Ethical Hacking Online Quiz

Nslookup is a network administration tool used to query the Domain Name System (DNS) to obtain domain name or IP address mapping.

The standard ethical hacking methodology begins with reconnaissance (information gathering) to identify targets and vulnerabilities before proceeding to scanning and exploitation.

Shoulder surfing to obtain someone's password is explicitly unethical and a violation of privacy and security. It is a form of social engineering attack that compromises confidential information. Options A, B, and C incorrectly attempt to frame this as acceptable practice.

Keylogging is the act of recording the keys struck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner. This allows the attacker to capture passwords and other sensitive data.

Malware is a portmanteau of malicious software. It is a broad term that encompasses viruses, worms, trojans, and other harmful programs.

A firewall acts as a barrier between a trusted internal network and untrusted external networks. Its primary purpose is to control traffic and prevent unauthorized access.

Bots are automated programs that perform specific tasks on networks, often maliciously like DDoS attacks or spam distribution. They can also be used for legitimate purposes like web crawling. Option C is correct despite the grammatical error in the question ('Bots is' should be 'Bots are') and the option ('to specific tasks' missing a verb).

IPS stands for Intrusion Prevention System. It is a network security/threat prevention technology that examines network traffic flows to detect and prevent vulnerability exploits.

Security patches are updates released by software vendors to fix vulnerabilities or bugs discovered in their applications. Installing these is a critical part of maintaining system security.

Wireshark is a widely used network protocol analyzer. It allows users to capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

Enumeration involves actively interacting with the target system to gather detailed information such as user accounts, shared resources, and network topology. This phase typically follows initial network scanning during a security assessment.

A proxy server acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. Hackers use them to mask their true IP address and hide their identity during attacks.

A SYN stealth scan (half-open scan) sends a SYN packet to the target. If a SYN/ACK is received, the port is open, but the scanner sends an RST packet instead of completing the handshake, thus avoiding a full connection.

A vulnerability scan is an automated process that identifies, quantifies, and prioritizes vulnerabilities in a system, network, or application.

Cain and Abel is a well-known password recovery tool for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It can recover various types of passwords by sniffing the network or cracking encrypted passwords.

Nmap stands for Network Mapper. It is a free and open-source utility for network discovery and security auditing.

Manual testing relies on human intervention, which can lead to variations in results due to differences in how testers perform the steps or interpret the findings.

Automated testing uses scripts and tools to execute tests, making it significantly faster and more efficient for repetitive tasks compared to manual testing.

Manual testing requires a human to step through every part of the application, which is exhaustive and time-consuming compared to automated scripts.

Manual penetration testing requires deep expertise to understand complex systems, identify subtle vulnerabilities, and think creatively, which automated tools might miss.

Automated penetration testing tools are designed to be user-friendly and provide standardized reports, allowing even beginners to run scans and identify common vulnerabilities.

White box testing involves testing the internal structures or workings of an application, which requires knowledge of the source code and programming logic.

NDA stands for Non-Disclosure Agreement, a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to by third parties.

Penetration testing (often shortened to 'pen test') is a simulated cyberattack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities.

White Hat hackers are ethical hackers who use their skills to improve security by finding vulnerabilities and reporting them to the owners, rather than exploiting them for malicious gain.

A dictionary attack systematically tries a list of common words or phrases to guess a password. Brute force involves trying all possible character combinations, while the other options refer to network-level attacks.

Phishing attacks often succeed by targeting users who lack technical knowledge about cybersecurity threats and safe computing practices. These users may not recognize warning signs like suspicious URLs, unexpected requests for sensitive information, or generic greetings. While anyone can fall victim to sophisticated phishing, less technical users are disproportionately targeted.

DDoS is an acronym for Distributed Denial of Service. It involves multiple compromised systems flooding a target with traffic to make it unavailable.

XSS stands for Cross Site Scripting. It is a vulnerability where an attacker injects malicious scripts into content delivered to other users.

