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Thursday, April 3, 2008
Windows System Administrator Interview questions
What is Active Directory?
Ans. Active Directory is a Meta Data. Active Directory is a data base
which store a data base like your user information, computer information
and also other network object info. It has capabilities to manage and
administor the complite Network which connect with AD.
Ans: Active Directory directory service is an extensible and scalable
directory service that enables you to manage network resources
efficiently.
Ans:Active Directory is directory service that stores information about
objects on a network and makes this information available to users and
network administrators.
Active Directory gives network users access to permitted resources
anywhere on the network using a single logon process.
It provides network administrators with an intuitive, hierarchical view of
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System Engineer - IT Administration
Use Green Technologies and save the world.
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It provides network administrators with an intuitive, hierarchical view of
the network and a single point of administration
3for all network objects.
Ans: active directory is a domain controller which is use to authenticate
and administrate the group of computer,user,server etc. remotely. all the
policies and security will be applicable on the client machine which one is
join the domain.and all this policies and security is defined in active
directory.
1. What is LDAP?
Ans2: LDAP(light weight directory accerss protocol) is an internet protocol
which Email and other services is used to look up information from the
server.
Q 4: Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related
to AD?
The AD data base is store in NTDS.DIT.
file
2. Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory
Services? Name a few options.
Apr 2008 (1)
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Windows System
Administrator Interview
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2007 (1)
About Me - System
Administrator
CHANDRA MANI BHATTARAI
GURGAON, HARYANA, INDIA
View my complete profile
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3. Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to
AD?
4. What is the SYSVOL folder?
The sysVOL folder stores the servers copy of the domains public files.
The contents such as group policy, users etc of the sysvol folder are
replicated to all domain controllers in the domain.
5. Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC
6. What are application partitions? When do I use them
7. How do you create a new application partition
8. How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
9. What is the Global Catalog?
Ans.: Global Catalog is a server which maintains the information about
multiple domain with trust relationship agreement..
The global catalog is a distributed data repository that contains a
searchable, partial representation of every object in every domain in a
multidomain Active Directory forest. The global catalog is stored on domain
controllers that have been designated as global catalog servers and is
distributed through multimaster replication. Searches that are directed to
the global catalog are faster because they do not involve referrals to
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the global catalog are faster because they do not involve referrals to
different domain controllers.
10. How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
11. Why not make all DCs in a large forest as GCs?
12. Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
13. What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?
14. What is LDP? What is REPLMON? What is ADSIEDIT? What is
NETDOM? What is REPADMIN?
15. What are sites? What are they used for?
16. Whats the difference between a site links schedule and interval?
17. What is the KCC?
Ans 18: KCC ( knowledge consistency checker ) is used to generate
replication topology for inter site replication and for intrasite
replication.with in a site replication traffic is done via remote procedure
calls over ip, while between site it is done through either RPC or SMTP.
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18. What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
19. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
20. What can you do to promote a server to DC if youre in a remote
location with slow WAN link?
21. How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do
later? Can I get user passwords from the AD database?
22. What tool would I use to try to grab security related packets from
the wire?
23. Name some OU design considerations.
24. What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
25. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 DC in a Windows
2000 AD?
26. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows
2003 AD?
27. How would you find all users that have not logged on since last
month?
28. What are the DS* commands?
29. Whats the difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE? Usage
considerations?
30. What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens
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30. What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens
when each one fails?
31. What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
32. I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
33. Whats the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing
one? Which one should you NOT seize? Why?
34. How do you configure a stand-by operation master for any of the
roles?
35. How do you backup AD?
for taking backup of active directory you have to do this :
first go to START -> PROGRAM ->ACCESORIES -> SYSTEM TOOLS ->
BACKUP
when the backup screen is flash then take the backup of SYSTEM STATE
it will take the backup of all the necessary information about the system
including AD backup , DNS ETC.
36. How do you restore AD?
37. How do you change the DS Restore admin password?
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38. Why cant you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
39. What are GPOs?
40. What is the order in which GPOs are applied?
41. Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
42. What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
43. What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?
44. What can I do to prevent inheritance from above?
45. How can I override blocking of inheritance?
46. How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a
user? Name a few ways to do that.
47. A user claims he did not receive a GPO, yet his user and computer
accounts are in the right OU, and everyone else there gets the GPO.
What will you look for?
48. Name a few differences in Vista GPOs
49. Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
50. What are administrative templates?
51. Whats the difference between software publishing and assigning?
52. Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
53. You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My
Documents, Start menu, printers etc.) on the computers in one
department. How would you do that?
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What is latest service pack Exchange 2003?
What is the name of Exchange Databases?
How many databases in Standard Exchange version ?
How many databases in Enterprise Exchange version ?
What is Storage Group?
What is mail store?
Explain Exchange transaction logs ?
Explain Exchange transaction logs ?
Why exchange is using transaction logs? Why not to write to data directly to the
Exchange database?
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How exchange database gets defragmented?
What is white space, and how can it be reclaimed?
What time online maintenance runs by default in Exchange?
What event log exchange logs after online defragmentation ?
What is white space, and how can it be reclaimed?
What is an IP address?
What is DNS? (what port)
What is DHCP? (what Port)
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IP address class range?
Private public IP range?
Public IP address range?
what is subnet mask, why it is important
What is Protocol?
Explain UDP
Explain TCP
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Explain TCP
How many ports available?
