CompTIA Security+ Question C-78

Identifying a list of all approved software on a system is a step in which of the following practices?

A. Passively testing security controls
B. Application hardening
C. Host software baselining
D. Client-side targeting

Answer: C

Explanation:
Application baseline defines the level or standard of security that will be implemented and maintained for the application. It may include requirements of hardware components, operating system versions, patch levels, installed applications and their configurations, and available ports and services. Systems can be compared to the baseline to ensure that the required level of security is being maintained.

CompTIA Security+ Question B-91

Which of the following solutions provides the most flexibility when testing new security controls prior to implementation?

A. Trusted OS
B. Host software baselining
C. OS hardening
D. Virtualization

Answer: D

Explanation:
Virtualization is used to host one or more operating systems in the memory of a single host computer and allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on the same hardware. Virtualization offers the flexibility of quickly and easily making backups of entire virtual systems, and quickly recovering the virtual system when errors occur. Furthermore, malicious code compromises of virtual systems rarely affect the host system, which allows for safer testing and experimentation.