A waterhole attack involves compromising a website frequently visited by a specific group of users. By infecting the site, the attacker can infect the members of that targeted group.

An attack vector is the specific path or method used by an attacker to gain unauthorized access to a system. Examples include phishing emails, malicious links, or software vulnerabilities.

Encryption is the best countermeasure against session hijacking because it prevents attackers from reading the session tokens or data being transmitted. Without encryption, session tokens can be easily intercepted in transit.

The first phase of a DDoS attack is the intrusion or preparation phase, where the attacker compromises multiple systems (creating a botnet) to use them for the attack. Finding a target is a prerequisite, but the actual attack process begins with building the botnet.

Sniffing is the process of monitoring and capturing all data packets passing through a network. It is often used by attackers to steal sensitive information like passwords or session tokens.

A backdoor is a method of bypassing normal authentication to secure remote access to a computer. It allows attackers to maintain access even if the original entry point is closed.

A rootkit is a collection of software tools that enable an unauthorized user to gain control of a computer system without being detected. It often hides its presence and provides administrative (root) access.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim's files, making them inaccessible. The attacker then demands a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key.

Spam is the unsolicited sending of the same message to a large number of recipients. It is often used for advertising or malicious phishing campaigns.

Adware is software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material when a user is online. It is often bundled with free software.

Authentication is the process of verifying that a user is who they claim to be. This is typically done using passwords, biometrics, or tokens.

Availability ensures that systems, applications, and data are accessible to authorized users when needed. It is a core pillar of the CIA triad.

Integrity ensures that data remains accurate and has not been tampered with or modified by unauthorized parties. It is a core pillar of the CIA triad.

Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is accessed only by authorized individuals. It prevents unauthorized disclosure of data.

A masquerade attack occurs when an entity pretends to be another entity to gain unauthorized access or privileges. This is a common form of identity spoofing.

An active attack involves modifying data or gaining unauthorized access to resources, which can cause significant damage. Passive attacks, by contrast, only involve monitoring or eavesdropping on data.

A Trojan is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software. Once installed, it often creates a backdoor that allows an attacker to control the system remotely.

Steganography is the practice of concealing a file, message, image, or video within another file, message, image, or video. It differs from encryption, which makes data unreadable.

A null session is a connection to a Windows system that does not require a username or password. It is often used by attackers to gather information about the system.

Enumeration is the process of extracting information from a target system, such as usernames, machine names, network resources, and services. It is a key step in the reconnaissance phase of an attack.

An XMAS scan sets the FIN, URG, and PUSH flags in a TCP packet. It is called an XMAS scan because the flags are 'lit up' like a Christmas tree.

Scanning in cybersecurity typically refers to port scanning, network scanning, and vulnerability scanning. These processes help identify open ports, active hosts, and security weaknesses.

Antivirus software is designed to detect, prevent, and remove malicious software (malware) from computer systems. It acts as a protective layer against various digital threats.

Clickjacking is a malicious technique where an attacker tricks a user into clicking on a hidden or transparent element on a webpage. This action is performed on behalf of the user on a different site.

A Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack occurs when an attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between two parties who believe they are communicating directly. This allows the attacker to read, send, or modify data.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) uses port 21 for the control connection. Port 20 is typically used for the data connection.

Impersonation is a social engineering technique where an attacker pretends to be someone else, such as a valid user or an authority figure, to gain unauthorized access to information or systems.

Using pop-up windows to deceive users is a computer-based social engineering attack. It relies on software interfaces to trick the user into providing sensitive information.

Footprinting is the initial phase of ethical hacking where an attacker gathers as much information as possible about a target system or network to identify potential entry points.

In the standard ethical hacking methodology, the phase immediately following footprinting is scanning, where the gathered information is used to identify active services and vulnerabilities.

The security triangle suggests that as you decrease security, systems often become easier to use and more functional, as restrictive security measures are removed.

Ethical hacking involves authorized attempts to identify and fix security vulnerabilities in IT systems, helping organizations protect their assets from malicious actors.