Amazing comptia sy0 401 secrets


The article at Testaimer.com going over http://www.testaimer.com/SY0-401-test is very comprehensive.

Q41. A software development company has hired a programmer to develop a plug-in module to an existing proprietary application. After completing the module, the developer needs to test the entire application to ensure that the module did not introduce new vulnerabilities. Which of the following is the developer performing when testing the application? 

A. Black box testing 

B. White box testing 

C. Gray box testing 

D. Design review 

Answer:

Explanation: 

In this question, we know the tester has some knowledge of the application because the tester developed a plug-in module for it. However, the tester does not have detailed information about the entire application. Therefore, this is a grey-box test. Gray box testing, also called gray box analysis, is a strategy for software debugging in which the tester has limited knowledge of the internal details of the program. A gray box is a device, program or system whose workings are partially understood. Gray box testing can be contrasted with black box testing, a scenario in which the tester has no knowledge or access to the internal workings of a program, or white box testing, a scenario in which the internal particulars are fully known. Gray box testing is commonly used in penetration tests. Gray box testing is considered to be non-intrusive and unbiased because it does not require that the tester have access to the source code. With respect to internal processes, gray box testing treats a program as a black box that must be analyzed from the outside. During a gray box test, the person may know how the system components interact but not have detailed knowledge about internal program functions and operation. A clear distinction exists between the developer and the tester, thereby minimizing the risk of personnel conflicts. 

Topic 4, Application, Data and Host Security 


Q42. Which of the following was based on a previous X.500 specification and allows either unencrypted authentication or encrypted authentication through the use of TLS? 

A. Kerberos 

B. TACACS+ 

C. RADIUS 

D. LDAP 

Answer:

Explanation: 

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard 

application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over 

an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory services play an important role in developing intranet 

and Internet applications by allowing the sharing of information about users, systems, networks, 

services, and applications throughout the network. As examples, directory services may provide 

any organized set of records, often with a hierarchical structure, such as a corporate email 

directory. Similarly, a telephone directory is a list of subscribers with an address and a phone 

number. 

A common usage of LDAP is to provide a "single sign on" where one password for a user is 

shared between many services, such as applying a company login code to web pages (so that 

staff log in only once to company computers, and then are automatically logged into the company 

intranet). 

LDAP is based on a simpler subset of the standards contained within the X.500 standard. 

Because of this relationship, LDAP is sometimes called X.500-lite. 

A client starts an LDAP session by connecting to an LDAP server, called a Directory System 

Agent (DSA), by default on TCP and UDP port 389, or on port 636 for LDAPS. Global Catalog is 

available by default on ports 3268, and 3269 for LDAPS. The client then sends an operation 

request to the server, and the server sends responses in return. 

The client may request the following operations: 

StartTLS — use the LDAPv3 Transport Layer Security (TLS) extension for a secure connection 


Q43. A security administrator must implement a secure key exchange protocol that will allow company clients to autonomously exchange symmetric encryption keys over an unencrypted channel. Which of the following MUST be implemented? 

A. SHA-256 

B. AES 

C. Diffie-Hellman 

D. 3DES 

Answer:

Explanation: 


Q44. An attacker used an undocumented and unknown application exploit to gain access to a file server. Which of the following BEST describes this type of attack? 

A. Integer overflow 

B. Cross-site scripting 

C. Zero-day 

D. Session hijacking 

E. XML injection 

Answer:

Explanation: 

The vulnerability is undocumented and unknown. This is zero day vulnerability. A zero day vulnerability refers to a hole in software that is unknown to the vendor. This security hole is then exploited by hackers before the vendor becomes aware and hurries to fix it—this exploit is called a zero day attack. Uses of zero day attacks can include infiltrating malware, spyware or allowing unwanted access to user information. The term “zero day” refers to the unknown nature of the hole to those outside of the hackers, specifically, the developers. Once the vulnerability becomes known, a race begins for the developer, who must protect users. 


