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100-140 · Question #26

Which indicators suggest malware is affecting an operating system? (Choose two)

The correct answer is A. Unexpected pop-ups B. High CPU usage without active applications. Unexpected pop-ups and high CPU usage without active applications are classic behavioral indicators of malware infection. These symptoms reflect malware's tendency to run unauthorized processes and display unsolicited content.

Basic Security Concepts

Question

Which indicators suggest malware is affecting an operating system? (Choose two)

Options

  • AUnexpected pop-ups
  • BHigh CPU usage without active applications
  • CInaccessible Wi-Fi settings
  • DDimmed display settings

How the community answered

(54 responses)
  • A
    72% (39)
  • C
    11% (6)
  • D
    17% (9)

Why each option

Unexpected pop-ups and high CPU usage without active applications are classic behavioral indicators of malware infection. These symptoms reflect malware's tendency to run unauthorized processes and display unsolicited content.

AUnexpected pop-upsCorrect

Unexpected pop-ups are a well-documented symptom of adware and other malware types that inject content into the browser or desktop to generate revenue or phish credentials.

BHigh CPU usage without active applicationsCorrect

High CPU usage with no user-launched applications indicates hidden background processes, which is characteristic of malware such as cryptominers, keyloggers, or botnet agents consuming system resources without user consent.

CInaccessible Wi-Fi settings

Inaccessible Wi-Fi settings are more commonly caused by driver corruption, Group Policy restrictions, or hardware faults rather than being a recognized primary indicator of malware infection.

DDimmed display settings

Dimmed display settings are typically caused by power management or battery-saver configurations and are not associated with malware behavior.

Concept tested: Identifying common malware infection symptoms

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/understanding-malware

Topics

#malware indicators#unexpected pop-ups#high CPU usage#OS infection signs

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