CompTIA PenTest+ Practice Test

What does the fourth field of a cron job's schedule signify?

1. Hour

2. Day of Month

3. Month

4. Day of the Week

The correct answer is: Month

The fourth field of a cron job's schedule signifies the month. In a typical cron job schedule, there are five fields which represent different time intervals: minute, hour, day of the month, month, and day of the week. The month field allows users to specify during which months the cron job should run, with the values ranging from 1 (January) to 12 (December). For example, if the month is set to 6, the cron job will only execute during the month of June. This field can also accept specific month designations or ranges, such as using names (Jan, Feb, etc.) or specifying multiple months separated by commas. Understanding the purpose of each field in a cron schedule is crucial for effectively scheduling tasks on Unix-like operating systems.