MCSA 70-687 Cert Guide ─ Configuring Microsoft Windows 8.1

The MCSA 70-687 Cert Guide is the most comprehensive study guide available, both for new Windows 8 certification candidates and for those updating existing Microsoft certifications. With uniquely thorough coverage - carefully mapped to the exam’s objectives - this book brings together all the information and insight readers need to succeed on the new MCSA Exam 70-687: Configuring Windows 8. Coverage includes:

• Windows 8 introduction, including hardware readiness and compatibility
• Installation and upgrades, including VHDs
• Migrating users, profiles, and applications
• Configuring devices and device drivers
• Installing, configuring, and securing applications
• Configuring Internet Explorer
• Configuring Hyper-V virtualization
• Configuring TCP/IP, networking settings, and network security
• Configuring and securing access to files and folders, including SkyDrive and NFC
• Configuring local security settings
• Configuring authentication and authorization
• Configuring remote connections and remote management
• Configuring and securing mobile devices
• Configuring Windows Updates
• Managing disks, backups, and system/file recovery
• Managing and monitoring system performance

From start to finish, this book is organized to help you focus your study time where you need the most help, so you can retain more, and earn higher scores. Its features include:

• Pre-chapter “Do I Know This Already” (DIKTA) quizzes that help you assess your knowledge of each chapter’s content and decide how much time to spend on each section
• Foundation Topics sections that thoroughly explain concepts and theory, and link them to real-world configurations and commands
• Key Topics icons that flag every figure, table, or list which you must absolutely understand and remember
• Chapter-ending Exam Preparation sections with even more exercises and troubleshooting scenarios

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, a