220-1101 Networking Practice Question
A user reports that they cannot access the company's external website at www.company.com from their workstation. Other users on the same network can access the website without issues. The technician runs nslookup www.company.com and receives the correct public IP address. The technician then pings that IP address and gets a successful reply. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between DNS resolution (nslookup) and local hostname resolution (hosts file), trapping candidates who assume a successful nslookup means the browser will resolve the same way, ignoring that the browser uses the system's resolver which checks the hosts file first.
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
✓
The user's hosts file has an incorrect mapping for www.company.com
The nslookup returned the correct public IP, and a ping to that IP succeeded, confirming DNS resolution and network connectivity are working. However, the user's browser cannot reach the website, which points to a local redirection issue. The hosts file (located at %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) can override DNS by mapping a domain to a different IP; an incorrect entry for www.company.com would cause the browser to attempt to connect to the wrong address, even though the network path is functional.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The website's SSL certificate has expired
Why it's wrong here
An expired SSL certificate would generate a browser security warning during the TLS handshake, but the user can usually click through to continue, so it would not make the site completely inaccessible. More importantly, the certificate is a server-side resource: every visitor would receive the same expired-certificate error, not just this one user. Since only this user cannot reach the site while DNS and network connectivity are confirmed good, an expired certificate is ruled out as the cause.
When this WOULD be correct
A user reports 'This site is not secure' or a certificate warning when accessing an HTTPS website, and other users on the same network experience the same issue. The technician confirms the certificate is expired using a browser or certificate checker.
- ✗
The user's web browser needs to be updated
Why it's wrong here
While updating a browser can fix many issues, it is unlikely to be the cause when only one site is inaccessible and DNS/connectivity are fine. This is a general troubleshooting step, not the most likely cause.
When this WOULD be correct
A user reports that a specific website displays incorrectly or fails to load certain features, while other users can access it. The technician confirms network connectivity and DNS resolution are working. In this scenario, an outdated browser lacking support for modern web standards (e.g., TLS 1.2, HTML5) could be the cause.
- ✗
The company's firewall is blocking the user's IP address
Why it's wrong here
A network firewall that blocks the user's IP address would drop or reject all traffic from that source, causing the ICMP echo request in a ping to fail as well. Because the ping to the website's IP succeeds, it proves the firewall is not filtering the user's traffic at the network level. Furthermore, a firewall blocking the IP would affect every protocol and port, not only web traffic to www.company.com, so it cannot explain this specific single-site failure.
When this WOULD be correct
A user cannot access any external websites or services, and pings to public IPs fail, while other users on the same network are unaffected. This would indicate the user's IP is blocked by the firewall.
- ✓
The user's hosts file has an incorrect mapping for www.company.com
Why this is correct
Correct. The hosts file overrides DNS. If it points the domain to a wrong or unreachable IP, the browser will fail to load the site even though DNS and network are otherwise correct. Checking the hosts file (located in %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) is a standard troubleshooting step in this scenario.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 220-1101 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓The user's hosts file has an incorrect mapping for www.company.comCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. The hosts file overrides DNS. If it points the domain to a wrong or unreachable IP, the browser will fail to load the site even though DNS and network are otherwise correct. Checking the hosts file (located in %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) is a standard troubleshooting step in this scenario.
✗The website's SSL certificate has expiredWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The issue is isolated to one user, and nslookup returns the correct IP while ping to that IP succeeds. An expired SSL certificate would affect all users and would not be bypassed by a successful ping.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user reports 'This site is not secure' or a certificate warning when accessing an HTTPS website, and other users on the same network experience the same issue. The technician confirms the certificate is expired using a browser or certificate checker.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may associate website access issues with SSL certificate problems without considering that the symptom is isolated to one user and that lower-layer connectivity (ping) works.
✗The user's web browser needs to be updatedWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The issue is isolated to one user, and nslookup resolves correctly while ping to the IP succeeds, indicating network connectivity and DNS are fine. An outdated browser would not prevent access if the website uses standard protocols; it might cause display issues but not a complete inability to load the page.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user reports that a specific website displays incorrectly or fails to load certain features, while other users can access it. The technician confirms network connectivity and DNS resolution are working. In this scenario, an outdated browser lacking support for modern web standards (e.g., TLS 1.2, HTML5) could be the cause.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think that browser updates are a common fix for web access issues, overlooking that the problem is isolated and network-level tests pass, which points to a local configuration problem like the hosts file.
✗The company's firewall is blocking the user's IP addressWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The firewall blocking the user's IP would prevent both ping and web access, but the ping to the public IP succeeded, ruling out firewall blocking at the network level.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user cannot access any external websites or services, and pings to public IPs fail, while other users on the same network are unaffected. This would indicate the user's IP is blocked by the firewall.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may assume that a firewall is the most common cause of access issues, overlooking that successful ping indicates network-layer connectivity, so the problem is at the application layer.
Analysis generated from the official 220-1101blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1101 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 220-1101 exam.