CompTIA A+ Certification ( Part 2 of 2)

Explore server roles like web, mail, file, and print servers, plus authentication with Active Directory, and see how DNS, DHCP, proxy, and MX records interconnect.

Explore internet appliances, including unified threat management devices, intrusion detection systems, and intrusion prevention system, and how legacy and embedded devices stay protected.

Learn how open source software is licensed for public study, modification, and distribution. Modify existing code or distribute changes under the license to use and learn from the technology.

Explore closed source software by understanding how its source code isn't released under a license, preventing public study, modification, or redistribution.

Explore how mobile devices determine screen orientation using accelerometers for tilt detection, magnetometer for Earth's magnetic fields, and gyroscopes for rotation, often combined to handle tilt and rotation.

Explore mobile operating system features such as screen calibration, gps tracking, wifi-based virtual assistants, emergency notifications without carrier service, and mobile payment services on Android and iPhone.

Mobile device hotspots act as wireless routers, connecting multiple devices (up to five, sometimes ten) to the internet over a cellular network, with service dependent on your carrier and location.

Learn how to tether a mobile device to share cellular data with a laptop using wifi hotspot or USB tethering, and understand how calls can interrupt internet access.

For CompTIA A+ certification, this module explains how airplane mode disables all wireless communications, and how to selectively disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to keep essential devices connected.

Learn to set up mobile email across devices and providers by entering your email address, password, and server settings for exchange, imap, or pop.

Compare imei and imsi as unique mobile identifiers, explain their formats with mobile country and network codes, and show how a phone number maps to these identities.

Explore mobile data synchronization and how cloud-based Office 365 presentations stay synchronized across iPhone, PC, and desktop folders through third-party providers like iCloud and Google Apps.

Explore malware, including viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, and how such software operates without your approval, copying data or creating attacker login accounts. Learn types and prevention strategies.

Explore virus, worm, trojan, logic bomb, spyware, adware, and rootkits. Learn how social engineering, spam, and zero-click attacks compromise systems.

Learn how social engineering manipulates people to reveal credentials through shoulder surfing, spoofing, impersonation, hoaxes, phishing, whaling, spear phishing, and spam.

Identify physical security threats from internal sources, such as disgruntled employees, and external risks; ensure backups and secure server-room access to prevent data loss.

Identify and explain common wireless security threats, including rogue access points, evil twins, interference, bluejacking, blue snarfing, wardriving, and IV/WEP weaknesses, plus packet sniffing.

Explore physical security measures, including access controls such as badge readers on doors, and protecting power and fire suppression systems from intrusions and outages.

Address internal security threats by logging visitors and verifying employee IDs, and enforce access controls; deploy cameras, alarms, and physical barriers to deter intruders and protect assets.

Learn how antivirus scans files, emails, and data for virus signatures, and why updates lag behind new threats. Explore firewalls, anti-spyware, weak authentication, least privilege, and multi-factor authentication.

Antivirus software protects personal computers, but new viruses may evade detection until signatures update; live scanning helps catch threats, though installs may require temporary disablement.

Explore anti-spyware software that detects spyware by monitoring connections and running programs to prevent keystroke capture and screenshots. Learn how signatures help identify, eliminate, quarantine, or report these threats.

Compare firewall options, including software on workstations and network appliances, which filter traffic, block connections, and in next-generation models identify applications and users while scanning for spyware, antivirus, and vulnerabilities.

Learn to prevent social engineering by implementing top-down security policies that protect users, train staff to refuse sharing usernames and passwords, and recognize risks like shoulder surfing.

Explore methods to sanitize hard drives before disposal or resale, including degaussing, data overrides, physical destruction, and recycling.

Formatting a drive only erases the file system table; data remains and can be recovered with forensic tools. Use zeroing, degaussing, or physical destruction to securely dispose of drives.

Explore physical destruction methods for computer media, including shredding, hard drive shredders, drilling holes, and degaussing with electromagnetic waves to wipe data, better than garbage disposal.

Explore how a corporate security policy acts as a blueprint, guiding security direction from the top down and shaping standards and procedures for enforcing good practices.

Use incident reports to quickly escalate security breaches, trigger a response team, document findings and actions, and uphold formal policies to protect information and reduce liability.

Apply the principle of least privilege to give users only the access they need to do their jobs, protecting information, hardware, software, and shared resources from permission creep.

Learn why long passwords are better than short complex ones. See how hashes protect passwords and how rainbow tables, dictionary lists, and brute-force attacks threaten security.

Educate users to prevent security breaches by raising awareness of impersonation attempts to obtain passwords; promote security awareness through memos and courses that explain hazards and common attempts.

Explore common user security practices, from physical access controls and preventing tailgating and piggybacking to system, social networking, and device security that protect passwords and user data.

