023). Configuring and managing virtualization

Chapter 10. Sharing desktops using VNC. Red Hat Customer Portal. This official vendor documentation details the configuration of VNC as a primary method for sharing graphical desktops on a major enterprise Linux distribution.

2. Limoncelli

T. A.

Hogan

C. J.

& Chalup

S. R. (2017). The Practice of System and Network Administration (3rd ed.). Addison-Wesley Professional. In Chapter 13

"Remote Access

" Section 13.4.2 "GUI-Based Remote Login

" the text describes VNC as a "cross-platform GUI-based remote login system" and contrasts it with Microsoft's RDP

highlighting VNC's common usage in Unix/Linux environments.

3. University of Illinois

Technology Services. (n.d.). Answers: Remote Desktop - VNC for Linux. This university IT documentation provides instructions for setting up and using VNC on Linux systems

demonstrating its role as a standard tool for remote graphical access in an academic and enterprise setting.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the standard technology for providing secure remote access to a private network over a public one, like the internet. It establishes an encrypted tunnel between the remote employee's device and the corporate network's VPN concentrator. This tunnel encrypts all data traffic, ensuring confidentiality and integrity, and makes the remote device appear as if it is on the local corporate network, granting it secure access to internal resources such as the intranet.

A. Password-protected Wi-Fi only secures the local wireless link between the user's device and their local router, not the connection across the internet to the company.

B. Port forwarding is used to direct external traffic to a specific device on an internal network, which can create security vulnerabilities and does not provide a secure, comprehensive connection to the entire intranet.

D. A perimeter network (or DMZ) is a buffer subnetwork that hosts external-facing services, isolating them from the secure internal network. It is designed to protect the intranet, not grant remote users access to it.

1. Microsoft Corporation. (2023). What is VPN? How it works

types of VPN. Microsoft Learn. In the section "How does a VPN work?"

it states

"A VPN works by creating an encrypted connection over the internet from a device to a network... This secure connection helps ensure that sensitive data is safely transmitted."

2. Carnegie Mellon University. (n.d.). Virtual Private Network (VPN). Computing Services. Retrieved from cmu.edu. The documentation states

"A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides a secure connection between your computer and the campus network from a remote location." This exemplifies the primary use case for VPNs in an organizational context.

3. Dordal

P. L. (2019). An Introduction to Computer Networks (2nd ed.). Chapter 14

Network Security. In section 14.7

"Virtual Private Networks

" the text describes VPNs as a mechanism to "allow the computers of a given site to connect to the private network for that site via a secure 'tunnel' through the Internet."

4. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2020). Guide to Enterprise Telework

Remote Access

and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Security (NIST Special Publication 800-46 Rev. 2). In Section 3.2.1

"Virtual Private Networks

" it is stated that "A VPN provides a virtual network connection that encapsulates and encrypts traffic... This allows a remote host to securely access resources on its organization’s network as if the host were physically connected to the network." (Page 15).

The request for a "certificate of destruction" implies a need for the highest level of assurance that data is unrecoverable. This is best achieved through physical destruction of the storage media. Drilling holes through the hard drive's platters and incinerating the drive are both forms of physical destruction. These methods physically damage or destroy the magnetic platters where data is stored, rendering any form of data recovery impossible. Certified data destruction companies commonly use these methods and provide certificates as proof of secure disposal.

A. Standard formatting: This method only removes the file system's pointers to the data, leaving the actual data intact and easily recoverable with common software tools.

C. Erasing: This term is ambiguous. While secure erasing (overwriting) is a valid sanitization method, physical destruction is more definitive and often required for a certificate of destruction.

D. Recycling: This is a method of disposal, not data destruction. Drives must be securely sanitized or destroyed before being sent for recycling to prevent data breaches.

F. Low-level formatting: This process is more thorough than standard formatting but is not considered a secure destruction method against advanced recovery techniques and is often not user-accessible on modern drives.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (December 2014). Special Publication 800-88 Revision 1

Guidelines for Media Sanitization. U.S. Department of Commerce.

Section 2.5

"Destroy": "Destroy techniques are the ultimate form of sanitization... The media is not reusable for data storage." (p. 8).

Table A-1

"Minimum Sanitization Recommendations - Magnetic Disks": For media containing high-impact or classified information

the recommended action is "Destroy (Disintegrate

Pulverize

Melt

or Incinerate)." Drilling is a form of disintegration. (p. 49).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-88r1

2. University of Michigan

Information and Technology Services. (n.d.). Sensitive Data Guide: Securely Deleting Data.

Section: "Physical Destruction": "The most secure method of deleting data is to physically destroy the media on which it is stored... Examples of physical destruction include... Drilling holes through a hard drive." This source validates physical destruction

specifically drilling

as a top-tier method.

3. Stanford University. (n.d.). Data Sanitization and Disposal. University IT.

Section: "Physical Destruction": The document lists "Physical destruction (e.g.

shredding

pulverizing)" as an approved method for sanitizing university-owned devices

reinforcing its status as a best practice in an academic and institutional setting.