ICT Fundamentals Certificate Exam — Questions and Answers

Question 1: A company receives an email appearing to be from their CEO requesting an urgent wire transfer. This is an example of what attack?

Cross-site scripting
Brute force attack
Business Email Compromise (BEC) (Correct answer)
SQL injection

Correct answer: Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Business Email Compromise (BEC) involves impersonating executives or trusted parties via email to trick employees into transferring funds or sensitive data.

Question 2: Which type of malware encrypts a victim's files and demands payment for the decryption key?

Adware
Rootkit
Spyware
Ransomware (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Ransomware

Ransomware encrypts the victim's data and extorts payment, typically in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key.

Question 3: In optical storage, what laser color is used by Blu-ray discs compared to DVDs?

Blue-violet (405 nm) (Correct answer)
Green (532 nm)
Infrared (780 nm)
Red (650 nm)

Correct answer: Blue-violet (405 nm)

Blu-ray uses a 405 nm blue-violet laser with a smaller spot size, allowing much higher data density than the 650 nm red laser used by DVDs.

Question 4: What is the purpose of BIOS/UEFI firmware stored on a motherboard's flash chip?

Store the operating system kernel
Control GPU rendering pipeline
Initialize hardware and boot the system before the OS loads (Correct answer)
Manage Wi-Fi connections

Correct answer: Initialize hardware and boot the system before the OS loads

BIOS/UEFI is the first code executed at power-on; it performs POST (Power-On Self-Test), configures hardware, and hands control to the bootloader.

Question 5: Which HTTP method is used to retrieve data from a server without modifying it?

DELETE
POST
PUT
GET (Correct answer)

Correct answer: GET

The GET method requests data from a server and should only retrieve data without causing side effects on the server.

Question 6: What does 'containerization' using tools like Docker provide for software deployment?

Automatic code generation from specifications
A consistent, isolated environment that packages application code with all its dependencies (Correct answer)
A graphical interface for managing server resources
Built-in encryption for all network traffic

Correct answer: A consistent, isolated environment that packages application code with all its dependencies

Containerization packages an application with all its dependencies into a portable unit, ensuring consistent behavior across different environments.

Question 7: In software testing, what is a 'mock object'?

A prototype of the user interface
A simulated object that mimics the behavior of real dependencies for testing purposes (Correct answer)
An incomplete feature stub meant for demo use
A test that runs against a production database

Correct answer: A simulated object that mimics the behavior of real dependencies for testing purposes

A mock object imitates the behavior of real dependencies, allowing tests to verify interactions without relying on actual implementations.

Question 8: Which file format is most commonly used for lossy image compression?

PNG
GIF
BMP
JPEG (Correct answer)

Correct answer: JPEG

JPEG uses lossy compression, which reduces file size by permanently discarding some image data to achieve smaller file sizes.

Question 9: What distinguishes a 'wiki' from a standard file-sharing folder in a corporate collaboration environment?

A wiki allows teams to create and interlink structured knowledge articles that are easy to search and update collaboratively (Correct answer)
A wiki is publicly editable by anyone on the internet, while a file-share is private
A wiki stores files in a hierarchical folder structure, while a file-share uses tags
A wiki requires a dedicated server while a file-share works in the cloud

Correct answer: A wiki allows teams to create and interlink structured knowledge articles that are easy to search and update collaboratively

Wikis (like Confluence) are collaborative knowledge bases with interlinked pages optimized for creating, organizing, and discovering documented knowledge, unlike unstructured file folders.

Question 10: Which practice helps prevent 'reply-all storms' in organizational email communication?

Enabling automatic read receipts on all outgoing messages
Using BCC for all large distribution list emails so recipients cannot reply-all to the full list (Correct answer)
Limiting email to managers only and using chat for everyone else
Switching to SMS for all company-wide announcements

Correct answer: Using BCC for all large distribution list emails so recipients cannot reply-all to the full list

Using BCC on mass distribution emails hides other recipients' addresses, preventing one recipient's reply-all from going to the entire list.

