1. IT Support Job Tasks and Responsibilities
1.1. Define key help desk concepts.
– Queue management, time management, ticketing systems, service level agreement (SLA), key
performance indicators (KPIs)
1.2. Prepare documentation to summarize a customer interaction.
– Creating a clear, concise, factual, and comprehensive description of the problem, the troubleshooting
steps, and the results obtained
– Documenting in such a way that the documentation is useful for future interactions
1.3. Describe the problem solving process.
– Define the problem
– Gather detailed information
– Identify a probable cause of the failure
– Devise a plan to resolve the problem
– Make necessary changes to implement the plan
– Observe the results the changes
– If the problem is not resolved, repeat the process
– Document the changes made to resolve the problem
2. Hardware Issues
2.1. Demonstrate how to follow basic safety procedures.
– Electrical shock, ESD, fire, and personal safety
2.2. Assist end users in using tools to locate information about their device.
– Information: host name, hardware (processor, memory, disk space), operating system version, IPv4
address, IPv6 address, MAC address
– Windows tools: Task Manager, System Information, Event Viewer, ipconfig
– MacOS tools: Activity Monitor, About This Mac, System Settings, Console, ifconfig
2.3. Assist end users in locating, identifying, and understanding the characteristics of various ports and
cables.
– Video ports: HDMI, USB-C, DVI, DisplayPort, VGA
– USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, Micro USB
– Serial ports
– RJ-45, UTP, STP
– Common types of power cables (desktop, laptop, mobile)
– Thunderbolt 3/4 (USB-C)
– Converters
2.4. Identify, install and upgrade various components in a desktop computer.
– Identifying the processor and motherboard
– Identifying, installing, and upgrading RAM, peripherals (graphics cards, wireless cards, Bluetooth
cards), and internal storage devices (SATA, SSD, NVMe, M2)
– Interfaces and expansion card compatibility
– Using Device Manager to manage drivers
– E-waste best practices for disposing of components
2.5. Investigate commonly encountered hardware issues.
– Basic troubleshooting: plug in, connected to power, powered on
– Application compatibility requirements: processor architecture, RAM requirements, GPU
requirements, disk space
– Using Device Manager to identify issues with hardware
– Device status indicators
– Awareness of firmware updates (benefits and dangers)
3. Connectivity and Resource Access Issues
3.1. Assist users with establishing access to network-based resources.
– Basic knowledge of common directory services: Active Directory, Cloud-based access management
(Entra ID and AWS IAM)
– Multifactor Authentication (authenticator apps and other methods)
– Mapping a shared drive, including SMB and cloud drive (S3 bucket, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, Dropbox,
Box, etc.)
– Using Gpupdate/adgpupdate to force a group policy update
– Resetting passwords
– Checking membership in security and distribution groups to determine whether there is
an issue
– Verifying permissions
3.2. Troubleshoot commonly encountered connectivity issues with peripherals.
– Printers: connectivity to printer, assisting a user in using a multifunction device, loading paper, fixing a
paper jam, clearing print queue, swapping toner
– Fax
– Headphones
– Microphones
– External drives
– Scanners
– Webcams
– Keyboard, mouse, pointing devices (wired and wireless)
– Tactile/interactive input devices (flat panels)
– Teleconferencing devices (Webex Desk Pro screens)
3.3. Examine basic end-device connectivity to the network.
– LAN (wired) access vs. WLAN
– Purpose of DNS
– Purpose of DHCP, recognizing self-assigned IP addresses (APIPA)
– Purpose of DHCPv6 (recognizing a link-local address instead of a global address)
– IP address ranges (is it in the right subnet, public and private)
– Default gateway
– WLAN SSID
– Using the following commands to verify connectivity
o Ipconfig/Ifconfig
o Traceroute/tracert
o Ping
o Nslookup
o Netstat
o Ping6
o Traceroute6
o Iproute2 (ip add, ss)
– Purpose of a firewall and how it might impact connectivity
4. Operating System and Application Issues
4.1. Assist users in resolving Windows operating system issues.
– Display settings, multiple displays, brightness
– BitLocker codes
– Windows and application updates
– Clearing the browser cache
– Terminating processes with Task Manager
– Assisting the customer in backing up and restoring personal data with cloud-based
tools (OneDrive)
– Boot sequence, booting to safe mode
– Power management
– Accessibility features
4.2. Assist users in resolving MacOS operating system issues.
– Display settings, multiple displays, brightness
– Allowing applications the necessary permissions
– Mounting external drives
– Clearing the browser cache
– AirDrop
– Terminating processes with Activity Monitor
– Assisting the customer in backing up and restoring personal data with cloud-based tools (iCloud and
Time Machine)
– Power management
– Accessibility features
4.3. Assist users in resolving mobile device issues.
– Restarting the phone, phone not charging, connectivity, email setup, mobile apps, collaboration
software, basic understanding of MDM
– Device OS: iOS, Android
4.4. Describe virtualization and cloud terminology.
– Cloud providers – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud
Platform (GCP)
– Virtual machines and hypervisors
– Recognizing cloud models in order to direct the incident to the right team
4.5. Assist users in resolving common application issues.
– Marketplace or approved application installation
o Untrusted/unknown sources
– Email, collaboration, productivity applications
5. Common Threats and Preventions
5.1. Describe security threats to the end user, perform basic investigation, and escalate to the appropriate
team.
– Threats: phishing, malware, spam, unauthorized access attempts, spoofing
– Helping the user run a malware scan
– Strong passwords and good password practices
5.2. Recognize how to avoid becoming a victim of social engineering attacks.
– Awareness that a help desk technician is a prime target for social engineering attacks
– Phishing, impersonation, etc.
5.3. Recognize how company policies and confidentiality guidelines protect user data.
– Identifying confidential, propriety, and personally identifiable information (PII) data
6. Job Tools
6.1. Use remote access software to connect to end user devices and perform remote support tasks.
– Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance, Cisco Webex, Remote Management, TeamViewer, Virtual
Network Computing (VNC), PC Anywhere
6.2. Use appropriate troubleshooting tools to research an issue and update internal documentation with
findings.
– AI: query AI to research an issue, limitations of AI, ethical considerations for AI, privacy and security
risks, difference between predictive and generative AI
– Using search engine results
– Technical forums
– Knowledge base articles (industry and internal)