CompTIA Network+ (N10-008) — Question 7

An attacker is attempting to find the password to a network by inputting common words and phrases in plaintext to the password prompt. Which of the following attack types BEST describes this action?

Answer options

• A. Pass-the-hash attack
• B. Rainbow table attack
• C. Brute-force attack
• D. Dictionary attack

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is D, Dictionary attack, as it involves using a predefined list of words and phrases to guess passwords. Options A (Pass-the-hash attack) and B (Rainbow table attack) involve different methods of exploiting password hashes rather than attempting to guess passwords directly. Option C (Brute-force attack) refers to trying every possible combination of characters, which is not the case here.