Question

A network technician is planning to update the firmware on a router on the network. The technician has downloaded the file from the vendor's website. Before installing the firmware update, which of the following steps should the technician perform to ensure file integrity?
a. Perform antivirus and anti-malware scans of the file.
b. Perform a hash on the file for comparison with the vendor’s hash.
c. Download the file a second time and compare the version numbers.
d. Compare the hash of the file to the previous firmware update.

Answer 1

Answer: B. Perform a hash on the file for comparison with the vendor’s hash.

Explanation:

Before installing the firmware update, the step that the technician should perform to ensure file integrity is to perform a hash on the file for comparison with the vendor’s hash.

Hashing refers to the algorithm that is used for the calculation of a string value from a file. Hashes are helpful in the identification of a threat on a machine and when a user wants to query the network for the existence of a certain file.