Test Prep ACT Test Exam Prep
American College Testing: English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing (Page 44 )

• Correct exam answer: A — HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• The relevant location is associated with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM.
• The SAM does not store passwords in plain text; it stores password hashes.

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER contains settings for the currently logged-in user, not the account-password database.
• HKEY_USERS contains user profiles and settings loaded for users.
• HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGURATION contains hardware/profile configuration information.

• The server accepts unauthenticated image uploads, which creates an opportunity for an attacker to upload a malicious script disguised as an image or using an unexpected file type.
• A web shell is a malicious script placed on a web server that gives an attacker remote command execution through web requests.
• The suspicious process and outbound connection to a low-reputation IP are consistent with the attacker using the web shell to execute commands or establish communication with command-and-control infrastructure.

• Worm: Usually self-propagates across multiple systems; the scenario focuses on the upload page.
• Cryptocurrency mining: Possible, but there is no indication of resource-intensive mining activity or insider involvement.
• Rootkit Trojan over RDP: The evidence points to the vulnerable upload functionality, not an exposed RDP service.

• Two-part tariff pricing: $10 per unit
• Dual pricing: $20 per unit

Two-part tariff pricing

Dual pricing

• Division X, the seller, is credited with the market price: \(\$20\)
• Division Y, the buyer, is charged the marginal cost: \(\$10\)

• Defender for Servers is the Defender for Cloud plan that protects Azure VMs and generates security alerts that can be reviewed in Defender for Cloud.
• Azure Diagnostics extension collects guest OS monitoring data, but it does not onboard VMs to Defender for Cloud or provide Defender security alerts.
• Data connectors are used for Sentinel integrations.
• Azure Storage Analytics and workflow automation do not provide VM protection.

1. Open Notepad as Administrator.
2. Open:

1. Remove or correct the line mapping the website to the wrong IP address.
2. Save the file.
3. Optionally run:

cmd 
   ipconfig /flushdns

1. System prompts can authorize users — No

1. System prompts can reduce TPM consumption — Yes, with qualification

1. System prompts guide generative AI behavior — Yes

• HTTPS: Secure web traffic, not general command-line server administration.
• SNMPv3: Secure network monitoring and management, not interactive server login.
• RDP: Provides graphical remote desktop access. It can be secure, but it is not the direct replacement for Telnet in this scenario.
• SMTP: Used to send email.

• Assign endpoints to a group based on the result of one policy.
• Use that group as the scope of another policy.
• This effectively passes the endpoints from one policy’s processing flow to another.

• Injection
• Broken access control
• Authentication failures
• Security misconfiguration
• Cross-site scripting

• STIX: A standardized language and format for exchanging threat intelligence.
• OVAL: Used to describe and assess system vulnerabilities and configuration issues.
• Threat intelligence feed: Provides current indicators and intelligence about threats, but not necessarily a structured overview of common application exploitation methods.
• CVE: A catalog of individually identified, publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.

• B. Versioned configuration files — Infrastructure is defined in machine-readable files and tracked in version control, allowing repeatable provisioning and change history.
• D. Docker files — Assuming “Doctor files” is a typo for Dockerfiles, a Dockerfile declaratively defines how to build a container image and is commonly considered infrastructure/configuration as code.

• A. Cloned virtual machine images — These are prebuilt infrastructure artifacts, but cloning an image is not itself a code-based infrastructure definition.
• C. Change management database records — A CMDB records information about infrastructure; it does not define or provision that infrastructure.

1. Which host originated the infection
2. Whether each other host is clean or infected
3. Which firewall or host logs provide evidence of the infection’s movement

• Find the earliest infection-related event. The host associated with that event is the likely origin.
• Follow the timeline: outbound connections from that host may indicate propagation or command-and-control activity.
• A host receiving suspicious traffic is not automatically infected; look for evidence that it executed or initiated malicious activity.
• A firewall log can show traffic paths, but endpoint logs are usually needed to confirm infection.
• Mark a host clean only when the logs show no indicators of compromise or malicious activity.

• Annual interest payments net of tax relief (A): future cash outflows for the issuer.
• Redemption value (B): the final cash outflow when the bond is redeemed.
• Market value now (C): the cash proceeds received now, acting as the initial cash flow in the IRR calculation.

