What is another common name for NMAP's host discovery sweep?

• A. Port Scan
• B. Ping Sweep
• C. OS Fingerprinting
• D. Vulnerability Scan

Answer: (B)

Host discovery sweep is the process of identifying which machines on a network are alive to target for further assessment. A widely used name for this step is a Ping Sweep, because it relies on sending ICMP echo requests (and, on local networks, ARP requests) and noting which hosts respond. Those responses reveal which hosts are up, forming the set of targets for subsequent actions.

The other activities—port scanning, OS fingerprinting, and vulnerability scanning—are separate stages. Port scanning checks which ports are open on live hosts to identify services; OS fingerprinting tries to determine the operating system of a host; vulnerability scanning looks for known weaknesses. Since the question asks for another common name for the host discovery sweep, Ping Sweep is the correct fit.