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C394 - IT Foundations (A+ Core 2)

Exam Compass -> Professor Messer -> Dion Practice -> Win.


Last updated: May 4th, 2023

1.0 - Operating Systems

Installing OS

  • Bootable media
    • CD/DVD
    • USB
    • PXE
  • Partitioning
    • GPT
      • Up to 128 partitions
      • 9 billion TB
    • MBR
      • 4 primary partitions, only bootable partitions
      • 1 extended partition, can contain logical partitions
      • 2TB

Windows

Requirements

  • Windows 10
    • 1 GHz processor
    • 2 GB RAM
    • 32 GB of free space
  • Windows 11
    • 1 GHz processor
    • 4 GB RAM
    • 64 GB of free space
    • UEFI capable
    • TPM 2.0
    • DirectX 12
    • 720p display

System Tools

  • Control Panel
    • Internet Options
    • Devices and Printers
    • Programs and Features
    • Network and Sharing Center
    • System
    • Windows Defender Firewall
    • Mail
    • Sound
    • User Accounts
    • Device Manager
    • Indexing Options
    • Administrative Tools
    • File Explorer Options
    • Power Options
    • Ease of Access
  • Micorsoft Management Console
    • Create snap-ins that can make use of Windows Tools
    • mmc.exe
  • Device Manager
    • View and manage hardware and drivers
    • devmgmt.msc
  • Disk Management
    • View and manage disk drives
    • diskmgmt.msc
  • System Information
    • Summary
    • Components
    • Software Environment
    • Hardware Resources
  • Local Users and Groups
    • Manage local users and groups
    • lusrmgr.msc
  • Grou Policy Editor
    • Local Group Policy Editor
      • gpedit.msc
    • Domain Group Policy Editor
      • gpmc.msc
  • Certificate Manager
    • Manage certificates
    • certmgr.msc
  • Task Manager
    • Processes
    • Performance
    • App History
    • Startup
    • Users
    • Details
    • Services
  • Tasks Scheduler
    • Cron jobs for Windows
    • taskschd.msc
  • Performance Monitor
  • Event Viewer
    • Warns of issues
    • Logs errors
    • System, Application, Security
    • eventvwr.msc
  • Performance Monitor
    • Monitors system performance
    • Graphs
    • Counters, Alarms
    • perfmon.msc
  • Resource Monitor
    • Detailed view of cpu, memory, disk, network, and gpu
    • resmon.msc
  • Disk Cleanup
    • Free up disk space
    • cleanmgr.exe
  • Disk Defragmenter
    • Defragment hard drives
    • dfrgui.exe
  • Registry Editor
    • Manage system configuration settings
    • regedit.exe
  • msconfig
  • msinfo32
    • System Information
  • WinRE
    • Windows Recovery Environment
    • Startup repair
    • System restore
    • Command prompt
    • Startup settings
      • Safe mode
      • Low resolution mode
      • Last known good configuration
  • Bitlocker
    • Encrypts entire drive
    • Requires TPM 2.0
  • EFS
    • Encrypts individual files within Properties tab

CLI Tools

  • Navigation and File Manipulation
    • dir
      • Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
    • cd
      • Changes the current directory.
    • copy
      • Copies one or more files to another location.
    • robocopy
      • Robust File Copy
    • del
      • Deletes one or more files.
    • move
      • Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
  • Disk Management
    • format
      • Formats a disk for use with Windows.
    • diskpart
      • diskpart is a command-line tool that allows you to manage disks and partitions.
    • chkdsk
      • Checks a disk and displays a status report.
      • chkdsk /f
        • Automatically fixes file system errors.
      • chkdsk /r
        • Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information.
        sfc
      • Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.
      • sfc /scannow
        • Scans the system for corrupted files and attempts to fix them.
  • System Configuration
    • msconfig
      • Displays the System Configuration utility.
    • systeminfo
      • Displays detailed information about the computer configuration.
    • winver
      • Pop up window with version information.
  • Group Policy
    • gpupdate
      • Updates Group Policy settings.
    • gpresult
      • Displays Group Policy info.
  • Network Management
    • ipconfig
      • Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values
      • ipconfig /all
        • Shows additional information
    • ping
      • Tests the reachability of a network host.
      • ping -t
        • Continuously pings the specified host until stopped.
      • ping -a
        • Resolves addresses to hostnames.
      • ping -n
        • Specifies the number of echo requests to send.
      • ping -l
        • Changes the default size of the data portion of the echo request.
    • tracert
      • Traces the route that packets take to a network host by sending ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets.
    • pathping
      • Combines the functionality of the ping and tracert commands.
    • netstat
      • Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/UDP network connections.
    • nslookup
      • Queries Internet name servers interactively or in batch mode.
    • net
      • Displays or modifies network configuration.
      • net use
        • Connects to a shared resource.
      • net view
        • Displays resources, including file and print shares, on remote computers.
      • net user
        • Displays or modifies user accounts.
      • net start/stop
        • Starts or stops a service.

