Questions - OS Hardening & Virtualization

What is the best (most secure) file system to use in Windows? A. FAT B. NTFS C. DFS D. FAT32

B. NTFS is the most secure file system for use with today's Windows. FAT and FAT32 are older file systems, and DFS is the distributed file system used in more advanced networking.

Which of the following should be implemented to harden an operating system? (Select the two best answers.) A. Install the latest updates. B. Install Windows Defender. C. Install a virtual operating system. D. Execute PHP scripts.

A and B. Two ways to harden an operating system include installing the latest updates and installing Windows Defender. However, virtualization is a separate concept altogether; it can be used to create a compartmentalized OS, but needs to be secured and hardened just like any other OS. PHP scripts will generally not be used to harden an operating system. In fact, they can be vulnerabilities to websites and other applications.

During an audit of your servers, you have noticed that most servers have large amounts of free disk space and have low memory utilization. Which of the following statements will be correct if you migrate some of the servers to a virtual environment? A. You might end up spending more on licensing, but less on hardware and equipment. B. You will need to deploy load balancing and clustering. C. Your baselining tasks will become simpler. D. Servers will encounter latency and lowered throughput issues.

A. If you migrate some of these low-resource servers to a virtual environment (a very smart thing to do), you could end up spending more on licensing, but less on hardware, due to the very nature of virtualization. In fact, the goal is to have the gains of hardware savings outweigh the losses of licensing. Load balancing and clustering deals with an OS utilizing the hardware of multiple servers. This will not be the case when you go virtual, nor would it have been the case anyway, because clustering and load balancing is used in environments where the server is very resource-intensive. Baselining, unfortunately, will remain the same; you should analyze all of your servers regularly, whether they are physical or virtual. These particular servers should not encounter latency or lowered throughput because they are low-resource servers in the first place. If, however, you considered placing into a virtual environment a Windows Server that supports 5,000 users, you should definitely expect latency.

You are attempting to establish host-based security for your organization's workstations. Which of the following is the best way to do this? A. Implement OS hardening by applying GPOs. B. Implement database hardening by applying vendor guidelines. C. Implement web server hardening by restricting service accounts. D. Implement firewall rules to restrict access.

A. The best way to establish host-based security for your organization's workstations is to implement GPOs (Group Policy objects). When done properly from a server, this can harden the operating systems in your network, and you can do it from a central location without having to configure each computer locally. It is the only answer that deals with the client operating systems. The other answers deal with database and web servers, and firewalls that protect the entire network.

A customer's SD card uses FAT32 as its file system. What file system can you upgrade it to when using the convert command? A. NTFS B. HPFS C. ext4 D. NFS

A. The convert command is used to upgrade FAT and FAT32 volumes to the more secure NTFS without loss of data. HPFS is the High Performance File System developed by IBM and is not used by Windows. ext4 is the fourth extended filesystem used by Linux. NFS is the Network File System, something you would see in a storage area network.

Which option enables you to hide the bootmgr file? A. Enable Hide Protected Operating System Files B. Enable Show Hidden Files and Folders C. Disable Hide Protected Operating System Files D. Remove the -R Attribute

A. To hide bootmgr, you either need to click the radio button for Don't Show Hidden Files, Folders, or Drives or enable the Hide Protected Operating System Files checkbox.

Eric wants to install an isolated operating system. What is the best tool to use? A. Virtualization B. UAC C. HIDS D. NIDS

A. Virtualization enables a person to install operating systems (or applications) in an isolated area of the computer's hard drive, separate from the computer's main operating system.

Which of the following is a security reason to implement virtualization in your network? A. To isolate network services and roles B. To analyze network traffic C. To add network services at lower costs D. To centralize patch management

A. Virtualization of computer servers enables a network administrator to isolate the various network services and roles that a server may play. Analyzing network traffic would have to do more with assessing risk and vulnerability and monitoring and auditing. Adding network services at lower costs deals more with budgeting than with virtualization, although, virtualization can be less expensive. Centralizing patch management has to do with hardening the operating systems on the network scale.

You have been tasked with protecting an operating system from malicious software. What should you do? (Select the two best answers.) A. Disable the DLP. B. Update the HIPS signatures. C. Install a perimeter firewall. D. Disable unused services. E. Update the NIDS signatures.

B and D. Updating the host-based intrusion prevention system is important. Without the latest signatures, the HIPS will not be at its best when it comes to protecting against malware. Also, disabling unused services will reduce the attack surface of the OS, which in turn makes it more difficult for attacks to access the system and run malicious code. Disabling the data loss prevention (DLP) device would not aid the situation, and it would probably cause data leakage from the computer. Installing a perimeter firewall won't block malicious software from entering the individual computer. A personal firewall would better reduce the attack surface of the computer, but it is still not meant as an anti-malware tool. Updating the NIDS signatures will help the entire network, but might not help the individual computer. In this question, we want to focus in on the individual computer, not the network. In fact, given the scenario of the question, you do not even know if a network exists.