Explore authentication methods by using something you know, something you have, and something you are. See how tokens and biometrics enable multi-factor authentication amid social engineering and tailgating risks.

Discover Windows security policies, including local and account policies, to enforce password length and complexity, and manage application installation and firewall rules for workstation security.

Windows firewall is built into many versions, from XP SP2 onward, with default settings that block apps until opened, and it controls inbound and outbound traffic, complemented by antivirus.

The lecture explains how the software firewall on the local system manages inbound and outbound access with global security level, using rules, filters, port forwarding, and NAT for address translation.

Lock your workstation before leaving and sign out or use shortcut keys to prevent unauthorized access. Remove deprecated accounts, install patches promptly, and educate users about security policies.

Encrypt folders using NTFS to protect data, with decryption tied to your username and password. Configure user account control, internet security levels, and local security policy to strengthen workstation defenses.

Learn how to manage users and groups to assign rights and permissions efficiently, compare administrator and power user roles, and apply group-based access across workstations and servers.

Learn NTFS and share permissions and the allow/deny model, including how denial overrides and how authentication governs access, plus protection with BitLocker and ESFS.

Use strong passwords to resist dictionary attacks, enforce expiration, and change default usernames such as administrator. Enable screen saver passwords, BIOS passwords, and hard drive encryption to protect your files.

Apply security in account management by restricting user permissions and enforcing login time windows. Use guest accounts, lockout policies after failed attempts, and timeouts to ensure re-authentication on Windows.

Lock your mobile workspace before you walk away to prevent pocket dialing and access, and use a screen lock with password, fingerprint, or face recognition to protect apps and data.

Explore remote security for mobile devices, including remote wipe, device lock, locate features, and remote backup of apps and settings; beware login restrictions and encryption risks to protect data.

Physically destroy hard drives to ensure data cannot be recovered, using shredding, drilling, degaussing, or incineration, and obtain a certificate of destruction to transfer liability.

Explore Windows startup repair and troubleshooting tools, including recovery console, fixmbr, fixboot, sfc, repair disk, system restore, Windows PE, MSConfig, Regedit, Event Viewer, Safe Mode, and remote desktop.

Reveals how the blue screen of death signals a Windows crash and creates a memory dump for diagnostics while locking users out to protect data as a fail-closed system.

Identify system lockup errors caused by unresponsive explorer.exe and gray windows. End the explorer process in Task Manager, then restart it via command line to rebuild the display.

Diagnose common input/output device issues by inspecting physical connections for loose cables, debris, or water spills, and update drivers or correct misconfigured display settings to restore communications.

Explores common application errors from installation permissions, antivirus and security policies to startup failures, process conflicts, memory issues, and working directory access, with troubleshooting cues.

Examine how the power on self-test checks hardware and the OS location to boot, and diagnose boot failures such as invalid boot disk, missing system files, and safe mode needs.

Identify common operating system symptoms of failures: sluggish performance from memory or drive issues, driver and controller failures, shutdown problems, and BIOS or RAID compatibility concerns.

Explore how to navigate Event Viewer logs in computer management, filter data, read system log severity levels, and drill into entries to identify processes, users, and remote connectivity details.

Explore registry error messages, learn how misconfigurations trigger issues, see event logs, and use restore points and backups to revert registry changes, following Microsoft knowledge base steps.

connect to a remote computer via remote desktop to troubleshoot, enable remote desktop or remote assistance, choose version options, and secure sessions with encryption and certificates.

Diagnose common network issues that break connectivity, from cables to routers and service providers. Understand IP configurations, DHCP failures, IP conflicts, and interference that hinder internet access.

Explain how ip conflicts occur when two devices share the same ip, and how layer 2 ethernet uses mac addresses for forwarding, with arp broadcasts resolving addresses and ensuring uniqueness.

Explore essential network troubleshooting utilities, including ipconfig, ping, tracert, DNS lookup, netstat, and net commands, to verify connectivity and system settings from the command line.

Test cables with a tester, then use punch down tools, toner probes, wire strippers, and a crimper to repair, while locating wireless access points to detect rogue aps or interference.

Test connectivity with ping, adjust packet size with -L and use -T for continuous ping to spot delays. Map paths with trace route and verify DNS resolution with nslookup.

Learn about common security issues like deceptive pop-ups, malware, rogue links, DNS poisoning, spam, hijacked accounts, and risky security alerts, and how to recognize and respond to them.

Identify malware symptoms, including disabled system restore, and quarantine infected systems to prevent spread. Remediate with antivirus or reimage when needed, using backups and restore points to minimize downtime.

Learn to remove malware safely by using trusted sources for anti-malware tools, keep antivirus software enabled, scan email attachments, and understand malware types and symptoms.

Explore security troubleshooting tools, including anti-malware software, backups, system restore, and Event Viewer logs, and learn how pre-installation environments and a perfect image prevent virus spread.