Book Image

Mastering Windows Security and Hardening

By : Mark Dunkerley, Matt Tumbarello
Book Image

Mastering Windows Security and Hardening

By: Mark Dunkerley, Matt Tumbarello

Overview of this book

Are you looking for effective ways to protect Windows-based systems from being compromised by unauthorized users? Mastering Windows Security and Hardening is a detailed guide that helps you gain expertise when implementing efficient security measures and creating robust defense solutions. We will begin with an introduction to Windows security fundamentals, baselining, and the importance of building a baseline for an organization. As you advance, you will learn how to effectively secure and harden your Windows-based system, protect identities, and even manage access. In the concluding chapters, the book will take you through testing, monitoring, and security operations. In addition to this, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need to ensure compliance and continuous monitoring through security operations. By the end of this book, you’ll have developed a full understanding of the processes and tools involved in securing and hardening your Windows environment.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
1
Section 1: Getting Started
6
Section 2: Applying Security and Hardening
13
Section 3: Protecting, Detecting, and Responding for Windows Environments

Understanding Windows Server management tools

There are many tools available for Windows Server that are useful for both managing and securing the infrastructure. Management technologies were traditionally developed for on-premises deployments, but now, with cloud-based SaaS offerings, it seems the available solutions are growing exponentially. Microsoft offers solutions for enterprise-grade management through its System Center suite of tools such as Operations Manager (SCOM) and Configuration Manager (SCCM). There are also third-party paid solutions from companies such as ConnectWise, SolarWinds, and CA Technologies, to name a few. Each offers a different feature set, depending on your management needs and varying price points. In this section, we will review the more common built-in tools available in Windows Server, including Server Manager, Event Viewer, and Windows Server update services for patch management. Then, we will discuss Windows Admin Center and how it can be used to...