bility is usage of different Control Panel applets. For example, you might be tasked with launching the firewall through the Control Panel and enabling it. The exam objectives specifically state that you should be able to navigate the Control Panel using the icon or list view, so you should be familiar with how to change the view from Category view to one of the list views.
One way to ensure you are prepared for these types of questions is to get as much hands on as possible. You can get some of this in a classroom such as with the CompTIA A+ Boot Camp Course at InfoSec Institute.
Also, the CompTIA A+ Training Kit (Exam 220-801 and Exam 220-802) (ISBN 978-0735662681) includes many different exercises written specifically with these performance based questions in mind. As you’re reading the book, go through the exercises and you’ll be better prepared to correctly complete these questions.
Don’t panic if you’re currently studying for the 220-701 and 220-702 exams. They will continue to be available until August 31, 2013 and CompTIA doesn’t plan on adding performance based testing to these exams.
Performance Based Testing in the Network+ Exam
CompTIA plans on adding performance based questions to the current version of the Network+ exam (N10-005) sometime in the last quarter of 2012 (October, November, or December).
Just as with the A+ exam, I see a lot of possibilities with the command prompt for performance based testing on the Network+ exam. As a simple example, you might be tasked with removing a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease for a client and then obtaining a new lease. When you launch the simulation, you’ll see a command prompt. You’ll then need to enter the following two commands:
The first command releases the current DHCP lease and the second command requests a new lease.
InfoSec Institute has an intensive three-day course that can help you prepare for this exam. http://www.infosecinstitute.com/courses/comptia_authorized_network+_boot_camp_training.html
Performance Based Testing in the Security+ Exam
The current version of Security+ is SY0-301 and CompTIA plans on adding performance based testing questions to this exam in the first quarter of 2013 (January, February, or March).
Once again, I see many possibilities with the command prompt.
As an example, you might be asked to calculate the hash on a file and when you click the button, the simulated environment will put you into a command prompt simulation. If you type in dir and press Enter, you’ll see the files in the directory and you might have the md5sum or sha1sum executable file.
You’ll need to be familiar with how to use these programs to calculate a hash. For example, you can calculate the Message Digest 5 (MD5) hash of a file named study.txt with the following command:
The program then outputs something like this:
The first string of hexadecimal characters is the hash of the file, and the file name (study.txt) is after the star (*).
A similar example is in the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide (ISBN 978-1463762360) in the cryptography chapter.