Speaker 1: Welcome to the deep dive. Today, we're really getting into
Speaker 1: the nuts and bolts of our digital world. You know
Speaker 1: that feeling you want to understand how the tech around
Speaker 1: you works, not just you know that it works. So
Speaker 1: we're going on a journey today unlocking some of that
Speaker 1: core IT knowledge, Yeah, the.
Speaker 2: Stuff that powers everything from your phone to the Internet
Speaker 2: itself exactly.
Speaker 1: And our guide for this it's this amazing stack of
Speaker 1: practice materials for the Comtia A plus exams Core one
Speaker 1: and Core two. Think of them as like a decoder
Speaker 1: ring for practical, real world IT.
Speaker 2: Stuff, right, and our mission here is to pull out
Speaker 2: those really crucial relevant bits. We're not just about memorizing facts.
Speaker 2: It's more about getting that deeper feel for what something
Speaker 2: is and maybe more importantly, why it actually matters. The
Speaker 2: sources themselves really push that building real knowledge for practical use,
Speaker 2: not just you know, repeating things. That's what we're aiming for.
Speaker 1: Couldn't agree more so, whether you're maybe studying for an exam,
Speaker 1: or you're just really curious about the hidden workings of
Speaker 1: your gadgets, like how does your phone actually know where
Speaker 1: you are? Or what makes Wi Fi pick or why
Speaker 1: printers can be so temperamental. Sometimes this deep dive is
Speaker 1: for you. We want you to walk away feeling genuinely
Speaker 1: clued in understanding the tech that's well basically part of
Speaker 1: our lives now.
Speaker 2: And it's worth saying the expertise behind these source materials
Speaker 2: is solid. Audrey, the technical editor and co author, holds
Speaker 2: a bunch of Comptier asserts and others, so the foundation
Speaker 2: is definitely strong.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's start with something we use constantly, mobile devices.
Speaker 1: How many times have you wondered how your phone just
Speaker 1: knows where you are? It feels like magic, right.
Speaker 2: Hah, Yeah, it does seem like it, but it's definitely
Speaker 2: more than logic. When we talk location services, yeah, GPS
Speaker 2: comes to mind first, Global Positioning System, and sure those
Speaker 2: satellites are key. But here's the thing. Your phone hardly ever,
Speaker 2: relies just on GPS. It's usually blending things. It uses
Speaker 2: cellular location services to signals from cell towers nearby, and
Speaker 2: even Wi Fi positioning mapping you against known networks.
Speaker 1: Okay, so it's a mix exactly.
Speaker 2: It makes it faster, more accurate, especially when you're indoors
Speaker 2: where GPS signals can be weak. Think about like a
Speaker 2: ride share app it needs to track your driver pretty precisely, right,
Speaker 2: or maybe a hiking app showing you exactly where you
Speaker 2: are on some trail. That accuracy it comes from these
Speaker 2: systems working together.
Speaker 1: That makes sense, blending technologies for a better result. Now,
Speaker 1: thinking out all these devices, especially for businesses, managing them
Speaker 1: must be well a headache.
Speaker 2: Sometimes, oh absolutely, And that's precisely where MDM comes in
Speaker 2: Mobile device management. Its main job is to centrally manage
Speaker 2: and secure all the mobile devices in an organization. Super
Speaker 2: important for company owned phones, but also for BYOD scenarios.
Speaker 1: Bring your own DIVISCECE is getting more common.
Speaker 2: Definitely, so MDM lets it push out security policies, you know,
Speaker 2: make sure devices have pass codes, encryption, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2: And they can remotely manage corporate apps, make sure they're
Speaker 2: installed right, kept up to date. And a really critical
Speaker 2: security feature is the remote wipe capability.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, if a phone gets lost or stolen.
Speaker 2: Exactly, or if an employee leaves, it can just remotely
Speaker 2: erase all the sensitive company data. It's all out control
Speaker 2: and security, even when the device isn't physically there.
