Mobile Version of Comptia A+ Core

SimulationExams.com, a leading practice tests vendor, released Android and iOS versions of Comptia A+ Core 1 and Comptia A+ Core 2 exams. As may be noted, the Windows desktop versions of the exams are already made available. The mobile versions are available in Trial and Full packages. The download pages for the same are given below:

1. A+ Core 1 Exam Demo  - Android
2. A+ Core 1 Exam Full - Android
3.  A+ Core 2 Exam Demo  - Android
4. A+ Core 2 Exam Full - Android

The iOS versions for use with Apple iPhone and iPad are given below:

1. A+ Core 1 Exam Demo  - iOS for iPhone n iPad
2. A+ Core 1 Exam Full -  iOS for iPhone n iPad
3.  A+ Core 2 Exam Demo  -  iOS for iPhone n iPad
4. A+ Core 2 Exam Full -  iOS for iPhone n iPad

The demo versions of the software are good for 60 questions and answers with explanations. It's good measure of knowing one's preparedness for taking relevant exam. For those interested in practicing full length exams, check out the full versions of the products. The desktop versions of the exams are available here:

1. A+ Core 1 for Windows
2. A+ Core 2 for Windows

Note that the previous versions of the A+ exams, viz 220-901 and 220-902 have been retired as on 31st July 2019. The new version of the exams have exam numbers 220-1001 for A+ Core 1 and 220-1002 for A+ Core 2. You can not mix and match the exams for A+ certified. You need to pass both the exams in the same series.

More Info: a+ certified jobs

CompTIA A+ - Creating IT Futures

It was a few days after the go-live date for the much-discussed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and things in Europe were getting back to business as usual. In the UK, Chris Hodson, chief information security officer (CISO) and data protection officer at Zscaler, hadn’t received too many GDPR-related inquiries from the clients he advises on matters of cybersecurity, policy and compliance. His schedule was, nevertheless, as full as ever – and he sees it as a bonus.
220-901 Topics
No CRTs: You may see it in your study guide, but nothing more than minor adjustments with the screen controls. I did not encounter CRTs on my particular exam
No RAMBUS RAM
More focus on printers, specifically virtual printers
UEFI BIOS is new
No AGP: You may notice it on past study materials
PCMCIA removed
802.11ac WiFi now included
Mobile devices, in particular Windows phone is new
Command line tools

“I have the luxury that I get to go to all these market-leading organizations and listen to their challenges and give my view from the field,” Hodson said.


Hodson’s immersion in the world of IT compliance doesn’t start or end with the headlines. Every day involves thinking not just about regulatory compliance, but the countless other pieces of today’s complex cybersecurity puzzle.

More Info: jobs with a+ certification

Distributed Denial of Service Attack Concepts

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic of a server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic. DDoS attacks achieve effectiveness by utilizing many compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic. Exploited machines can include computers and other networked resources such as IoT devices. From a high level, a DDoS attack is like a traffic jam clogging up a highway, preventing regular traffic from arriving at its desired destination.

• Protect your business: Keep your business running by protecting your critical applications and infrastructure from DDoS attacks.

• Protect your brand: By preventing DDoS attacks you keep your systems running for customers maintaining your service and brand reputation.

• Rapid response: Understand the nature and origin of attacks for improved speed of resolution.

• Gain attack intelligence: Learn from attacks to better prepare for and defend against future attacks.

Any organisation relying on its online presence or public-facing infrastructure must defend against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which can interrupt business-critical services and act as a smokescreen for other attacks. Our Managed DDoS service delivers the resources and expertise to absorb even the most severe attacks and maintain the best possible security and availability.

More Info: denial of service attack types

WordPress DDoS Protection

Every server has a limit, and your website can only handle so many simultaneous visits before its server begins to buckle under pressure. This, in a nutshell, is how a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack works. Considering how common they are, setting up WordPress DDoS protection is a smart move.

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service, which refers to the deployment of large numbers of internet bots—anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. These bots are designed to attack a single server, network or application with an overwhelming number of requests, packets or messages, thereby denying service to legitimate users such as employees or customers.

Usually, attackers begin a DDoS attack by exploiting a vulnerability in a single computer system. The attacker’s system then becomes the DDoS master and works to identify other vulnerable systems to turn them into bots.

The perpetrator directs those computer bots to attack through the use of a command-and-control server, or botnet. At that point, all the attacker has to do is tell the bots who to target.

There are a lot of ways you can mitigate the effects of DDoS attacks on your website. Blocking suspicious IPs is a great start, and so is investing DDoS protection services. Securing your website against DDoS attacks from the get-go can save you a lot of time and headaches down the road.

More Info: denial of service attack types

Questions for Selecting a DDoS

The sophistication, size, and frequency of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks continue to increase—with no apparent end in sight. Where 2 Gbps attacks were once the norm, organizations are now routinely taking steps to mitigate 200+ Gbps attacks against not only the network (Layer 3 and Layer 4), but the applications (Layer 7).

Before we examine prevention and mitigation to DDoS attacks, it is important to reach a common definition of a DDoS attack, which is based on my own experience in the field:

A DDoS attack is an attack intended to take an organization or a service offline, or otherwise render resources unusable, which originates from (or appears to originate from) multiple hosts. The "multiple hosts" part of the attack is what makes it "distributed," and is what makes the attack more difficult to defend against. An attack that originates from a single host or IP address can be easily blocked with a simple router access list or firewall rule.

SYN/UTP/TCP flood attacks, DNS Amplification, NTP Reflection/Amplification, SQL injection, and native SSL attacks have become topics of conversation well outside IT and infrastructure organizations.

As these threats continue to permeate mainstream business conversations, we’ve identified five key questions to ask your organization and your service provider about their DDoS mitigation strategy.

More Info: what does ddos mean

IoT-powered DDoS attacks

DDoS attacks against DNS providers are generally more challenging to accomplish, given the redundant nature of the services, which suggests that this attack came with significant firepower. DNS attacks, when successful are however more damaging as they impact any Internet properties relying on that particular DNS provider.

A DoS or DDoS aims to exhaust the resources at the disposal of a server, most often the ones linked to the network. However, it is also possible to saturate the disk, the RAM, or the targeted machines’ processors.

We separate here the applicative DDoS from the network DDoS, since the method are different, as well as the way to block them. However, when you hear about a DDoS, this term refers to the network DDoS.

In today's world, DNS is a fundamental part of critical infrastructure. DNS provides the translation between human friendly domain names and machine readable IP addresses. In short, without DNS services, users are unable to reach websites, even though the sites themselves may be running just fine. Given the amount of commerce done over the Internet today, it is not surprising that the US Department of Homeland Security is already investigating the attack.

More Info: how does ddos work

How distributed denial of service attacks

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. They target a wide variety of important resources, from banks to news websites, and present a major challenge to making sure people can publish and access important information.

From a single computer, it’s difficult for attackers to generate the volume of traffic necessary to crash a network or website. To get the bandwidth or processing power needed, attackers often use botnets—armies of hundreds or thousands of Internet-connected computers (zombies or bots) that are infected with malware and under the control of the attacker (the bot master, or bot herder). In most cases, the owners of these infected computers are not even aware they’ve been compromised.

From one or more computers designated as the command and control (C&C) server, the attacker sends remote “launch” instructions to the bots. Collectively, these systems provide enough power to carry out massive attacks—far larger than those launched from a single source. And by using a botnet, attackers are able to hide their identity because the attack originates from many different systems that all appear to be legitimate.

More Info: how to prevent denial of service attack