DELL CLIENT FOUNDATIONS REVIEW
SHEET LATEST QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
⩥ feature of system setup allowing USB ports to be disabled.
m; USB devices are a possible security risk. there are options for
enabling/disabling and configuring controllers and adapters
provided on the motherboard as a whole.
Answer: USB permissions
⩥ feature of system setup that prevents the computer from
booting until the correct user password is supplied.
m; supervisor/administrator/setup password restricts access to
the system setup program (BIOS/UEFI).
user/system password locks access to the pc. very secure;
nothing can be done until the firmware has initialized the
system. reboot required if password is forgotten.
Answer: boot password
,⩥ legacy. a type of memory associated with BIOS configuration.
maybe backed up with battery. battery can be removed to reset
BIOS configurations.
m; nowadays stored on flash memory on the motherboard.
jumper to short two pins on motherboard to reset BIOS
configurations.
Answer: complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
⩥ feature of UEFI that prevents unauthorized processes, such as
malware, from executing during the boot operation.
m; configures the computer firmware with cryptographic keys to
id trusted code. checks OS boot loader vs. an OS vendor's digital
signature; must pass an integrity check to load.
Answer: secure boot
⩥ hardware. provides cryptographic functions: key generation,
encryption, decryption, hashing. during the boot process,
compares hashes of key system state data to ensure they have
not been tampered with.
,m; persistent memory; comes with unique keys burned in during
production. allows users to digitally sign data and make it
traceable back to our PC.
enabled/disabled/reset from system setup.
Answer: trusted platform module (TPM)
⩥ a secure USB key or thumb drive used to store cryptographic
material and must be authenticated before gaining access to the
keys stored on the module. this sort of solution may be less
susceptible to tampering and insider threats than software-based
storage.
m; often used in large environments. can be adapter card.
typically a removable USB drive with security such as
biometrics.
Answer: hardware security module (HSM)
⩥ a diagnostic program implemented in the system firmware
that checks the hardware to ensure the components required to
boot the PC are present and functioning correctly.
, m; steps to troubleshoot this; ask what has changed, check
cabling and connections, check for faulty interfaces and devices,
check the PSU, check for faulty CPU or system firmware.
Answer: power-on self-test (POST)
⩥ during POST, errors in hardware or the system firmware data
can be brought to the attention of the user by beep noises.
m; beep codes draw attention to a particular fault with the
hardware.
Answer: beep code
e; codes for the original IBM PC.
⩥ MS status screen that indicates an error from which the
system cannot recover (also called a stop error).
m; usually caused by bad driver software or hardware faults
(memory or disk).
Answer: blue screen of death (BSOD)
SHEET LATEST QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
⩥ feature of system setup allowing USB ports to be disabled.
m; USB devices are a possible security risk. there are options for
enabling/disabling and configuring controllers and adapters
provided on the motherboard as a whole.
Answer: USB permissions
⩥ feature of system setup that prevents the computer from
booting until the correct user password is supplied.
m; supervisor/administrator/setup password restricts access to
the system setup program (BIOS/UEFI).
user/system password locks access to the pc. very secure;
nothing can be done until the firmware has initialized the
system. reboot required if password is forgotten.
Answer: boot password
,⩥ legacy. a type of memory associated with BIOS configuration.
maybe backed up with battery. battery can be removed to reset
BIOS configurations.
m; nowadays stored on flash memory on the motherboard.
jumper to short two pins on motherboard to reset BIOS
configurations.
Answer: complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
⩥ feature of UEFI that prevents unauthorized processes, such as
malware, from executing during the boot operation.
m; configures the computer firmware with cryptographic keys to
id trusted code. checks OS boot loader vs. an OS vendor's digital
signature; must pass an integrity check to load.
Answer: secure boot
⩥ hardware. provides cryptographic functions: key generation,
encryption, decryption, hashing. during the boot process,
compares hashes of key system state data to ensure they have
not been tampered with.
,m; persistent memory; comes with unique keys burned in during
production. allows users to digitally sign data and make it
traceable back to our PC.
enabled/disabled/reset from system setup.
Answer: trusted platform module (TPM)
⩥ a secure USB key or thumb drive used to store cryptographic
material and must be authenticated before gaining access to the
keys stored on the module. this sort of solution may be less
susceptible to tampering and insider threats than software-based
storage.
m; often used in large environments. can be adapter card.
typically a removable USB drive with security such as
biometrics.
Answer: hardware security module (HSM)
⩥ a diagnostic program implemented in the system firmware
that checks the hardware to ensure the components required to
boot the PC are present and functioning correctly.
, m; steps to troubleshoot this; ask what has changed, check
cabling and connections, check for faulty interfaces and devices,
check the PSU, check for faulty CPU or system firmware.
Answer: power-on self-test (POST)
⩥ during POST, errors in hardware or the system firmware data
can be brought to the attention of the user by beep noises.
m; beep codes draw attention to a particular fault with the
hardware.
Answer: beep code
e; codes for the original IBM PC.
⩥ MS status screen that indicates an error from which the
system cannot recover (also called a stop error).
m; usually caused by bad driver software or hardware faults
(memory or disk).
Answer: blue screen of death (BSOD)