• Deploy five individual VMs: This does not create a VM scale set.
• Modify Availability Zones or Size settings: These actions do not create the required scale set and add unnecessary steps.
• VM orchestration mode: This is Flexible orchestration, intended for more individually managed VMs and mixed configurations. It is not the best choice for a straightforward group of identical instances.

• A — Consumption-based pricing: AWS generally uses a pay-as-you-go model. You pay for the resources you consume rather than purchasing hardware upfront or paying for unused capacity.
• C — Economies of scale: AWS purchases and operates infrastructure at a very large scale, allowing it to reduce costs and pass some savings to customers through lower service prices.

• Perpetual licenses: These involve paying once for permanent software ownership and are not a primary AWS Cloud economic benefit.
• AWS Enterprise Support at no additional cost: Enterprise Support has an additional charge.
• Bring-your-own-hardware model: AWS provides and manages the underlying cloud infrastructure; customers do not normally bring their own physical servers.

• C — Some risks cannot be eliminated.

• D — Accepting residual risk does not imply recklessness.

• E — Most companies in this industry will say something similar.

• Firewalls and routers
• Servers and applications
• Endpoint devices
• Authentication systems
• Cloud services

• Centralized log collection
• Event correlation
• Dashboards and reporting
• Alerting
• Compliance support

• When the MVP will be defined — the MVP should already be understood sufficiently when assessing the business case.
• What the MVP is — useful information, but not the key requirement tested here.
• That the MVP is the same as project viability — incorrect. The MVP helps test viability; it is not identical to viability itself.

• Physical: Protects facilities or equipment, such as locks and security cameras.
• Technical: Uses technology, such as firewalls, encryption, or access controls.
• Operational: Covers day-to-day actions and processes, such as training, backups, or incident response.
• Managerial: Includes policies, standards, risk assessments, and procedures.

• Packet loss
• Latency
• Jitter
• Call quality by user, device, network, location, or building

• Teams Usage Report: Shows adoption and usage statistics, not detailed call-quality metrics.
• Teams Device Usage Report: Reports which devices are being used and how, but does not provide detailed packet-loss analysis.
• Microsoft Network Testing Companion: Helps assess network readiness before deployment, but it is not the primary tool for analyzing packet loss from actual Teams calls.

• STIX: A standardized format for exchanging cyber-threat intelligence.
• OVAL: A language and framework for describing and assessing system vulnerabilities and configuration issues.
• Threat intelligence feed: Provides current indicators or threat information, but is not specifically a reference for common application exploitation techniques.
• CVE: A catalog of publicly disclosed vulnerabilities, identified by unique CVE numbers.

• The requirement is an assessment of the Azure environment’s design, which requires a support plan offering proactive architectural guidance.
• Premier support would provide this capability, but it is a high-cost option.
• Since the requirement says to minimize expenses, Premier is not the best recommendation.
• A lower-cost plan with the required advisory/design-review capability—historically Professional Direct in Azure’s support-plan model—would be more appropriate.

• QuickVisualize is used to create and render a Power BI report from a DataFrame.
• The typical pattern is:

python 
PBI_visualize = QuickVisualize( 
    get_dataset_config(df), 
    auth=device_auth 
) 


PBI_visualize

• get_dataset_config(df) prepares the dataset configuration.
• auth=device_auth supplies authentication for the Power BI connection.
• Evaluating PBI_visualize renders the report in the notebook.

• Box 1: No
• Box 2: Yes
• Box 3: Yes

• Limiting the number of MAC addresses learned on a switch port
• Allowing only specific, approved MAC addresses
• Taking action when the limit is exceeded, such as dropping frames or disabling the port

• Admin access to the deployment pipeline
• Contributor access to the Development and Test workspaces
• Viewer access to the Production workspace

• Sales process: Controls which Opportunity Stage values are available.
• Record type: Associates the appropriate sales process with a business scenario and controls available picklist values.
• Page layout: Controls which fields are displayed and whether they are required or read-only.

