010-160 Practice Test 20 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Linux administrator needs to determine if their distribution is based on Debian or RHEL. Which command or path is most indicative of this family?

Accepted Answer

Checking for the existence of /etc/debian_version.. The file /etc/debian_version is a Debian-specific artifact that exists on Debian and its derivatives (Ubuntu, Mint, Kali, etc.) but is absent on RHEL-family systems. Its presence is a reliable, low-level indicator of the Debian package management lineage. RHEL-family systems instead use /etc/redhat-release and /etc/system-release, making /etc/debian_version the clearest single-path discriminator between the two families.

Answer

Checking for the presence of the 'systemd' binary.

Answer

Running the 'uname -a' command.

Answer

Checking for the existence of /etc/sysconfig.

Question 2

A small design studio wants to release an internal font-editing tool as open source so other studios can improve it, but they also want any modified versions distributed publicly to remain open. Which licensing approach best matches this requirement while remaining a recognized free software license?

Accepted Answer

Release the tool under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3). The studio wants derivative works that are publicly distributed to stay open, which is precisely what a copyleft license enforces. The GPLv3 requires anyone distributing modified versions to provide the source under the same license, preserving reciprocity. Permissive licenses such as MIT and Apache 2.0 allow closed derivatives, and a custom all-rights-reserved notice grants no modification rights, so only the GPLv3 satisfies the requirement while remaining a recognized free software license.

Answer

Release the tool under the Apache License 2.0

Answer

Release the tool under the MIT License

Answer

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are popular package management tools used in Linux?

Accepted Answer

APT. APT (Advanced Package Tool) is correct because it is the standard package management tool on Debian-based distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint, handling .deb packages and resolving dependencies via repositories. DNF (Dandified YUM) is correct because it is the default package manager on Fedora, RHEL 8+, and related RPM-based distributions, replacing YUM and resolving dependencies through RPM repositories. The other options do not belong: DiskManager is not a Linux package manager (disk partitioning is handled by tools like fdisk, parted, or gparted), KernelUpdater is not a standard package management tool (kernel updates are delivered through APT, DNF, or similar), and ServiceManager is not a package manager (services are managed by systemd's systemctl or SysV init scripts).

Answer

DiskManager

Answer

KernelUpdater

Answer

ServiceManager

Question 4

A system administrator needs to identify the numerical ID (UID) of the user 'jdoe'. Which file should be checked?

Accepted Answer

/etc/passwd. The /etc/passwd file stores one line per user account, with colon-separated fields where the third field is the numerical UID. Checking this file (or running getent passwd jdoe) reveals the UID assigned to 'jdoe'. It is world-readable, unlike /etc/shadow, so it is the standard place to look up account identifiers.

Answer

/etc/shadow

Answer

/etc/profile

Answer

/etc/group

Question 5

Which TWO of the following are valid ways to search for files?

Accepted Answer

find. Option C, find, is correct because it is the standard Linux/Unix command for searching the filesystem for files by name, path, size, permissions, timestamps, and other attributes (e.g., find / -name "*.conf"). Option E, locate, is correct because it searches a prebuilt filename database (typically /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db, updated by updatedb) and returns matching file paths quickly. Option A, man, is not a file-search tool; it displays manual pages for commands. Option B, cat, is used to concatenate and display file contents, not to search for files. Option D, grep, searches for text patterns inside file contents rather than locating files themselves.

Answer

man

Answer

cat

Answer

grep

Question 6

You want to delete a file but you are worried about accidentally deleting the wrong one. Which flag should you use with 'rm' for confirmation?

Accepted Answer

rm -i. The -i flag on rm stands for 'interactive' and prompts the user for confirmation before deleting each file. This is exactly the safeguard needed when you want to avoid accidentally removing the wrong file.

Answer

rm -f

Answer

rm -v

Answer

rm -R

Question 7

A technician must create a new local account named 'intern' on a Linux workstation and wants the command to also create the home directory and skeleton files automatically. Which command accomplishes this with a single invocation on a typical distribution?

Accepted Answer

useradd -m intern. The useradd utility provisions a new account entry in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow, and the -m option additionally creates the home directory, copying default files from /etc/skel. It is the standard single-step method for adding a local user with an immediately usable environment, which is precisely what the scenario requires.

Answer

passwd -m intern

Answer

usermod -m intern

Answer

groupadd -m intern

Question 8

A small design studio wants to install a Linux distribution on its workstations. The staff have no Linux experience, and the studio wants a distribution that includes a graphical installer, a curated set of desktop applications, and a community forum where beginners can ask questions. Which type of distribution best fits this scenario?

Accepted Answer

A beginner-friendly distribution such as Linux Mint, because it offers a graphical installer, preinstalled desktop applications, and active community support.. The studio needs a distribution that is easy to install, comes with a usable desktop and applications out of the box, and has beginner-oriented community support. A beginner-friendly distribution such as Linux Mint is built precisely for this audience, bundling a graphical installer and desktop apps while maintaining active forums for new users. The other distribution types target advanced users, servers, or enterprise environments.