Whats new in Windows Server 2003 regarding the DNS
management? When DC promotion occurs with an existing forest, the
Active Directory Installation Wizard contacts an existing DC to update the
directory and replicate from the DC the required portions of the directory.
If the wizard fails to locate a DC, it performs debugging and reports what
caused the failure and how to fix the problem. In order to be located on a
network, every DC must register in DNS DC locator DNS records. The
Active Directory Installation Wizard verifies a proper configuration of the
DNS infrastructure. All DNS configuration debugging and reporting activity
is done with the Active Directory Installation Wizard.
Question: What is the new kernel-mode driver for HTTP parsing and caching?
Ans: HTTP.SYS
Question: The act of allowing server applications to act as the user on the network is called:
Ans: Delegation
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Question: How can an IT administrator manage how a Terminal Server can be used, such as
enforcing redirection capabilities, password access, and wallpaper settings?
Ans: Group Policy
Question: Windows Server 2003 contains the following patch management software:
Ans: Microsoft Software Update Services
Question: What is application pool?
Question: What is web service extension?
Whats new in Terminal Services for Windows 2003 Server?
Supports audio transmissions as well, although prepare for heavy network load.
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Whats new in Windows Server 2003 regarding the DNS management?
When DC promotion occurs with an existing forest, the Active Directory Installation Wizard
contacts an existing DC to update the directory and replicate from the DC the required
portions of the directory. If the wizard fails to locate a DC, it performs debugging and reports
what caused the failure and how to fix the problem. In order to be located on a network, every
DC must register in DNS DC locator DNS records. The Active Directory Installation Wizard
verifies a proper configuration of the DNS infrastructure. All DNS configuration debugging
and reporting activity is done with the Active Directory Installation Wizard.
When should you create a forest?
Organizations that operate on radically different bases may require separate trees with distinct
namespaces. Unique trade or brand names often give rise to separate DNS identities.
Organizations merge or are acquired and naming continuity is desired. Organizations form
partnerships and joint ventures. While access to common resources is desired, a separately
defined tree can enforce more direct administrative and security restrictions.
How can you authenticate between forests?
Four types of authentication are used across forests:
1. Kerberos and NTLM network logon for remote access to a server in another forest;
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2. Kerberos and NTLM interactive logon for physical logon outside the users home
forest;
3. Kerberos delegation to N-tier application in another forest; and
4. User principal name (UPN) credentials.
What snap-in administrative tools are available for Active Directory?
Active Directory Domains and Trusts Manager, Active Directory Sites and Services
Manager, Active Directory Users and Group Manager, Active Directory Replication (optional,
available from the Resource Kit), Active Directory Schema Manager (optional, available from
adminpak)
What do you do if earlier application doesnt run on Windows Server 2003? When an
application that ran on an earlier legacy version of Windows cannot be loaded during the
setup function or if it later malfunctions, you must run the compatibility mode function. This
is accomplished by right-clicking the application or setup program and selecting Properties >
Compatibility > selecting the previously supported operating system.
What snap-in administrative tools are available for Active Directory? Active Directory
Domains and Trusts Manager, Active Directory Sites and Services Manager, Active
Directory Users and Group Manager, Active Directory Replication (optional, available from
the Resource Kit), Active Directory Schema Manager (optional, available from adminpak)
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What types of classes exist in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory?
Structural class. The structural class is important to the
system administrator in that it is the only type from which new
Active Directory objects are created. Structural classes are
developed from either the modification of an existing structural
type or the use of one or more abstract classes.
Abstract class. Abstract classes are so named because they
take the form of templates that actually create other
templates (abstracts) and structural and auxiliary classes.
Think of abstract classes as frameworks for the defining
objects.
Auxiliary class. The auxiliary class is a list of attributes.
Rather than apply numerous attributes when creating a
structural class, it provides a streamlined alternative by
applying a combination of attributes with a single include
action.
88 class. The 88 class includes object classes defined prior to
1993, when the 1988 X.500 specification was adopted. This
type does not use the structural, abstract, and auxiliary
definitions, nor is it in common use for the development of
objects in Windows Server 2003 environments.
1. How do you delete a lingering object? Windows Server 2003
provides a command called Repadmin that provides the ability to
delete lingering objects in the Active Directory.
2. What is Global Catalog? The Global Catalog authenticates network
user logons and fields inquiries about objects across a forest or tree.
Every domain has at least one GC that is hosted on a domain
controller. In Windows 2000, there was typically one GC on every
site in order to prevent user logon failures across the network.
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3. How is user account security established in Windows Server
2003? When an account is created, it is given a unique access
number known as a security identifier (SID). Every group to which
the user belongs has an associated SID. The user and related group
SIDs together form the user accounts security token, which
determines access levels to objects throughout the system and
network. SIDs from the security token are mapped to the access
control list (ACL) of any object the user attempts to access.
4. If I delete a user and then create a new account with the same
username and password, would the SID and permissions stay
the same? No. If you delete a user account and attempt to
recreate it with the same user name and password, the SID will be
different.
5. What do you do with secure sign-ons in an organization with
many roaming users? Credential Management feature of Windows
Server 2003 provides a consistent single sign-on experience for
users. This can be useful for roaming users who move between
computer systems. The Credential Management feature provides a
secure store of user credentials that includes passwords and X.509
certificates.
