220-1202 Practice Test 42 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a remote troubleshooting session, a technician uses a tool that allows them to view the user's screen and control the mouse and keyboard. The user reports that the session is extremely laggy, with noticeable delay between the technician's actions and the screen update. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this lag?

Accepted Answer

The network connection between the technician and the user has high latency or low bandwidth.. The lag described is a classic symptom of network latency or insufficient bandwidth, which directly impacts the responsiveness of remote desktop protocols like RDP or VNC. These protocols transmit screen updates and input events in real time; high latency delays the round-trip of packets, while low bandwidth can cause frame drops or compression artifacts, resulting in the noticeable delay between the technician's actions and the screen update.

Answer

The remote desktop software is using an outdated encryption protocol.

Answer

The user's computer has insufficient RAM to handle remote desktop sessions.

Answer

The technician's computer is running a different operating system than the user's.

Question 2

A user working from home reports that they can no longer connect to the company's internal file server using Remote Desktop. They confirm their internet connection is working. Which remote access technology should the technician verify is still active on the user's VPN client?

Accepted Answer

VPN connection. The user's internet connection is working, but they cannot reach the internal file server via Remote Desktop. This indicates the VPN tunnel, which provides encrypted access to the internal network, has likely dropped or is misconfigured. Without an active VPN connection, the user's client cannot route traffic to the private IP range of the file server, even though general internet access is available.

Answer

SSH tunnel

Answer

Remote Desktop Gateway

Answer

VNC server

Question 3

A technician is configuring a remote desktop solution for a user who needs to access a Windows 10 Pro workstation from a Linux laptop. Which protocol should the technician ensure is enabled on the Windows machine?

Accepted Answer

RDP. RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is the native protocol used by Windows for remote desktop connections. Windows 10 Pro includes an RDP server that listens on TCP port 3389, allowing clients such as the Microsoft Remote Desktop client on Linux to connect and provide a full graphical desktop experience. The technician must ensure the 'Allow remote connections to this computer' setting is enabled and that the Windows Firewall permits inbound RDP traffic.

Answer

VNC

Answer

SSH

Answer

Telnet

Question 4

A technician is configuring a VPN for a remote user. The user's home router uses NAT, and the technician wants to ensure the VPN traffic is encapsulated and encrypted. Which VPN protocol should the technician choose for the best balance of security and compatibility?

Accepted Answer

OpenVPN. OpenVPN is the correct choice because it provides a robust balance of security and compatibility, especially for remote users behind NAT. It uses SSL/TLS for encryption and can operate over a single UDP or TCP port (typically 1194), which easily traverses NAT without requiring additional configuration. Unlike L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN does not rely on IPsec's NAT-sensitive protocols like ESP, making it more reliable across home routers.

Answer

PPTP

Answer

L2TP/IPsec

Answer

SSTP

Question 5

A user reports that they can no longer connect to the company network from home using VPN. They confirm their internet connection is working and that they can browse websites. Which of the following should a technician check first to resolve the VPN connectivity issue?

Accepted Answer

Verify the user's VPN username and password. The user's internet connection is working (they can browse websites), which rules out general network connectivity issues. The most common cause of VPN authentication failure is incorrect or expired credentials, so verifying the username and password is the quickest and most logical first step before escalating to more complex troubleshooting.

Answer

Check if the VPN client software is up to date

Answer

Restart the VPN server at the data center

Answer

Reinstall the network adapter drivers

Question 6

A company deploys a new remote access solution using a VPN concentrator. After setup, users report that they can connect to the VPN but cannot access internal file servers. Other internal resources like email are accessible. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The VPN concentrator lacks a route to the file server's subnet. Option C is correct because the VPN concentrator must have a route to the file server's subnet to forward traffic from VPN clients. Without this route, packets destined for the file server are dropped, while other resources (like email) remain accessible if their subnets are reachable. This is a classic routing issue in remote access VPN deployments.

Answer

The VPN client is using an incorrect DNS server

Answer

The file server is not on the same VLAN as the VPN concentrator

Answer

The users do not have permission to log on locally to the file server

Question 7

A technician is on a support call with a user who has a strong accent and is speaking quickly. The technician is having difficulty understanding the issue. What is the most professional way to handle this?

Accepted Answer

Ask the user to speak more slowly and repeat the problem, apologizing for the difficulty.. Option B is correct because it demonstrates active listening and professional courtesy by politely asking the user to slow down and repeat the issue. This approach maintains rapport, ensures accurate information gathering, and avoids misdiagnosis that could lead to wasted time or incorrect troubleshooting steps. In a support context, clear communication is essential for identifying the root cause and applying the correct fix.

Answer

Pretend to understand and hope the issue becomes clear during troubleshooting.

Answer

Transfer the call to a different technician who might understand the accent better.

Answer

Tell the user that their accent is hard to understand and ask them to email the problem instead.

Question 8

A user reports that a PowerShell script they wrote to rename multiple files in a folder works on their desktop but fails with a 'permission denied' error when run from a network folder. The user has full control of the network folder. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The execution policy is set to RemoteSigned, which blocks scripts from network locations.. The PowerShell execution policy controls which scripts can run and from where. The RemoteSigned policy requires that scripts from the internet (including network shares) be digitally signed, and it treats network drives as an 'internet' zone. When the script is run from a network folder, the policy blocks execution unless the script is signed, resulting in a 'permission denied' error, even though the user has full NTFS permissions.

Answer

The script uses a cmdlet that is not available on the network drive.

