Which option enables operating system detection in Nmap?

Which option enables operating system detection in Nmap?

• A. -S enables OS detection.
• B. -O enables OS detection.
• C. -6 enables OS detection.
• D. -p enables OS detection.

Answer: (B)

OS detection in Nmap is activated by the -O option. This flag tells Nmap to perform fingerprinting of the target’s operating system by sending a set of probes and analyzing the responses against its OS database. That direct enablement is why it’s the best choice. The other flags don’t turn on OS detection: -S sets the source address (useful for spoofing), -6 switches to IPv6 mode, and -p selects which ports to scan. For broader reconnaissance, OS detection can be combined with other checks (for example, -sV for version detection or -A for an aggressive scan that includes OS and version detection).

OS detection in Nmap is activated by the -O option. This flag tells Nmap to perform fingerprinting of the target’s operating system by sending a set of probes and analyzing the responses against its OS database. That direct enablement is why it’s the best choice. The other flags don’t turn on OS detection: -S sets the source address (useful for spoofing), -6 switches to IPv6 mode, and -p selects which ports to scan. For broader reconnaissance, OS detection can be combined with other checks (for example, -sV for version detection or -A for an aggressive scan that includes OS and version detection).