What is a benefit of NTLMSSP over basic authentication?

Question

Options

• ABasic cannot be used in transparent proxy mode.
• BNTLMSSP is compatible with OpenLDAP.
• CNTLMSSP is more secure than basic.
• DBasic requires reauthentication with every new domain

• A
  4% (1)
• B
  4% (1)
• C
  91% (21)

Explanation

NTLMSSP uses a challenge-response mechanism that never transmits the user's actual password over the network - the server sends a nonce, and the client responds with a cryptographic hash. Basic authentication, by contrast, sends credentials Base64-encoded (effectively plaintext without TLS), making it trivially interceptable and far less secure.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is incorrect because Basic authentication works well with transparent proxies - it's one of its common use cases.
• B is incorrect because NTLMSSP is a Microsoft proprietary protocol; OpenLDAP uses its own SASL-based mechanisms and does not natively support NTLMSSP.
• D is incorrect and reversed - Basic auth sends credentials with every request by design (stateless), but "reauthentication with every new domain" is not an accurate characteristic that distinguishes the two.

Memory tip: Think of Basic auth as sending a postcard (readable by anyone along the route), while NTLMSSP sends a locked puzzle - only someone who already knows the secret can solve it, and the secret itself never travels.

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