Windows Shares

  • Domain
    • Centralized management
    • Security
    • 1000s of users
  • Workgroup
    • More flexible for the end user
    • 20 max inbound

Backup and Restore

  • File History
    • Control Panel > System and Security > File History
    • Control Panel (icon) > File History
    • Backup files to external drive
  • Windows Backup
    • Settings > Accounts > Backup
  • Restore
    • Control Panel > System and Security > Create a restore point
  • Reset
    • Settings > Update & Security > Recovery
    • Control Panel > Security and Maintenence > Restore

Linux

Linux Commands

  • ip a
    • Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values
  • chmod
    • Changes file permissions
    • Permissions are read, write, execute
    • Order is owner, group, other
    • Octal numbers are used to represent permissions
    • 1 = execute
    • 2 = write
    • 4 = read
    • 1 + 2 + 4 = 7
    • chmod 777 filename = chmod rwxrwxrwx filename
      • Owner, group, and other have full permissions
  • chown
    • Changes file ownership
    • chown username filename
  • df
    • Displays disk space usage
  • top
    • Displays running processes
  • cat /etc/os-release
    • Displays Linux version

MacOS

MacOS Tools

  • Dock
    • Icons on the bottom
  • Finder
    • For locating applications and files, seems like a DE
  • Key Chain
    • Protected passwords/certificates
  • Mission Control
    • Larger desktop perspective
  • Spotlight
    • The search tool
  • iCloud
    • For cloud storage, sync, and backup
  • Screen Sharing
    • View and take control of remote systems
  • Boot Camp
    • Dual-boot to Windows
  • Time Machine
    • Backup program/system state
  • Terminal
    • Similar to Linux

File Systems

  • NTFS
    • Windows
  • FAT32
    • Cross-platform
    • Commonly used on flash drives
    • 4GB file size limit
  • exFAT
    • Cross-platform
    • Larger file size limit of 16TB
  • APFS
    • MacOS
  • EXT4
    • Debian and Ubuntu
  • EXT3

2.0 - Security

Wireless Security

  • WPA2
    • Uses PSK (Pre-Shared Key)
  • WPA3
    • Uses AES-128 and GCM encryption so each IV is unique
    • Uses Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) for authentication which is sometimes referred to as the dragonfly handshake and uses Diffie-Helman key exchange and HMAC
    • Uses a new key exchange protocol called Enhanced Open and Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE) that enables devices to connect to a network without having to enter a password by using PKI
  • Deprecated
    • WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
    • WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
    • TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)
  • RADIUS server (port 1812) is used for remote auth

Removing Malware

  1. Identify and verify malware symptoms
  2. Quarantine infected systems
  3. Disable System Restore in Windows
  4. Remediate infected systems: update anti-malware, scan and use removal techniques (safe mode, preinstallation environment)
  5. Schedule scans and run updates
  6. Enable System Restore and create a restore point in Windows
  7. Educate the end user

AAA

  • RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service)
    • A protocol for authenticating users
  • TACACS+ (Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus)
    • Commonly used for cisco devices
  • Kerberos
    • Uses a ticket granting service (TGS) to authenticate users
    • Used for Windows domain authentication

4.0 - Operational Procedures

Change Management

  1. Purpose of change
  2. Scope of change
  3. Affected systems
  4. Risk analysis
  5. End-user acceptance
  6. Change board approvals
  7. Rollback plan
  8. Sandbox testing

Resources