Question 11: A system administrator needs to perform advanced system configuration on a server and prefers an interface that offers powerful control and scriptability with low overhead. Which type of user interface would be most suitable?

Touch User Interface (TUI)
Command-Line Interface (CLI) (Correct answer)
Voice User Interface (VUI)
Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Correct answer: Command-Line Interface (CLI)

A Command-Line Interface (CLI) allows users to interact with the operating system by typing text commands. It is highly valued by administrators and advanced users for its powerful control, ability to be automated through scripts, and lower consumption of system resources compared to a GUI.

Question 12: A team member shares a Google Doc link with 'Anyone with the link can view' permissions. What does this mean?

Recipients must request access before viewing
Only team members can open it
Anyone on the internet with the link can read but not edit the document (Correct answer)
The document is publicly indexed by search engines

Correct answer: Anyone on the internet with the link can read but not edit the document

'Anyone with the link can view' means anyone possessing the URL can read the document, but editing rights are not granted.

Question 13: Which OSI layer adds a MAC address header to data, creating a frame?

Physical layer
Transport layer
Network layer
Data Link layer (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Data Link layer

The Data Link layer (Layer 2) encapsulates packets into frames and adds source and destination MAC addresses.

Question 14: Which attack technique involves sending malformed packets to crash or exploit a service by exceeding its input buffer capacity?

Buffer overflow attack (Correct answer)
Session hijacking
SQL injection
Replay attack

Correct answer: Buffer overflow attack

A buffer overflow attack sends more data than a program's buffer can hold, overwriting adjacent memory and potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code.

Question 15: What is 'thrashing' in an operating system?

Excessive CPU overclocking
A state where the OS spends more time paging than executing processes (Correct answer)
Rapid context switching between threads
Disk fragmentation causing slow reads

Correct answer: A state where the OS spends more time paging than executing processes

Thrashing occurs when a system has too many processes competing for too few memory frames, causing constant page faults.

Question 16: A technician finds a capacitor on a motherboard that is bulging at the top. What should they do?

Reseat the RAM modules
Apply thermal paste to it
Replace the motherboard or capacitor (Correct answer)
Update the BIOS firmware

Correct answer: Replace the motherboard or capacitor

A bulging capacitor indicates it has failed and can cause system instability or fire; the motherboard or the capacitor itself must be replaced.

Question 17: Which virtualization type runs the hypervisor directly on the server hardware without a host OS?

Containerization
Type 2 hypervisor
Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor (Correct answer)
Hosted virtualization

Correct answer: Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor

Type 1 hypervisors like VMware ESXi run directly on hardware, providing better performance and security.

Question 18: Which layer of the OSI model is responsible for end-to-end communication and error recovery?

Session layer
Network layer
Transport layer (Correct answer)
Data Link layer

Correct answer: Transport layer

The Transport layer (Layer 4) of the OSI model handles end-to-end communication, error recovery, and data flow control.

Question 19: Which addressing scheme does IPv6 use?

32-bit binary addresses
128-bit hexadecimal addresses (Correct answer)
64-bit numeric addresses
48-bit hexadecimal addresses

Correct answer: 128-bit hexadecimal addresses

IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses expressed in hexadecimal, providing a vastly larger address space than IPv4's 32-bit addresses.

Question 20: What does the 'working set' model in virtual memory refer to?

The set of all pages in RAM
Pages recently swapped to disk
The OS kernel pages in memory
The set of pages a process is actively using in a time window (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The set of pages a process is actively using in a time window

The working set model tracks the pages a process has referenced recently to predict what pages it will need.

Question 21: Which network security tool monitors traffic and generates alerts when suspicious activity is detected but does NOT block it?

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
Firewall
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) (Correct answer)
Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Correct answer: Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

An IDS passively monitors network traffic and alerts administrators to suspicious activity, while an IPS actively blocks detected threats.

Question 22: The three-way handshake used by TCP involves which sequence of messages?

ACK → SYN → FIN
SYN → ACK → FIN
SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK (Correct answer)
SYN → FIN → ACK

Correct answer: SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK

TCP establishes a connection with SYN from client, SYN-ACK from server, then ACK from client — a three-way handshake.

