220-1102 Practice Test 36 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A company requires that all sensitive data be encrypted when stored on laptops. Which technology should be implemented to ensure data is protected even if a laptop is stolen?

Accepted Answer

BitLocker Drive Encryption. BitLocker Drive Encryption provides full-volume encryption that protects all data on the system drive, including the operating system, applications, and user files. Even if a laptop is stolen and the hard drive is removed, the data remains inaccessible without the correct recovery key or authentication credentials, ensuring compliance with data protection requirements.

Answer

File-level encryption using EFS

Answer

TPM chip only

Answer

Secure Boot

Question 2

A helpdesk technician receives a call from an employee who says their smart card stopped working for building access. The employee is in a hurry and asks the technician to remotely disable the card and issue a temporary PIN for the day. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Ask the employee to visit the security office in person with a photo ID.. Smart card credentials for physical access are typically managed by a separate physical security system (e.g., an access control server), not the helpdesk's IT identity management system. The technician cannot remotely disable the card or issue a temporary PIN without proper authorization and verification of the caller's identity. The standard procedure is to require in-person verification with a photo ID at the security office to prevent social engineering attacks.

Answer

Disable the smart card and provide a temporary PIN as requested.

Answer

Reset the smart card remotely and test it with a badge reader.

Answer

Send a temporary PIN via email to the employee's company address.

Question 3

A technician is configuring a new server and follows a documented standard operating procedure (SOP). After completion, the technician realizes the SOP is outdated and omits a critical security setting. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Apply the missing setting and update the SOP to include it.. The technician discovered a security gap in the SOP that could leave the server vulnerable. The proper action is to immediately apply the missing critical security setting to protect the server, then update the SOP to reflect the correct procedure. This aligns with change management best practices where security findings take precedence over outdated documentation, and the SOP must be corrected to prevent future misconfigurations.

Answer

Ignore the missing setting since the SOP was followed.

Answer

Submit a change request to update the SOP without applying the setting.

Answer

Revert the server configuration and wait for an updated SOP.

Question 4

A user reports that their computer is infected with a virus that has encrypted all their personal files and left a text file with instructions to pay a ransom. The technician has verified the infection is ransomware. The company has a backup policy. What is the best course of action to recover the data?

Accepted Answer

Restore the files from a recent backup after removing the malware.. The company has a backup policy, meaning a recent, clean backup should exist. Restoring from backup after removing the ransomware ensures data recovery without paying criminals or relying on unreliable decryption tools. This aligns with best practices for ransomware incidents: isolate, remove, then restore from verified backups.

Answer

Pay the ransom and hope the decryption key is provided.

Answer

Use a ransomware decryption tool from a reputable source.

Answer

Reinstall the operating system and hope the files become accessible.

Question 5

A customer complains that their iOS device's screen orientation is stuck in portrait mode and will not rotate to landscape when they turn the phone sideways. What is the most likely cause and solution?

Accepted Answer

Toggle the Rotation Lock in Control Center. The most likely cause is that the Rotation Lock is enabled, which prevents the iOS device from switching between portrait and landscape orientations. Toggling the Rotation Lock off in Control Center directly resolves this issue, as it is a common user-accessible setting that can be accidentally activated.

Answer

Enable Display Zoom in Settings

Answer

Restart the device

Answer

Adjust the text size in Accessibility

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 computer that fails to boot with a 'Bootmgr is missing' error. They have a Windows installation USB. Which tool from the Windows Recovery Environment should they use to repair the boot configuration data (BCD)?

Accepted Answer

Bootrec (bootrec /rebuildbcd). The 'Bootmgr is missing' error indicates that the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store is corrupted or missing. The `bootrec /rebuildbcd` command scans all disks for Windows installations and rebuilds the BCD store from scratch, directly addressing the missing or corrupted boot configuration. This is the correct tool in the Windows Recovery Environment for repairing BCD issues.

Answer

System File Checker (sfc /scannow)

Answer

DISM (DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth)

Answer

Diskpart (diskpart /s script.txt)

Question 7

A technician is reviewing the change management log and finds that a previous change to the email server was marked as 'completed' but the email service has been intermittent since then. The technician suspects the change was not fully tested. Which step in the change management process was most likely skipped?

Accepted Answer

A post-implementation review was not conducted. A post-implementation review (PIR) is the step where the change is verified to have met its objectives without causing adverse effects. Since the email service became intermittent after the change was marked 'completed', the lack of a PIR means the change was not validated in production, allowing the underlying issue to go undetected. In the CompTIA change management process, the PIR ensures that the change has been fully tested and that any residual problems are identified and addressed before the change is closed.

Answer

The change request was not submitted

Answer

The change was not approved by the CAB

Answer

The rollback plan was not documented

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a remote user's inability to connect to the office network via VPN. The user can ping the VPN server's public IP address but the VPN connection fails after entering credentials. The VPN logs show an authentication error. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Check if the user's account is locked out or if the password has expired.. The VPN logs show an authentication error, which indicates the failure occurs during the credential validation phase, not during network connectivity. Since the user can ping the VPN server's public IP, Layer 3 connectivity is intact, and the issue is likely with the user's account status. Checking if the account is locked out or the password has expired directly addresses the authentication failure.

