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CompTIA Security+ Certification Certification Exam

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CompTIA SY0-401 Free Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following is an example of a false positive? 

A. Anti-virus identifies a benign application as malware. 

B. A biometric iris scanner rejects an authorized user wearing a new contact lens. 

C. A user account is locked out after the user mistypes the password too many times. 

D. The IDS does not identify a buffer overflow. 

Answer:

Explanation: 

A false positive is an error in some evaluation process in which a condition tested for is mistakenly found to have been detected. In spam filters, for example, a false positive is a legitimate message mistakenly marked as UBE --unsolicited bulk email, as junk email is more formally known. Messages that are determined to be spam -- whether correctly or incorrectly -- may be rejected by a server or client-side spam filter and returned to the sender as bounce e-mail. One problem with many spam filtering tools is that if they are configured stringently enough to be effective, there is a fairly high chance of getting false positives. The risk of accidentally blocking an important message has been enough to deter many companies from implementing any anti-spam measures at all. False positives are also common in security systems. A host intrusion prevention system (HIPS), for example, looks for anomalies, such as deviations in bandwidth, protocols and ports. When activity varies outside of an acceptable range – for example, a remote application attempting to open a normally closed port -- an intrusion may be in progress. However, an anomaly, such as a sudden spike in bandwidth use, does not guarantee an actual attack, so this approach amounts to an educated guess and the chance for false positives can be high. False positives contrast with false negatives, which are results indicating mistakenly that some condition tested for is absent. 

Q2. Which of the following types of risk reducing policies also has the added indirect benefit of cross training employees when implemented? 

A. Least privilege 

B. Job rotation 

C. Mandatory vacations 

D. Separation of duties 

Answer:

Explanation: 

A job rotation policy defines intervals at which employees must rotate through positions. Similar in purpose to mandatory vacations, it helps to ensure that the company does not become too dependent on one person and it does afford the company with the opportunity to place another person in that same job. 

Q3. An organizations' security policy requires that users change passwords every 30 days. After a security audit, it was determined that users were recycling previously used passwords. Which of the following password enforcement policies would have mitigated this issue? 

A. Password history 

B. Password complexity 

C. Password length 

D. Password expiration 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Q4. Pete, a security engineer, is trying to inventory all servers in a rack. The engineer launches RDP sessions to five different PCs and notices that the hardware properties are similar. Additionally, the MAC addresses of all five servers appear on the same switch port. Which of the following is MOST likely the cause? 

A. The system is running 802.1x. 

B. The system is using NAC. 

C. The system is in active-standby mode. 

D. The system is virtualized. 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Virtualization allows a single set of hardware to host multiple virtual machines. 

Q5. Pete, a security analyst, has been tasked with explaining the different types of malware to his colleagues. The two malware types that the group seems to be most interested in are botnets and viruses. Which of the following explains the difference between these two types of malware? 

A. Viruses are a subset of botnets which are used as part of SYN attacks. 

B. Botnets are a subset of malware which are used as part of DDoS attacks. 

C. Viruses are a class of malware which create hidden openings within an OS. 

D. Botnets are used within DR to ensure network uptime and viruses are not. 

Answer:

Explanation: 

A botnet is a collection of Internet-connected programs communicating with other similar programs in order to perform tasks. This can be as mundane as keeping control of an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel, or it could be used to send spam email or participate in distributed denial-of-service attacks. The word botnet is a combination of the words robot and network. The term is usually used with a negative or malicious connotation. Computers can be co-opted into a botnet when they execute malicious software. This can be accomplished by luring users into making a drive-by download, exploiting web browser vulnerabilities, or by tricking the user into running a Trojan horse program, which may come from an email attachment. This malware will typically install modules that allow the computer to be commanded and controlled by the botnet's operator. Many computer users are unaware that their computer is infected with bots. Depending on how it is written, a Trojan may then delete itself, or may remain present to update and maintain the modules. 

Q6. At an organization, unauthorized users have been accessing network resources via unused network wall jacks. Which of the following would be used to stop unauthorized access? 

A. Configure an access list. 

B. Configure spanning tree protocol. 

C. Configure port security. 

D. Configure loop protection. 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Port security in IT can mean several things. It can mean the physical control of all connection points, such as RJ-45 wall jacks or device ports, so that no unauthorized users or unauthorized devices can attempt to connect into an open port. This can be accomplished by locking down the wiring closet and server vaults and then disconnecting the workstation run from the patch panel (or punch-down block) that leads to a room’s wall jack. Any unneeded or unused wall jacks can (and should) be physically disabled in this manner. Another option is to use a smart patch panel that can monitor the MAC address of any device connected to each and every wall port across a building and detect not just when a new device is connected to an empty port, but also when a valid device is disconnected or replaced by an invalid device. 

Q7. An administrator needs to renew a certificate for a web server. Which of the following should be submitted to a CA? 

A. CSR 

B. Recovery agent 

C. Private key 

D. CRL 

Answer:

Explanation: 

In public key infrastructure (PKI) systems, a certificate signing request (also CSR or certification 

request) is a message sent from an applicant to a certificate authority in order to apply for a digital 

identity certificate. 

