200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
During a Linux incident response, an analyst runs 'ps aux' and sees a process with a suspicious name. The analyst wants to gather more information. Which TWO commands can provide the process's network connections?
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
✓
cat /proc/[pid]/net/tcp
ss -tlnp shows listening TCP sockets with the process PID. /proc/[pid]/net/tcp contains TCP connection info for that process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
cat /proc/[pid]/net/tcp
Why this is correct
Correct. This file contains TCP connection details for the PID.
- ✗
lsof -i
Why it's wrong here
lsof -i shows open files related to network, but not as directly focused on connections as ss.
- ✓
ss -tlnp
Why this is correct
Correct. ss -tlnp lists listening TCP sockets with process info.
- ✗
cat /var/log/syslog
Why it's wrong here
Syslog contains system logs, not real-time network connections.
- ✗
netstat -antp
Why it's wrong here
netstat is deprecated; ss is preferred, but netstat might still work. However, it's not the best answer due to deprecation.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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