Speaker 1: Okay, So moving away from the corporate side, what does
Speaker 1: this mean for our everyday digital lives. How do we
Speaker 1: keep our personal stuff flowing between, say, our phone and tablet.
Speaker 2: Right, that's where mobile device synchronization comes in. It's basically
Speaker 2: essential for keeping everything consistent. Imagine your calendar, contacts, maybe
Speaker 2: some work apps, email, cloud storage. Without sync, you'd update
Speaker 2: something on your phone and it wouldn't show up on
Speaker 2: your laptop.
Speaker 1: Chaos, total chaos.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so sync is what Let's say parents share appointments easily,
Speaker 2: or make sure your contact list is the same everywhere.
Speaker 2: It's kind of the invisible glue holding our multi device
Speaker 2: lives together makes sense. Just a quick side note, all
Speaker 2: the sinking uses data obviously, so knowing your data caps
Speaker 2: is sometimes useful to a void surprises.
Speaker 1: On your bill. Good point. Okay, so we've talked about
Speaker 1: individual devices. Let's zoom out a bit. How do they
Speaker 1: actually talk to each other. Let's dig into networking.
Speaker 2: Right, the digital backbone, and at the heart of it,
Speaker 2: you've got these core protocols, mainly TCP Transmission Control Protocol
Speaker 2: and UDP User Data Gram Protocol. Think of it like this.
Speaker 2: TCP is like sending a certified letter. It sets up
Speaker 2: a connection. Make sure every piece of data gets there
Speaker 2: in the right order.
Speaker 1: Reliable, okay, but maybe a bit slower.
Speaker 2: Exactly because of all the checking and confirming. UDP, on
Speaker 2: the other hand, is more like sending a postcard. You
Speaker 2: just fire it off. It's faster because it doesn't bother
Speaker 2: with all that confirmation stuff. Great for things like live
Speaker 2: video or online gaming where a tiny dropped bit of
Speaker 2: data isn't the end of the world, but speed is key.
Speaker 1: That's a really helpful analogy. And these protocols use specific
Speaker 1: like digital doors, right.
Speaker 2: Ports precisely. Ports are just standardized numbers that specific services
Speaker 2: used to communicate. Keeps everything organized. So for instance, when
Speaker 2: you're browsing the web, that's mostly HTTP on Port eighty.
Speaker 2: That's how your browser asks for and gets web pages.
Speaker 1: Ay, standard web stuff yep.
Speaker 2: Then there's a DNS, the domain name system on Court
Speaker 2: fifty three. This one's critical. It's like the Internet's phone book.
Speaker 2: It turns website names we understand, like Google dot Com
Speaker 2: into the numerical IP, addresses computer's need. Without DNS, good
Speaker 2: luck finding anything online easily.
Speaker 1: Right, that makes sense. What about managing things remotely?
Speaker 2: Good question? For secure remote management, you use SSH secure
Speaker 2: shell on Port twenty two lets you log in and
Speaker 2: control a server securely. Everything's encrypted. Compare that to the
Speaker 2: old telnet on port twenty three totally insecure, sends everything
Speaker 2: in plaintext. Big no no today.
Speaker 1: Definitely avoid that one absolutely.
Speaker 2: And if you're doing remote desktop stuff like controlling another
Speaker 2: Windows PC over the network, that's often RDP Remote Desktop
Speaker 2: Protocol on port three three eighty nine. Understanding these ports
Speaker 2: helps you grasp you know, what's happening behind the scenes
Speaker 2: with security and services.
Speaker 1: It really does put those numbers into context. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: networks aren't all the same size, are they not at all?
Speaker 2: They very hugely. We usually categorize them. You've got your
Speaker 2: land local area network that's typically your home or office network,
Speaker 2: small area connect a bunch of lands together, maybe across
Speaker 2: cities or countries. And you've got a wand wide area
Speaker 2: network think the Internet itself is a giant one. And
Speaker 2: then there's the really close range stuff a PAN personal
Speaker 2: area network Bluetooth is the classic example, like headphones on
Speaker 2: my phone exactly, that's a PAN, usually just around ten
Speaker 2: meters range. Knowing these types helps you understand the scale
Speaker 2: of the connections you're using.
