Which practice specifically deals with setting the path that a packet follows across the network?

Which practice specifically deals with setting the path that a packet follows across the network?

• A. IP Address Spoofing
• B. Anonymizers
• C. Source Routing
• D. IP Address Decoy

Answer: (C)

Controlling the path a packet travels is done by source routing, where the sender includes a list of routers to visit in the IP header and the network forwards the packet along that specified sequence. In IPv4 this used to be implemented with options like Strict Source Route and Loose Source Route, which command each hop along the chosen path. While useful for testing or troubleshooting in controlled environments, many networks disable or ignore these options for security reasons because they allow a sender to bypass normal routing policies and potentially capture or redirect traffic. IP address spoofing focuses on faking the origin address rather than directing the route, so it doesn’t specify the path. Anonymizers route your traffic through intermediaries to hide your origin, but that’s a different approach to obfuscation rather than embedding a route in the packet. IP Address Decoy isn’t a standard routing mechanism for setting a path; it’s about misleading observers with fake addresses rather than steering the route.

Controlling the path a packet travels is done by source routing, where the sender includes a list of routers to visit in the IP header and the network forwards the packet along that specified sequence. In IPv4 this used to be implemented with options like Strict Source Route and Loose Source Route, which command each hop along the chosen path. While useful for testing or troubleshooting in controlled environments, many networks disable or ignore these options for security reasons because they allow a sender to bypass normal routing policies and potentially capture or redirect traffic.

IP address spoofing focuses on faking the origin address rather than directing the route, so it doesn’t specify the path. Anonymizers route your traffic through intermediaries to hide your origin, but that’s a different approach to obfuscation rather than embedding a route in the packet. IP Address Decoy isn’t a standard routing mechanism for setting a path; it’s about misleading observers with fake addresses rather than steering the route.