Which type of malware rewrites the boot sector to gain control upon system startup?

Which type of malware rewrites the boot sector to gain control upon system startup?

• A. Disk-based malware
• B. Network-based malware
• C. Macro-based malware
• D. USB-based malware

Answer: (A)

Infections that hijack the startup sequence are characteristic of disk-based malware. The boot sector is the small region on storage media that contains the code the system runs as soon as firmware hands control to the operating system. When malware writes to and replaces that boot code, it gains execution before the legitimate OS loads, giving the attacker control and persistence from the very start of the boot process. That behavior—modifying the boot sector on storage media to take over startup—is what defines disk-based malware. The other options describe different infection surfaces: network-based focuses on propagating through networks, macro-based relies on document macros, and USB-based targets USB delivery. While a USB infection can involve boot code in some cases, the classic and most direct description of rewriting the boot sector to gain startup control fits disk-based malware best.

Infections that hijack the startup sequence are characteristic of disk-based malware. The boot sector is the small region on storage media that contains the code the system runs as soon as firmware hands control to the operating system. When malware writes to and replaces that boot code, it gains execution before the legitimate OS loads, giving the attacker control and persistence from the very start of the boot process. That behavior—modifying the boot sector on storage media to take over startup—is what defines disk-based malware.

The other options describe different infection surfaces: network-based focuses on propagating through networks, macro-based relies on document macros, and USB-based targets USB delivery. While a USB infection can involve boot code in some cases, the classic and most direct description of rewriting the boot sector to gain startup control fits disk-based malware best.