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Overall MCQs for Reference
- Which is a primary objective of OS hardening?
a. Increasing system performance
b. Reducing security vulnerabilities
c. Simplifying the user interface
d. Enhancing graphics display
Answer: b. Reducing security vulnerabilitiespuppet+1 - What is the process of applying latest software patches called?
a. Virtualization
b. Hardening
c. Patch management
d. Configuration management
Answer: c. Patch managementgeeksforgeeks+1 - What is a common step in hardening operating systems?
a. Enabling all services
b. Disabling unused services
c. Allowing guest logins
d. Using default settings
Answer: b. Disabling unused servicespuppet+1 - Which principle grants users only permissions they need?
a. Full control
b. Separation of duties
c. Least privilege
d. Implicit trust
Answer: c. Least privilegegeeksforgeeks+1 - What kind of authentication adds extra security beyond passwords?
a. Single sign-on
b. Default login
c. Multi-factor authentication
d. Password reuse
Answer: c. Multi-factor authenticationpuppet+1 - What does a firewall primarily provide for OS hardening?
a. Hardware warranty
b. Network segmentation and traffic filtering
c. Increased application speed
d. Larger storage
Answer: b. Network segmentation and traffic filteringgeeksforgeeks+1 - Which term describes removal or disabling of unnecessary components?
a. Optimization
b. Footprint reduction
c. Defragmentation
d. Overclocking
Answer: b. Footprint reductionlearn.microsoft+1 - What type of control does Mandatory Access Control (MAC) enforce?
a. User-chosen permissions
b. System-enforced restrictions
c. Administrator-only access
d. Group policy
Answer: b. System-enforced restrictionssanfoundry+1 - Why are default system accounts risky?
a. They increase performance
b. They are well-known, and often have default passwords
c. They support third-party apps
d. They provide backup
Answer: b. They are well-known, and often have default passwordssophos+1 - What should be done with default shared folders and public shares?
a. Promote
b. Remove or restrict
c. Mirror
d. Rename
Answer: b. Remove or restrictsophos+1 - Which feature helps limit the execution of unauthorized software?
a. Application whitelisting
b. Print spooling
c. Background updating
d. File fragmentation
Answer: a. Application whitelistingsophos+1 - Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is primarily used to:
a. Prevent all user logins
b. Assign permissions by job function
c. Encrypt network traffic
d. Schedule backups
Answer: b. Assign permissions by job functionsanfoundry+1 - Remote access is best secured by:
a. Using open ports for all users
b. Enforcing strong authentication and VPNs
c. Allowing anonymous logins
d. Sharing passwords
Answer: b. Enforcing strong authentication and VPNspuppet+1 - Which type of encryption protects data on the disk?
a. Stream cipher
b. File system encryption
c. Tokenization
d. Hashing only
Answer: b. File system encryptionsophos+1 - To reduce an OS attack surface, administrators should:
a. Enable legacy protocols
b. Disable unnecessary services and ports
c. Install unused apps
d. Extend superuser access
Answer: b. Disable unnecessary services and portsgeeksforgeeks+1 - Automatic updates are important for:
a. User personalization
b. Patching vulnerabilities promptly
c. Increasing disk space
d. Logging all files
Answer: b. Patching vulnerabilities promptlypuppet+1 - What is ‘configuration drift’?
a. Hardware failure
b. Unplanned changes causing misalignments from hardened baseline
c. License expiration
d. Hardware upgrades
Answer: b. Unplanned changes causing misalignments from hardened baselinesearchinform+1 - What is the best practice regarding unused network interfaces?
