Chapter 1: Core Hardware Components

For this lab, there are not necessarily any right answers. The goal was to get you to compare specifications and get more familiar with the language used to describe PCs. As I mentioned, all three of these desktop PCs were the same price on a major electronics retailer's web site. It's almost shocking how much specifications can differ from computer to computer, even at the same price point. It's always best to shop around. Here are my thoughts on answers to this lab:

Based on the system specifications, which one would you recommend and why? It's between System A and System L. You probably can't go wrong with either. System A is probably a touch quicker, but you might not notice unless you have superhuman abilities. System L is probably better if you are more concerned with future expansion. If it's a tossup, it might come down to product reviews, which brand you like better, or even which case you think looks better.

What specifications made you not choose the others? System D does not appear to be a good choice due to the small hard drive. You get a lot less SSD space than you do HDD space for the same money. Plus, System D does not have a memory card reader. If this person takes a lot of photos, they might just want to pop the memory card into the computer for easier file transfers. (We haven't talked about external storage yet—we'll do that in Chapter 2. But some of you might have noticed that and called it out as a reason.)

If you were looking for a computer for someone who played a lot of online action games, would you change your recommendation? Why? System L is probably better for a gamer. More RAM is a plus, as is the ability to expand the RAM. Also, the video card is separate and has its own memory. That's a bonus over System A.

Which computer has the best expansion capabilities? Probably System D, but System L isn't too bad either. System D has more types of external connectors, and it has USB 3.0. Much like the memory card reader, we haven't talked about that yet either, but that is a nice feature to have. More to come on that in Chapter 2 as well.

Chapter 2: Peripherals and Connectors

This lab could have several different answers. Here I'll provide some principles that I would use to think about the situation.

First, consider Elise's goals. She wants more storage. So that takes you toward external hard drives. She wants it to be easily accessible for multiple people. That steers you toward NAS, which is basically multiple hard drives. She also would like some sort of fault-tolerance, which, fortunately, many NAS devices can provide.

Second, let's think about technology. Elise has a Mac, so you are probably safe going with Thunderbolt. If she gets a new Mac, or James upgrades to a new Mac, you know that those computers will have Thunderbolt support. That's good, because then they won't have wasted money on peripheral devices that they can't use any longer.

Third, look at potential expansion. If Elise gets the right NAS device, additional users will be able to use it without a problem.

So, you should go looking for a NAS device that supports Thunderbolt. In addition, you should probably start with a NAS with SSDs because they are so much faster than HDDs. They are more expensive, so you might want to consider HDD options as well. Just be sure to let Elise know that they will be a lot slower on data transfers, which she will be doing a lot of.

If NAS is out of her range, she can consider simply purchasing additional external hard drives. Price it out for her, and give her some options! If this was your business, what would you go with?

Chapter 3: Operating Systems

Using Lubuntu will probably feel quite a bit like using Windows. The interfaces have quite a few similarities in terms of navigation. Here are some hints on where you can find the utilities you need to complete the exercises you did in this chapter.

Exercise 3.1: Creating a user account. You can do this by clicking the launcher (it looks like a button with a bird on it, about where you would expect the Start button to be in Windows) and then going to System Tools Users And Groups. Click the Add button to create a new user.

Exercise 3.2: Managing storage space. Open the launcher and go to Preferences Disk Utility. This one won't work exactly like the one in Windows since it's on a virtual hard drive.

Exercise 3.3: Manipulating files. Open the launcher and go to Accessories File Manager. Once that opens, you can right-click files to perform your tasks. Or choose File Manager using the icon to the right of the launcher.

Exercise 3.4: Creating a shortcut. Right-click the desktop, and choose Create New Shortcut.

Exercise 3.5: Configuring accessibility options in Windows 7. As of now, Lubuntu does not have accessibility options like Windows does. They are committed to accessibility but have not developed it yet. For more information see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu/Developers/Accessibility. Maybe you can help!

Chapter 4: Software Applications

Answers will vary depending on the user.

For the OpenOffice lab, the Apache versions should work similarly to their Microsoft counterparts. If you open basic text or worksheet files, you should be fine as well. Opening more intricately formatted documents or worksheets with fancy graphs could pose some issues.

The security portion of the lab will have different answers as well. The key is to raise awareness of key security concepts so that readers are aware of the best ways to protect their computers versus malicious software.

Chapter 5: Networking Technologies and Wireless Routers

There are no right answers to Part 1 of the lab; the intent is to give you experience properly setting up a wireless router.

