Category: A+ Core 2 (220-1202)
The CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1202) examination tests the practical, day-to-day software and administrative skills required of modern technical support specialists. Entry-level and transitioning IT professionals must manage diverse client environments—including Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, and mobile operating systems—while defending systems against malware and adhering to strict change management protocols.
This category delivers structured study resources, practical walkthroughs, and performance-based question (PBQ) review material mapped directly to Core 2 exam domains. Explore step-by-step operating system recovery guides, command-line interface (CLI) cheat sheets, malware remediation procedures, and scripting basics to ensure you pass your exam and excel in operational support roles.
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CAS-005 Lab: Enforcing mTLS & Authorization Policies in Istio
Perimeter firewalls do nothing inside a service mesh. Turn on STRICT mesh-wide mTLS so every pod-to-pod call is mutually authenticated and encrypted, then add a default-deny AuthorizationPolicy that only lets the checkout service call payments.
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Microservice Security at Scale: Implementing mTLS with Istio Service Mesh
A Kubernetes cluster with an open east-west path lets any compromised pod impersonate a peer, sniff plaintext, and walk the call graph. A service mesh closes that path by forcing every workload-to-workload hop through mutual TLS (mTLS): each sidecar presents a short-lived X.509 identity, both sides authenticate, and the wire stays encrypted. Istio makes that…
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SY0-701 Lab: Container Image Vulnerability Scanning
The app image ships known-vulnerable OS packages. Scan it with Trivy, read the CRITICAL CVEs, pin a patched base image in the Dockerfile, and re-scan to prove the criticals are gone — shifting supply-chain security left.
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220-1202 Lab: Sandboxing & Remediating a Trojan
A workstation is beaconing to a known-bad host — a trojan. Follow CompTIA’s 7-step malware removal process in the exact order, then prove you understand why System Restore is toggled off and back on.
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CompTIA’s 7-Step Malware Removal Process (Official 10-Step SOHO Procedure)
The CompTIA A+ Core 2 exam scores you on order, not improvisation. Objective 2.6 asks you to implement a fixed SOHO malware removal procedure so you isolate an infected PC, stop the payload from hiding in restore points, clean or rebuild the system, and close the hole the user opened.
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220-1201 Lab: Configuring a Software RAID 1 Array
Two new 500 GB disks were added to a small file server. Mirror them into a RAID 1 volume with DiskPart so a single drive failure never takes down the data, then verify the mirror is healthy.
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Storage Tech: NVMe, SSDs, and RAID Arrays
A broken boot drive stops work. A misbuilt RAID array destroys data. CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) Objective 3.4 forces you to compare storage hardware, pick the right interface, and choose a RAID level that matches the job.
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N10-009 Lab: Identifying Bottlenecks via CLI Tools
Users report the app server 10.0.5.20 is slow. Work the CLI toolkit: ping to measure loss/latency, traceroute to find WHERE the delay appears, and nmap to confirm the service is actually listening.
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Network Troubleshooting Tools: Ping, Traceroute, Nmap
Reachability, path, and host inventory fail in different ways. Ping answers “does this address reply?” Traceroute (Windows: tracert) answers “which hop on the path stops or delays the packet?” Nmap answers “which hosts and services exist on the network I am authorized to test?” CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Domain 5.0 (Network Troubleshooting, 24% of the exam)…