In your office, you are building a new wireless network that contains Windows 2003 servers. To establish a network for secure communication, you have to implement IPSec security policy on the servers.

Question

Options

• APublic-key cryptography
• BKerberos
• CPreshared keys
• DDigital certificates

• A
  24% (12)
• B
  76% (39)

Explanation

IPSec in Windows Server 2003 supports exactly three configurable authentication methods in its Security Policy: Kerberos (B), Preshared Keys (C), and Digital Certificates (D). Kerberos is the default method for Windows domain environments, leveraging Active Directory for mutual authentication. Preshared keys use a shared secret configured identically on both endpoints - simple but less scalable. Digital certificates use X.509 certificates issued by a trusted CA, making them the strongest and most scalable option.

Option A (Public-key cryptography) is wrong because it's an underlying cryptographic concept, not a discrete, selectable authentication method within Windows 2003's IPSec policy interface - even though digital certificates use public-key cryptography internally. The question asks what you can configure, not what runs under the hood.

Memory tip: Think of the three Windows IPSec auth methods as "K-P-C" - Keys (Preshared), Certificates (Digital), and Kerberos - matching the three options you actually see in the IPSec Security Policy wizard. If an answer choice names a cryptographic primitive (like "public-key cryptography") rather than a specific mechanism, it's likely a distractor.

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