Q45. A user has plugged in a wireless router from home with default configurations into a network jack at the office. This is known as: 

A. an evil twin. 

B. an IV attack. 

C. a rogue access point. 

D. an unauthorized entry point. 

Answer:

Explanation: 


Q46. Users are utilizing thumb drives to connect to USB ports on company workstations. A technician is concerned that sensitive files can be copied to the USB drives. Which of the following mitigation techniques would address this concern? (Select TWO). 

A. Disable the USB root hub within the OS. 

B. Install anti-virus software on the USB drives. 

C. Disable USB within the workstations BIOS. 

D. Apply the concept of least privilege to USB devices. 

E. Run spyware detection against all workstations. 

Answer: A,C 

Explanation: 

A: The USB root hub can be disabled from within the operating system. 

C: USB can also be configured and disabled in the system BIOS. 


Q47. Pete, a security administrator, has observed repeated attempts to break into the network. Which of the following is designed to stop an intrusion on the network? 

A. NIPS 

B. HIDS 

C. HIPS 

D. NIDS 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Network-based intrusion prevention system (NIPS) monitors the entire network for suspicious traffic by analyzing protocol activity. The main functions of intrusion prevention systems are to identify malicious activity, log information about this activity, attempt to block/stop it, and report it 


Q48. The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) wants to improve security surrounding storage of customer passwords. 

The company currently stores passwords as SHA hashes. Which of the following can the CTO implement requiring the LEAST change to existing systems? 

A. Smart cards 

B. TOTP 

C. Key stretching 

D. Asymmetric keys 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Smart cards usually come in two forms. The most common takes the form of a rectangular piece of plastic with an embedded microchip. The second is as a USB token. It contains a built in processor and has the ability to securely store and process information. A "contact" smart card communicates with a PC using a smart card reader whereas a "contactless" card sends encrypted information via radio waves to the PC. Typical scenarios in which smart cards are used include interactive logon, e-mail signing, e-mail decryption and remote access authentication. However, smart cards are programmable and can contain programs and data for many different applications. For example smart cards may be used to store medical histories for use in emergencies, to make electronic cash payments or to verify the identity of a customer to an e-retailer. Microsoft provides two device independent APIs to insulate application developers from differences between current and future implementations: CryptoAPI and Microsoft Win32. SCard APIs. The Cryptography API contains functions that allow applications to encrypt or digitally sign data in a flexible manner, while providing protection for the user's sensitive private key data. All cryptographic operations are performed by independent modules known as cryptographic service providers (CSPs). There are many different cryptographic algorithms and even when implementing the same algorithm there are many choices to make about key sizes and padding for example. For this reason, CSPs are grouped into types, in which each supported CryptoAPI function, by default, performs in a way particular to that type. For example, CSPs in the PROV_DSS provider type support DSS Signatures and MD5 and SHA hashing. 


Q49. A network engineer is designing a secure tunneled VPN. Which of the following protocols would be the MOST secure? 

A. IPsec 

B. SFTP 

C. BGP 

D. PPTP 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) came about through a partnership between Cisco and Microsoft with the intention of providing a more secure VPN protocol. L2TP is considered to be a more secure option than PPTP, as the IPSec protocol which holds more secure encryption algorithms, is utilized in conjunction with it. It also requires a pre-shared certificate or key. L2TP’s strongest level of encryption makes use of 168 bit keys, 3 DES encryption algorithm and requires two levels of authentication. L2TP has a number of advantages in comparison to PPTP in terms of providing data integrity and authentication of origin verification designed to keep hackers from compromising the system. However, the increased overhead required to manage this elevated security means that it performs at a slower pace than PPTP. 


Q50. A company recently experienced data loss when a server crashed due to a midday power outage. 

Which of the following should be used to prevent this from occurring again? 

A. Recovery procedures 

B. EMI shielding 

C. Environmental monitoring 

D. Redundancy 

Answer:

Explanation: 

Redundancy refers to systems that either are duplicated or fail over to other systems in the event of a malfunction (in this case a power outage). Failover refers to the process of reconstructing a system or switching over to other systems when a failure is detected. In the case of a server, the server switches to a redundant server when a fault is detected. This strategy allows service to continue uninterrupted until the primary server can be restored.