a. Leave enabled
b. Disable them
c. Bridge them all together
d. Assign random IPs
Answer: b. Disable themnetwrix+1 - A secure OS installation typically involves:
a. Default installation
b. Customizing and minimizing installed components
c. Enabling all device drivers
d. Running as administrator
Answer: b. Customizing and minimizing installed componentslearn.microsoft+1 - The CIS Benchmarks are:
a. Entertainment guidelines
b. Security configuration standards
c. Hardware manuals
d. Test software
Answer: b. Security configuration standardscalcomsoftware+1 - Disabling guest access:
a. Reduces usability
b. Reduces risk of unauthorized access
c. Spurs anonymous sharing
d. Enables faster login
Answer: b. Reduces risk of unauthorized accesssophos+1 - Security logging and auditing are essential for:
a. Compliance and incident analysis
b. Faster boot times
c. Optimizing graphics
d. Reducing disk space
Answer: a. Compliance and incident analysispuppet+1 - What is used to automatically enforce security policies on servers?
a. Configuration management tools
b. Manual scripts only
c. Word processors
d. Clipboard utilities
Answer: a. Configuration management toolscalcomsoftware+1 - Which OS feature protects system files from unauthorized modification?
a. File Integrity Monitoring (FIM)
b. Defragmentation
c. Disk quotas
d. Clipboard history
Answer: a. File Integrity Monitoring (FIM)netwrix+1 - How should superuser (root) accounts be handled?
a. Used for daily work
b. Disabled or used securely with MFA and auditing
c. Shared with all admins
d. Used without password
Answer: b. Disabled or used securely with MFA and auditingsanfoundry+2 - What does ‘hardened image’ mean?
a. An encrypted backup
b. A preconfigured secure OS template
c. A blurred photo
d. A diagnostic utility
Answer: b. A preconfigured secure OS templatesearchinform+1 - SELinux and AppArmor are:
a. Firewall products
b. Linux security modules for mandatory access controls
c. Backup solutions
d. File archivers
Answer: b. Linux security modules for mandatory access controlssanfoundry+1 - Which type of attack is minimized by changing default admin passwords?
a. Insider threat
b. Social engineering
c. Brute-force and credential stuffing
d. Hardware malfunction
Answer: c. Brute-force and credential stuffingsophos+1 - System backup plans in OS hardening should be:
a. Infrequent
b. Documented and regular
c. Limited to desktop only
d. Avoided for security
Answer: b. Documented and regularpuppet+1 - The principle of ‘separation of duties’ means:
a. All access by one admin
b. Splitting responsibilities among multiple individuals
c. Shared passwords for efficiency
d. Merging roles for simplicity
Answer: b. Splitting responsibilities among multiple individualscalcomsoftware+1 - Immutable infrastructure in OS hardening refers to:
a. Constant hardware upgrades
b. Deploying systems as unmodifiable images
c. Allowing user customizations
d. Disabling encryption
Answer: b. Deploying systems as unmodifiable imagessearchinform - What is recommended for handling unused user accounts?
a. Leave active
b. Disable or remove them
c. Assign admin roles
d. Move to a different server
Answer: b. Disable or remove themgeeksforgeeks+1 - For cloud servers, which additional hardening step is critical?
a. Ignore remote access
b. Harden cloud platform and OS-level configuration
c. Focus only on hardware
d. Use legacy protocols
Answer: b. Harden cloud platform and OS-level configurationsearchinform+1 - Why is regular vulnerability scanning important for OS hardening?
a. For desktop notifications
b. To identify and remediate weaknesses before exploitation
c. To speed up file access
d. To rename system files
Answer: b. To identify and remediate weaknesses before exploitationcalcomsoftware+1 - Using ‘sudo’ instead of logging in as root in Linux is considered a best practice because:
a. It’s faster
b. It allows logging and privilege escalation control
c. It disables the OS
d. It erases files
Answer: b. It allows logging and privilege escalation controlsanfoundry - Security policies for OS hardening should be:
a. Informal
b. Defined, documented, and enforced
c. Ignored
d. Set once never updated
Answer: b. Defined, documented, and enforcedcalcomsoftware+1 - Containerization helps OS hardening by:
a. Enabling guest access
b. Isolating workloads to minimize attack surface
c. Increasing interface complexity
d. Disabling network firewalls
Answer: b. Isolating workloads to minimize attack surfacesearchinform - Disabling unnecessary scheduled tasks is important because:
a. It slows boot time
b. It eliminates sensitive background processes and risks
c. It deletes files
d. It increases network load
Answer: b. It eliminates sensitive background processes and riskspuppet - Routine administrative activities should be:
a. Performed on a dedicated jump box or management system
b. Done from user desktops
c. Automated by users
d. Randomized
Answer: a. Performed on a dedicated jump box or management systemnetwrix+1 - Which protocol should be preferred for remote administration?
