A faulty kernel module is causing issues with a network interface card. Which action ensures it is not loaded automatically on boot?

Adding a blacklist line in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf is the correct action to prevent a specific kernel module from being loaded automatically at boot. The blacklist functionality allows you to specify modules that should be ignored by the module loader during the initialization process of the operating system.

When you include a line in the blacklist configuration, it tells the system to check this file when it attempts to load modules based on the hardware or other criteria. If a module is found in this blacklist, it will be prevented from loading, regardless of any automatic attempts to load it during the boot sequence or by other means.

This is particularly useful for resolving issues caused by problematic modules, as in this scenario with a faulty network interface card. By blacklisting the module, you can effectively disable it without having to remove files or make more invasive changes to the system configuration.

The other options would not achieve the same effect consistently. For instance, using modinfo -k provides information about a module, and using modprobe -r removes a module that is currently loaded but does not prevent it from being loaded again upon next boot. Deleting its directory could lead to other problems and does not guarantee that the module won’t be recreated or recovered from another source. Thus,