Free Security+ Practice Test Questions

If you're preparing for the Security+ SY0-301 exam, you might like to check your readiness with a few free practice test questions. This page includes six free practice test questions, one from each of the six domains in the Security+ SY0-301 exam.

Practice Test Question 1

Q. What can you use to logically separate computers in two different departments within a company?



A. A hub

B. A VLAN

C. NAT

D. A flood guard



Answer at end of post.

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Practice Test Question 2

Q. Employees in the accounting department are forced to take time off from their duties on a regular basis. What would direct this?



A. Account disablement policy

B. Mandatory vacation policy

C. Job rotation policy

D. Dual accounts for administrators



Answer at end of post.

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Pass the Security+ SY0-301 exam the first time you take it
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide

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Practice Test Question 3

Q. Of the following choices, what best represents an attack against specific employees of a company?



A. Phishing

B. Vishing

C. Spim

D. Spear phishing



Answer at end of post.

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Practice Test Question 4

Q. Your organization hosts several websites accessible on the Internet, and is conducting a security review of these sites. Of the following choices, what is the most common security issue for web-based applications?



A. Input validation

B. Phishing

C. Whaling

D. Social engineering



Answer at end of post.

Realistic practice test questions for the Security+ SY0-301 exam
Available through LearnZapp on your mobile phone

Practice Test Question 5

Q. Which one of the following includes a photo and can be used as identification? (Choose all that apply.)



A. CAC

B. MAC

C. DAC

D. PIV



Answer at end of post.

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Learn by listening
Key points from the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide
Over one hour and 20 minutes of audio from the "Remember This" blocks
Over three hours and 20 minutes of questions and answers on audio

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Practice Test Question 6

Q. What type of key is used to sign an email message?



A. Sender’s public key

B. Sender’s private key

C. Recipient’s public key

D. Recipient’s private key



Answer at end of post.

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These practice test questions are from the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead- SY0-301 Practice Test Questions book. It includes 275 realistic practice test questions with in-depth explanations for the CompTIA Security+ SY0-301 exam. If you've been studying for this exam and want to test your readiness, this book is for you.

It is also available as Kindle ebook for only $9.99 and the Kindle version also includes dozens of flash cards to help you reinforce key testable topics. You can download free Kindle apps from Amazon so that you can access the ebook from just about any platform including:

• Windows PC
• MAC
• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• BlackBerry
• Windows Phone 7

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You may also like to check out these Security+ blogs:

• Active Fingerprinting vs Passive Fingerprinting
• Ports
• Intrusion Detection Systems and Intrusion Prevention Systems
• DoS, Smurf, and Fraggle Attacks
• Three Factors of Authentication and Multifactor Authentication

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SY0-301: Exam Answer 1

Q. What can you use to logically separate computers in two different departments within a company?



A. A hub

B. A VLAN

C. NAT

D. A flood guard



B is correct. A virtual local area network (VLAN) can group several different computers into a virtual network, or logically separate the computers in two different departments.

A is incorrect. A hub doesn’t have any intelligence and can’t separate the computers.

C is incorrect. NAT translates private IP addresses to public IP addresses, and public back to private.

D is incorrect. A flood guard protects against SYN flood attacks.



Objective: 1.2 Apply and implement secure network administration principles

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All Security+ domain objectives are fully explained in the
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide

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SY0-301 Exam: Answer 2

Q. Employees in the accounting department are forced to take time off from their duties on a regular basis. What would direct this?



A. Account disablement policy

B. Mandatory vacation policy

C. Job rotation policy

D. Dual accounts for administrators



Answer B is correct. Mandatory vacation policies require employees to take time away from their job and help to detect fraud or malicious activities.

A is incorrect. An account disablement policy (sometimes called an account expiration policy) specifies when to disable accounts.

C is incorrect. Job rotation policies require employees to change roles on a regular basis.

D is incorrect. Dual accounts for administrators help prevent privilege escalation attacks.



