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Overall MCQs for Reference

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. Which term describes removal or disabling of unnecessary components?
    a. Optimization
    b. Footprint reduction
    c. Defragmentation
    d. Overclocking
    Answer: b. Footprint reductionlearn.microsoft+1
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. The CIS Benchmarks are:
    a. Entertainment guidelines
    b. Security configuration standards
    c. Hardware manuals
    d. Test software
    Answer: b. Security configuration standardscalcomsoftware+1
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
  31. 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
  32. 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
  33. 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
  34. 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
  35. 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
  36. 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
  37. 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
  38. 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
  39. 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
  40. 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
  41. 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
  42. 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
  43. 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
  44. 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
  45. 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
  46. 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
  47. 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
  48. 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
  49. 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
  50. 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

 

  1. https://www.puppet.com/blog/system-hardening
  2. https://www.sophos.com/en-us/cybersecurity-explained/what-is-server-hardening
  3. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-networks/what-is-system-hardening/
  4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/well-architected/security/harden-resources
  5. https://www.sanfoundry.com/cyber-security-questions-answers-linux-os-security/
  6. https://searchinform.com/articles/cybersecurity/measures/system-hardening/os-hardening/
  7. https://www.netwrix.com/windows-server-hardening-checklist.html
  8. https://calcomsoftware.com/best-hardening-tools/
  9. https://testbook.com/objective-questions/mcq-on-hardening–5eea6a0939140f30f369d8e5
  10. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-notes/26953764
  11. https://spectralops.io/blog/os-hardening-for-developers/
  12. https://www.sanfoundry.com/operating-system-questions-answers/
  13. https://www.gdcramban.in/MCQ/OSMCQ.pdf
  14. https://www.interviewbit.com/operating-system-mcq/
  15. https://www.sanfoundry.com/operating-system-questions-answers-security/
  16. https://linfordco.com/blog/operating-system-hardening/
  17. https://www.coursehero.com/file/147977660/Hardening-Quizdocx/
  18. https://www.placementpreparation.io/mcq/operating-system/
  19. https://www.securityscientist.net/blog/general-server-security/
  20. https://www.scribd.com/document/329384091/Chapter-4-FIT9

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