220-1202 Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is called to a user's desk for a 'printer issue.' Upon arrival, the user is on a phone call and waves dismissively at the technician. The technician waits for two minutes, but the user continues their call. What should the technician do?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Leave a note on the desk saying you were there and will return later, then check back in 15 minutes.. It demonstrates professional respect for the user's current activity while ensuring the issue is addressed. Leaving a note and returning in 15 minutes maintains a service-level commitment without disrupting the user's call, aligning with CompTIA's best practices for customer communication and time management in a support scenario.

Answer

Stand silently until the user finishes the call, even if it takes a long time.

Answer

Interrupt the call to say you'll come back later.

Answer

Close the ticket as 'user not available' and move on to the next task.

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a Windows 10 computer that exhibits strange behavior: system files are missing, and the computer fails to boot normally. A boot-time virus scan detects a virus that infected the Master Boot Record (MBR). Which tool should the technician use to repair the MBR?

Accepted Answer

Bootrec.exe /FixMbr. The Bootrec.exe /FixMbr command writes a new Master Boot Record (MBR) to the system partition, overwriting the infected boot code without affecting the existing partition table. This is the correct tool for repairing a virus-compromised MBR that prevents normal booting on Windows 10.

Answer

System Restore

Answer

SFC /Scannow

Answer

CHKDSK /F

Question 3

After a security incident, a Windows 10 workstation is suspected of having malware that prevents the Task Manager and Command Prompt from opening. You need to run a system scan. Which tool can you use from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to perform an offline antivirus scan?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Defender Offline Scan. Microsoft Defender Offline Scan is designed to run from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to scan the system before Windows starts, which bypasses malware that blocks tools like Task Manager or Command Prompt. It uses the same antivirus engine as Windows Defender but runs in a pre-boot environment, allowing it to detect and remove persistent threats that load early or hide from the normal OS. This makes it the correct tool for an offline antivirus scan when the system is suspected of being compromised.

Answer

System File Checker (sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows)

Answer

Windows Memory Diagnostic

Answer

Diskpart

Question 4

A user reports that their cloud-synced files are not appearing on their laptop after a recent OS reinstall. The technician verifies that the cloud storage account is active and the internet connection works. Which of the following is the most likely reason for the missing files?

Accepted Answer

The local sync client is configured for selective sync and not downloading all folders. The most likely reason is that the cloud sync client is configured for selective sync, which allows the user to choose which folders are synced locally. After an OS reinstall, the client may default to selective sync or the user may have previously set it to not download all folders, so files appear missing. Other options are less likely because the account is active and internet works, and hard drive full would typically cause errors, not silent missing files.

Answer

The cloud storage provider has deleted the files due to inactivity

Answer

The user's account is not licensed for the cloud service

Answer

The laptop's hard drive is full

Question 5

A user reports that their iPad will not rotate the screen when they turn the device sideways. The rotation lock icon appears in the status bar. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Rotation lock is enabled in Control Center or via the side switch.. The rotation lock icon visible in the iPad status bar is the definitive indicator that Rotation Lock is currently enabled, either through Control Center or the physical side switch (on older iPads). When Rotation Lock is active, iOS suppresses the accelerometer-driven orientation change regardless of how the device is physically turned. Disabling it via Control Center (or flipping the side switch) restores normal screen rotation behavior.

Answer

The accelerometer is faulty.

Answer

The app being used does not support rotation.

Answer

The device needs a software update to fix a rotation bug.

Question 6

A user reports that their Windows 10 laptop will not boot and displays the error 'Bootmgr is missing'. They have a valid Windows installation USB. Which steps should you take to repair the boot manager?

Accepted Answer

Boot from the USB, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt, and run 'bootrec /rebuildbcd' and 'bootrec /fixmbr'.. The 'Bootmgr is missing' error indicates that the Boot Manager (bootmgr) is either corrupted or missing, or the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) store is damaged. Booting from a Windows installation USB and using the Command Prompt via Troubleshoot > Advanced Options allows you to run 'bootrec /rebuildbcd' to scan for Windows installations and rebuild the BCD store, and 'bootrec /fixmbr' to repair the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the system partition. This directly addresses the boot manager issue by restoring the boot configuration and ensuring the MBR points to the correct boot sector.

Answer

Boot from the USB and select 'Repair your computer' > 'Startup Repair'.

Answer

Boot from the USB and run 'sfc /scannow' from the Command Prompt.

Answer

Boot from the USB and perform a system restore to a previous point.

Question 7

A small business wants to ensure that only authorized personnel can access the server room. The budget is limited, and they need a simple, cost-effective solution. Which logical security control should they implement first?

Accepted Answer

Require a smart card or key fob to unlock the door.. A smart card or key fob provides a simple, cost-effective logical access control for the server room door. It authenticates users via a physical token and a PIN or proximity reader, which is far cheaper than biometric systems and more reliable than a password policy that doesn't control physical entry. This directly restricts physical access to authorized personnel without ongoing costs like a security guard.

Answer

Install a biometric fingerprint scanner on the door.

Answer

Implement a strong password policy for all user accounts.

Answer

Hire a security guard to check IDs at the entrance.

Question 8

A security audit reveals that a company's remote access solution uses a VPN with pre-shared keys (PSK) for authentication. The auditor recommends upgrading to certificate-based authentication. Which of the following is the primary security advantage of certificate-based authentication over PSK?

