A user calls the corporate help desk to report a malware detection message that is displayed on the user's screen. Which of the following should the technician instruct the user to do FIRST?

The correct answer is C. Unplug the Ethernet cable. When a malware detection alert appears, the immediate priority is containment - preventing the malware from spreading to other systems or communicating with external command-and-control servers. Unplugging the Ethernet cable (C) isolates the infected machine from the network…

Hardware and network troubleshooting

Question

Options

AIgnore the message as a false positive
BShut down and restart the computer.
CUnplug the Ethernet cable.
DFollow the onscreen instructions to remove the malware

How the community answered

(41 responses)

A
2% (1)
B
7% (3)
C
88% (36)
D
2% (1)

Explanation

When a malware detection alert appears, the immediate priority is containment - preventing the malware from spreading to other systems or communicating with external command-and-control servers. Unplugging the Ethernet cable (C) isolates the infected machine from the network instantly without shutting it down (which could trigger additional malware payloads or destroy forensic evidence). Ignoring it (A) risks ongoing damage. Restarting (B) may clear volatile memory needed for analysis and does not contain the threat. Following onscreen instructions (D) is dangerous because many malware alerts are themselves malicious (rogue antivirus/scareware) designed to trick users into installing more malware.

Topics

#malware response#incident response#network isolation#security procedures

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