In Windows, which of the following commands will not show the version number? A. Systeminfo B. Wf.msc C. Winver D. Msinfo32.exe

B. Of the answers listed, the only one that will not show the version number is wf.msc. That brings up the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. All of the other answers will display the version number in Windows.

Which of the following should you implement to fix a single security issue on the computer? A. Service pack B. Support website C. Patch D. Baseline

C. A patch can fix a single security issue on a computer. A service pack addresses many issues and rewrites many files on a computer; it may be overkill to use a service pack when only a patch is necessary. Also, only older Windows operating systems (for example, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and previous) use service packs. You might obtain the patch from a support website. A baseline can measure a server or a network and obtain averages of usage.

Virtualization technology is often implemented as operating systems and applications that run in software. Often, it is implemented as a virtual machine. Of the following, which can be a security benefit when using virtualization? A. Patching a computer will patch all virtual machines running on the computer. B. If one virtual machine is compromised, none of the other virtual machines can be compromised. C. If a virtual machine is compromised, the adverse effects can be compartmentalized. D. Virtual machines cannot be affected by hacking techniques.

C. By using a virtual machine (which is one example of a virtual instance), any ill effects can be compartmentalized to that particular virtual machine, usually without any ill effects to the main operating system on the computer. Patching a computer does not automatically patch virtual machines existing on the computer. Other virtual machines can be compromised, especially if nothing is done about the problem. Finally, virtual machines can definitely be affected by hacking techniques. Be sure to secure them!

An administrator wants to reduce the size of the attack surface of a Windows Server. Which of the following is the best answer to accomplish this? A. Update antivirus software. B. Install updates. C. Disable unnecessary services. D. Install network intrusion detection systems.

C. Often, operating system manufacturers such as Microsoft refer to the attack surface as all the services that run on the operating system. By conducting an analysis of which services are necessary and which are unnecessary, an administrator can find out which ones need to be disabled, thereby reducing the attack surface. Updates, service packs, antivirus software, and network intrusion detection systems (NIDSs) are good tools to use to secure an individual computer and the network but do not help to reduce the size of the attack surface of the operating system.

Which of the following is one example of verifying new software changes on a test system? A. Application hardening B. Virtualization C. Patch management D. HIDS

C. Patch management is an example of verifying any new changes in software on a test system (or live systems for that matter). Verifying the changes (testing) is the second step of the standard patch management strategy. Application hardening might include updating systems, patching them, and so on, but to be accurate, this question is looking for that particular second step of patch management. Virtualization is the creating of logical OS images within a working operating system. HIDS stands for host-based intrusion detection system, which attempts to detect malicious activity on a computer.

Where would you turn off file sharing in Windows? A. Control Panel B. Local Area Connection C. Network and Sharing Center D. Firewall properties

C. The Network and Sharing Center is where you can disable file sharing in Windows. It can be accessed indirectly from the Control Panel as well. By disabling file sharing, you disallow any (normal) connections to data on the computer. This can be very useful for computers with confidential information, such as an executive's laptop or a developer's computer.

Which of the following is not an advantage of NTFS over FAT32? A. NTFS supports file encryption. B. NTFS supports larger file sizes. C. NTFS supports larger volumes. D. NTFS supports more file formats.

D. NTFS and FAT32 support the same number of file formats, so this is not an advantage of NTFS. However, NTFS supports file encryption, larger file sizes, and larger volumes, making it more advantageous in general in comparison to FAT32, and is capable of higher levels of security, most especially down to the file level.

Which of the following needs to be backed up on a domain controller to recover Active Directory? A. User data B. System files C. Operating system D. System State

D. The System State needs to be backed up on a domain controller to recover the Active Directory database in the future. The System State includes user data and system files but does not include the entire operating system. If a server fails, the operating system would have to be reinstalled, and then the System State would need to be restored.

Virtualized browsers can protect the OS that they are installed within from which of the following? A. DDoS attacks against the underlying OS B. Phishing and spam attacks C. Man-in-the-middle attacks D. Malware installation from Internet websites

D. The beauty of a virtualized browser is that regardless of whether a virus or other malware damages it, the underlying operating system will remain unharmed. The virtual browser can be deleted and a new one can be created; or if the old virtual browser was backed up before the malware attack, it can be restored. This concept applies to entire virtual operating systems as well, if configured properly.

What is the deadliest risk of a virtual computer? A. If a virtual computer fails, all other virtual computers immediately go offline. B. If a virtual computer fails, the physical server goes offline. C. If the physical server fails, all other physical servers immediately go offline. D. If the physical server fails, all the virtual computers immediately go offline.

D. The biggest risk of running a virtual computer is that it will go offline immediately if the server that it is housed on fails. All other virtual computers on that particular server will also go offline immediately.