An e-mail that appears to originate from one source but actually has been sent from another is called
- (a)Phishing
- (b)Spoofing
- (c)Spamming
- (d)Sniffing
Correct — B, Spoofing. E-mail spoofing means forging the sender information in an e-mail's header (the 'From' address) so the message appears to come from a trusted or different source than its true origin — exactly the behaviour described in the question.
- (a)Phishing — Phishing is the broader social-engineering attack of tricking a recipient into revealing sensitive data via a deceptive message — it often uses spoofing as a technique, but the term itself names the deception's goal, not the act of disguising the sender.
- (c)Spamming — Spamming is sending unsolicited bulk e-mail to many recipients; it says nothing about whether the sender address is forged.
- (d)Sniffing — Sniffing is intercepting/capturing data packets as they travel across a network — an eavesdropping technique, not about disguising an e-mail's origin.
E-mail spoofing exploits the fact that standard e-mail protocols do not verify the 'From' header by default, letting an attacker set it to any address they choose. The recipient's inbox shows a fake sender identity while the message actually originated elsewhere — commonly used to make a scam e-mail look like it is from a bank, colleague, or known contact.
MPPSC computer-awareness questions often test the exact wording that separates lookalike cyber-terms — 'appears to come from X but is actually from Y' is the textbook definition line for spoofing specifically, not for the broader phishing or spam categories.
- Spoofing = forging the sender ('From') address so an e-mail looks like it is from someone else
- Phishing = tricking the recipient into giving up sensitive information (often uses spoofing)
- Spamming = sending unsolicited bulk e-mail (no forged origin implied)
- Sniffing = intercepting data packets on a network (eavesdropping, not e-mail specific)
Spoofing = disguised origin; the other three describe different attack behaviours.
- Treating 'phishing' and 'spoofing' as interchangeable — phishing is the goal (deceive/steal), spoofing is the specific technique of forging origin
- Confusing spamming (bulk, unsolicited) with spoofing (forged sender identity)
MPPSC/UPPSC computer-awareness sections frequently give the textbook definition line for one cyber-term among 3-4 similar-sounding distractors — match the exact defining phrase, not just the general 'cybercrime' theme.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The technique of sending unsolicited bulk e-mails to a large number of recipients is known as:
- (a)Spoofing
- (b)Spamming
- (c)Sniffing
- (d)Phishing
Answer(b) Spamming — unsolicited bulk e-mail, without necessarily forging the sender's address.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Intercepting and capturing data packets as they travel across a network is called:
- (a)Spoofing
- (b)Phishing
- (c)Sniffing
- (d)Spamming
Answer(c) Sniffing — eavesdropping on network traffic.