Objective: 2.1 Explain risk related concepts

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SY0-301: Answer 3

Q. Of the following choices, what best represents an attack against specific employees of a company?



A. Phishing

B. Vishing

C. Spim

D. Spear phishing



Answer D is correct. A spear phishing attack targets a specific person or specific groups of people such as employees of a company.

A is incorrect. Phishing sends email to users with the purpose of tricking them into revealing personal information, such as bank account information, but it doesn’t target specific employees of a company.

B is incorrect. Vishing is a form of phishing that uses recorded voice over the telephone.

C is incorrect. Spim is a form of spam using instant messaging (IM).



Objective: 3.2 Analyze and differentiate among types of attacks

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If you're looking for more information on the CompTIA Security+ exam, click here.
The link provides a listing of relevant blogs on the Get Certified Get Ahead site.

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SY0-301: Answer 4

Q. Your organization hosts several websites accessible on the Internet, and is conducting a security review of these sites. Of the following choices, what is the most common security issue for web-based applications?



A. Input validation

B. Phishing

C. Whaling

D. Social engineering



Answer A is correct. Input validation checks input data, but because so many sites do not use it they are vulnerable to buffer overflow, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting attacks.

B is incorrect. Phishing is the practice of sending email to users with the purpose of tricking them into revealing personal information (such as bank account information).

C is incorrect. Whaling is a phishing attack that targets high-level executives.

D is incorrect. Social engineering is the practice of using social tactics to encourage a person to do something or reveal some piece of information.



Objective: 4.1 Explain the importance of application security

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SY0-301 Exam: Answer 5

Q. Which one of the following includes a photo and can be used as identification? (Choose all that apply.)



A. CAC

B. MAC

C. DAC

D. PIV



Answers A and D are correct. A common access card (CAC) and a personal identity verification (PIV) card both include photo identification and function as smart cards.

B and C are incorrect. MAC and DAC are access control models, not photo IDs.



Objective: 5.2 Explain the fundamental concepts and best practices related to authentication, authorization and access control

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Learn by listening
Key points from the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide
Over one hour and 20 minutes of audio from the "Remember This" blocks
Over three hours and 20 minutes of questions and answers on audio

---

SY0-301 Exam: Answer 6

Q. What type of key is used to sign an email message?



A. Sender’s public key

B. Sender’s private key

C. Recipient’s public key

D. Recipient’s private key



Answer B is correct. A digital signature is an encrypted hash of a message, encrypted with the sender’s private key.

A is incorrect. The recipient decrypts the hash using the sender’s public key.

C and D are incorrect. Recipient keys are used with encryption, but not with a digital signature.



Objective: 6.1 Summarize general cryptography concepts, 6.2 Use and apply appropriate cryptographic tools and products

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If you want to take and pass the Security+ exam the first time you take it, check out the
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide.

Success is within your reach.

Active Fingerprinting vs Passive Fingerprinting

If you take the Security+ exam, you may come across the terms active fingerprinting and passive fingerprinting. It's worthwhile knowing the differences between the two. It's also important to realize that fingerprinting in this context is not referring to the biometric method of authentication.

Pass the Security+ exam the first time you take it.
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide

Fingerprinting and Reconnaissance

In this context, fingerprinting refers to identifying specific information about a system. It is often part of a larger reconnaissance attack. Reconnaissance provides a big-picture view of a network or servers in a DMZ. It identifies the IP addresses used in the target network using a method such as an ICMP sweep or a host enumeration sweep. Ping scanners are sometimes used for this step.

Fingerprinting then homes in on individual systems to provide details of each of them. For example, a fingerprinting attack can identify the operating system of the target and in many cases, it can identify the service pack and patches that have been installed. It can also identify the protocols and services that are running on a system and the likely role of the server based on these services. For example, if a server is listening on port 80, it is running the HTTP protocol and is very likely a web server.

When fingerprinting any system, it's useful to know many of the commonly used well-known ports.