a. Telnet
b. HTTPS or SSH
c. FTP
d. SNMP v1
Answer: b. HTTPS or SSHsophos+1 - Downgrading OS to an older version is:
a. A good security tactic
b. A security risk due to unsupported vulnerabilities
c. Required for hardening
d. Recommended for compliance
Answer: b. A security risk due to unsupported vulnerabilitiespuppet - Limiting outbound connections on a server:
a. Increases risk
b. Reduces the risk of unauthorized data exfiltration
c. Disables updates
d. Causes kernel crashes
Answer: b. Reduces the risk of unauthorized data exfiltrationsophos+1 - Regular auditing and reviewing server logs helps to:
a. Increase disk speed
b. Detect potential attacks and policy violations
c. Slow down network traffic
d. Hide updates
Answer: b. Detect potential attacks and policy violationssophos+1 - What is the most secure setting for USB ports on critical servers?
a. Enable for all users
b. Disable or restrict to trusted admins only
c. Allow guest usage
d. Enable for backup only
Answer: b. Disable or restrict to trusted admins onlypuppet+1 - Applying change management to server configurations:
a. Slows down updates
b. Improves security by documenting and reviewing changes
c. Removes logs
d. Deletes default apps
Answer: b. Improves security by documenting and reviewing changescalcomsoftware+1 - API security in OS hardening requires:
a. No special action
b. Restricting and authenticating API endpoints
c. Only updating endpoints
d. Ignoring network traffic
Answer: b. Restricting and authenticating API endpointssearchinform+1 - Secure boot mechanisms:
a. Allow unsigned OS loading
b. Ensure only trusted and signed OS images can boot
c. Disable encryption
d. Increase attack surface
Answer: b. Ensure only trusted and signed OS images can bootsophos+1 - Which log should be closely monitored for signs of compromise?
a. Print queue log
b. Security/logon event logs
c. Application installation logs
d. Browser history
Answer: b. Security/logon event logspuppet+1 - Which is NOT a part of OS hardening?
a. Reducing attack surface
b. Allowing default open ports
c. Applying security patches
d. Enabling auditing
Answer: b. Allowing default open portssophos+1 - Server physical security is part of hardening because:
a. It is not required
b. It ensures attackers cannot gain hardware-level OS access
c. It improves graphics
d. It speeds up network
Answer: b. It ensures attackers cannot gain hardware-level OS accesspuppet+1
- https://www.puppet.com/blog/system-hardening
- https://www.sophos.com/en-us/cybersecurity-explained/what-is-server-hardening
- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-networks/what-is-system-hardening/
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/well-architected/security/harden-resources
- https://www.sanfoundry.com/cyber-security-questions-answers-linux-os-security/
- https://searchinform.com/articles/cybersecurity/measures/system-hardening/os-hardening/
- https://www.netwrix.com/windows-server-hardening-checklist.html
- https://calcomsoftware.com/best-hardening-tools/
- https://testbook.com/objective-questions/mcq-on-hardening–5eea6a0939140f30f369d8e5
- https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-notes/26953764
- https://spectralops.io/blog/os-hardening-for-developers/
- https://www.sanfoundry.com/operating-system-questions-answers/
- https://www.gdcramban.in/MCQ/OSMCQ.pdf
- https://www.interviewbit.com/operating-system-mcq/
- https://www.sanfoundry.com/operating-system-questions-answers-security/
- https://linfordco.com/blog/operating-system-hardening/
- https://www.coursehero.com/file/147977660/Hardening-Quizdocx/
- https://www.placementpreparation.io/mcq/operating-system/
- https://www.securityscientist.net/blog/general-server-security/
- https://www.scribd.com/document/329384091/Chapter-4-FIT9