A+, Network+, Security+ exams in a nutshell

802 Pages·2007·4.014 MB·English

by  Pawan K Bhardwaj

A+, NETWORK+,
SECURITY+ EXAMS
IN A NUTSHELL
Pawan K. Bhardwaj
Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo
A+, Network+, Security+ Exams in a Nutshell
by Pawan K. Bhardwaj
Copyright © 2007 Pawan K. Bhardwaj. All rights reserved.
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Chapter1
Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
PartI. A+ Essentials
1. Overview of A+ Essentials Exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Areas of Study for the A+ Essentials Exam 5
2. A+ Essentials Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Personal Computer Components 18
Laptops and Portable Devices 50
Operating Systems 65
Printers and Scanners 111
Networks 129
Security 149
Safety and Environmental Issues 165
Communications and Professionalism 172
3. Prep and Practice for the A+ Essentials Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Preparing for the A+ Essentials Exam 182
Suggested Exercises for the A+ Essentials Exam 182
Highlighters Index 191
Practice Questions for the A+ Essentials Exam 231
v
PartII. A+ Exams 220-602, 220-603, and 220-604
4. Overview of the A+ Exams 220-602, 220-603, and 220-604 . . . . . 245
Areas of Study for A+ Exams 220-602, 220-603,
and 220-604 247
5. Study Guide for A+ Exams 220-602, 220-603, and 220-604 . . . . . 251
Personal Computer Components 252
Laptops and Portable Devices 268
Operating Systems 276
Printers and Scanners 307
Networks 328
Security 358
6. Prep and Practice for the A+ Exams 220-602, 220-603,
and 220-604 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Preparing for the A+ Exams 374
Suggested Exercises for the Exams 374
Highlighters Index 383
Practice Questions for the A+ Exams 404
PartIII. Network+
7. Overview of the Network+ Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Areas of Study for the Network+ Exam 419
8. Network+ Exam Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Media and Topologies 425
Protocols and Standards 457
Network Implementation 489
Network Support 514
9. Network+ Exam Prep and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Preparing for the Network+ Exam 541
Network+ Exam Suggested Exercises 541
Network+ Exam Highlighters Index 546
Network+ Exam Practice Questions 573
vi | Table of Contents
PartIV. Security+
10. Overview of Security+ Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
Areas of Study for Security+ Exam 587
11. Security+ Exam Study Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
General Security Concepts 594
Communication Security 617
Infrastructure Security 648
Basics of Cryptography 672
Operational and Organizational Security 685
12. Security+ Exam Prep
and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Preparing for the Security+ Exam 703
Security+ Exam Suggested Exercises 703
Security+ Exam Highlighters Index 707
Security+ Exam Practice Questions 734
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Table of Contents | vii
Chapter2
Preface
Welcome to CompTIA: A+, Network+ and Security+ Exams in a Nutshell. I
designed this book for the IT professional who wants to complete his Computer
Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) certifications. CompTIA offers
multipleentry-levelcertificationexamsforvariousfieldsoftheITindustry.These
certificationsareplatform-independentandareendorsedbyseveralleadersinthe
IT industry such as Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett Packard, etc. If you are looking to
entertheexcitingfieldofITsupport,thecertificationsyouwillbemostinterested
in are as follows:
A+
The A+ certification is entry-level and is meant for those individuals who
want to get into the exciting field of computer hardware and software
support. You will need to pass two exams to complete the A+ certification
track. The first is A+ Essentials, and it is required. The second exam can be
chosen from one of the three exams leading to three different certifications.
Exam 220-602 is intended for those individuals who work in a mobile or
corporateenvironment,whichcallsforahighlevelofface-to-faceclientinter-
action. Candidates who pass the A+ Essentials and the 220-602 exams
receive the IT Technician certification. The second exam, 220-603, is for
those individuals who work remotely to interact with clients. The combina-
tion of A+ Essentials and the 220-603 exam leads to the Remote Support
Technician certification. The third exam, 220-604, is for those individuals
whoworkinrepairhousesthatcallforhighlevelofhardware-relatedtrouble-
shooting,andwhoseldominteractdirectlywiththeclient.Thecombination
of A+ Essentials and the 220-604 exam leads to the Depot Technician
certification.
Network+
The Network+ certification is entry-level and is for those individuals who
wish to pursue a career in computer network support. Although it is not a
requirement, CompTIA does recommend that a candidate has at least nine
months of hands-on experience before she attempts to take this exam.
ix
CompTIAalsorecommendsthatthecandidategettheA+certificationbefore
getting the Network+ certification. This certification can be achieved by
passing only one exam: N10-003.
Security+
TheSecurity+certificationisentry-levelandisforthoseindividualswhowish
to pursue a career in computer security. Although it is not a requirement,
CompTIA does recommend that the candidate has at least two years of
hands-on experience in computer networking with emphasis on security. It