Passive Fingerprinting

Passive fingerprinting uses a sniffer (such as Wireshark) to capture traffic sent from a system. It analyzes this traffic to determine what the server is doing. A key point is that passive fingerprinting does not send any traffic to the target system but instead just collects the traffic. With this in mind, passive fingerprinting cannot be done from remote attackers. It can only be done with a sniffer installed in the network.

Realistic practice test questions for the Security+ SY0-301 exam
Available for the Kindle with flash cards to reinforce key testable material
Free Kindle apps from Amazon to run Kindle books on your PC, iPad, or other platforms

Active Fingerprinting

Active fingerprinting uses active techniques to identify the role of a server. Chapters 7 and 8 of the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide covered several methods used with active fingerprinting. They include:

• Xmas attack. This is a specific type of scan that sends specially crafted packets to a system. By analyzing the return packets, the scanner can determine the operating system of the target.
• Port scanning. A port scanner sends queries on specific ports. If the server answers a query on a port, it indicates it is listening on this port. For example, if a system answers a query on port 25, it indicates it is running SMTP and is likely an email server. Additional queries can be sent to the system to verify it is an email server.

These methods are useful for attackers trying to determine the role of remote servers.

Realistic practice test questions for the Security+ exam.
Available through Learnzapp on your mobile phone

Summary

Fingerprinting is used to get details on a specific target. It is often used as part of a larger reconnaissance attack.

The difference between active and passive fingerprinting is that active fingerprinting will send queries to the target and analyze the response. Passive fingerprinting only uses a sniffer to capture and analyze traffic, but never sends traffic to the target.

SSCP Practice Test Questions

If you've been studying for the SSCP exam, you may be looking for a good source of SSCP practice test questions. You'll find that the SSCP Systems Security Certified Practitioner All-in-One Exam Guide covers the content in the exam but I'm hearing that test questions from the studISCope test banks are the most helpful.

(ISC)2 changes the questions in their live test bank regularly and they also update their practice test questions in the studISCope banks. Here's a link: https://www.expresscertifications.com/ISC2/Catalog.aspx.

The SSCP is a good next step for many people that have taken and passed the Security+ exam. It will give you a good idea of what to expect from the premier security certification - CISSP - if you choose to take it. Also, many people have the experience to meet the requirements for SSCP, but not CISSP. As a reminder, the requirements are:

• For the SSCP, you need one year of experience in one the seven (ISC)2 domains.
• For the CISSP, you need five years of experience on one of the ten domains.

Good luck.

Free SQL Server 2012 eBook

Microsoft Press has released a free ebook on SQL Server 2012 titled Introducing SQL Server 2012, by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner. If you're trying to learn some of the new features of SQL Server 2012, this is a great freebie. I haven't read it cover to cover but have noticed that it includes many of the concepts mentioned in the new SQL Server 2012 exams.

It's available in multiple formats:

• PDF format
• Kindle format via Amazon
• As a .mobi file that also works with Kindle
• Sony reader format using .epub

You don't need a Kindle to read and view Kindle books. You can download free apps for most platforms from Amazon here.

You can also buy a paperback copy for $14.99.

Installing Windows Server 8 as Virtual Server

I decided to play around with the beta version of Windows Server 8 and took these notes so you could download and install it on your own. Specifically, these steps will show you how to install a virtual instance of Windows Server 8 on a Windows 7 system.

While these steps will help you install and play around with Windows Server 8, they also let you play around with virtualization which is a topic of growing importance for any certifications.

Windows Server 8

Windows Server 8 is the next server operating system and it’s currently in beta stage. Microsoft has a history of pairing server operating systems with desktop operating systems to fully use the features of both. For comparison, Windows Server 2003 was paired with Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 was paired with Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 R2 was paired with Windows 7.

You can expect to see Windows 8 go live later this year, probably in October. Windows Server 8 will probably be released within three months of Windows 8.

Virtual Box

Windows Server 8 is a 64-bit operating system. Unfortunately, the Windows Virtual PC application that is available as a free update on Windows 7 will not run 64-bit operating systems. An alternative is VirtualBox.

