Windows XP Pro Professional Standards & Competencies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the principle of least privilege, what should a technician do when a standard user needs to run a specific administrative tool on Windows XP Pro?
- Use Runas to execute the tool with administrative credentials (Correct answer)
- Add the user permanently to the Administrators group
- Disable UAC for that session
- Share the admin password with the user
Correct answer: Use Runas to execute the tool with administrative credentials
Runas allows running a specific program with elevated credentials without granting the user broad administrative rights.
Question 2: A technician discovers unauthorized software installed on a Windows XP Pro workstation. What is the correct professional first step?
- Document the finding and report it per organizational incident response policy (Correct answer)
- Immediately uninstall the software
- Reformat the drive
- Ignore it if the system is functioning normally
Correct answer: Document the finding and report it per organizational incident response policy
Professional standards require documenting findings and escalating through proper incident response channels before taking action.
Question 3: Which Windows XP Pro encryption technology protects files so only the encrypting user can access them, even from an administrator?
- Encrypting File System (EFS) (Correct answer)
- BitLocker
- NTFS permissions
- IPSec
Correct answer: Encrypting File System (EFS)
EFS encrypts files with the user's certificate so even administrators cannot read them without the private key or a designated recovery agent.
Question 4: A Windows XP Pro machine will be repurposed. What is the professional standard for sanitizing a hard drive containing sensitive data?
- Use a DoD-approved wipe tool to overwrite all sectors multiple times (Correct answer)
- Delete all files and empty the Recycle Bin
- Format the drive with quick format
- Remove the drive label
Correct answer: Use a DoD-approved wipe tool to overwrite all sectors multiple times
DoD 5220.22-M or similar multi-pass overwrite standards ensure deleted data cannot be forensically recovered.
Question 5: Which Windows XP Pro utility allows a technician to script the automated creation of local user accounts across multiple machines?
- Net user command in a batch script (Correct answer)
- Computer Management GUI only
- User Accounts in Control Panel only
- Sysprep
Correct answer: Net user command in a batch script
The 'net user' command supports creating, modifying, and deleting local accounts and can be scripted for bulk operations.
Question 6: A professional must verify that a Windows XP Pro system has all critical patches applied. What is the most authoritative method?
- Run Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) (Correct answer)
- Check Add/Remove Programs manually
- Review the Application Event Log
- Run msconfig.exe
Correct answer: Run Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA)
MBSA scans Windows XP systems against Microsoft's patch database and reports missing security updates.
Question 7: Which Windows XP Pro Group Policy setting prevents users from accessing the Command Prompt to limit unauthorized scripting?
- User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Prevent access to the command prompt (Correct answer)
- Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security > Command Prompt
- Local Security Policy > Software Restriction Policies
- Registry key DisableCMD under HKCU
Correct answer: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Prevent access to the command prompt
The Group Policy setting under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System disables cmd.exe for targeted users.
Windows XP Pro Professional Standards & Competencies 3
Under the principle of least privilege, what should a technician do when a standard user needs to run a specific administrative tool on Windows XP Pro?