6. Anything special you should do when adding a user that has a
Mac? "Save password as encrypted clear text" must be selected on
User Properties Account Tab Options, since the Macs only store
their passwords that way.
7. What remote access options does Windows Server 2003
support? Dial-in, VPN, dial-in with callback.
8. Where are the documents and settings for the roaming profile
stored? All the documents and environmental settings for the
roaming user are stored locally on the system, and, when the user
logs off, all changes to the locally stored profile are copied to the
shared server folder. Therefore, the first time a roaming user logs on
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shared server folder. Therefore, the first time a roaming user logs on
to a new system the logon process may take some time, depending
on how large his profile folder is.
9. Where are the settings for all the users stored on a given
machine? \Document and Settings\All Users
10. What languages can you use for log-on scripts? JavaScipt,
VBScript, DOS batch files (.com, .bat, or even .exe)
What is a DNS resource record?
A resource record is an entry in a name server's database. There are several
types of resource records used, including name-to-address resolution
information. Resource records are maintained as ASCII files.
BOOTP helps a diskless workstation boot. How does it get a message
to the network looking for its IP address and the location of its
operating system boot files
BOOTP sends a UDP message with a subnetwork broadcast address and
waits for a reply from a server that gives it the IP address. The same
message might contain the name of the machine that has the boot files on
it. If the boot image location is not specified, the workstation sends
another UDP message to query the server.
What is the Network Time Protocol? Why is it used
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a protocol for synchronising the clocks
of computer systems over packet-switched, variable-latency data
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of computer systems over packet-switched, variable-latency data
networks. NTP uses UDP as its transport layer. It is designed particularly
to resist the effects of variable latency.
What is Virtual Memory?
Virtual memory is a technique that allows the execution of processes that
may not be completely in memory. A separation of user logical memory
from physical memory allows an extremely large virtual memory to be
provided for programmers when only a smaller physical memory is available.
It is commonly implemented by demand paging. A demand paging system is
similar to a paging system with swapping. Processes reside on secondary
memory (which is usually a disk). When we want to execute a process, we
swap it into memory.
Describe how the DHCP lease is obtained. Its a four-step
process consisting of (a) IP request, (b) IP offer, IP selection and
(d) acknowledgement.
I cant seem to access the Internet, dont have any access to
the corporate network and on ipconfig my address is
169.254.*.*. What happened? The 169.254.*.* netmask is
assigned to Windows machines running 98/2000/XP if the DHCP
server is not available. The name for the technology is APIPA
(Automatic Private Internet Protocol Addressing).
Weve installed a new Windows-based DHCP server, however,
the users do not seem to be getting DHCP leases off of it. The
server must be authorized first with the Active Directory.
How can you force the client to give up the dhcp lease if you
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How can you force the client to give up the dhcp lease if you
have access to the client PC? ipconfig /release
What authentication options do Windows 2000 Servers have
for remote clients? PAP, SPAP, CHAP, MS-CHAP and EAP.
What are the networking protocol options for the Windows
clients if for some reason you do not want to use TCP/IP?
NWLink (Novell), NetBEUI, AppleTalk (Apple).
What is data link layer in the OSI reference model responsible
for? Data link layer is located above the physical layer, but
below the network layer. Taking raw data bits and packaging them
into frames. The network layer will be responsible for addressing the
frames, while the physical layer is reponsible for retrieving and
sending raw data bits.
What is binding order? The order by which the network protocols
are used for client-server communications. The most frequently used
protocols should be at the top.
How do cryptography-based keys ensure the validity of data
transferred across the network? Each IP packet is assigned a
checksum, so if the checksums do not match on both receiving and
transmitting ends, the data was modified or corrupted.
Should we deploy IPSEC-based security or certificate-based
security? They are really two different technologies. IPSec secures
the TCP/IP communication and protects the integrity of the packets.
Certificate-based security ensures the validity of authenticated
clients and servers.
What is LMHOSTS file? Its a file stored on a host machine that is
used to resolve NetBIOS to specific IP addresses.
Whats the difference between forward lookup and reverse
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Whats the difference between forward lookup and reverse
lookup in DNS? Forward lookup is name-to-address, the reverse
lookup is address-to-name.
How can you recover a file encrypted using EFS? Use the domain
recovery agent.
Microsoft software development engineer in test (SDET) interview questions
Chris Sells writes about the set of tester questions his friend got when
being interviewed for Software Development Engineer in Test position at
Microsoft Corp.
How would you deal with changes being made a week or so before
the ship date?
How would you deal with a bug that no one wants to fix? Both the
SDE and his lead have said they wont fix it.
Write a function that counts the number of primes in the range [1-
N]. Write the test cases for this function.
Given a MAKEFILE (yeah a makefile), design the data structure that
a parser would create and then write code that iterates over that
data structure executing commands if needed.
Write a function that inserts an integer into a linked list in ascending
order. Write the test cases for this function.
Test the save dialog in Notepad. (This was the question I enjoyed
the most).
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Write the InStr function. Write the test cases for this function.
Write a function that will return the number of days in a month (not
using System.DateTime).
You have 3 jars. Each jar has a label on it: white, black, or
white&black. You have 3 sets of marbles: white, black, and
white&black. One set is stored in one jar. The labels on the jars are
guaranteed to be incorrect (i.e. white will not contain white). Which
jar would you choose from to give you the best chances of
identifying the which set of marbles in is in which jar.
Why do you want to work for Microsoft?
