Which command allows you to kill a process and remove it from memory?

The command that allows you to kill a process and remove it from memory is the SIGKILL signal. When issued, this signal immediately terminates the process without allowing it any chance to clean up or perform any further actions. This is especially useful when a process is unresponsive or not behaving as expected. The SIGKILL signal is part of a broader set of signals in Unix/Linux that can be sent to processes, but it is unique in that it cannot be caught, blocked, or ignored by the process, ensuring immediate termination.

While other options represent different signals that can manage processes, they do not have the same forceful effect. For example, SIGTERM is a polite request to terminate the process, which the process can choose to ignore. SIGINT is used to request an interruption, typically from a terminal, while SIGHUP is often used to indicate that a terminal has been disconnected or to instruct a daemon to reload its configuration rather than forcibly terminating it. Thus, SIGKILL is the most definitive command for killing a process and removing it from memory effectively.