A list of lists important in IT and cybersecurity

…according to CompTIA

Intro

I’m studying to get my CompTIA Security+ certification and this will be a study guide. As I prepare for the exam, I’ll keep adding to this post.

Allow me to introduce you to study-puppy. Photo by Samia Liamani

The 5 Main Categories of the CompTIA Security+ exam

• Attacks, Threats and Vulnerabilities
• Architecture & Design
• Implementation
• Operations & Incident Response
• Governance, Risk & Compliance

The OSI (open systems interconnection) model

7. Application layer → Data

6. Presentation layer → Data

5. Session layer → Data

4. Transport Layer → Segments

3. Network layer→ Packets

2. Data link layer → Frames

1. Physical layer → Bits

CompTIA Malware Removal Best Practices

1. Identify and research malware symptoms.
2. Quarantine infected system.
3. Disable system restore.
4. Remediate infected systems.
5. Schedule scans and run updates.
6. Enable system restore.
7. Educate the end-user.

CompTIA Troubleshooting Process

1. ID the problem
2. Establish a theory of probable cause
3. Test the theory to determine cause
4. Establish plan of action & implement the solution
5. Verify full system functionality, and if applicable implement preventative measures
6. Document findings, actions & outcomes

Network Geography

• PAN — personal area network, around the person, smallest type of network, only a few meters; examples: Bluetooth cellphone to car, USB hard drive to laptop, FireWire video camera to computer
• LAN — local area network, room or building, connects components in a limited distance, length limited by cabling such as 100 meters with CAT 5 cable, consists of Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) or WiFi networks (IEEE 802.11); examples: internal wired or wireless networks
• CAN — campus area network, connects building centric LANs, covers many square miles and buildings; examples: college campuses, business parks, military bases
• MAN — metropolitan area network, connects scattered locations across a city, larger than a CAN but smaller than a WAN, covers up to a 25-mile radius in larger cities; examples: city departments like police departments, community colleges with campuses spread across a county
• WAN — wide area network, connects geographically disparate internal networks, made of leased lines or VPNs tunneled over the internet, across a country or around the world; examples: the Internet, connection of two private networks in New York and Seattle

Network Components

• client
• server
• hub
• WAP
• switch
• router
• media
• WAN link

Incident Response Process

1. Preparation
2. Identification
3. Containment
4. Eradicate
5. Recovery
6. Lessons learned

Security Alert Levels

Level — Condition — Indication

0 — Emergency — The system has become unstable

1 — Alert — A condition should be corrected immediately

2 — Critical — A failure in the system’s primary application requires immediate attention

3 — Error — Something is preventing proper system function

4 — Warning — An error will occur if action is not taken soon

5 — Notice — The events are unusual

6 — Information — Normal operational message that requires no action

7 — Debugging — Useful information for developers

Script File Types

Know and be able to identify the following script file types:

• .bat — a batch file is a series of commands to be run by the Windows operating system stored in a plain text file
• .py — a script written in the Python programming language
• .sh — like a batch file but used on Linux/Unix operating systems
• .js — a script written in the JavaScript programming language
• .ps1 — this file type is used to run scripts in PowerShell
• .vbs — contains lines of code in the Visual Basic programming language which are encoded in a plain text file

… Stay tuned, I’ll be adding to this