Answer

The network folder has a space in its name.

Answer

The user is not running PowerShell as an administrator.

Question 9

A technician needs to write a script that runs a specific command only if a Windows service is running. If the service is stopped, the script should start it first. Which scripting method is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Use an if-else statement to check the service status.. The correct answer is B because an if-else statement is the most appropriate scripting method to check the status of a specific Windows service and conditionally execute a command or start the service. In PowerShell, you can use `Get-Service` to retrieve the service status and then an if-else block to evaluate whether the `Status` property equals 'Running'. This provides clear, linear logic that directly matches the requirement without unnecessary complexity.

Answer

Use a for loop to iterate over all services.

Answer

Use a switch statement with multiple conditions.

Answer

Use a try-catch block to handle errors if the command fails.

Question 10

A user reports that a scheduled task runs a VBScript every morning, but the script fails with an 'ActiveX component can't create object' error. The script uses a COM object to interact with an application. What is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The COM object's DLL is not registered or the application is not installed. The 'ActiveX component can't create object' error occurs when the VBScript's CreateObject call fails because the COM class it references is not available. This typically means the DLL that implements the COM object is not registered (e.g., via regsvr32) or the application that provides the object is not installed on the system. Without the registered COM component, the script cannot instantiate the object, leading to this specific runtime error.

Answer

The script is running with insufficient permissions to create files

Answer

The script contains a syntax error in the CreateObject line

Answer

The scheduled task is set to run when the user is not logged in

Question 11

A technician is writing a Python script to automate the installation of software on multiple Windows machines. The script needs to check if the software is already installed by looking for a specific registry key. If the key exists, the script should skip the installation. Which Python library and method should the technician use to read the registry?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'winreg' module with 'OpenKey' and 'QueryValueEx'. The `winreg` module is the standard Python library for accessing the Windows registry. `OpenKey` opens a specified registry key, and `QueryValueEx` retrieves the value data and type for a given value name. This allows the script to check for the software's registry key and conditionally skip installation if it exists.

Answer

Use the 'os' module with 'os.regread'

Answer

Use the 'subprocess' module to run 'reg query'

Answer

Use the 'sys' module to access registry via system calls

Question 12

A technician is deploying 20 new laptops to a department. The manager asks the technician to install the software quickly, but the technician knows that a full deployment includes user training and data migration. Which action BEST demonstrates professional communication?

Accepted Answer

Explain the standard deployment process and offer a revised timeline that includes training.. Option B is correct because it demonstrates professional communication by clearly explaining the standard deployment process—which includes user training and data migration—and offering a revised timeline. This aligns with the CompTIA A+ objective of managing expectations and ensuring a complete, effective rollout rather than a rushed, incomplete installation.

Answer

Agree to the manager's request and rush the installation to avoid conflict.

Answer

Install the software and let the users figure out the rest on their own.

Answer

Tell the manager that training is not part of the technician's job.

Question 13

A user reports that their Windows 10 laptop is running slowly and frequently shows a 'Low Memory' warning. They have 8 GB of RAM and are not running any unusual applications. Which built-in Windows tool should you use to determine if a specific process is leaking memory?

Accepted Answer

Task Manager. Task Manager (Option B) is the correct tool because it provides a real-time view of per-process memory usage, including the 'Memory (Active Private Working Set)' column, which can identify a process that is consuming an abnormally increasing amount of RAM over time—indicative of a memory leak. Unlike other tools, Task Manager allows you to quickly sort processes by memory usage and observe growth without needing to configure counters or parse logs.

Answer

Performance Monitor

Answer

Event Viewer

Answer

System Configuration (msconfig)

Question 14

A security incident occurred on a Windows 10 workstation where an attacker gained administrative access and created several hidden user accounts. You need to ensure no unauthorized accounts exist and that the built-in Administrator account is disabled. Which two tools can you use from the command line to list all user accounts and check the status of the Administrator account?

Accepted Answer

Use 'net user' to list accounts and 'net user Administrator | findstr /i active' to check status.. The 'net user' command lists all local user accounts on a Windows system, which is necessary to identify hidden or unauthorized accounts. Piping 'net user Administrator' through 'findstr /i active' filters the output to show whether the built-in Administrator account is enabled or disabled, as the status line contains 'Active' or 'Account active' depending on the locale. This combination directly fulfills the requirement to list all accounts and check the Administrator account's status from the command line.

Answer

Use 'whoami' to list current user and 'net localgroup Administrators' to see group members.

Answer

Use 'dir C:\Users' to list user profile folders and 'net accounts' to see password policies.

Answer

Use 'gpresult /R' to list applied policies and 'net start' to see running services.

Question 15

A Windows 10 workstation is experiencing random blue screen errors with the stop code 'IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'. You suspect a faulty driver. You need to analyze the memory dump files to identify the offending driver. Which built-in tool should you use to view the dump file?

Accepted Answer

Windows Debugging Tools (WinDbg) – open the .dmp file.. WinDbg (Windows Debugging Tools) is the correct built-in tool for analyzing memory dump (.dmp) files. It can parse crash dump data and identify the specific driver or module that caused the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop code by examining the stack trace and loaded module list. This is the standard approach for post-mortem debugging of blue screen errors.

Answer

Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) – filter by System logs with level 'Error'.

Answer

Performance Monitor (perfmon.msc) – add a Data Collector Set for crash dumps.

Answer

Windows Memory Diagnostic (mdsched.exe) – run a memory test.