You can get a free copy of VirtualBox here: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads.

After downloading it, browse to where you saved it, and double-click it to start the installation. You can just accept the defaults by clicking Next through each screen.

Download ISO or VHD

You can download the Windows Server 8 beta here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh670538.aspx. You’ll have the choice of downloading the 64-bit ISO which is a DVD image, or a virtual hard disk (VHD) image. The 64-bit VHD image will run as a virtual system on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system using Hyper-V but it won’t run on Windows Virtual PC.

However, if you download the ISO DVD image, you can use it to install the operating system on Virtual Box running within Windows 7. It’s a 3.3 GB file so it may take a while depending on the speed of your connection.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

While this article is focused on Windows Server 8, you can also use the steps to download and install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview available here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/download

Install VirtualBox

Start VirtualBox by clicking Start, All Programs, Oracle VM VirtualBox, and selecting Oracle VM VirtualBox. During the install, you’ll be prompted several times to install device software. This software is needed for various virtual devices so should be installed. These are signed and the Publisher is identified as Oracle Corporation. When the install completes, click Finish. VirtualBox will then start.

Create a VM

You can use the following steps to create a virtual machine (VM) used for Windows Server 8.

1. Click the New button on the menu bar. Review the information on the Welcome page and click Next.
2. Give your VM a name such as Windows Server 8.
3. On the OS Type ensure that Microsoft Windows is select as the operating system. Select Windows 8 (64-bit) as the Version. Click Next.
4. The default memory size is 1536. Change this to 2048 and click Next.
5. Accept the defaults on the Virtual Hard Disk page. This creates a new 20 GB hard disk that can be used to boot (or start up) the VM. Click Next.
6. Accept the default of VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) for the new virtual disk and click Next.
7. Accept the default of dynamically allocated for the virtual disk. Click Next.
8. On the Virtual Disk File Location and Size page, modify the size to 40 GB. If desired, you can change the location by clicking the folder and browsing to a new location. Click Next.
9. On the Summary page, click Create.

After the VM is created, Virtual Box will look similar to the following graphic. In the figure, I have both the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Server 8 installed.



It’s worthwhile stating the obvious here. At this point, this VM is empty. Even though it’s named Windows Server 8, it doesn’t have Windows Server 8 installed yet. This is similar to you creating a file in Word and naming it “My Plan for Success”. Just naming the file doesn’t add the contents.

Attach the ISO to the VM

If you were installing this on a new computer, you’d put the DVD into the drive and boot to the DVD. You simulate this by attaching the ISO image to the virtual CD/DVD drive. The following steps show this process.

1. Ensure the Windows Server 8 VM Is selected and click Settings.
2. Select Storage. Click on Empty under IDE Controller.
3. In the Attributes section, click on the CD icon to the right of CD/DVD Drive.
4. Select Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file.
5. Browse to the location where you saved the Windows 8 DVD ISO file and select it. Click Open.
6. The IDE Controller will no longer be listed as Empty, but instead has the name of the ISO file. It should look similar to the following graphic.

Installing Windows Server 8

At this point, you should have the following:

• VirtualBox installed
• An empty VM created for Windows Server 8
• An ISO image file for Windows Server 8 attached to the VM

You can use the following steps to install Windows Server 8.

1. Select the Windows Server 8 VM in VirtualBox and click Start.
2. Review the message on Auto Capture Keyboard and the host key and click OK. You will likely see one or more additional messages. Review them and click OK.
3. When the Install screen appears, click Next. Click Install Now.
4. Select Server 8 Beta Datacenter (Server with a GUI) and click next. The Server Core installation includes a command prompt but not a graphical user interface (GUI).
5. Review the license terms, select the checkbox to accept the license terms, and click Next.
6. Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
7. The 40 GB drive you created with the VM will be selected as Drive 0 Unallocated Space. Click Next.
8. The installation will begin and you won’t need to do anything else for a while. Now may be a good time to take a break.
9. When prompted, enter a password for the Administrator account in the Password and Retype password text boxes. As a test machine, you may want to use something you can easily remember such as P@ssw0rd. Click Finish.

