220-1102 Question 512
Single answerContent filteringA small company asks a technician to reduce employee access to inappropriate and high-risk websites during business hours without manually blocking individual URLs. The company wants a solution that is centrally managed, applies the same rules to all users, and can be adjusted by website category as business needs change. Which solution BEST meets these requirements?
- A
Configure content filtering on the organization's firewall or secure web gateway using category-based policies
- B
Edit the hosts file on each workstation to block known websites one by one
- C
Disable JavaScript in each user's browser to prevent access to unsafe sites
- D
Require employees to use private browsing mode so websites are not saved locally
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to implement category-based content filtering through a centrally managed security control such as a firewall, UTM device, secure web gateway, or DNS/web filtering service. In A+ Core 2, content filtering is typically associated with enforcing acceptable use policies, reducing exposure to malicious or inappropriate content, and applying organizational security controls consistently across users. Best practice is to use centralized policy enforcement rather than workstation-by-workstation changes. Industry guidance from security vendors and administrative best practices consistently recommends centralized URL/category filtering because it is easier to maintain, more effective at scale, and better aligned with business and compliance requirements than manual local edits or browser setting changes.
- A. Correct.
This is correct. Category-based content filtering on a firewall, unified threat management appliance, DNS/web filter, or secure web gateway is the most appropriate centrally managed solution. It allows administrators to block classes of sites such as gambling, adult content, malware, phishing, or social media without maintaining a long manual list of URLs. This aligns with real-world business requirements for scalable, policy-based filtering.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Editing the hosts file can block specific sites, but it is not centrally managed unless combined with additional management tools, and it does not scale well for a company-wide policy. It also requires manual maintenance and is easy to bypass or become outdated as websites change domains or use multiple subdomains.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Disabling JavaScript may break websites and reduce some web-based threats, but it is not a content filtering solution. It does not categorize or selectively block websites based on business policy, and many inappropriate or risky sites would still remain accessible.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Private browsing mode only limits local storage of browsing history, cookies, and temporary session data on the device. It does not filter or block content and provides no centralized enforcement of acceptable use policies.