The Microsoft Born to Learn Blog reports that the new series of exams for Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 is here. This is great news for those of you looking to add these skills to your resume as the new Sharepoint 2010 has many new features that will make the product popular and increase the demand for individuals certified with those skills. Sharepoint 2010 is a collaborative software tool that gives companies an increasing amount of control over their communications and business intelligence capabilities. You can find out more about this product right from the source at Microsoft. You can even download a free trial.

The MCITP: SharePoint Administrator 2010 is the professional level certification for Sharepoint technology. Let’s take a look at some of the exam requirements.

TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring (70-667)
To be a candidate for this exam, you want to have about a year of experience with Sharepoint technologies as well as similar experience with “Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Server 2008, and Active Directory, and networking infrastructure services.”  Taking this exam you’ll be faced with questions from the following domains:

• Installing and Configuring a SharePoint Environment
• Managing a SharePoint Environment
• Deploying and Managing Applications
• Maintaining a SharePoint Environment

When you pass this exam you’ll earn your MCTS: SharePoint 2010, Configuration certification as well as get credit toward your Sharepoint MCITP.

PRO: SharePoint Server 2010, Administrator (70-668)
You’ll need to be able to deploy and design the infrastructure for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 in order to pass this exam. According to Microsoft candidates will be “senior administrators” with “a minimum of two years of experience administering, deploying, managing, monitoring, upgrading, migrating, and designing SharePoint servers.” The domains of this exam include:

• Designing a SharePoint 2010 Farm Topology
• Planning SharePoint 2010 Deployment
• Defining a SharePoint 2010 Operations Strategy and Business Continuity
• Planning for Search and Business Solutions

Training for the new Sharepoint 2010 is in production is should start hitting the shelves soon. To learn more about Sharepoint 2010 or any other IT certification, give us a call at 1-800-418-6789. Thanks and good luck with your certifications.

Every PrepLogic Practice Exam question includes a “Feedback Link” that allows you to provide feedback or alert us to items you believe may be in error. From time to time we like to address some of your remarks here in our blog. Let’s take a look at some of our recent Practice Exam Feedback.

Our first comment is in regards to a question in our Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) (312-50) Practice Exam. The question is:

You are a security consultant hired to perform a wireless penetration test. Which of the following would be considered part of the test? Select the best answers.

A.) Application Testing and Code Review
B.) Cordless Communications Testing
C.) Privacy Review
D.) Infrared Systems Testing
E.) PBX Testing
F.) Intrusion Detection System Testing

The correct answers are B, C and D.

Vincent writes in to say that “IDS testing should be a part of any Pen Testing for WAN or LAN.”  This is an excellent point for discussion. It’s true that IDS, in theory, can be used in the testing of wireless network vulnerabilities, but it isn’t a standard practice according to the CEH exam. IDS testing is essentially meant for wired communications. This journal article notes the need for improvements to IDS systems in order to account for the inherent vulnerabilities in wireless networks, but at this time, IDS systems are not used in this way. In the wireless penetration test example given, Cordless Communications Testing, Privacy Review and Infrared Systems Testing would be considered part of the test.

Our next comment comes from the feedback for our CISSP® Practice Exam. The question is:

Which of the following is NOT a preventative physical access control? Select the best answer.

A.) Biometrics
B.) Fences
C.) Call back systems
D.) CCTV (Closed-Circuit TV)

The correct answer is C, Call back systems, which is a preventative technical access control.

Our commenter asks “Isn’t biometrics considered more of a technical control than a physical control?” While it is true that Biometrics is a technical control, it is also a physical control.  Consider that a technical access control mechanism is one that prevents access to systems with the intention of protecting information. Laptops with built-in fingerprint scanners would be an example of biometrics used as a technical access control mechanism.  Physical access control mechanisms are distinguished from technical access control mechanisms, in that they restrict you from physically entering a space you don’t belong.  A finger print scanner at a secure entryway would be a biometric physical access control mechanism. Of the choices listed, Call back systems are not a preventative physical access control.