Write the test cases for a vending machine. (Those were the
questions I was asked. I had a lot of discussions about how to
handle situations. Such as a tester is focused on one part of an
SDK. During triage it was determined that that portion of the SDK
was not on the critical path, and the tester was needed elsewhere.
But the tester continued to test that portion because it is his baby.
How would you get him to stop testing that portion and work on
what needs to be worked on? Other situations came up like
arranging tests into the different testing buckets (functional, stress,
perf, etc.).)
Microsoft MSN interview questions
Aaron Boodman took up a job with Microsoft (MSN division) and told the
story of his interview in his Weblog. Below is an excerpt of questions
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story of his interview in his Weblog. Below is an excerpt of questions
potential candidates might find interesting.
Compare and contrast SQL Server with MySQL.
Compare and contrast stored procedures and dynamic SQL.
Describe a standard 3-tier architecture and the interfaces between
each tier.
Compare and contrast a rich client and browser-based web
application
Compare and contrast WS and remoting protocols.
Design the data structures for the game battleship.
Consider the Dead Sea Scrolls. Imagine that you have these torn up
old shreds of paper with ancient words on them. You want to
develop an application that will display one sheet at a time on the
screen. When the user left-clicks a word, the page containing the
previous occurence of that word is displayed and the word is
highlighted. When the user right-clicks a word, the page containing
the next occurence is displayed and the word is highlighted. When
the user double-clicks a word, the definition is displayed. How would
you design the application?
Given an array of the counties in NY represented as arrays of line
segments, find the collection of line segments which represent the
outline of the state.
Consider an SOA rich-client application used by several international
vendors, where one vendor sees bandwidth usage far exceeding
what would be expected based on their usage. What steps would
you follow to debug the problem?
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Imagine a trainyard. The purpose of a trainyard is to reorder trains
so that they are most efficiently grouped for outbound travel. The
basic unit of a trainyard is a piece of track which looks like the
figure below. The train operator can perform three operations: move
a car from the source to the spur, from the source to the
destination, or from the spur to the destination. So, for example, he
could reverse a train by moving each car onto the spur and then
moving each car onto the destination. Write a function which, given
an array of integers representing the order of cars on the source,
and another representing the order of cars desired on the
destination, prints instructions telling the trainyard operator which
operations to perform to reorder the train correctly.
Implement a function which, given the integer value of the hours
and minutes hands of a clock, returns the measure of the degrees
between them.
Find the lowest valued node in a Binary Search Tree (BST) greater
than or equal to a a certain value.
Verify that a given BST is valid.
Given the following database table, which represents the history of
user account statuses, give the query that returns the users which
had a certain status on a certain day.
Implement the datastructures for a Tree and a function to populate
it based off a page of text.
Explain hidden shares. Hidden or administrative shares are share
names with a dollar sign ($) appended to their names. Administrative
shares are usually created automatically for the root of each drive letter.
They do not display in the network browse list.
How do the permissions work in Windows 2000? What permissions
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How do the permissions work in Windows 2000? What permissions
does folder inherit from the parent? When you combine NTFS
permissions based on users and their group memberships, the least
restrictive permissions take precedence. However, explicit Deny entries
always override Allow entries.
Why cant I encrypt a compressed file on Windows 2000? You can
either compress it or encrypt it, but not both.
If I rename an account, what must I do to make sure the renamed
account has the same permissions as the original one? Nothing, its
all maintained automatically.
Whats the most powerful group on a Windows system?
Administrators.
What are the accessibility features in Windows 2000? StickyKeys,
FilterKeys Narrator, Magnifier, and On-Screen Keyboard.
Why cant I get to the Fax Service Management console? You can
only see it if a fax had been installed.
What do I need to ensure before deploying an application via a
Group Policy? Make sure its either an MSI file, or contains a ZAP file for
Group Policy.
How do you configure mandatory profiles? Rename ntuser.dat to
ntuser.man
I cant get multiple displays to work in Windows 2000. Multiple
displays have to use peripheral connection interface (PCI) or Accelerated
Graphics Port (AGP) port devices to work properly with Windows 2000.
Whats a maximum number of processors Win2k supports? 2
I had some NTFS volumes under my Windows NT installation.
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I had some NTFS volumes under my Windows NT installation.
What happened to NTFS after Win 2k installation? It got upgraded to
NTFS 5.
How do you convert a drive from FAT/FAT32 to NTFS from the
command line? convert c: /fs:ntfs
Explain APIPA. Auto Private IP Addressing (APIPA) takes effect on
Windows 2000 Professional computers if no DHCP server can be
contacted. APIPA assigns the computer an IP address within the range of
169.254.0.0 through 169.254.255.254 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0.
How does Internet Connection Sharing work on Windows 2000?
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) uses the DHCP Allocator service to
assign dynamic IP addresses to clients on the LAN within the range of
192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.254. In addition, the DNS Proxy service
becomes enabled when you
implement ICS.
What is presentation layer responsible for in the OSI model? The
presentation layer establishes the data format prior to passing it along to
the network applications interface. TCP/IP networks perform this task at
the application layer.
Does Windows Server 2003 support IPv6? Yes, run ipv6.exe from
command line to disable it.
Can Windows Server 2003 function as a bridge? Yes, and its a new
feature for the 2003 product. You can combine several networks and
devices connected via several adapters by enabling IP routing.
Whats the difference between the basic disk and dynamic disk?
