TheoryCOMPTIA Practice Questions
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CompTIA Questions
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Q1A new MX record has been requested in DNS as part of a server setup. Which service most requires a correctly configured MX record to function?
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✓ Correct answer: Mail server
An MX (Mail Exchanger) DNS record designates the server responsible for receiving email for a domain. A mail server relies on this record for inbound message delivery. Load balancers, FTP servers, and firewall DMZ configurations do not depend on MX records.
Q2A network administrator is experiencing high CPU utilization on a monitoring server caused by continuous SNMP polling of hundreds of devices. How should the administrator reduce this CPU load without sacrificing monitoring capability?
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✓ Correct answer: Remove SNMP polling and configure SNMP traps on each network device
Switching from continuous SNMP polling to SNMP traps is the most effective solution. With traps, each network device sends a notification to the management station only when a specific event occurs, eliminating constant polling and significantly reducing CPU load while maintaining monitoring coverage.
Q3What benefit does MIMO technology bring to the 802.11n wireless standard?
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✓ Correct answer: Multipath support
MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology in 802.11n leverages multiple antennas to take advantage of multipath propagation, improving signal reliability and throughput by using multiple simultaneous data streams.
Q4What is the minimum recommended twisted-pair copper cable category for 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet) networks?
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✓ Correct answer: Cat 5e
Cat 5e (Category 5 enhanced) is the minimum recommended cable grade for 1000BASE-T. Its tighter specifications and improved signal quality over standard Cat 5 make it capable of supporting Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) speeds.
Q5Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) supports four modes for adding devices to a network. Which mode has serious security vulnerabilities due to a brute-force attack?
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✓ Correct answer: PIN
WPS PIN mode was shown to be susceptible to brute-force attacks, allowing attackers to recover the WPS PIN and gain network access. The vulnerability was publicly demonstrated, leading to recommendations to disable WPS PIN mode.
Q6Which term describes hackers who operate in a morally ambiguous space — working without explicit authorization but often with good intentions, such as reporting discovered vulnerabilities?
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✓ Correct answer: Gray hat
Gray hat hackers operate without formal authorization but generally do not intend to cause harm. They may expose vulnerabilities and report them to the affected parties rather than exploiting them. Black hat hackers act maliciously for personal gain. White hat hackers operate with full authorization as ethical hackers. Blue hat hackers are sometimes hired by companies specifically to test systems before launch.
Q7You are configuring data classification labels for your organization's R&D file server. Users typically label documents as contractor, public, or internal. What classification label should be applied to the organization's trade secrets?
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✓ Correct answer: Proprietary
Proprietary is a confidentiality classification used for information whose disclosure could damage a company's competitive position. 'High' and 'Low' are generic risk labels for internal data. 'Top secret' is a government classification label not typically used in commercial organizations.
Q8The CEO reports that his computer will not allow anyone to log in without entering credit card payment information. Investigation reveals he downloaded a file shared by a friend on social media, after which the computer restarted and showed the payment demand. What type of attack best describes this scenario?
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✓ Correct answer: The CEO downloaded and executed Ransomware
The described behavior—blocking system access and demanding payment—is characteristic of ransomware. The malware holds the system hostage until a fee is paid. While targeted delivery via social media could suggest spear phishing, the information provided best supports a ransomware conclusion. A botnet or rootkit would not typically display a payment demand on the login screen.
Q9In a spanning-tree topology, what value is used to determine which port on a non-root switch becomes the root port?
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✓ Correct answer: Path cost
In spanning tree, the root port on each non-root switch is the port with the lowest path cost to the root bridge. Path cost is calculated based on link bandwidth; lower bandwidth links have higher cost. When multiple links have equal cost, other tiebreakers such as port priority or MAC address are used.
Q10Which protocol is used to resolve a MAC address from a known IP address?
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✓ Correct answer: ARP
ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) maps a known IP address to the corresponding MAC address on a local network, enabling Layer 2 frame delivery.
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