Question

John downloaded Alten Cleaner, a program that poses as a computer registry cleaner, on his computer. Once he installed the program on his computer, the program illegitimately gained access to John’s passwords and credit card information. In this scenario, it is evident that John was a victim of _____.

a. spoofing
b. phishing
c. baiting
d. pharming

Answer 1

a. spoofing

Step-by-step explanation:

In this context, it is clear that John was a victim of spoofing. In information security, spoofing occurs when a person or program identifies itself as another by falsifying data, in order to gain an illegitimate advantage. In this example, the program identified itself as a computer registry cleaner in order to gain access to John's passwords and credit card information. Spoofing can apply to emails, phone calls, websites, IP address, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), or Domain Name System (DNS) server.

Answer 2

The correct option is B: Phishing

Step-by-step explanation:

Phishing is defined as a type of attack or fraudulent attempt to steal the data of a computer user. This data includes sensitive information such as passwords, usernames, and details of user's credit card. The attacker always disguises to look like a trusted entity, while duping the victim into performing some operations capable of releasing sensitive information. John's John’s passwords and credit card information were illegitimately access through a program, hence he is a victim of phishing.