The basic type contains partitions, extended partitions, logical drivers, and
an assortment of static volumes; the dynamic type does not use partitions
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an assortment of static volumes; the dynamic type does not use partitions
but dynamically manages volumes and provides advanced storage options
Whats a media pool? It is any compilation of disks or tapes with the
same administrative properties.
How do you install recovery console? C:\i386\win32 /cmdcons,
assuming that your Win server installation is on drive C.
Whats new in Terminal Services for Windows 2003 Server?
Supports audio transmissions as well, although prepare for heavy network
load.
What scripts ship with IIS 6.0? iisweb.vsb to create, delete, start,
stop, and list Web sites, iisftp.vsb to create, delete, start, stop, and list
FTP sites, iisdir.vsb to create, delete, start, stop, and display virtual
directories, iisftpdr.vsb to create, delete, start, stop, and display virtual
directories under an FTP root, iiscnfg.vbs to export and import IIS
configuration to an XML file.
Whats the name of the user who connects to the Web site
anonymously? IUSR_computername
What secure authentication and encryption mechanisms are
supported by IIS 6.0? Basic authentication, Digest authentication,
Advanced digest authentication, Certificate-based Web transactions that
use PKCS #7/PKCS #10, Fortezza, SSL, Server-Gated Cryptography,
Transport Layer Security
Whats the relation between SSL and TLS? Transport Layer Security
(TLS) extends SSL by providing cryptographic authentication.
Whats the role of http.sys in IIS? It is the point of contact for all
incoming HTTP requests. It listens for requests and queues them until they
are all processed, no more queues are available, or the Web server is shut
down.
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Wheres ASP cache located on IIS 6.0? On disk, as opposed to
memory, as it used to be in IIS 5.
What is socket pooling? Non-blocking socket usage, introduced in IIS
6.0. More than one application can use a given socket.
Describe the process of clustering with Windows 2003 Server when
a new node is added. As a node goes online, it searches for other nodes
to join by polling the designated internal network. In this way, all nodes are
notified of the new nodes existence. If other nodes cannot be found on a
preexisting cluster, the new node takes control of the quorum resources
residing on the shared disk that contains state and configuration data.
What applications are not capable of performing in Windows 2003
Server clusters? The ones written exclusively for NetBEUI and IPX.
Whats a heartbeat? Communication processes between the nodes
designed to ensure nodes health.
Whats a threshold in clustered environment? The number of times
a restart is attempted, when the node fails.
You need to change and admin password on a clustered Windows
box, but that requires rebooting the cluster, doesnt it? No, it doesnt.
In 2003 environment you can do that via cluster.exe utility which does not
require rebooting the entire cluster.
For the document of size 1 MB, what size would you expect the
index to be with Indexing Service? 150-300 KB, 15-30% is a reasonable
expectation.
Doesnt the Indexing Service introduce a security flaw when
allowing access to the index? No, because users can only view the
indices of documents and folders that they have permissions for.
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Whats the typical size of the index? Less then 100K documents - up
to 128 MB. More than that - 256+ MB.
Which characters should be enclosed in quotes when searching
the index? &, @, $, #, ^, ( ), and |.
How would you search for C++? Just enter C++, since + is not a
special character (and neither is C).
What about Barnes&Noble? Should be searched for as
Barnes&Noble.
Are the searches case-sensitive? No.
Whats the order of precedence of Boolean operators in Microsoft
Windows 2003 Server Indexing Service? NOT, AND, NEAR, OR.
Whats a vector space query? A multiple-word query where the
weight can be assigned to each of the search words. For example, if you
want to fight information on black hole, but would prefer to give more
weight to the word hole, you can enter black[1] hole[20] into the search
window.
Whats a response queue? Its the message queue that holds
response messages sent from the receiving application to the sender.
Whats MQPing used for? Testing Microsoft Message Queue services
between the nodes on a network.
Which add-on package for Windows 2003 Server would you use to
monitor the installed software and license compliance? SMS (System
Management Server).
Which service do you use to set up various alerts? MOM (Microsoft
Operations Manager).
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What languages does Windows Scripting Host support? VB,
VBScript, Jscript
Windows Server 2003 interview and certification questions
54. How do you double-boot a Win 2003 server box? The Boot.ini
file is set as read-only, system, and hidden to prevent unwanted
editing. To change the Boot.ini timeout and default settings, use the
System option in Control Panel from the Advanced tab and select
Startup.
55. What do you do if earlier application doesnt run on Windows
Server 2003? When an application that ran on an earlier legacy
version of Windows cannot be loaded during the setup function or if
it later malfunctions, you must run the compatibility mode function.
This is accomplished by right-clicking the application or setup
program and selecting Properties > Compatibility > selecting the
previously supported operating system.
56. If you uninstall Windows Server 2003, which operating
systems can you revert to? Win ME and Win 98.
57. How do you get to Internet Firewall settings? Start > Control
Panel > Network and Internet Connections > Network
Connections.
58. What are the Windows Server 2003 keyboard shortcuts?
Winkey opens or closes the Start menu. Winkey + BREAK displays
the System Properties dialog box. Winkey + TAB moves the focus to
the next application in the taskbar. Winkey + SHIFT + TAB moves
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the next application in the taskbar. Winkey + SHIFT + TAB moves
the focus to the previous application in the taskbar. Winkey + B
moves the focus to the notification area. Winkey + D shows the
desktop. Winkey + E opens Windows Explorer showing My Computer.