Speaker 1: Okay, so we have all these different networks. But how
Speaker 1: do we actually build them fix them when something goes wrong?
Speaker 1: You need special tools.
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely, the right tools are essential. Try making a
Speaker 2: network cable without a crumper, it's basically impossible to do
Speaker 2: it reliably. Or tracing one specific cable in a messy
Speaker 2: server RAC without a tone or probe and wand nightmare.
Speaker 1: I can imagine.
Speaker 2: A really important one is the cable tester. Say you're
Speaker 2: running a new fiber optic cable through a wall or conduit.
Speaker 2: You definitely want to test it before you pull it through.
Speaker 1: Ah yeah, because fixing it later would be awful.
Speaker 2: Exactly. The tester confirms it's working, no breaks, and with
Speaker 2: Wi Fi being so common, a Wi Fi analyzer is
Speaker 2: super useful. It helps you see signal strength, find interference,
Speaker 2: choose the best channel, basically troubleshoot and optimize your wireless network.
Speaker 2: These tools are the unsung heroes.
Speaker 1: Really makes sense, Okay, Let's shift from the invisible signals
Speaker 1: and networks to the actual physical stuff, the hardware. Let's
Speaker 1: start with screens.
Speaker 2: Right displays what you're looking at all day. There's quite
Speaker 2: a range now. LCDs liquid crystal displays are still very common,
Speaker 2: but within LCDs you have different panel types. IPS panels
Speaker 2: are popular because they have great color and wide viewing angles.
Speaker 2: Good if you're doing design work or sharing your screen.
Speaker 2: Then there's O lead organic light emitting diode, fantastic picture quality,
Speaker 2: perfect blacks, and they tend to use less power, which
Speaker 2: is why you see them in so many high end
Speaker 2: phone and TVs.
Speaker 1: Now right, those OLED screens look amazing, they really do.
Speaker 2: And of course if it's a touch screen, you've got
Speaker 2: the digitizer layer that actually senses your touch. And then
Speaker 2: there are attributes like refresh rate. Higher refresh rates means
Speaker 2: smoother motion, really important for gaming, and pixel density, which
Speaker 2: affects how sharp everything looks.
Speaker 1: Okay, so lots of factors in just the display. What
Speaker 1: about connecting everything else, all those different cables and plugs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it can feel like spaghetti sometimes, but they each
Speaker 2: have a job. For wired networks, it's mostly copper network
Speaker 2: cables ethernet cables. They come in categories like PAT five E,
Speaker 2: CAT six CAT six A. The main difference is speed
Speaker 2: and how far they can carry the signal reliably.
Speaker 1: So Cat six A is faster YEP.
Speaker 2: CAT six A can handle ten gigabits per second up
Speaker 2: to one hundred meters, So if you're wiring a building now,
Speaker 2: using CAT six A is kind of future proofing it.
Speaker 2: And these cables follow standards T five six eight A
Speaker 2: or T five sixty eight B for how the little
Speaker 2: wires insider arranged keeps everything compatible. Beyond networking, you've got
Speaker 2: cables for removable storage, USB for flash drives, memory cards,
Speaker 2: and less common now connections for optical drives.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's crack open the computer case itself. What's the
Speaker 1: core stuff inside?
Speaker 2: Right? The heart of the machine. The motherboard is the
Speaker 2: main circuit board connecting everything. They come in different sizes
Speaker 2: or form factors ATX, micro, atx, itx.
Speaker 1: And that determines if it fits in the case exactly.
Speaker 2: You need the right size motherboard for your PC case.
Speaker 2: These boards have all sorts of connectors PCIe slots for
Speaker 2: graphics cards or other expansion cards, SATA ports for your
Speaker 2: hard drives or SSDs, maybe MT two slots for those
Speaker 2: super fast gumstick sized SSDs.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: One key thing to remember, especially for repairs laptop motherboards.
