Sharon discovered that someone accessed her social media account. They posted several mean posts and comments on her friend’s posts. Then she discovered that someone got into her computer and sent emails to her friends as well. Later Sharon discovered it was her brother who did this. What was likely the problem?

• Sharon did not update her operating system when the updates came out.

• Sharon did not have her firewall turned on her computer.

• Sharon used the name of their pet as her password for all her accounts.

• Sharon used multifactor authentication on her social media accounts.

Abe does tax returns for customers in the evening. One night the numbers for one of his clients were incorrect. His youngest daughter innocently said she opened some files and pushed buttons. What part of the CIA triad was violated when the data was changed?

• Confidentiality

• Availability

• Privacy

• Integrity

Elijah’s computer froze while he was working on his school report. Earlier he had clicked on an attachment that someone had sent him. He restarted his computer and five minutes later the same thing happened again. What type of malware did the attachment likely contain?

• Worm

• Adware

• Spyware

• Ransomware

The manufacturer of an operating system (OS) sent out an urgent update. The update would fix a security problem that allowed hackers to secretly access a device through the OS. Once in, the hackers could install harmful malware. What type of threat is this?

• Spyware

• Trojan

• Adware

• Worm

Maria got a new notebook computer for college. She did not install the antivirus software because it was expensive. At the college library she was talking with friends on chat software. A friend sent everyone a funny image they took. Maria did not click on it. What was the likely reason for this?

• Maria was getting too distracted by her friends and needed to focus on her homework.

• Maria was concerned that the image would be violating a copyright infringement.

• Maria did not have software installed to protect her computer from malware.

• Maria did not have her firewall configured on her new computer.

Emma is trying to use a strong and different password for each of her accounts. However, she keeps forgetting them and has to reset passwords often. What can Emma do to resolve this issue?

• Use a password manager.

• Use two-factor authentication.

• Use antivirus software.

• Use ransomware software.

Mateo left his smartphone on his desk when he quickly went to the drinking fountain. When he came back, he saw his friends with his phone. They were modifying his phone settings. What should Mateo do to ensure others can’t get to his smartphone apps and settings?

• Download an app that sets off a funny noise if someone touches his phone.

• Use a personal identification number to lock his screen.

• Install a firewall on his smartphone to protect his apps and settings.

• Ensure antivirus software is installed on the phone to protect it.

Amelia said yes to two-factor authentication for her bank and school account. She has used a different strong password for each of these two accounts. What else will she have to do to gain access to her account?

• Amelia will have to provide a second piece of data to prove her identity.

• Amelia will have to verify that her firewall is turned on.

• Amelia will have to ensure that her antivirus software is up to date.

• Amelia will have to download a required app to gain access to her account.

Lynn belongs to a gaming forum and chats often with other online gamers. Today one of the online gamers provided a link to install a free game. Lynn decides to ignore the link and not click on it. Why was this a good decision?

• His time would be better spent studying his homework.

• His antivirus software would not catch any malware from this website.

• The link led to a public domain of games free of copyrights.

• The link could have downloaded malware to his device.

Howard was in a hurry to install a game on his device. He clicked through the installation screenshots quickly without reading them. As he was playing his game, he noticed that he was getting random popups. What could he have done differently to avoid this problem?

• Installed the game on an old computer first to see how it behaved.

• Backed up his computer to an external device or the cloud.

• Read each installation screenshot carefully to know what he was downloading.

• Installed any operating system updates before installing the game.