The final comment we will address today is from PrepLogic’s A+ Practical Application (220-702) Practice Exam. The question is:

You upgrade a system that contains a layered service provider from a previous version of Windows Vista.  The system loses network connectivity when configured for dynamic address assignment. How would you verify that this upgrade is the probable issue? Select the best answer.

A.) Open a command prompt with administrator rights, issue netsh winsock reset and check the listings.
B.) Open a command prompt, issue ipconfig and check for a “169.254.x.x” IPv4 address.
C.) Unplug and reinsert the network card, check for a loose cable and try to ping a nearby host.
D.) Call the Internet Service Provider and contact a network administrator.

The correct answer is B.  The 169.254.x.x is an APIPA address, signifying that the computer has no current network visibility.

An A+ candidate writes that “an APIPA does not verify an upgrade issue. There are many possible reasons for an APIPA. The only thing it verifies is that there is no network connectivity.” One of the biggest problems with Layered Service Providers is corruption of the TCP/IP stack, usually as a result of improper or incomplete removal of the service.  This is a widely known issue.  If the TCP/IP stack does become corrupted, the computer no longer can access the network and, thus, the computer pulls an APIPA address rather than one assigned by DHCP.  We can verify that the upgrade is the problem on the simple notion of causality.  Before the upgrade, my computer had access to the network.  After the upgrade, my computer pulls an APIPA address, leaving me to believe the TCP/IP stack is corrupted, since the question includes no additional information regarding improper DHCP configuration is included in the stem.

Remember, if you have any comments or questions about a practice question, simply submit your comment and our editorial team will review it. If we made a mistake (we’re only human!) we’ll correct it in a practice exam update. Thanks for your feedback, and good luck on your exams.

Sources in the article recommend certifications including CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ for those interested in taking advantage of the opportunities in the field.

Additionally, the article indicates that the opportunities aren’t limited to high-tech companies. IT positions in the medical field are likely to increase due to the ramping up of online, confidential medical records and documentation.  “Feeding that growth is the more than $25 billion that the federal government plans to spend to expand use of health IT by 2014.”  Positions that should increase in demand include network systems analysts, data communication analysts and software engineers.

For more information about IT certifications and the opportunities they provide, contact PrepLogic’s IT career counselors at 1-800-418-6789.

Our new 12 Hiring Manager Secrets to Getting the Job You Want whitepaper has many great secrets that will help you get the edge when you’re looking for your next job.  Check out hint #8 and learn something very important about your online reputation. And when you’re done, go and get the full 12 Hiring Manager Secrets document free from PrepLogic. Enjoy.

Hiring Manager Secret #8. Don’t Look Stupid on the Internet

Social Media makes it very tempting to be more and more transparent about your personal life. It can be easy to let your guard down and reveal facts that shouldn’t be for public consumption. Now is the time to reel it back in.  Carefully manage your privacy settings and closely monitor the content you allow to be seen publically. Better yet, you may want to follow this rule: only post material that you’d show directly to your boss. It’s important to be in control of your online presence. Employers Google your name, you should do the same to see what comes up.

Be purposeful about your online presence. In response to an online blog, one poster commented that this year they planned to “be more diligent at linking my LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook strategies in order to facilitate more of a personal connection.” This is a wise strategy you can employ for yourself. It’s also important to keep to the topic at hand. Not all social media serve the same purpose. Look at what the “mission statements” are for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN.

Twitter
Discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world

Facebook
What’s on your mind? / Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.

LinkedIn
Over 65 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities

Stick to the topic! Try not to include too much personal activity on your LinkedIN. Your contacts won’t appreciate it. Don’t use Facebook and LinkedIN for minute-by-minute updates, that’s what Twiter is for. Use your social and professional media to your advantage, don’t let it tear you down. Also, make sure thay you use the highest integrity with your screen names, avatars, email addresses and even your passwords. No hiring manager wants to seriously consider a candidate with sexydude37@yahoo.com for an email address.

Ready to find out more? Check out the full 12 Hiring Manager Secrets to Getting the Job You Want for the full list of helpful hints about managing and maintaining your career and positioning your skills and accomplishments for maximum value.  Got any questions? Give us a call at 1-800-418-6789.