Question 23: Which type of join returns only rows where there is a match in both tables?

RIGHT JOIN
LEFT JOIN
FULL OUTER JOIN
INNER JOIN (Correct answer)

Correct answer: INNER JOIN

An INNER JOIN returns only the rows that have matching values in both joined tables.

Question 24: What is the purpose of an eSIM in modern mobile devices?

Expands internal storage capacity
Encrypts SMS messages
Provides a programmable SIM without a physical card (Correct answer)
Enables dual-band Wi-Fi

Correct answer: Provides a programmable SIM without a physical card

An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a programmable chip built into the device that can be remotely provisioned with carrier information without a physical SIM card.

Question 25: Which cloud pricing strategy lets users bid on unused cloud capacity at significant discounts but risks sudden termination?

Reserved instances
On-demand instances
Spot instances (Correct answer)
Dedicated instances

Correct answer: Spot instances

Spot instances use excess cloud capacity at deep discounts but can be reclaimed by the provider with little notice.

Question 26: A help desk technician receives a ticket: 'Outlook keeps asking for my password.' What is the MOST common cause?

Cached credentials are outdated or the account password was recently changed (Correct answer)
Antivirus blocking Outlook
Incorrect screen resolution
Corrupted Windows profile

Correct answer: Cached credentials are outdated or the account password was recently changed

When a user's password changes, saved credentials in Windows Credential Manager become invalid, causing repeated password prompts in Outlook.

Question 27: What does the SQL keyword DISTINCT do in a SELECT statement?

Filters rows based on a condition
Returns only unique values, eliminating duplicates (Correct answer)
Sorts results in descending order
Limits the number of returned rows

Correct answer: Returns only unique values, eliminating duplicates

DISTINCT ensures only unique rows are returned by removing duplicate values from query results.

Question 28: In a multi-threaded process, what do threads share?

Code, data, and OS resources like open files (Correct answer)
Nothing — each thread is fully independent
Program counter and stack only
Only the CPU registers

Correct answer: Code, data, and OS resources like open files

Threads within the same process share the code section, data section, and OS resources, but each has its own stack and registers.

Question 29: What is a 'virtual whiteboard' tool such as Miro or MURAL primarily used for in remote collaboration?

Tracking employee attendance and work hours
Brainstorming, diagramming, and visual collaboration in real time (Correct answer)
Managing project timelines and Gantt charts
Scheduling team meetings across time zones

Correct answer: Brainstorming, diagramming, and visual collaboration in real time

Virtual whiteboard tools provide an infinite digital canvas for teams to brainstorm, map ideas, and collaborate visually during remote sessions.

Question 30: Which testing approach verifies that individual components work correctly in isolation?

Acceptance testing
Unit testing (Correct answer)
Integration testing
System testing

Correct answer: Unit testing

Unit testing focuses on testing the smallest testable parts of an application — individual functions or methods — in isolation.

Question 31: A software development team uses a system to track changes to their source code. This system allows multiple developers to work on the same project simultaneously, merge their changes, and revert to previous versions if a bug is introduced. What is this type of system called?

A Version Control System (VCS). (Correct answer)
A Content Management System (CMS).
An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

Correct answer: A Version Control System (VCS).

A Version Control System (VCS), such as Git or SVN, is specifically designed to manage and track changes to files, particularly source code, over time. Key features include allowing multiple users to collaborate, tracking every modification, and providing the ability to revert to earlier versions, which is essential for effective software development.

Question 32: In the context of CPU scheduling, what is 'aging'?

Swapping old processes to disk
Removing processes that have run too long
Gradually increasing the priority of waiting processes to prevent starvation (Correct answer)
Reducing CPU speed when idle

Correct answer: Gradually increasing the priority of waiting processes to prevent starvation

Aging gradually increases the priority of processes that have been waiting a long time, preventing starvation.

ICT Fundamentals Certificate Exam

The ICT Fundamentals Certificate Exam, powered by CIW, validates foundational knowledge of information and communication technology including computing, networking, cybersecurity, and digital applications.

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45 min

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70%

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