Answer

A source-based distribution such as Gentoo, because compiling software from source gives the studio full control over optimization flags.

Answer

An enterprise distribution such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, because it is certified for business use and includes commercial support contracts.

Answer

A minimal server distribution such as Debian netinst, because a minimal install reduces the attack surface and lets the studio add only what it needs.

Question 9

A user wants to create a symbolic link named latest.conf in the current directory that points to /etc/app/versions/v2.conf. Which command creates this link correctly?

Accepted Answer

ln -s /etc/app/versions/v2.conf latest.conf. Creating a symbolic link requires the -s option, and the argument order is target first, link name second. Using the absolute target path makes the link resolve correctly regardless of the directory from which it is later accessed. Omitting -s yields a hard link, reversing the arguments misplaces the link, and -h does not select symbolic link creation.

Answer

ln -s latest.conf /etc/app/versions/v2.conf

Answer

ln /etc/app/versions/v2.conf latest.conf

Answer

ln -h /etc/app/versions/v2.conf latest.conf

Question 10

You need to determine the UUID of a partition to add it to /etc/fstab. Which command should you use?

Accepted Answer

blkid. The blkid command queries block device attributes including UUID, LABEL, and TYPE, which is exactly what is needed to reference a partition in /etc/fstab by UUID. Running blkid /dev/sda1 returns the UUID= value that can be pasted into fstab. This is the standard Linux tool for retrieving filesystem UUIDs.

Answer

ls -l

Answer

find

Answer

mount

Question 11

A journalist is writing an article about software licensing and wants to explain the key difference between the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the MIT License. Which statement accurately describes that difference?

Accepted Answer

The GPL requires derivative works to be distributed under the same license, while the MIT License permits derivative works to be relicensed under proprietary terms.. The GPL is a copyleft license that mandates derivative works be distributed under the same terms, keeping software free for downstream users. The MIT License is permissive, allowing derivative works to be relicensed, including as proprietary software. This contrast between copyleft and permissive licensing is the essential point the journalist must convey.

Answer

The GPL applies only to operating system kernels, while the MIT License applies only to web applications and libraries.

Answer

The GPL prohibits commercial use of the software, while the MIT License allows companies to sell the software for profit.

Answer

The GPL requires users to pay a fee for each copy, while the MIT License requires attribution in the source code only.

Question 12

A developer runs `ls -l report.txt` and sees `-rw-r----- 1 alice devs 2048 May 10 09:15 report.txt`. The file must be readable by all members of the `devs` group, but currently only alice can read it. The file's group ownership is already correct. Which command will grant read access to the `devs` group without changing any other permission bits?

Accepted Answer

chmod g+r report.txt. Symbolic chmod lets you manipulate one permission category at a time. Because group ownership is already correct and only the group read bit is missing, selecting the group category and adding read yields exactly the intended access. The other forms either target the wrong category or widen access to all users, which the scenario explicitly does not want.

Answer

chmod +r report.txt

Answer

chmod o+r report.txt

Answer

chmod u+r report.txt

Question 13

When using the 'man' command, how do you navigate to the next page of the manual entry?

Accepted Answer

Spacebar. The 'man' command uses the 'less' pager by default, and in 'less', pressing the Spacebar scrolls forward by one full page. This is a standard navigation convention in Unix pagers, allowing quick reading of long manual pages. The Spacebar is the correct key to advance to the next page of the manual entry.

Answer

Enter

Answer

Page Up

Answer

Right Arrow

Question 14

A colleague's shell script contains the line: find /var/log -name '*.log' -exec rm {} \;  You need to explain what this line does before approving it. What is the effect of the -exec primary here?

Accepted Answer

It deletes each matching file one at a time by invoking rm once per file.. The -exec primary runs an external command for each file find locates, replacing the {} placeholder with the pathname. Terminating that command with an escaped semicolon makes find invoke it once per match, whereas a plus sign would batch multiple paths into fewer invocations. Understanding that terminator is essential before approving destructive one-liners in production scripts.

Answer

It prompts the user for confirmation before deleting each file.

Answer

It prints the names of matching files without deleting them.

Answer

It collects all matching files and passes them to a single rm invocation.

Question 15

A security auditor wants to give a contractor temporary read-only access to a single log file /var/log/app/audit.log without adding the contractor to any group and without granting access to the rest of the directory. Which approach best matches least-privilege practice?

Accepted Answer

Use setfacl to add a read ACL entry for the contractor on the file only.. POSIX ACLs express per-user and per-group permissions on individual files, which is precisely what the scenario needs: read access for one named contractor on one log file. The traditional mode bits cannot represent a single extra user without widening the group or others categories, so setfacl is the least-privilege tool.

Answer

Change the file's group to a new group containing only the contractor and set the mode to 640.

Answer

Set the file mode to 644 so any user on the system can read it.

Answer

Run chmod o+r /var/log/app and rely on directory execute permission to limit access.