200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
During a security monitoring review, an analyst notices an unusual amount of traffic on port 445. Which protocol is most likely associated with this port?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the association of well-known ports with their protocols, and the trap here is that candidates may confuse port 445 with HTTPS (443) or HTTP (80) due to similar numbering, or assume DNS uses a non-standard port.
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
✓
SMB
Port 445 is the default port for Microsoft's implementation of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, used for file and printer sharing over a network. An unusual amount of traffic on this port often indicates SMB-related activity, such as legitimate file transfers or potential exploitation attempts like the EternalBlue vulnerability (MS17-010).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
HTTPS
Why it's wrong here
HTTPS uses port 443.
- ✓
SMB
Why this is correct
SMB uses port 445.
- ✗
DNS
Why it's wrong here
DNS uses port 53.
- ✗
HTTP
Why it's wrong here
HTTP uses port 80.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 200-201 question from scratch — 979 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.