• Energy Market Team 1 ? Record Type 1, Sales Process 1, Page Layout 1
• Energy Market Team 2 ? Record Type 2, Sales Process 2, Page Layout 2
• Services/Installation Team ? Record Type 3, Sales Process 3, Page Layout 3

• A script of cloud CLI commands: IaC because the commands can be saved, reviewed, versioned, and rerun consistently.
• Manually run curl commands: Not necessarily IaC; they are manual actions unless organized into an automated script.
• A sequence of REST requests passed to an API: Could represent automation, but the wording does not explicitly say they are stored and executed as reusable code.
• Commands entered into a cloud console: Manual operation, not IaC.

• API tool matcher: runs a deterministic normalization command after the API tool returns.
• Write/Edit matcher: checks whether the target path begins with src/api/ and runs the linter.

json 
{ 
  "hooks": { 
    "PostToolUse": [ 
      { 
        "matcher": "api_tool", 
        "hooks": [ 
          { "type": "command", "command": "normalize-to-snake-case" } 
        ] 
      }, 
      { 
        "matcher": "Write|Edit", 
        "hooks": [ 
          { "type": "command", "command": "lint-if-under-src-api" } 
        ] 
      } 
    ] 
  } 
}

• transform() — modifies every element in an array
• filter() — keeps elements matching a condition
• exists() — checks whether any element matches
• aggregate() — reduces array elements to one result

sql 
SELECT transform(scores, x -> x * 2) 
FROM student_scores;

• A is incorrect because higher-order functions are mainly useful for nested or complex data.
• B is incorrect because they do not convert logic into Python.
• D is incorrect because their purpose is not to fix slow built-in functions, but to process arrays or maps with custom logic.

• Access List: controls whether a client is allowed or denied.
• Connect List: controls which wireless networks/APs a station may connect to.

• Data only needs to be current at 7 AM each day, so scheduled refresh is sufficient.
• Import mode provides the fastest report interaction because data is stored in Power BI’s in-memory engine.
• It supports row-level security (RLS), including the USERNAME() filter.
• You can limit the imported data to the current year and previous three years to reduce model size.
• DirectQuery would generally provide slower visual response times and is unnecessary here.
• Dual is mainly useful in composite models where some tables use DirectQuery and others use Import. That is not required by this scenario.
• Live connection is not appropriate because you are creating the semantic model.

• New investment: $536,500
• Resulting NPV: $0

• A: Knowledge of IT platforms, networks, and methodologies — Useful technical knowledge, but the CISO does not need to be the deepest technical expert.
• C: Regulatory and project management knowledge — Important, but compliance and projects must still support the organization’s broader needs.
• D: Managing people and resources — Essential for execution, but effective management of the wrong security priorities will not produce good results.

• Malware or malicious software
• Command-and-control tools
• Internet surveillance and intrusion software

• ITAR: A U.S. regulation controlling defense-related articles and services; it is not the international arrangement described.
• Palermo Convention: Focuses on transnational organized crime and related protocols, not export controls for cyber weapons.
• GDPR: European data-protection and privacy legislation.

• desktopwidth:i:1280
• desktopheight:i:1024

• Connection information: Controls connection-related settings, not the desktop resolution.
• Scaling plan: Controls when session hosts start, stop, or scale based on demand.
• Session behaviour: Controls behavior such as disconnect or logoff handling.
• Display settings: Specifically controls RDP display properties, making it the appropriate choice.

• Link connects
• Link drops
• Link reconnects
• The cycle repeats

• Failing switch port or network interface
• Damaged cable or loose connector
• Speed/duplex mismatch
• Power or hardware problems
• Spanning Tree configuration issues

• COE: Identifies the Center of Excellence, such as Payroll or Benefits.
• Topic Detail: Classifies the HR service within its COE; it does not identify the catalog item.
• Template: Supplies default values or case configuration.
• Record Producer: Represents the catalog item that employees use to submit the request and create the case.

• A: Describes an update-set conflict, not a Dictionary Override.
• B: Describes a configuration item or change concept.
• C: Describes an approval or workflow activity.

• Which batches and markets are affected
• Whether the deficiency affects product quality, efficacy, or patient safety
• Whether the issue is an ongoing manufacturing problem
• Whether immediate containment or distribution suspension is needed

• A — Withdraw the product: may be necessary, but is premature before assessing the risk.
• B — “Dear Dr.” letter: may be appropriate later, depending on the risk.
• C — Notify global authorities: may become mandatory, but the scope and urgency depend on the assessment.