Speaker 2: They're almost always proprietary.
Speaker 1: Meaning you can't just swap them easily.
Speaker 2: Pretty much, you usually can't put a Dell motherboard in
Speaker 2: an HP laptop or even sometimes between different Dell models
Speaker 2: makes repairs trickier. And of course, the CPU, the central
Speaker 2: processing unit, the brain of a whole operation.
Speaker 1: Got it? And what about the unsung hero of the office,
Speaker 1: the printer. Setting them up and keeping them happy can.
Speaker 2: Be tricky, ugh, printers love them, hate them. Setting them
Speaker 2: up involves more than just plugging them in. You've got
Speaker 2: configuration settings like duplex that's printing on both sides. Also orientation,
Speaker 2: which paper tray to use, print quality settings.
Speaker 1: Right, and security must be a bigger deal now with networked.
Speaker 2: Printers, huge deal features like user authentication, maybe badge readers,
Speaker 2: secure print release so documents don't sit out in the open.
Speaker 2: It's important. And maintenance is different for laser versus inkjet.
Speaker 2: Laser printers use toner. If you see white streaks on
Speaker 2: your printouts, probably low toner or a dirty drum.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a common one.
Speaker 2: It is for inkjets. If the colors are wrong or faded,
Speaker 2: it's often a clogged print head, needing cleaning, or just
Speaker 2: a low ink cartridge. Regular cleaning and maintenance definitely help
Speaker 2: avoid those frustrating moments.
Speaker 1: Good pips Okay, Inevitably things do go wrong. Let's talk troubleshooting.
Speaker 1: Knowing the warning signs seems key.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. When your computer acts up, especially with core components
Speaker 2: like the motherboard, RAM, CPU, or power supply, it often
Speaker 2: gives clues. Listen for POSD beeps during startup. Those short
Speaker 2: codes can tell you what's wrong before Windows even loads.
Speaker 2: A sudden blank screen or the system just being dead
Speaker 2: no power could be the power supply, could be the motherboard.
Speaker 1: What about overheating?
Speaker 2: Classic symptom is the computer randomly shutting down after it's
Speaker 2: been running for a bit, say ten to fifteen minutes.
Speaker 2: Often means a fan failed or vents are blocked. And
Speaker 2: sometimes you can literally see a problem like a bulging
Speaker 2: or swollen capacitor on the motherboard. That's a clear sign
Speaker 2: something's about to fail badly. These are all symptoms pointing
Speaker 2: you in a direction.
Speaker 1: Okay, and storage drives losing data is the big fear there.
Speaker 1: What are the warning signs?
Speaker 2: Yeah, storage issues are scary for traditional spinning hard drives HDDs.
Speaker 2: The absolute classic warning sign is that grinding or clicking noise.
Speaker 1: Oh that sounds bad. It is bad.
Speaker 2: It usually means the physical mechanism inside is failing. Back
Speaker 2: up immediately if you hear that. Other signs bootable device
Speaker 2: not found, errors, actual data loss or corruption, things taking
Speaker 2: forever to read or write. If you're using RAY that's
Speaker 2: multiple drives working together. Look at the LED status lights.
Speaker 2: An error light or an audible alarm usually means one
Speaker 2: of the drives in the set has.
Speaker 1: Failed and RAY ten needs four drives right minimum four
Speaker 1: Yeah for that combination of mirroring, redundancy and striping speed.
Speaker 2: Paying attention to these warnings can save your data definitely.
Speaker 1: Lastly, visual problems screens or projectors acting up right.
Speaker 2: Display issues can be simple fixes. Sometimes. Always check the
Speaker 2: input source setting first and make sure the cables are
Speaker 2: plugged in tight. A loose cable is a very common
Speaker 2: cause of flickering or no signal.
Speaker 1: Good point. Check the simple stuff first always.