Winkey + F opens the Search panel. Winkey + CTRL + F opens the
Search panel with Search for Computers module selected. Winkey +
F1 opens Help. Winkey + M minimizes all. Winkey + SHIFT+ M undoes
minimization. Winkey + R opens Run dialog. Winkey + U opens the
Utility Manager. Winkey + L locks the computer.
59. What is Active Directory? Active Directory is a network-based
object store and service that locates and manages resources, and
makes these resources available to authorized users and groups. An
underlying principle of the Active Directory is that everything is
considered an objectpeople, servers, workstations, printers,
documents, and devices. Each object has certain attributes and its
own security access control list (ACL).
60. Where are the Windows NT Primary Domain Controller (PDC)
and its Backup Domain Controller (BDC) in Server 2003? The
Active Directory replaces them. Now all domain controllers share a
multimaster peer-to-peer read and write relationship that hosts
copies of the Active Directory.
61. How long does it take for security changes to be replicated
among the domain controllers? Security-related modifications are
replicated within a site immediately. These changes include account
and individual user lockout policies, changes to password policies,
changes to computer account passwords, and modifications to the
Local Security Authority (LSA).
62. Whats new in Windows Server 2003 regarding the DNS
management? When DC promotion occurs with an existing forest,
the Active Directory Installation Wizard contacts an existing DC to
update the directory and replicate from the DC the required portions
of the directory. If the wizard fails to locate a DC, it performs
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of the directory. If the wizard fails to locate a DC, it performs
debugging and reports what caused the failure and how to fix the
problem. In order to be located on a network, every DC must
register in DNS DC locator DNS records. The Active Directory
Installation Wizard verifies a proper configuration of the DNS
infrastructure. All DNS configuration debugging and reporting activity
is done with the Active Directory Installation Wizard.
63. When should you create a forest? Organizations that operate on
radically different bases may require separate trees with distinct
namespaces. Unique trade or brand names often give rise to
separate DNS identities. Organizations merge or are acquired and
naming continuity is desired. Organizations form partnerships and
joint ventures. While access to common resources is desired, a
separately defined tree can enforce more direct administrative and
security restrictions.
64. How can you authenticate between forests? Four types of
authentication are used across forests: (1) Kerberos and NTLM
network logon for remote access to a server in another forest; (2)
Kerberos and NTLM interactive logon for physical logon outside the
users home forest; (3) Kerberos delegation to N-tier application in
another forest; and (4) user principal name (UPN) credentials.
65. What snap-in administrative tools are available for Active
Directory? Active Directory Domains and Trusts Manager, Active
Directory Sites and Services Manager, Active Directory Users and
Group Manager, Active Directory Replication (optional, available from
the Resource Kit), Active Directory Schema Manager (optional,
available from adminpak)
66. What types of classes exist in Windows Server 2003 Active
Directory?
1. Structural class. The structural class is important to the
system administrator in that it is the only type from which new
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system administrator in that it is the only type from which new
Active Directory objects are created. Structural classes are
developed from either the modification of an existing structural
type or the use of one or more abstract classes.
2. Abstract class. Abstract classes are so named because they
take the form of templates that actually create other
templates (abstracts) and structural and auxiliary classes.
Think of abstract classes as frameworks for the defining
objects.
3. Auxiliary class. The auxiliary class is a list of attributes.
Rather than apply numerous attributes when creating a
structural class, it provides a streamlined alternative by
applying a combination of attributes with a single include
action.
4. 88 class. The 88 class includes object classes defined prior to
1993, when the 1988 X.500 specification was adopted. This
type does not use the structural, abstract, and auxiliary
definitions, nor is it in common use for the development of
objects in Windows Server 2003 environments.
67. How do you delete a lingering object? Windows Server 2003
provides a command called Repadmin that provides the ability to
delete lingering objects in the Active Directory.
68. What is Global Catalog? The Global Catalog authenticates network
user logons and fields inquiries about objects across a forest or tree.
Every domain has at least one GC that is hosted on a domain
controller. In Windows 2000, there was typically one GC on every
site in order to prevent user logon failures across the network.
69. How is user account security established in Windows Server
2003? When an account is created, it is given a unique access
number known as a security identifier (SID). Every group to which
the user belongs has an associated SID. The user and related group
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the user belongs has an associated SID. The user and related group
SIDs together form the user accounts security token, which
determines access levels to objects throughout the system and
network. SIDs from the security token are mapped to the access
control list (ACL) of any object the user attempts to access.
70. If I delete a user and then create a new account with the same
username and password, would the SID and permissions stay
the same? No. If you delete a user account and attempt to
recreate it with the same user name and password, the SID will be
different.
71. What do you do with secure sign-ons in an organization with
many roaming users? Credential Management feature of Windows
Server 2003 provides a consistent single sign-on experience for
users. This can be useful for roaming users who move between
computer systems. The Credential Management feature provides a
secure store of user credentials that includes passwords and X.509
certificates.
72. Anything special you should do when adding a user that has a
Mac? "Save password as encrypted clear text" must be selected on
User Properties Account Tab Options, since the Macs only store
their passwords that way.
73. What remote access options does Windows Server 2003
support? Dial-in, VPN, dial-in with callback.
