200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
A Windows analyst uses Process Explorer to investigate parent-child relationships. Which TWO characteristics are commonly associated with malicious processes?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A process running from a user's Temp folder with a random name
Malware often spawns child processes from unusual parents (e.g., Microsoft Word spawning cmd.exe) and may have suspicious command-line arguments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A parent process with a valid digital signature
Why it's wrong here
Valid signatures are not malicious by themselves.
- ✓
A process running from a user's Temp folder with a random name
Why this is correct
Correct. Random names in Temp folders are often malicious.
- ✗
A process with a long uptime and low CPU usage
Why it's wrong here
This is not inherently suspicious.
- ✗
A process chain where the parent is svchost.exe and child is explorer.exe
Why it's wrong here
This is normal Windows behavior.
- ✓
A child process spawned by a document reader (e.g., winword.exe spawning cmd.exe)
Why this is correct
Correct. This is a common technique for code execution.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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