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CompTIA Tech+ 3.2 CompTIA A+ Core 2 1.3
TechKnowSurge Catalog Interactives Which Windows Tool Do You Open?
InteractiveComputeFree

Which Windows Tool Do You Open?

You know what you need to do on a Windows PC. Pick the built-in tool you open to do it: Device Manager, Task Manager, Task Scheduler, the Security tab or Windows Update.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

Each OS function in this module has a Windows tool you can open to see it or change it, and Tech+ expects you to know which tool does what. This activity gives you a job and asks which tool you open. Device Manager lists the hardware Windows manages, by category: disk drives, display adapters, keyboards and the rest. Open a device to see its driver and its details, or its Resources tab to see the memory ranges assigned to it. Task Manager shows what is running right now: apps and background processes, how much CPU each one uses, and End task for a program that has frozen. Open Chrome with several tabs and Task Manager shows the processes it started for them. Task Scheduler holds the jobs Windows runs by itself later. Each task has a trigger, what sets it off (a time of day, a user logging on), and an action, what it does (start a program). The Microsoft Edge updater is one of these. The names are close, so keep them apart: Task Manager is now, Task Scheduler is later. Permissions on a file or folder live on its Security tab: right-click it, choose Properties, then Security. It lists the users and groups and what each may do, and Edit lets you allow or deny each permission. Windows Update is where Windows checks for patches, shows when it last checked, installs security and critical updates, and lists optional updates, such as driver updates, for you to choose from.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Tech+
3.2 Compare and contrast components of an operating system.
CompTIA A+ Core 2
1.3 Given a scenario, use features and tools of the Microsoft Windows 10/11 operating system (OS).

Key terms

Device Manager
A Windows administrative utility that lists all hardware components recognized by the operating system and allows users to view device status, update drivers, disable hardware, or troubleshoot conflicts.
Device Driver
A separate set of software instructions that tells the operating system how to interact with a specific hardware component.
Task Manager
A Windows utility (accessed via Ctrl+Shift+Esc) that displays running processes, application status, CPU and memory usage, and allows users to end unresponsive programs.
Process
An instance of a program being executed by the operating system, assigned resources and managed alongside other running processes.
Task Scheduler
A Windows operating system tool that automates the execution of programs or scripts based on defined triggers, actions, and conditions.
File and Folder Permissions
Settings applied to files and folders that define which users or groups can read, write, execute, or modify those resources.
Patch
A software update released by a developer to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs, or functionality issues in an operating system or application.

Topics

Operating System Windows Interactive Categorize

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