Speaker 2: For projectors, a burned out ball do is common over time,
Speaker 2: or sometimes they just shut down intermnutently because they've hit
Speaker 2: their standby timer setting. You might also see a fuzzy image,
Speaker 2: maybe dead pixels, those annoying little dots that stay black
Speaker 2: or weird colors, and distorted images. Often that's just the
Speaker 2: screen resolution being set wrong for the display or maybe
Speaker 2: sizing issues. Lots of potential visual glitches, but often traceable.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's switch gears to the software side, the operating systems,
Speaker 1: the digital brains right.
Speaker 2: The operating system or OS. That's the fundamental software managing everything.
Speaker 2: We mostly know Windows, Mac, OS, Linux, maybe Chromos. For
Speaker 2: desktops and laptops, these are workstation systems, and then for
Speaker 2: mobile it's primarily iOS and iPad OS and Android. Each
Speaker 2: one provides that core interface and manages the hardware.
Speaker 1: And how do they actually store our files? The underlying
Speaker 1: file systems are different, aren't they?
Speaker 2: They are, and it matters. For example, Fat thirty two
Speaker 2: is super compatible, works on Windows, Mac, Linux, great for
Speaker 2: USB sticks you move between computers, but the big limitation
Speaker 2: is that for gigabyte file size limit, you can't save
Speaker 2: a single file bigger than that.
Speaker 1: Okay, so not great for large video files.
Speaker 2: Or backups exactly. That's why Windows uses NTFS or the
Speaker 2: newer efs, macOS uses APFS, and Linux commonly uses XD
Speaker 2: four or XFS. These newer ones handle huge files, offer
Speaker 2: better security, journaling for reliability, lots of advantages. Knowing the
Speaker 2: file system helps if you run into compatibility issues.
Speaker 1: Makes sense and for Mac users specifically, what are some
Speaker 1: key macOS features and maybe best practices.
Speaker 2: macOS has its own way of doing things. Installing apps
Speaker 2: often involves dot DMG files, Dot PPG installers or dot
Speaker 2: app bundles, plus the app store. Of course, Its system
Speaker 2: folder structure is also distinct, with folders like applications, users
Speaker 2: library understanding that helps navigate for best practices. Time Machine
Speaker 2: for backups is fantastic, really easy to use. Keeping the
Speaker 2: OS and apps updated with patches and rapid security responses
Speaker 2: is crucial for security and keychain is Its built in
Speaker 2: password manager sinks your password securely across your Apple devices,
Speaker 2: very landing.
Speaker 1: Very integrated. Okay, security, it's everywhere now a constant concern.
Speaker 1: How do operating cit stems help us protect ourselves?
Speaker 2: OS security is foundational. It starts with basic user and
Speaker 2: group management, knowing the difference between a local account versus
Speaker 2: a Microsoft account in Windows and the different permission levels
Speaker 2: standard user, administrator guests.
Speaker 1: Right, don't give everyone admin rights.
Speaker 2: Please don't. And login methods have evolved beyond passwords. We
Speaker 2: have pins biometrics like fingerprint or facial recognition, though you
Speaker 2: need the right hardware for those like a Windows Hello
Speaker 2: camera and single sign on sso simplifies logins across multiple services.
Speaker 2: Then there's controlling access to files and folders using NTFS
Speaker 2: permissions versus share permissions, understanding how inheritance works. Best practices
Speaker 2: are vital restrict permissions, disable the guest account, set lockouts
Speaker 2: after failed login attempts, use screen locks, change default admin passwords,
Speaker 2: disable auto run. The list goes on. It's all about
Speaker 2: layers of defense.
Speaker 1: That's a lot for desktops, but what about our phones?
Speaker 1: We carry our lives on them. How do we lock
Speaker 1: those down effectively?
Speaker 2: Mobile security is just as critical. Basic hardening includes using
Speaker 2: strong screen locks, face ID fingerprint a good pin, not
Speaker 2: just a simple swipe pattern, and definitely enable device encryption.