74. Where are the documents and settings for the roaming profile
stored? All the documents and
environmental settings for the roaming user are stored locally on the
system, and, when the user logs off, all changes to the locally
stored profile are copied to the shared server folder. Therefore, the
first time a roaming user logs on to a new system the logon process
may take some time, depending on how large his profile folder is.
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75. Where are the settings for all the users stored on a given
machine? \Document and Settings\All Users
76. What languages can you use for log-on scripts? JavaScipt,
VBScript, DOS batch files (.com, .bat, or
50. What's the difference between software publishing and assigning
New Active Directory features in Windows Server 2003 with sp1 :
1. Multiple selection of user objects.
2. Drag-and-drop functionality
3. Efficient search capabilities
4. Saved queries.
5. Active Directory command-line tools
6. InetOrgPerson class.
7. Application directory partitions.
8. Universal group membership caching.
9. Secure LDAP traffic.
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10.Active Directory quotas.
New domain- and forest-wide Active Directory features :
1. Domain controller rename tool.
2. Different location option for user and computer accounts.
3. Domain rename.
4. Forest trusts.
5. Forest restructuring.
6. Defunct schema objects.
7. Dynamic auxiliary classes.
8. Global catalog replication improvements.
9. Replication enhancements.
10. User access control to resources between domains or forests.
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Req to install win 2003 Domain
Requirement to install the Win 2003 Domain Conroller :
1. An NTFS partition with enough free space.
2. An Administrator's username and password.
3. The correct operating system version.
4. A NIC Properly configured TCP/IP (IP address, subnet mask
and - optional - default gateway).
5. A network connection (to a hub or to another computer via a crossover
cable).
6. An operational DNS server (which can be installed on the DC itself).
7. A Domain name that you want to use
The Windows Server 2003 CD media (or at least the i386 folder).
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Network Security
Home Network Security
This document gives home users an overview of the security risks and countermeasures associated with Internet connectivity, especially in
the context of always-on or broadband access services (such as cable modems and DSL). However, much of the content is also relevant
to traditional dial-up users (users who connect to the Internet using a modem).
Introduction
Computer security
What is computer security?
Why should I care about computer security?
Who would want to break into my computer at home?
How easy is it to break into my computer?
Technology
What does "broadband" mean?
What is cable modem access?
What is DSL access?
How are broadband services different from traditional dial-up services?
How is broadband access different from the network I use at work?
What is a protocol?
What is IP?
What is an IP address?
What are static and dynamic addressing?
What is NAT?
What are TCP and UDP ports?
What is a firewall?
What does antivirus software do?
Computer security risks to home users
What is at risk?
Intentional misuse of your computer
Trojan horse programs
Back door and remote administration programs
Denial of service
Being an intermediary for another attack
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Unprotected Windows shares
Mobile code (Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX)
Cross-site scripting
Email spoofing
Email-borne viruses
Hidden file extensions
Chat clients
Packet sniffing
Accidents and other risks
Disk failure
Power failure and surges
Physical theft
Actions home users can take to protect their computer systems
Consult your system support personnel if you work from home
Use virus protection software
Use a firewall
Dont open unknown email attachments
Dont run programs of unknown origin
Disable hidden filename extensions
Keep all applications (including your operating system) patched
Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in use
Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible
Disable scripting features in email programs
Make regular backups of critical data
Make a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised
Appendix: References and additional information
Document Revision History
I. Computer security
A. What is computer security?
Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop
unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine
whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.
B. Why should I care about computer security?
We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs.
Although you may not consider your communications "top secret," you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your
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computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored on your computer
(such as financial statements).
C. Who would want to break into my computer at home?
Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your
computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.
Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer
systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or
to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.
Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or
changing your data.
D. How easy is it to break into my computer?
Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities (informally called "holes") to exploit in computer software. The
complexity of software makes it increasingly difficult to thoroughly test the security of computer systems.
When holes are discovered, computer vendors will usually develop patches to address the problem(s). However, it is up to you, the user, to
obtain and install the patches, or correctly configure the software to operate more securely. Most of the incident reports of computer break-
ins received at the CERT/CC could have been prevented if system administrators and users kept their computers up-to-date with patches
and security fixes.
Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer unless you change the settings to be
more secure. Examples include chat programs that let outsiders execute commands on your computer or web browsers that could allow
someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them.
II. Technology
This section provides a basic introduction to the technologies that underlie the Internet. It was written with the novice end-user in mind and
is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of all Internet-based technologies. Subsections provide a short overview of each topic. This
section is a basic primer on the relevant technologies. For those who desire a deeper understanding of the concepts covered here, we
include links to additional information.
A. What does broadband mean?
"Broadband" is the general term used to refer to high-speed network connections. In this context, Internet connections via cable modem
and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) are frequently referred to as broadband Internet connections. "Bandwidth" is the term used to describe
the relative speed of a network connection -- for example, most current dial-up modems can support a bandwidth of 56 kbps (thousand bits
per second). There is no set bandwidth threshold required for a connection to be referred to as "broadband", but it is typical for connections
in excess of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) to be so named.
B. What is cable modem access?
A cable modem allows a single computer (or network of computers) to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem
usually has an Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network) connection to the computer, and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps.
Typical speeds tend to be lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers turn entire neighborhoods into LANs which share the
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same bandwidth. Because of this "shared-medium" topology, cable modem users may experience somewhat slower network access during
periods of peak demand, and may be more susceptible to risks such as packet sniffing and unprotected windows shares than users with
other types of connectivity. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)
C. What is DSL access?
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet connectivity, unlike cable modem-based service, provides the user with dedicated bandwidth.
