Question

Difficulty: MediumMalware Detection, Removal, and Prevention

A desktop support technician at a biotechnology research facility is remediating a Windows 11 workstation infected with a keylogger. The technician has already identified the malware symptoms, disconnected the system from the local network to quarantine it, and disabled System Restore. According to the CompTIA standard 7-step malware remediation process, which of the following actions should the technician perform NEXT?

  1. Update the anti-malware software signature definitions.Answer
  2. B
    Perform a full system anti-malware scan to isolate and remove the threat.
  3. C
    Re-enable System Restore and create a fresh system restore point.
  4. D
    Execute sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt to repair corrupted system files.

Answer

Update the anti-malware software signature definitions.
According to the CompTIA 7-step malware remediation process, once System Restore is disabled (Step 3), the technician must proceed to Step 4: Remediate the infected system. The very first action in remediation is updating the anti-malware software and signature definitions (Step 4a) before scanning and removing the malware (Step 4b).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Review the current stage of the CompTIA 7-step malware remediation process.
The technician has completed Step 1 (Identify malware symptoms), Step 2 (Quarantine the infected system), and Step 3 (Disable System Restore).
Tracking completed steps identifies what step follows sequentially.
2
Determine the first substep of Step 4 (Remediate the infected system).
Step 4a requires updating the anti-malware software signatures before running scans (Step 4b).
Anti-malware tools require current definition files to effectively detect and remove modern malware threats.

Key Concept

CompTIA 7-Step Malware Remediation Process Sequence
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