Answer

Verify that the VPN server's firewall is allowing UDP port 500 and 4500.

Answer

Reinstall the VPN client software on the user's computer.

Answer

Configure the VPN to use a different encryption protocol.

Question 9

A small business owner wants to deploy a custom inventory app to five company-owned iPads. The app is not available on the App Store. Which method should you use to install it?

Accepted Answer

Use Apple Configurator to install the app directly.. Apple Configurator allows IT administrators to install enterprise or custom in-house apps directly onto supervised iOS devices without requiring the App Store. Since the app is not available on the App Store and the iPads are company-owned, Apple Configurator provides a supported, secure method for direct installation using a Mac.

Answer

Download the app from a third-party website and open it in Safari.

Answer

Email the app file to each user and have them install it.

Answer

Enable sideloading in Settings and install via iTunes.

Question 10

During a routine security audit, a technician finds that a user's computer has an unknown program running that is sending keystrokes and screenshots to a remote server. The user did not install this program. Which type of malware is this?

Accepted Answer

Keylogger. The described behavior—capturing keystrokes and screenshots and sending them to a remote server—is the defining characteristic of a keylogger. This type of malware specifically records user input and screen activity to steal sensitive data like passwords and personal information, and it often runs without the user's knowledge or consent.

Answer

Rootkit

Answer

Worm

Answer

Ransomware

Question 11

A company's security policy mandates that all wireless traffic must be encrypted using a protocol that is resistant to KRACK attacks. The current network uses WPA2-PSK with AES. Which of the following upgrades should be implemented to meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade to WPA3-Personal.. WPA3-Personal replaces the Pre-Shared Key (PSK) handshake with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), which is resistant to offline dictionary attacks and the KRACK vulnerability that exploits the 4-way handshake in WPA2. Since the policy requires encryption resistant to KRACK attacks, upgrading to WPA3-Personal directly addresses this requirement.

Answer

Change the encryption from AES to TKIP.

Answer

Enable WPA2-Enterprise with 802.1X.

Answer

Implement MAC address filtering.

Question 12

A technician is tasked with disposing of a failed SSD that contains encrypted financial records. The SSD is non-functional and cannot be powered on. Which method should the technician use to ensure data is destroyed?

Accepted Answer

Physically shred the SSD using an industrial shredder.. The SSD is non-functional and cannot be powered on, so any software-based method (secure erase, overwriting) is impossible. Physical destruction via an industrial shredder is the only reliable way to ensure the encrypted financial records are unrecoverable from a dead SSD, as it physically breaks the NAND chips beyond repair.

Answer

Use a degausser on the SSD.

Answer

Perform a secure erase command via SATA interface.

Answer

Overwrite the SSD with a data wiping tool on another computer.

Question 13

A technician is assigned to install new accounting software on a user's computer. The user is a senior manager who is very busy. The technician arrives and the manager says, 'Just make it work, I don't have time for questions.' Which action is MOST professional?

Accepted Answer

Explain that you need just two quick questions to avoid problems later, and keep it brief.. The most professional action because it balances respect for the manager's time with the need to gather critical information. Asking two quick, targeted questions—such as verifying the software version compatibility with the OS or confirming the required database connection string—can prevent installation failures or post-installation issues that would waste even more of the manager's time. This approach demonstrates proactive problem-solving and aligns with CompTIA's emphasis on effective communication and professionalism.

Answer

Proceed with the installation without asking any questions to respect their time.

Answer

Insist on a full meeting to discuss requirements.

Answer

Install the software and leave a note with questions for later.

Question 14

A company's security policy mandates that all USB flash drives must be encrypted before use. A user inserts a new USB drive and wants to encrypt it on a Windows 10 Pro workstation. Which built-in tool should be used?

Accepted Answer

Enable BitLocker To Go on the USB drive.. BitLocker To Go is the built-in Windows 10 Pro feature specifically designed to encrypt removable drives such as USB flash drives. It uses AES encryption to protect the entire volume, and the drive can be accessed only with a password, smart card, or recovery key. This directly satisfies the company's mandate for encrypting USB drives before use.

Answer

Use EFS (Encrypting File System) on the USB drive.

Answer

Format the drive as exFAT and set a password.

Answer

Use the cipher command to encrypt the drive.

Question 15

A technician is configuring a new workstation for a customer who is concerned about energy consumption. Which setting should the technician enable to reduce power usage when the computer is idle?

Accepted Answer

Enable sleep mode after 15 minutes of inactivity.. Enabling sleep mode after 15 minutes of inactivity places the computer into a low-power state (S3 sleep, Suspend-to-RAM) where the CPU is powered down but RAM retains data, allowing a quick wake-up. This directly reduces energy consumption during idle periods more effectively than simply turning off the display, as it cuts power to the processor, drives, and most peripherals.

Answer

Disable the screensaver and set the display to turn off after 30 minutes.

Answer

Enable hibernation mode after 1 hour of inactivity.

Answer

Set the power plan to 'High performance' to reduce power draw.