CompTIA Tech+ Part 1

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

Developed as a dedicated video bus by Intel to provide faster CPU and memory access for graphics adapters than the PCI bus could provider. _____ has been surpassed by PCI Express (PCIe).

Access Control List (ACL)

The collection of access control entries (ACEs) that determines which subjects (user accounts, host IP addresses, and so on) are allowed or denied access to the object and the privileges given (read-only, read/write, and so on).

Access Point (AP)

A device that provides a connection between wireless devices and can connect to wired networks, implementing an infrastructure mode WLAN. Also known as a wireless access point (WAP).

Accounting

Tracking authorized usage of a resource or use of rights by a subject and alerting when unauthorized use is detected or attempted.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Symmetric 128-, 192-, or 256-bit block cipher used for bulk encryption in modern security standards, such as WPA2, WPA3, and TLS.

Advanced Technology Extended (ATX)

Standard PC case, motherboard, and power supply specification. Mini-, Micro-, and Flex-ATX specify smaller board designs.

Air Gapped

A type of network isolation that physically separates a host from other hosts or a network from all other networks.

Algorithm (general)

A set of rules or a process designed to perform calculations, solve specific problems, or perform tasks efficiently.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

7-bit code page mapping binary values to character glyphs. _________ can represent 127 characters, though some values are reserved for non-printing control characters.

Antivirus Scanner (A-V)

Software capable of detecting and removing virus infections and (in most cases) other types of malware. Also called antivirus software.

Array

Identifier for a group of variables of the same type. The number of possible elements is fixed when it is declared.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The science of creating machines with the ability to develop problem-solving and analysis strategies without significant human direction or intervention.

Assembly Code

A compiled software program is converted to binary machine code using the instruction set of the CPU platform. Assembly language is this machine code represented in human-readable text.

Attenuation

_______, or degradation of a signal as it travels over media, determines the maximum distance for a particular media type at a given bit rate.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Using software and smartphone cameras or headsets to interact with real-world objects and images or change the way they appear in some way.

Authentication

A method of validating a particular entity's or individual's unique credentials.

Authorization

The process of determining what rights and privileges a particular entity has.

Backdoor

A mechanism for gaining access to a computer that bypasses or subverts the normal method of authentication.

Bandwidth

Generally used to refer to the amount of data that can be transferred through a connection over a given period. _________ more properly means the range of frequencies supported by transmission media, measured in Hertz.

basic input/output system (BIOS)

Legacy 32-bit firmware type that initializes hardware and provides a system setup interface for configuring boot devices and other hardware settings.

Biometric Authentication

An authentication mechanism that allows a user to perform a biometric scan to operate an entry or access system.

bit (b)

The smallest unit of measurement for a computer, a word made up of the first part of binary and the last part of digit.

_____ bits (b) = 1 Byte (B)

_____ Byte (B) = 8 bits (b)

Byte (B)

A unit that describes file sizes and memory capacity. A single one, in this simplest form, can store one of 256 values.

Blu-ray Disc (BD)

Latest generation of optical drive technology, with disc capacity of 25 GB per layer. Transfer rates are measured in multiples of 36 MB/s.

Branch

In scripting and programming, control statement that uses a condition to determine which code block to execute next.

Browser

Software designed to view HTML pages.

Bus

Connections between components on the motherboard and peripheral devices providing data pathways, memory addressing, power supply, timing, and connector/port form factor.

Cable Modem

Cable-Internet-access digital modem that uses a coaxial connection to the service provider's fiber-optic core network.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

A simple language for adding style, such as different colors, fonts, spacing, and other formatting, to Web documents.

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

Receives an analog signal from the graphics adapter and forms a color image on the screen by illuminating red, green, and blue dots (triads).

Certificate

Issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) as a guarantee that a public key it has issued to an organization to encrypt messages sent to it genuinely belongs to that organization.

Certificate Authority (CA)

A server that guarantees subject identities by issuing signed digital certificate wrappers for their public keys.

Client-Server

A distributed computing architecture where two distinct entities interact: the client (think your PC), which requests services, and the server, which provides them.

Coaxial Cable

Media type using two separate conductors that share a common axis categorized using the Radio Grade (RG) specifications.

Comma-Separated Value File (CSV)

A __________________ type uses commas and new lines to organize information into cells in a table format, and stores the table as a text file. Uses the extension ".csv" and is one of the most common outputs for any spreadsheet program.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

A text-based interface between the user and the operating system that accepts input in the form of commands.

Compact Disc - Re-writable (CD-RW)

Optical storage technology supporting up to 700 MB per disc with recordable and re-writable media also available.

Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM)

A type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—this type of storage.

Compiler

A software program that translates code written in a high-level programming language (such as C++, Java, or Python) into a lower-level language (such as assembly language, object code, or machine code) that a computer's processor can execute.

Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA)

Three principles of security control and management. Also known as the information security triad.

________ are operated using Structured Query Language (SQL, pronounced "sequel").

Many databases are operated using ___________.

Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM)

Series of high-bandwidth system-memory standards (DDR3/DDR4/DDR5) where data is transferred twice per clock cycle.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

Carrier technology to implement broadband Internet access for subscribers by transferring data over voice-grade telephone lines.

Digital Video Interface (DVI)

Legacy video interface that supports digital only or digital and analog signaling.

Digital Video/Versatile Disk (DVD)

Optical storage technology supporting up to 4.7 GB per layer per disc with recordable and re-writable media also available.

DisplayPort

Digital audio/video interface developed by VESA. Supports some cross-compatibility with DVI and HDMI devices.

Dotted Decimal Notation

Format for expressing IPv4 addresses using four decimal values from 0 to 255 for each octet.

Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM)

Standard form factor for system memory. There are different pin configurations for different DDR-SDRAM RAM types.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Protocol used to automatically assign IP addressing information to hosts that have not been configured manually.

Elasticity

Property by which a computing environment can add or remove resources in response to increasing and decreasing demands in workload.