also recommends that the candidate get the Network+ certification before
gettingtheSecurity+certification.LiketheNetwork+certification,theSecu-
rity+ certification can also be attained by passing only one exam: SYO-101.
EachoftheseCompTIAcertificationsiscoveredinthisbook,andiftakenappro-
priately, each track can get you an entry-level job in the IT field of your choice.
TheseexamsjustgiveaheadstarttoyourITcareer.Youcanfurtherenhanceyour
careerinanyoftheITfieldsbypursuingmoreadvancedcertificationsfromother
vendors.SeveralITindustryleaders,suchasMicrosoft,IBM,orHewlettPackard,
recognize the CompTIA certifications. For example, Microsoft recognizes the
combinationofA+andNetwork+certificationsasoneoftheelectiveexamsinits
MCSA and MCSE tracks.
Thefocusofthisbookisonprovidingthecoreknowledgetoprepareyouforthe
twoA+exams—theNetwork+examandtheSecurity+exam.Thisbookismeant
to be used as part of your final preparation, and not as your only preparation.
Think of this as the notes you’d have written down if you were to highlight and
then record every essential nugget of information related to the skills being
measured in the A+, the Network+, and the Security+ exams.
Basically, what I did was to boil the required knowledge down to its finest core.
Thus, rather than having 500 to 700 pages covering each exam, there’s just
approximately 150 pages for each. With this in mind, the best way to use this
book is as part of your final review. So after you’ve built sufficient hands-on
expertise and studied all the relevant texts, grab this book and study it cover to
cover as part of your final exam cram.
Most of the individuals start their IT support career with the A+
certification, and then move on to the Network+ certification to
provetheirskillsincomputernetworksupport.TheSecurity+certi-
ficationisbasicallymeantforthoseindividualswhoeitherworkin
a secure computing environment or wish to attain more advanced
security-relatedcertifications.Itishighlyrecommendedthatifyou
arejuststartingyourITcareer,youshouldstartwiththeA+certifi-
cation, choosing an appropriate A+ track.
OneofthegoodthingsabouttheCompTIAexamsisthatonceyoupasstheexam
foranyoftheavailabletracks,thecertificationneverexpiressoyoudon’thaveto
worry about the retirement of exams. But this certainly does not mean that you
shouldquitstudying.Studiesareasessentialashands-onexperienceinanytech-
nical field. So, upgrading yourself with newer exam objectives in order to keep
you updated with changes in technology is not a bad idea.
x | Preface
Conventions Used in This Book
EachpartwithinthisbookcorrespondstoasingleMicrosoftexamandconsistsof
the following sections:
Exam Overview
Provides a brief introduction to the exam’s topic, a list of objectives, and a
cross reference to where the objectives are covered.
Study Guide
Provides a comprehensive study guide for the skills being measured on the
exam.Youshouldreadthroughandandstudythissectionextensively.Ifyou
encountertopicsyouhaven’tpracticedwithandstudiedextensivelypriorto
readingthistext,youshoulddomorehands-onworkwiththerelatedareaof
study and refer to an expanded discussion in a relevant text. Once you’ve
built the real-world know-how and developed the essential background
needed to succeed, you can resume your studies and move forward.
Prep and Practice
Provides exercises that we suggest to supplement your studies, highlights
from all the topics covered for the exam, and practice questions to help test
your knowledge. Sample questions are followed by answers with explana-
tions where necessary.
The following font conventions are used in this book:
Constant width
Used for code terms, command-line text, command-line options, and values
that should be typed literally.
Italics
Used for URLs, variables, and to introduce new terms.
Additionally, we will also use the following elements:
Notes are used to provide additional information or highlight a
specific point.
Warnings are used to provide details on potential problems.
Other Study Resources
There is no single magic bullet for passing the CompTIA Certification exams.
YourcurrentknowledgewilllargelydetermineyoursuccesswiththisStudyGuide
andontheexams.Ifyouencountertopicsyouhaven’tpracticedwithandstudied
extensivelypriortoreadingthistext,youneedfurtherpreparation.Gettheprac-
tical hands-on know-how and the practical knowledge before continuing.
Preface | xi
Throughoutyourpreparationsforcertification,werecommendthatyouregularly
visit the CompTIA web site at http://certification.comptia.org. The related pages
willhelpyoukeepuptodatewiththecertificationprocessandanychangesthat
may occur from time to time.
A wide variety of CompTIA certification study guides, training classes, and
learning resources are available. Also, a large number of practice tests and exam
simulations are available for purchase and for free on the Web. These tests, like
this book, are useful as part of your exam preparation.
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks go to Jeff Pepper for pioneering the entire project from start to
finish. I would like to thank John Vacca for his fine work in editing this entire
text.ChrisCraytonandErikEckeldidasuperbjoboffindingtechnicalissuesand
makingsurethatalltopicswerecoveredappropriately.IalsowishtothankMary
Brady at O’Reilly for ensuring a smooth production process.
xii | Preface
I
A+ Essentials
This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition
Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.