Speaker 2: Keeping the OS and your apps updated via patch management
Speaker 2: is non negotiable. Security fixes come out all the time.
Speaker 2: Endpoint security apps like anti virus aren't as common for
Speaker 2: personal phones, but at a layer, and the remote actions
Speaker 2: are crucial if your phone is lost or stolen.
Speaker 1: Like find my iPhone or the Android equivalent exactly.
Speaker 2: Locator apps plus the ability to remotely wipe your data
Speaker 2: or trigger a remote backup, and as we mentioned MDM
Speaker 2: helps businesses enforce policies be aware of threats too, like
Speaker 2: ransomware locking your files, or trojans hiding malware and legit
Speaker 2: looking apps. Vigilance is key, okay.
Speaker 1: And when it's time to get rid of an old
Speaker 1: device or hard drive, just deleting isn't enough.
Speaker 2: Absolutely not Deleting files just marks the space as available.
Speaker 2: The data is often still recoverable. Proper data destruction is vital.
Speaker 2: For old magnetic hard drives, degaussing uses a powerful magnet
Speaker 2: to wipe them clean. Very effective, But for any drive
Speaker 2: magnetic or SSD physical destruction shredding it is the most
Speaker 2: certain method.
Speaker 1: So I take a hammer to it.
Speaker 2: Huh, Well, maybe professionally shredded is better, Especially for businesses.
Speaker 2: Using a certified third party vendor who provides proof of
Speaker 2: destruction is often the way to go for compliance reasons.
Speaker 2: Don't just throw old tech in the bin.
Speaker 1: Good advice, okay. One last area beyond the tech skills,
Speaker 1: how we interact with people, especially when providing it support
Speaker 1: is super important too.
Speaker 2: Isn't it hugely important? Professionalism and communication can make all
Speaker 2: the difference. Simple things like appearance, stressing appropriately for the
Speaker 2: work environment. But even more critical is language. Avoid technical
Speaker 2: jargon and acronyms when talking to non technical users. It
Speaker 2: just confuses and intimidates.
Speaker 1: Yeah, speak plain English exactly.
Speaker 2: Clarify what the user is telling you, ask open ended questions,
Speaker 2: restate the problem in your own words to make sure
Speaker 2: you understand. Use discretion and managing expectations is key. Give
Speaker 2: realistic timelines, keep people updated on progress, offer options, provide
Speaker 2: documentation if needed, and always follow up.
Speaker 1: So it's not just fixing the problem but managing the whole.
Speaker 2: Interaction precisely, and in some cases like security incidents, it
Speaker 2: also involves properly identifying and preserving evidence. It's about building
Speaker 2: trust and solving the problem effectively and professionally.
Speaker 1: Wow. Okay, we've covered a ton of ground today, from
Speaker 1: how your phone knows where it is, to the protocols
Speaker 1: running the internet, the guts of our computers, printers, troubleshooting
Speaker 1: and crucial security. Really peeling back the layers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a lot, but hopefully it gives you, the
Speaker 2: listener a stronger foundation. Understanding these core ideas really does
Speaker 2: empower you. You can navigate your tech better, maybe troubleshoots
Speaker 2: simple problems yourself, make smarter decisions about devices and security.
Speaker 2: Whether you're in it or just curious, it helps bridge
Speaker 2: that gap. Knowledge is power, as they say, especially when
Speaker 2: you understand why.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, which leads to a final thought for you to
Speaker 1: chew on. With technology changing so incredibly fast, what do
Speaker 1: you think the next fundamental core IP skill will be.
Speaker 1: What's the next essential thing we'll all need to understand
Speaker 1: and how might it change how we use our tech
Speaker 1: every day.
Speaker 2: That's a great question to ponder. It really makes you
Speaker 2: think about the future. We encourage you to reflect on
Speaker 2: how all this tech stuff plays out in your own life,
Speaker 2: maybe dig a little deeper on topics that caught your interest.
Speaker 2: The learning never really stops in this field.