To log in, press the host key plus the Delete key to simulate the CTRL + ALT + DELETE key combination. The host key is the right-CTRL key by default.

Navigation and Shutting Down

The Windows Key (normally located between CTRL and ALT on the left of the spacebar is an important key for navigation and you can use it to toggle between views.

Additionally, there are many different Windows key combinations. One that you’ll want to remember to shut down your system is Windows + i. This will bring up a display similar to the following graphic and you can select the power button to reboot or power down your system.

Free Network+ Practice Test Questions

If you're preparing for the Network+ N10-005 exam, you might like to check your readiness with a few free practice test questions. This page includes five free practice test questions, one from each of the five domains in the Network + N10-005 domain.

Practice Test Question 1

Q. A company wants to ensure that other mail servers on the Internet can locate its company based email server. What type of record is needed?
A. AAAA
B. MX
C. CNAME
D. PTR

Answer at end of post.

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Practice Test Question 2

Q. What can you use to dynamically assign the same IP address to a printer configured as a network device?

A. DNS
B. DHCP reservation
C. SNMP
D. DHCP exclusion
Answer at end of post.

Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam
Available through LearnZapp on your mobile phone

Practice Test Question 3

Q. You are tasked with purchasing some cable and you have a choice between plenum and non-plenum cable. When would you select plenum cable?
A. When complying with fire codes
B. When connecting two similar devices
C. When connecting dissimilar media
D. When protecting against EMI
Answer at end of post.

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Practice Test Question 4

Q. You are using Cat 5e cables in your network and recently added a 1 Gbps switch. However, several of the computers are not running at 1 Gbps. Of the following choices, what is the best choice to resolve the problem?

A. Replace the cables with CAT 6
B. Verify the cables with a cable certifier
C. Replace the NICs on the computers
D. Check the cables with a toner probe
Answer at end of post.

Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam
CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead)
Use on any platform with free Kindle apps from Amazon

Practice Test Question 5

Q. Of the following choices, what will raise an alarm about a possible attack but not block it?
A. Port scanner
B. IPS
C. IDS
D. Honeypot
Answer at end of post.

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These practice test questions are from the CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead) available as a Kindle ebook for only $9.99. You can download free Kindle apps from Amazon so that you can access the ebook from just about any platform including:

• Windows PC
• MAC
• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• BlackBerry
• Windows Phone 7

Over 275 realistic practice test questions with in-depth explanations. The Kindle version also includes 175 flash cards to reinforce key testable topics.

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You may also like to check out these Network+ blogs:

• Hardware Tools
• Ports
• CompTIA testing changes
• N10-004 and N10-005 differences

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N10-005: Exam Answer 1

Q. A company wants to ensure that other mail servers on the Internet can locate its company based email server. What type of record is needed?

A. AAAA
B. MX
C. CNAME
D. PTR
Answer: B is correct. An MX (mail exchange) record is used to locate a mail server and would be configured on a Domain Name System (DNS) server.

A is incorrect. An AAAA (IPv6 host) record provides the name to IPv6 address mapping and is used for forward lookups. If you query DNS with the name of thehost, DNS responds with the IPv6 address of the host.
C is incorrect. A CNAME (canonical name) record is used to give a host an alias so that it can be resolved with more than one fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
D is incorrect. A PTR (pointer) record is used for reverse lookups where a query to DNS includes the IP address of a host, and the DNS server responds with the name of the host.
Objective: 1.7 Summarize DNS concepts and its components.

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N10-005 Exam: Answer 2

Q. What can you use to dynamically assign the same IP address to a printer configured as a network device?

A. DNS
B. DHCP reservation
C. SNMP
D. DHCP exclusion

Answer: B is correct. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to dynamically assign IP addresses to network devices including network printers that can be configured as DHCP clients. A DHCP reservation maps the IP address to the printer’s media access control (MAC) address. Once a DHCP reservation is configured, DHCP will always issue the same IP address to this printer.