Accepted Answer

Certificates provide mutual authentication and are unique per device, reducing the risk of a single compromised key affecting all users.. Certificate-based authentication provides mutual authentication, meaning both the VPN client and server verify each other's identity using digital certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). Unlike PSK, which is a shared secret that can be leaked and reused across all devices, each certificate is unique per device, so compromise of one certificate does not expose the entire VPN infrastructure. This significantly reduces the blast radius of a security breach and aligns with the principle of least privilege.

Answer

Certificates are easier to configure and manage than PSK.

Answer

Certificates eliminate the need for a VPN server.

Answer

Certificates are faster than PSK for establishing VPN connections.

Question 9

A company uses a Remote Desktop Gateway to allow employees to access internal desktops from the internet. Users report that they can connect to the gateway but cannot see any available desktops in the list. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The users are not members of the correct Active Directory group that is allowed to access specific desktops.. The Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) acts as a proxy, allowing external RDP connections to internal desktops. When users can connect to the gateway itself but see no desktops, it typically indicates an authorization failure: the RD Gateway uses Resource Authorization Policies (RAPs) to control which desktops a user can access. If the user is not a member of the Active Directory group specified in the RAP, the gateway will deny the list of available desktops, even though the gateway connection succeeds.

Answer

The Remote Desktop Gateway service is not running on the server.

Answer

The desktops are powered off or disconnected from the network.

Answer

The user's RDP client is outdated and cannot display the list.

Question 10

A security incident response team needs to find all files in /var/www that have the SUID bit set, which may indicate a privilege escalation risk. Which command should they use?

Accepted Answer

find /var/www -type f -perm /4000. The `find` command with `-perm /4000` matches any file that has the SUID bit set (the 4000 octal permission), regardless of other permission bits. The `/` prefix tells `find` to match if any of the specified permission bits are set, which is the precise way to locate files with the SUID bit enabled. This command will recursively search `/var/www` for regular files (`-type f`) with the SUID bit, helping identify potential privilege escalation risks.

Answer

find /var/www -type f -perm 4000

Answer

ls -la /var/www | grep '^...s'

Answer

chmod -R u+s /var/www

Question 11

A small business deploys 20 Android tablets for inventory management. The tablets must remain in a single app (the inventory app) and prevent users from accessing settings or other apps. Which Android feature should you enable to lock the devices into this single-app mode?

Accepted Answer

Use the Screen Pinning feature in Security settings.. Screen Pinning (option B) is the correct Android feature to lock a device into a single app. When enabled, it prevents users from leaving the pinned app, accessing the home screen, recent apps, or notification shade without entering a PIN or password. This is ideal for kiosk-mode deployments like inventory management tablets, as it restricts the device to exactly one application.

Answer

Enable Guest Mode from the user switcher.

Answer

Set up a separate user account with restricted profile.

Answer

Activate Factory Reset Protection (FRP).

Question 12

A technician is troubleshooting a VM that fails to boot with the error 'Operating system not found'. The VM was working yesterday. The technician checks the virtual machine settings and sees that the virtual hard disk is attached to the IDE controller. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Check the VM's boot order in the BIOS and ensure the virtual hard disk is first. The error 'Operating system not found' indicates that the VM is attempting to boot from a device that does not contain a bootable operating system. Since the VM was working yesterday, the most likely cause is that the boot order in the VM's BIOS has been changed or reset, causing it to try booting from a non-bootable device (e.g., network or CD-ROM) before the virtual hard disk. Checking and correcting the boot order in the BIOS to prioritize the virtual hard disk is the logical first step before making configuration changes.

Answer

Reattach the virtual hard disk to the SCSI controller

Answer

Increase the VM's memory allocation

Answer

Restore the VM from a recent snapshot

Question 13

A company's security policy requires that all laptops have a TPM chip enabled and be configured to require a PIN at startup before the operating system loads. Which security feature is being configured?

Accepted Answer

BitLocker with TPM and PIN protector. The scenario describes using a TPM chip and requiring a PIN at startup before the OS loads. This is exactly how BitLocker's TPM+PIN protector works: the TPM validates the system integrity, and the PIN provides an additional factor of authentication, unlocking the drive encryption key before Windows boots. Option B is correct because it directly matches the described configuration.

Answer

Secure Boot

Answer

Windows Defender System Guard

Answer

Group Policy password complexity enforcement

Question 14

A user reports that their Android phone will not connect to their corporate Wi-Fi network, but other devices connect fine. They have forgotten the network and re-entered the password, but it still fails. What should you check first?

Accepted Answer

Verify the Wi-Fi password is being entered correctly.. The most common cause of a single device failing to connect after forgetting and re-entering the network is a typo or case-sensitive error in the Wi-Fi password. Since other devices connect fine, the issue is isolated to the phone, and verifying the password is the quickest, least intrusive step before escalating to more complex troubleshooting.

Answer

Check if the router is using MAC address filtering.

Answer

Reset the phone's network settings to default.

Answer

Update the phone's operating system to the latest version.

Question 15

A customer reports that their old laptop, which they sold online, still contains personal files that the new owner accessed. The customer had only performed a 'Reset this PC' with the 'Remove everything' option. What should the technician recommend to prevent this in the future?

Accepted Answer

Use a third-party data wiping tool that overwrites the drive multiple times.. The 'Reset this PC' with 'Remove everything' option in Windows performs a quick format or a single-pass overwrite, which leaves data recoverable by file recovery tools. A third-party data wiping tool that overwrites the drive multiple times (e.g., using the DoD 5220.22-M standard) ensures that the data is irrecoverable by overwriting all sectors with patterns, preventing any future access.

Answer

Perform a factory reset from the recovery partition.

Answer

Remove the hard drive and physically destroy it.

Answer

Change the user password before selling.