When you renew a certificate you send a CSR to the CA to get the certificate resigned. 

Q8. What is a system that is intended or designed to be broken into by an attacker? 

A. Honeypot 

B. Honeybucket 

C. Decoy 

D. Spoofing system 

Answer:

Explanation: 

A honeypot is a system whose purpose it is to be attacked. An administrator can watch and study 

the attack to research current attack methodologies. 

According to the Wepopedia.com, a Honeypot luring a hacker into a system has several main 

purposes: 

The administrator can watch the hacker exploit the vulnerabilities of the system, thereby learning 

where the system has weaknesses that need to be redesigned. 

The hacker can be caught and stopped while trying to obtain root access to the system. 

By studying the activities of hackers, designers can better create more secure systems that are 

potentially invulnerable to future hackers. 

There are two main types of honeypots: 

Production - A production honeypot is one used within an organization's environment to help 

mitigate risk. 

Research – A research honeypot add value to research in computer security by providing a 

platform to study the threat. 

Q9. Which of the following is the MOST secure protocol to transfer files? 

A. FTP 

B. FTPS 

C. SSH 

D. TELNET 

Answer:

Explanation: 

FTPS refers to FTP Secure, or FTP SSL. It is a secure variation of File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 

Q10. After an audit, it was discovered that the security group memberships were not properly adjusted for employees’ accounts when they moved from one role to another. Which of the following has the organization failed to properly implement? (Select TWO). 

A. Mandatory access control enforcement. 

B. User rights and permission reviews. 

C. Technical controls over account management. 

D. Account termination procedures. 

E. Management controls over account management. 

F. Incident management and response plan. 

Answer: B,E 

Explanation: 

Reviewing user rights and permissions can be used to determine that all groups, users, and other accounts have the appropriate privileges assigned according to the policies of the corporation and their job descriptions since they were all moved to different roles. Control over account management would have taken into account the different roles that employees have and adjusted the rights and permissions of these roles accordingly. 

Q11. Which of the following offerings typically allows the customer to apply operating system patches? 

A. Software as a service 

B. Public Clouds 

C. Cloud Based Storage 

D. Infrastructure as a service 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Cloud users install operating-system images and their application software on the cloud infrastructure to deploy their applications. In this model, the cloud user patches and maintains the operating systems and the application software. 

Q12. A small company has recently purchased cell phones for managers to use while working outside if the office. 

The company does not currently have a budget for mobile device management and is primarily concerned with deterring leaks if sensitive information obtained by unauthorized access to unattended phones. Which of the following would provide the solution BEST meets the company’s requirements? 

A. Screen-lock 

B. Disable removable storage 

C. Full device encryption 

D. Remote wiping 

Answer:

Explanation: Explanation Screen-lock is a security feature that requires the user to enter a password after a short period of inactivity before they can access the system again. This feature ensures that if your device is left unattended or is lost or stolen, it will be difficult for anyone else to access your data or applications. 

Q13. In regards to secure coding practices, why is input validation important? 

A. It mitigates buffer overflow attacks. 

B. It makes the code more readable. 

C. It provides an application configuration baseline. 

D. It meets gray box testing standards. 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Buffer overflow is an exploit at programming error, bugs and flaws. It occurs when an application is fed more input data than it is programmed to handle. This may cause the application to terminate or to write data beyond the end of the allocated space in memory. The termination of the application may cause the system to send the data with temporary access to privileged levels in the system, while overwriting can cause important data to be lost. Proper error and exception handling and input validation will help prevent Buffer overflow exploits. 

Q14. Several bins are located throughout a building for secure disposal of sensitive information. 

Which of the following does this prevent? 

A. Dumpster diving 

B. War driving 

C. Tailgating 

D. War chalking 

Answer:

Explanation: 

The bins in this question will be secure bins designed to prevent someone accessing the ‘rubbish’ to learn sensitive information. Dumpster diving is looking for treasure in someone else's trash. (A dumpster is a large trash container.) In the world of information technology, dumpster diving is a technique used to retrieve information that could be used to carry out an attack on a computer network. Dumpster diving isn't limited to searching through the trash for obvious treasures like access codes or passwords written down on sticky notes. Seemingly innocent information like a phone list, calendar, or organizational chart can be used to assist an attacker using social engineering techniques to gain access to the network. To prevent dumpster divers from learning anything valuable from your trash, experts recommend that your company establish a disposal policy where all paper, including print-outs, is shredded in a cross-cut shredder before being recycled, all storage media is erased, and all staff is educated about the danger of untracked trash. 

Q15. A customer service department has a business need to send high volumes of confidential information to customers electronically. All emails go through a DLP scanner. Which of the following is the BEST solution to meet the business needs and protect confidential information? 

A. Automatically encrypt impacted outgoing emails 

B. Automatically encrypt impacted incoming emails 

C. Monitor impacted outgoing emails 

D. Prevent impacted outgoing emails 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Encryption is done to protect confidentiality and integrity of data. It also provides authentication, nonrepudiation and access control to the data. Since all emails go through a DLP scanner and it is outgoing main that requires protection then the best option is to put a system in place that will encrypt the outgoing emails automatically.