MCSA 70-687 Cert Guide: Configuring Microsoft Windows 8.1

The study guide helps you master all the topics on the MCSA 70-687 exam, including the following:

• Installation and upgrades, including VHDs
• Migrating users, profiles, and applications
• Installing, configuring, and securing applications
• Configuring Hyper-V virtualization
• Configuring TCP/IP, network settings, and network security
• Configuring and securing access to files and folders, including OneDrive and NFC
• Configuring local security, authentication, and authorization
• Configuring remote connections and management
• Configuring and securing mobile devices
• Managing disks, backups, and system/file recovery

MCSA 70-687 Cert Guide: Configuring Microsoft^® Windows 8.1 is a best-of-breed exam study guide. Best-selling authors and expert instructors Don Poulton, Randy Bellet, and Harry Holt share preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics. The book presents you with an organized test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. Exam topic lists make referencing easy. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks help you drill on key concepts you must know thoroughly. Review questions help you assess your knowledge, and a final preparation chapter guides you through tools and resources to help you craft your final study plan.

 

The companion CD contains the powerful Pearson IT Certification Practice Test engine, complete with hundreds of exam-realistic questions. The assessment engine offers you a wealth of customization options and reporting features, laying out a complete assessment of your knowledge to help you focus your study where it is needed most. Well-regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging review questions and exercises, this study guide helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time.

 

Don Poulton (A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA, MCSE) is an independent consultant who has worked with computers since the days of 80-column punch cards. He has consulted extensively with training providers, preparing study materials for Windows technologies. He has written or contributed to several Que titles, including Security+ Lab Manual, MCSA/MCSE 70-299 Exam Cram 2, and MCTS 70-620 Exam Prep.

Randy Bellet (Network+, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA) has worked in IT since 1981, and has written multiple applications for the banking, insurance, and food industries. Now on the faculty of ECPI University, he has developed courses in network security and programming.

Harry Holt has worked as a computer operator, programmer, LAN administrator, network engineer, DBA, and project manager. He has used his skills to improve efficiency in organizations including Fortune^® 500 companies, financial institutions, government agencies, small partnerships, and sole proprietorships.

 

• Master MCSA 70-687 exam topics for Windows 8.1 configuration
• Assess your knowledge with chapter-opening quizzes
• Review key concepts with exam preparation tasks
• Practice with realistic exam questions on the CD

 

Don Poulton

(A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA, MCSE) is an independent consultant who has been involved with computers since the days of 80-column punch cards. After a career of more than 20 years in environmental science, Don switched careers and trained as a Windows NT 4.0 MCSE. He has been involved in consulting with a couple of small training providers as a technical writer, during which time he wrote training and exam prep materials for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Don has written or contributed to several titles, including Security+ Lab Manual (Que, 2004); MCSA/MCSE 70-299 Exam Cram 2: Implementing and Administering Security in a Windows 2003 Network (Exam Cram 2) (Que, 2004); MCSE 70-294 Exam Prep: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure (Que, 2006); MCTS 70-620 Exam Prep: Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring (Que, 2008); MCTS 70-680 Cert Guide: Microsoft Windows 7, Configuring (Que, 2011); MCTS 70-640 Cert Guide: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring (Que, 2011); and MCTS 70-642 Cert Guide: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring

(Que, 2012). In addition, he has worked on programming projects, both in his days as an environmental scientist and more recently with Visual Basic, to update an older statistical package used for multivariate analysis of sediment contaminants. When not working on computers, Don is an avid amateur photographer who has had his photos displayed in international competitions and published in magazines

such as Michigan Natural Resources Magazine and National Geographic Traveler. Don also enjoys traveling and keeping fit. Don lives in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife, Terry.

 

Randy Bellet

After establishing himself as a retailer in Richmond, Virginia, curiosity about the fledgling small computer industry brought Randy Bellet into the IT field in 1981. Beginning with the TRS-DOS operating system on a Radio Shack Model III and &;sneaker-net,&; he automated his and other businesses, initially programming spreadsheets using one of the original versions of VisiCalc. Hardware consisted of 32K of RAM, monochrome monitors, and no hard drives. Data was stored on floppy disks that really flopped. After the PC-XT and its clones arrived, he followed the market and extended his skills into the networking of PCs and XENIX servers and wrote applications for the retail and pager industries. As PCs became commonplace and their connectivity a necessity, Randy configured Windows client-server networks for small and medium-sized businesses, and wrote n-tier applications on various Windows platforms ranging from Windows 3.1 through Windows 2008 Server for the medical, insurance, food, and leisure industries. As organizations expanded and scaled their uses of PCs, extracting data from mainframes for use in Windows applications became a specialty. Since 1999, Mr. Bellet has been on the faculty of ECPI University, delivering and developing courses in Network Security and Programming, and writing ancillary instructor materials. Certifications include CompTIA Network +, MCSE, MCSD, and MCDBA. He holds a bachelor&;s degree in economics and marketing from New York University, and a master&;s degree in IT from Virginia Tech.

 

Harry Holt

started his career in the early 1980s while working in trust accounting, where he discovered the advantages of Lotus 123 over paper spreadsheets, and how much better D:Base was at tracking transactions than a cabinet full of 3x5 index cards. That prompted a career change, and Harry took advantage of the burgeoning IT program at Virginia Commonwealth University&;s prestigious School of Business to hone his knowledge. Harry gained experience over the years in most technical roles in the industry&;from computer operator, programmer, LAN administrator, to network engineer, DBA, and project manager, among others. He has used his skills to improve efficiencies in a range of organizations including Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, government agencies, and even small partnerships and sole proprietorships. Exploring aspects of the computer industry both professionally, as a hobby, and as a volunteer for various non-profit organizations, Harry gained a working knowledge of many types of systems from large IBM z/OS mainframes, VAX systems, and Unix platforms, to Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems. He can program in a variety of development languages and platforms, and enjoys collaborating in open source projects. Harry has a bachelor&;s degree in IT with a PMP certification, and is currently working as a Cyber Applications Manager in Richmond, Virginia.