We’ve just released our newest career-advice article, “12 Hiring Manager Secrets to Getting the Job You Want.” This article is packed with great info you can use and it’s fun to read also. The point of this article isn’t to help you “trick” your way into a job, it’s to help you develop habits and attitudes that will make hiring manager’s genuinely want to give you the job. It includes:

• Patterns of employment hiring managers want to see
• How to position your accomplishments and achievements
• The proper way to communicate and provide your information
• How to get your email opened and your resume read
• Leveraging Social Media to your advantage (and preventing it from tarnishing your image)
• Answers to commonly asked interview questions
• IT skills and certifications that speak the loudest

Our new “12 Hiring Manager Secrets to Getting the Job You Want” is free and it’s available for download now. If you have any questions about these tips, or anything else to do with IT training, give our guys a call at 1-800-418-6789.

Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) is giving all exam takers a do-over this summer. All summer long, people who fail their CWNP exam will be given a free second shot to try it again. The 2nd Shot Program runs from May 1 – August 31 and includes CWNP’s most popular exams. Summer is a great time to catch up on your certifications, even if it takes you an extra shot to do it.

Here’s how it works, straight from CWNP:

• Take the CWTS (PW0-070), CWNA (PW0-104), or CWSP (PW0-204) exam between May 1 and August 31, 2010.
• If you do not pass the exam, send CWNP your Pearson VUE score sheet via fax (866-422-8354) or email (customercare@cwnp.com).  Make sure CWNP gets your full name and email address.
• Within 15 business days, CWNP will email you your free second shot exam voucher.
• It really is that simple.  CWNP wants you to go into any exam with confidence that you can pass the exam.

In related news, PrepLogic’s Certified Wireless Technology Specialist (CWTS) LearnSmart Video Training is in final production and will go live within days. Check out CWNP’s website to learn more about the small print and special details of the 2nd Shot offer. Good luck on your exams this summer.

Now you can train for your exam with PrepLogic on your Amazon Kindle ebook reader. Just this week, PrepLogic has launched the A+ Essentials (220-701) Exam Manual and the A+ Practical Application (220-702) Exam Manual for the Amazon Kindle. PrepLogic’s Exam Manual line of IT certification training is perfect for the Amazon Kindle. Each Exam Manual gives you the down and dirty details you need to pass your exam and get certified. These products were designed specifically for the Amazon Kindle, so you can use them anywhere, take notes and learn whenever you have the opportunity. They’re available directly through the Amazon Kindle store, so you can choose, download and start learning in under a minute. The first wave of titles include the A+ Essentials (220-701) Exam Manual and the A+ Practical Application (220-702) Exam Manual. Shortly after PrepLogic will be introducing the Cisco CCNA (640-802) Exam Manual, Network+ (N10-004) Exam Manual, Window 7 Configuration (70-680) Exam Manual and many more. Of course, if you have any questions about the CompTIA A+ or any other certification training, please give PrepLogic a call at 1-800-418-6789.

The new criteria have been well-received. According to one source  “this is the best thing Cisco could have done as far as refocusing their networking content. The condensed and restructured courses enable network professionals to study in a better flow. The new path makes more sense and simplifies the learning process by testing the easier, hardware and configuring skills first, via the routing and switching exams, and then moving onto more complex troubleshooting skills in the final exam.”

Just last week, the CCNP Route and CCNP Switch exams became available to the public. So now that they’re out, let’s take a brief refresher on what you’re going to see on these new CCNP certification exams.

The CCNP Route (642-902) exam will test the knowledge and skills necessary to use advanced IP addressing and routing in implementing scalable and secure Cisco ISR routers connected to LANs and WANs. The exam covers configuration of secure routing solutions to support branch offices and mobile workers.  CCNP Route (642-902) exam topics include:

• Implement an EIGRP based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement a multi-area OSPF Network, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement an eBGP based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement an IPv6 based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement an IPv4 or IPv6 based redistribution solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement Layer 3 Path Control Solution

The CCNP Switch (642-813) exam will test the knowledge and skills necessary to to plan, configure and verify the implementation of complex enterprise switching solutions as well as implement secure integration of VLANs, WLANs, voice and voice.  CCNP Switch (642-813) exam topics include:

• Implement VLAN based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement a Security Extension of a Layer 2 solution, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Implement Switch based Layer 3 services, given a network design and a set of requirements
• Prepare infrastructure to support advanced services
• Implement High Availability, given a network design and a set of requirements

CCNP TSHOOT (642-832) is currently in Beta testing with the real exam expected to be available April 30, 2010. PrepLogic is currently developing a full complement of training for the new 2010 CCNP including Practice Exams, Printables, Quiz Me and Lecture Series audio training, Mega Guides and video training. You can expect to see the first products hit the shelves this spring. If you have questions about the new CCNP, give PrepLogic a call at 1-800-418-6789.

Your boss wants you to procure an external hard drive for his PC so that it can be quickly backed up. If he wants the quickest backup, which of the following busses should you use? Select the best answer.

A.) IEEE 1394
B.) IEEE 1284
C.) RS-232
D.) USB 2.0

The correct answer is A. Let’s run through why A is the right choice.

Answer choice B, IEEE 1284, is the spec for parallel ports which, when compared to either USB or FireWire (IEEE 1394), is much slower—about 1.5 MB/s. Definitely out. C, RS-232 is the spec for serial ports. Also too slow at 115 KB/s. That leaves A and D. USB 2.0 is an excellent transfer mechanism; but, when compared to FireWire, it’s slower: 480 Mpbs.
Tom from Mariposa CA had a question about the explanation for why FireWire is correct. We explain that FireWire is good for up to 800 Mbps and is, thus, faster than USB 2.0. Tom writes: “IEEE 1394 is 400 Mbps; USB 2.0 is 480 Mbps; IEEE 1394b which is not a choice here, runs at 800.”
Technically, Tom is correct. The b revision for IEEE 1394 is the one that runs at 800 Mbps. But, the community doesn’t refer to FireWire by its revision designation in more common parlance. All things being equal, the IEEE 1394 revision that runs at 400 Mbps is actually IEEE 1394-1995. But we don’t call it that; likewise, we don’t refer to the 2006 revision of the standard as IEEE 1394c-2006. Nor will we call the as yet unreleased (and blazingly fast at 6.2 Gbps!) IEEE 1394 revision as IEEE P1394d. Whatever the currently used FireWire standard is, it will be referred to as IEEE 1394 (or FireWire).

The next item we’ll go over comes from PrepLogic’s CCNA Voice Practice Exam. The question states:
“Using the given analog sound wave diagram, which part of the sound wave depicts the amplitude?” For reference, we’ve included this diagram.

The answer choices are as follows:

A.) Letter A
B.) Letter B
C.) Letter C
D.) Letter D

The correct answer is B.

James from Melbourne, Australia remarks that he “[does not] agree with… letter B. Self study says it’s… Letter C”.
Here’s the rub: the diagram actually shows two different types of amplitude identified by both Letter B and Letter C. So how do you distinguish? Well, only one type of amplitude is important to telecommunications and, thus, the CCNA Voice exam: peak amplitude. Peak amplitude is exemplified by Letter B. Peak-to-peak amplitude (Letter C) is a common way of measuring amplitude, but peak amplitude—the absolute value of the signal, is more appropriate for this measurement.

The last item we want to discuss comes from PrepLogic’s Security+ (SY0-201) Practice Exam. The question:

Which of the following is NOT true about password security?

A.) Passwords are kept secret at all times.
B.) Passwords are of a minimum sufficient length.
C.) Passwords are of a minimum sufficient strength.
D.) Passwords are generated of personal possessions or preferences.

The correct answer is D.

Stuart from Sierra Vista, AZ writes that he sees two answer choices that are repeated. This is actually another excellent demonstration of how CompTIA creates distracters that pull you away from the correct answer. The problem is that, in reading quickly, answer choices B and C do, indeed, look the same. However, if you look closely you’ll see that answer B indicates passwords “of a minimum sufficient length” while answer C indicates passwords “of a minimum sufficient strength.” This just shows that you have to make sure to read your questions very carefully when taking the test.

Ok, that’s all for now. Check back soon for another installment!