For Part 2, answers may vary. Note that if you were to get onto another unsecured network, you would be able to open up the Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel and see other devices on the network. This means that if you were on your neighbor's network, you could probably see the other computers on their network. As a big warning, I do not recommend doing this, because it is illegal to snoop on someone else's network in many places. Just know that if you do not secure your network, unsavory people could get on your network and see your computers and very possibly your files as well. Secure your network!

Chapter 6: Network Sharing and Storage

Answers to the lab questions:

1. Use the Create button in the upper-left corner, and choose Folder, Document, or the corresponding icon for what you want to create.
2. The up-arrow button next to Create lets you upload files.
3. In the upper-right corner, there is a button with a lowercase i and a circle around it. That lets you see recent activity.
4. Click the Install Drive For Your Computer link to get Drive for your hard drive and enable synchronization.
5. Click Create and then Connect More Apps to get more apps associated with your Google Drive account.
6. In the lower-left corner, you will see how much space you have used and what percentage of your allotment that is.
7. Use the gear button in the upper-right corner to change your settings such as language and time zone, as well as profile information or to buy more storage.

Chapter 7: Mobile Devices

Here are answers to the nine questions asked in the Chapter 7 lab.

1. From left to right, the three buttons are Back, Home, and Recents (or Recent Apps). Usually these are physical buttons on your Android device. Some Android devices also come with a physical button for Search and have a Menu button instead of Recents.
2. Click Google in the upper-left corner.
3. There are two ways to get to apps. The first is to use the middle icon on the row of apps at the bottom of the home page. The second is to tap the icon of six boxes in the upper-right corner.
4. The seven buttons are, from left to right: Chrome browser, Gmail, ES File Explorer, Apps, Settings, Camera, and Play Store.
5. Tap the Recents button. To close an app, touch it and swipe downward.
6. Open Settings, and scroll down to Accessibility.
7. Open Settings, and scroll down to Security.
8. Hopefully installing the app was easy! It should create an icon for you on the home screen, and you can tap the app to open it. To delete it, double-tap and choose Remove. This will not uninstall the app but just remove the shortcut from the home page.
9. In the Apps app, tap the icon in the upper-right corner that looks like three stacked boxes, and choose Manage Groups. In the Manage Groups window, tap the plus sign above the pencils on the right side. Give the new group a name. To move your app icon there, choose the group, tap the three boxes again, and select Setup Group. Tap the apps you want to be in that group (they will get a check next to them) and then tap the Back button. Those apps should be in the group you moved them to.

Chapter 8: Security Threats

As with many labs, answers can vary. The goal of this lab is to get you familiar with the different types of threats out there and the damage they can do. Education is the best way to help prevent attacks or at least mitigate the damage they do. Hopefully this lab exposed you (safely!) to some common threats so you have a better idea of what to watch out for.

1. The number will vary based on the date you pick. As of this writing, a quick check of Symantec.com showed their most recent update to include 117 new detections. If you get lucky, you might find an update with several thousand.
2. It depends on the day you pick, but most security sites will give you a security indicator from low risk to high risk.
3. According to http://uk.norton.com/top-5-viruses/promo, MyDoom was the worst of the bunch, dealing 38 billion dollars in damage, affecting two million PCs in about two hours. That's pretty impressive and scary.
4. An example of a polymorphic virus is the Virus.Win32 series, including Virus.Win32. Virut and Virus.Win32.Virut.ce. Phoenix, Evil, and Proud are the names of some other polymorphs. Michelangelo, Stone, and Disk Killer are some of the more infamous boot viruses. Multipartite viruses include Invader, Flip, and Tequila.
5. CryptoLocker is probably the most famous, but WinLock gained notoriety as well.
6. Back Orifice is relatively well known, as are the worms Sobig and MyDoom, which contained backdoor components.
7. There are many commercial password crackers, including John the Ripper, Ophcrack, Brutus, and RainbowCrack.

Chapter 9: Security Best Practices

There are no specific answers for the Chapter 9 lab.

Chapter 10: Buying and Configuring a Workstation

There are no specific answers to the Chapter 10 lab.

Chapter 11: Computer Support and Backups

There are no right or wrong answers to the Chapter 11 lab. The answers will vary based on the computer or computers you need to back up. Here's a table that will help you collect your answers:

CHAPTER 11 Lab: Information Gathered

Chapter 12: Environmental and Safety Concepts

The answers will vary based on your location. Here are some examples of sites that handle computer recycling:

Computer Recycle Center at http://www.recycles.com/

Computer Recycling Center at http://www.crc.org/

RE-PC at http://www.repc.com/

Tech Dump at http://www.techdump.org/