Computer Science/IT MCQs
Topic Notes: Computer Science/IT
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
51
What is the term for unsolicited commercial email, often used for distributing malware or scams?
Answer:
Spam
Spam refers to unsolicited and usually unwanted electronic messages, often sent in bulk. While it can carry phishing attempts or malware, spam specifically refers to the unsolicited nature of the communication.
52
Which attack aims to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users?
Answer:
Denial-of-Service (DoS)
A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack floods a system with traffic or requests, making it unable to respond to legitimate users. A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack uses multiple compromised systems to launch a similar attack.
53
What is a 'pharming' attack?
Answer:
An attack that redirects users from a legitimate website to a fraudulent one without their knowledge, often by poisoning DNS records
Pharming is a cyberattack that redirects users to a fraudulent website even when they type the correct URL. This is often achieved by poisoning DNS (Domain Name System) records, making it a more sophisticated attack than simple phishing.
54
Which of the following is a common method for achieving data availability?
Answer:
Regular data backups and disaster recovery planning
Data availability ensures that authorized users can access information when they need it. Regular backups and a robust disaster recovery plan are crucial for restoring data and systems after an outage or attack, ensuring availability.
55
What is the 'General Data Protection Regulation' (GDPR)?
Answer:
A law concerning the protection of personal data and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area
The GDPR is a landmark regulation in data privacy law. It grants individuals significant rights over their personal data and imposes strict obligations on organizations that handle EU residents' data, regardless of where the organization is based.
56
What is the main purpose of 'secure coding practices'?
Answer:
To ensure that software is developed without vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers
Secure coding practices involve writing software code in a way that minimizes vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, injection flaws, or insecure direct object references. It's a fundamental aspect of application security, aiming to prevent common exploits from the ground up.
57
What is the main goal of a 'man-in-the-middle' (MITM) attack?
Answer:
To secretly relay and alter the communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack involves an attacker intercepting communication between two parties without their knowledge, allowing the attacker to eavesdrop on, or even alter, the communication.
58
What is 'data residency'?
Answer:
The physical or geographic location where an organization stores its data
Data residency refers to the physical location where data is stored. This is a critical privacy and compliance concern, as data storage location can determine which legal jurisdictions and data protection regulations apply to it.
59
What is a 'zero-day' vulnerability?
Answer:
A vulnerability that is actively being exploited before the vendor has released a patch
A zero-day vulnerability is a software flaw that is unknown to the vendor or public, and for which no patch or fix exists. Attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities before anyone is aware, making them highly dangerous.
60
What is the primary goal of penetration testing?
Answer:
To identify vulnerabilities in a system or network by simulating a real-world attack
Penetration testing (or pen testing) is a simulated cyberattack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities. It's a proactive security measure used to identify weaknesses that attackers could exploit.