mediumMultiple Choice
220-1102 Practice Question: Search for any file in /etc that contains the…
A technician needs to search for any file in /etc that contains the string 'Password' (case-insensitive). Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between searching file contents (`grep`) versus searching filenames (`find`, `locate`), and the trap here is that candidates may forget the `-i` flag for case-insensitivity or confuse `grep` with `find`.
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
✓
grep -ri 'Password' /etc
The `grep -ri` command performs a recursive (`-r`) case-insensitive (`-i`) search for the string 'Password' across all files under the `/etc` directory. This matches the requirement exactly: case-insensitive search for any file containing the string.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
grep -r 'Password' /etc
Why it's wrong here
grep -r 'Password' /etc is case-sensitive, so it misses files containing 'password' or 'PASSWORD', failing the case-insensitive requirement. It is tempting because recursive grep is the right tool for content searches; adding -i would make it correct.
- ✓
grep -ri 'Password' /etc
Why this is correct
The `-r` flag makes grep recurse through every subdirectory of /etc, while `-i` ignores case so 'Password', 'password' and 'PASSWORD' all match. This satisfies both stem constraints — searching all files under /etc and matching the string case-insensitively — in a single command.
- ✗
find /etc -name '*Password*'
Why it's wrong here
find -name matches filenames only, not file contents, so it cannot locate files containing the string 'Password'. It is tempting because find is the standard tool for searching /etc, but it suits locating files by name, size, or permissions rather than by text within them.
- ✗
locate Password | grep /etc
Why it's wrong here
locate queries a prebuilt filename database and cannot inspect file contents, so it cannot find files containing 'Password'; piping to grep /etc also treats /etc as a filename. It is tempting because locate is fast for filename searches, which suits locating files by name rather than by content.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 220-1202 exam.