A is incorrect. Domain Name System (DNS) is used to resolve host names to IP addresses with A records (also called host records). DNS can also resolve IP addresses to host names with pointer (PTR) records, but it does not assign IP addresses.

C is incorrect. The Simple Network Management Protocol is used to administer and monitor network devices.

D is incorrect. A DHCP exclusion would be used if the printer is manually assigned an IP address within a DHCP scope and you want to ensure that the address is not issued to any other DHCP clients.

Objective: 2.3 Explain the purpose and properties of DHCP.

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If you're looking for more information on the CompTIA Network+ exam, click here.
The link provides a listing of relevant blogs on the Get Certified Get Ahead site.

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N10-005 Exam: Answer 3

Q. You are tasked with purchasing some cable and you have a choice between plenum and non-plenum cable. When would you select plenum cable?

A. When complying with fire codes
B. When connecting two similar devices
C. When connecting dissimilar media
D. When protecting against EMI
Answer: A is correct. Plenum-safe rated cable is used to comply with fire codes when a cable runs through a plenum space. A plenum is a space between walls, in false ceilings, and raised floors. Forced air for heating and air conditioning is commonly sent through the plenum and it’s also possible to run cables through the plenum. Cables are covered with a plastic jacket and this plastic jacket on non-plenum-safe cables can emit toxic fumes if burned. Plenum safe cables have a fire retardant jacket and do not emit toxic fumes.

B is incorrect. A crossover cable is used to connect two similar devices, such as two switches that do not support automatic medium dependent interface crossover (MDIX).

C is incorrect. Media converters or transceivers are used to connect dissimilar media such as an Ethernet cable to a fiber cable.

D is incorrect. Fiber is immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Shielded twisted pair (STP) and coax cable are resistant to EMI problems. However, cable identified as plenum-safe is not related to EMI.

Objective: 3.1 Categorize standard media types and associated properties.

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N10-005 Exam: Answer 4

Q. You are using Cat 5e cables in your network and recently added a 1 Gbps switch. However, several of the computers are not running at 1 Gbps. Of the following choices, what is the best choice to resolve the problem?
A. Replace the cables with CAT 6
B. Verify the cables with a cable certifier
C. Replace the NICs on the computers
D. Check the cables with a toner probe
Answer: B is correct. A cable certifier is the best choice of those given and it will verify the CAT 5e cables are performing at the CAT 5e specifications. It’s possible for a cable that doesn’t fully meet the specifications to work at 100 Mbps but not at 1000 Mbps.
A is incorrect. Cat 5e cables support 1 Gbps so it not necessary to replace all the cables with CAT 6.

C is incorrect. You may want to ensure that the network interface cards (NICs) support the higher speed and are using auto sense (or auto negotiate). Replacing the NICs wouldn’t be the best choice before testing the cables.

D is incorrect. A toner probe is commonly used to locate the end of a cable in another room, or verify continuity of a cable, but it won’t verify that a cable meets specifications.

Objective: 4.2 Given a scenario, use appropriate hardware tools to troubleshoot connectivity issues.

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N10-005 Exam: Answer 5

Q. Of the following choices, what will raise an alarm about a possible attack but not block it?

A. Port scanner
B. IPS
C. IDS
D. Honeypot
Answer: C is correct. An intrusion detection system (IDS) can detect attacks but is typically passive and will not block it. An active IDS can block an attack, though an active IDS is often called an intrusion prevention system (IPS).
A is incorrect. A port scanner can detect open ports but does not detect attacks.

B is incorrect. An IPS will detect and block an attack to prevent a malicious intrusion.

D is incorrect. A honeypot is a system designed to tempt an attacker with false data. An IDS or IPS will often monitor activity on a honeypot, but the honeypot itself doesn’t raise an alarm.

Objective: 5.6 Categorize different types of network security appliances and methods.

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What's next for you after the Network+ exam?
Many people take the Security+ exam shortly after passing Network+.
If you want to take and pass the Security+ exam the first time you take it, check out the
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide.

