200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
During a Linux forensic investigation, an analyst finds a suspicious process. The analyst wants to check for persistence mechanisms. Which THREE Linux artifacts should be examined?
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
✓
/etc/crontab and /var/spool/cron/
Cron jobs, systemd services, and bash history are common artifacts for persistence. Cron and systemd can schedule execution, bash history may show past commands.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
/var/log/auth.log
Why it's wrong here
Auth.log is for authentication events, not persistence.
- ✗
/proc/net/tcp
Why it's wrong here
This shows network connections, not persistence.
- ✓
/etc/crontab and /var/spool/cron/
Why this is correct
Correct. These files define cron jobs that can execute at specified times.
- ✓
/etc/systemd/system/ and /lib/systemd/system/
Why this is correct
Correct. Systemd unit files can start services at boot.
- ✓
/home/user/.bash_history
Why this is correct
Correct. Bash history may show commands used to establish persistence.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.