• B. Deploy to a SageMaker endpoint: This is needed for SageMaker-hosted models, not for a model intended to be used directly in Amazon Bedrock.
• C. Register with SageMaker Model Registry: SageMaker Model Registry is unrelated to invoking custom models in Bedrock.
• D. Grant access in Bedrock: Access permissions may be necessary, but they do not replace the required provisioned capacity.

• CPU: Number of virtual CPUs and, where applicable, CPU reservations.
• Memory: Amount of memory and memory reservations.

• Network interface: Usually configured through the VM or workload networking configuration.
• PCI devices: Specialized hardware and not a standard VM Class resource in this context.
• Storage: Typically selected through storage policies or the VM’s storage configuration.

• Fine-tuning requires a properly formatted training dataset.
• For classification or instruction-style fine-tuning, examples are supplied in JSONL format.
• Each line represents one training example, typically containing the input prompt and the desired completion or label.
• The file must then be uploaded or made available to the Microsoft Foundry fine-tuning workflow.

• A: Prompt Flow is useful for prompt experimentation, but it is not required to start fine-tuning.
• B: You do not need to deploy the base model to an online endpoint before fine-tuning.
• C: Tracing supports observability and evaluation, but it does not prepare the fine-tuning job or dataset.

• Job compute isolates production pipelines from interactive development and terminates after the job completes.
• Autoscaling adds and removes workers during telemetry spikes, directly addressing bursty workloads.
• Photon can improve performance and reduce processing time, but it does not provide autoscaling, schema-drift handling, or exactly-once processing by itself.

• A — Shared compute: violates production isolation and can allow development workloads to affect ingestion.
• C — Larger fixed cluster: may improve capacity but cannot adapt efficiently to changing workloads.
• D — Disable autoscaling: directly conflicts with the requirement to handle telemetry spikes.

• Red team: Offensive security; simulates attackers and validates exploitability.
• Blue team: Defensive security; monitors, detects, and responds to attacks.
• Purple team: Helps red and blue teams collaborate and improve defenses; not usually the primary testing role.
• White team: Oversees and coordinates the rules, scope, and authorization of an exercise.

• File hashes
• Strings and metadata
• Binary or code structure
• Known malicious patterns
• Embedded indicators or signatures

• Sandbox: Executes the file in an isolated environment; useful for observing behavior, but usually slower.
• Network traffic analysis: Examines communications generated by a system or application, not the file itself.
• Package monitoring: Tracks software packages or installations and is not the primary method for examining malware signatures.

• A: Concerns task scheduling and avoiding missed runs, not directly sizing the warehouse.
• B: The amount of data in a stream alone does not reliably determine compute needs; the SQL processing is what matters.
• D: A multi-cluster warehouse addresses concurrency, not the compute size needed for one task execution.

• Active remediation actions role in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

• Security Reader role in Azure AD/Entra ID

• Security Administrator is broader than necessary because it grants extensive security-management permissions, violating least privilege.
• Compliance Data Administrator is intended for compliance data management, not Defender for Endpoint remediation approvals.

• Distinct values = 69

• Unique values = 4

• B — The glass core component is encased in a cladding.

• D — Light is transmitted through the core of the fiber.

• BNC connectors are associated mainly with coaxial copper cabling, not standard fiber connections.
• Data does not pass through the cladding; the cladding helps reflect and contain the light.
• RJ-45 connectors are used with copper Ethernet cabling, not fiber-optic interfaces.

• Deterrent control: The signs warning that people may be filmed can discourage unauthorized activity. They do not physically prevent the activity, but they may influence behavior.
• Detective control: CCTV detects or records activity so security personnel can identify incidents and investigate them later.

• Preventive: Stops an incident from occurring, such as a locked door.
• Corrective: Restores systems after an incident, such as backups.
• Directive: Instructs people what to do, such as security policies or warning instructions.
• Compensating: Provides an alternative control when the preferred control cannot be used.

• Disable high concurrency: This changes session-sharing behavior but does not provide dedicated compute or true workload separation.
• Modify the number of executors: Adjusts resources within a Spark job; it does not isolate bronze and silver processes.
• Set the default environment: Controls libraries and runtime configuration, not compute isolation.