Success is within your reach.

CompTIA Testing Changes

There are a few changes coming up with CompTIA testing you may be interested in. They are going to Pearson Vue exclusively as a testing center and the older version of Network+ will be retiring in August, 2012. Many resources including quality practice test questions for the new CompTIA Network+ exam are currently available.

CompTIA to Use Pearson VUE Exclusively

CompTIA has decided to use a single vendor for testing and has opted to go with Pearson Vue. They have been using both Pearson Vue and Prometric but effective, July 9, 2012, you will no longer be able to take a test at a Prometric testing center.

If you have a Prometric voucher to take a test, you must use it prior to July 8, 2012. After that date, it will be worthless.

Compare to Microsoft

Microsoft took a similar step a few years back, but in a different direction. You could previously take Microsoft exams at either a Pearson Vue or a Prometric testing center. They switched over to a single vendor at end of 2007 but chose to use only Prometric.

Compare to SSCP/CISSP Testing

SSCP and CISSP exams have been available as paper-and-pencil exams but are switching over to computer based testing. Effective June 1, 2012, you'll be able to register to take these exams (and other ISC2 exams) at Pearson Vue testing centers. ISC2 has been using Pearson Vue for several other exams including CSSLP and CAP.

Network+ Exams N10-004 and N10-005

The N10-005 exam was released by CompTIA in December 2011 and many people are taking it now. The N10-004 exam which was released in 2009 retires August 31, 2012. After that date, you can only take the N10-005 exam. This update is in line with CompTIAs practice of updating their exams every three years.

A common question people ask is "What are the differences between N10-004 and N10-005?" This blog gives some information on these differences.

Realistic practice test questions for the Network+ N10-005 exam
CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Practice Test Questions (Get Certified Get Ahead)

Another common question people ask is "Which exam should I take?" The most important consideration is that you should take the exam that you've been studying for. In other words, if you've been using N10-004 study materials, take the N10-004 exam. If you're just starting to study and don't have any materials yet, your best bet is to study the newer exam. It covers topics that are more relevant today.

Also, if life events prevent you from taking the exam before August 31, 2012, you won't have to start over if you're studying N10-005 materials. In contrast, if you were studying for N10-004 and missed the August deadline, you'll need to pick up new study materials.

New A+ Exams on the Horizon

The current version of A+ exams are the 220-701 (Essentials) and 220-702 (Practical Application) exams. These were released in 2009 and an update is due in 2012, three years later. CompTIA has published the objectives for the 220-801 and 220-802 exams but they haven't provided any information on when these exams will be live. However, it is possible to make educated guesses.

• CompTIA does three workshops for most of their exams.
• The third workshop for the N10-005 Network+ exam was July 18-22, 2011 and that exam went live a little over four months later on December 1, 2011.
• The third workshop for the A+ exams was April 23-27, 2012. It's very possible these new exams will go live a little over four months later on September 1, 2012.

Similarly, we can predict when the 220-701 and 220-702 exams will be retired.

• The N10-004 exam retires Aug 31, 2012, nine months after N10-004 was released
• The 220-701 and 220-702 exams will likely retire six to nine months after the 220-801 and 220-802 exams are released, perhaps at the end of March or June, 2013.

Comparing Security+ Exams

As a comparison, the SY0-201 Security+ exam was released in 2008. New objectives were released in 2011 as SY0-301 and there was an overlap where you could take both exams. The SY0-201 exam retired December 31, 2011 and currently only the SY0-301 exam is available. An update isn't due until 2014.

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Pass the Security+ exam the first time you take it

CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide

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Summary

CompTIA is switching to Pearson Vue testing centers exclusively. If you bought vouchers ahead of time make sure you either purchase Pearson Vue vouchers or use Prometric vouchers before July 9, 2012. The Network+ exam has two active exams N10-004 and N10-005 and the N10-004 exam retires August 31, 2012. The A+ exams are being updated with new 220-801 and 220-802 exams coming out but won't be live before September, 2012.