Hardening Windows

Securing an operating system is critical to a company or organization’s IT infrastructure. Learning how to secure Windows is extremely important because of the wide use of the operating system within companies, organizations, and homes. Learning the best practices for updating and securing Microsoft Windows is critical to protecting an organization’s assets.

Overview

In this lab, you will take a Microsoft Windows system that has security-related issues and patch it. Security-related issues can include items such as default usernames and passwords, clear text protocols like FTP and Telnet, and poorly configured web services. When Windows systems, which are huge targets of attackers due to their wide use in the industry, are not secured properly, they can be compromised which could lead to data leakage as well as costly remediation. The Windows operating system initially had a very poor reputation for security, but over the years, Microsoft has worked hard to overcome this reputation, and the newer versions of Windows on the market are known for much more robust security.

OUTCOMES

In this lab, you will learn to: 

  1. Exploit a Windows machine 
  2. Harden a Windows machine 
Courses

Key terms and descriptions

Kali Linux
An Advanced Penetration Testing Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing, ethical hacking, and network security assessments.
Anonymous FTP
Allows a user to connect to an FTP site without an account and upload or download files.
Metasploit
A framework that contains exploits for various information systems.
nmap
A port scanner which will indicate whether ports are open or closed on a remote system.
Vulnerability
A weakness in code that can be exploited.