However, the maximum bandwidth available to DSL users is usually lower than the maximum cable modem rate because of differences in
their respective network technologies. Also, the "dedicated bandwidth" is only dedicated between your home and the DSL provider's central
office -- the providers offer little or no guarantee of bandwidth all the way across the Internet.
DSL access is not as susceptible to packet sniffing as cable modem access, but many of the other security risks we'll cover apply to both
DSL and cable modem access. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)
D. How are broadband services different from traditional dial-up services?
Traditional dial-up Internet services are sometimes referred to as "dial-on-demand" services. That is, your computer only connects to the
Internet when it has something to send, such as email or a request to load a web page. Once there is no more data to be sent, or after a
certain amount of idle time, the computer disconnects the call. Also, in most cases each call connects to a pool of modems at the ISP, and
since the modem IP addresses are dynamically assigned, your computer is usually assigned a different IP address on each call. As a result,
it is more difficult (not impossible, just difficult) for an attacker to take advantage of vulnerable network services to take control of your
computer.
Broadband services are referred to as "always-on" services because there is no call setup when your computer has something to send. The
computer is always on the network, ready to send or receive data through its network interface card (NIC). Since the connection is always
up, your computers IP address will change less frequently (if at all), thus making it more of a fixed target for attack.
Whats more, many broadband service providers use well-known IP addresses for home users. So while an attacker may not be able to
single out your specific computer as belonging to you, they may at least be able to know that your service providers broadband customers
are within a certain address range, thereby making your computer a more likely target than it might have been otherwise.
The table below shows a brief comparison of traditional dial-up and broadband services.
Dial-up
Broadband
Connection type
Dial on demand
Always on
IP address
Changes on each call
Static or infrequently changing
Relative connection speed
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Low
High
Remote control potential
Computer must be dialed in to control remotely
Computer is always connected, so remote control can occur anytime
ISP-provided security
Little or none
Little or none
Table 1: Comparison of Dial-up and Broadband Services
E. How is broadband access different from the network I use at work?
Corporate and government networks are typically protected by many layers of security, ranging from network firewalls to encryption. In
addition, they usually have support staff who maintain the security and availability of these network connections.
Although your ISP is responsible for maintaining the services they provide to you, you probably wont have dedicated staff on hand to
manage and operate your home network. You are ultimately responsible for your own computers. As a result, it is up to you to take
reasonable precautions to secure your computers from accidental or intentional misuse.
F. What is a protocol?
A protocol is a well-defined specification that allows computers to communicate across a network. In a way, protocols define the "grammar"
that computers can use to "talk" to each other.
G. What is IP?
IP stands for "Internet Protocol". It can be thought of as the common language of computers on the Internet. There are a number of
detailed descriptions of IP given elsewhere, so we won't cover it in detail in this document. However, it is important to know a few things
about IP in order to understand how to secure your computer. Here well cover IP addresses, static vs. dynamic addressing, NAT, and TCP
and UDP Ports.
An overview of TCP/IP can be found in the TCP/IP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part1/
and
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part2/
H. What is an IP address?
IP addresses are analogous to telephone numbers when you want to call someone on the telephone, you must first know their telephone
number. Similarly, when a computer on the Internet needs to send data to another computer, it must first know its IP address. IP addresses
are typically shown as four numbers separated by decimal points, or dots. For example, 10.24.254.3 and 192.168.62.231 are IP
addresses.
If you need to make a telephone call but you only know the persons name, you can look them up in the telephone directory (or call
directory services) to get their telephone number. On the Internet, that directory is called the Domain Name System, or DNS for short. If
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you know the name of a server, say www.cert.org, and you type this into your web browser, your computer will then go ask its DNS server
what the numeric IP address is that is associated with that name.
Every computer on the Internet has an IP address associated with it that uniquely identifies it. However, that address may change over
time, especially if the computer is
dialing into an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
connected behind a network firewall
connected to a broadband service using dynamic IP addressing.
I. What are static and dynamic addressing?
Static IP addressing occurs when an ISP permanently assigns one or more IP addresses for each user. These addresses do not change
over time. However, if a static address is assigned but not in use, it is effectively wasted. Since ISPs have a limited number of addresses
allocated to them, they sometimes need to make more efficient use of their addresses.
Dynamic IP addressing allows the ISP to efficiently utilize their address space. Using dynamic IP addressing, the IP addresses of individual
user computers may change over time. If a dynamic address is not in use, it can be automatically reassigned to another computer as
needed.
J. What is NAT?
Network Address Translation (NAT) provides a way to hide the IP addresses of a private network from the Internet while still allowing
computers on that network to access the Internet. NAT can be used in many different ways, but one method frequently used by home users
is called "masquerading".
Using NAT masquerading, one or more devices on a LAN can be made to appear as a single IP address to the outside Internet. This allows
for multiple computers in a home network to use a single cable modem or DSL connection without requiring the ISP to provide more than
one IP address to the user. Using this method, the ISP-assigned IP address can be either static or dynamic. Most network firewalls support
NAT masquerading.
K. What are TCP and UDP Ports?
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are both protocols that use IP. Whereas IP allows two computers to
talk to each other across the Internet, TCP and UDP allow individual applications (also known as "services") on those computers to talk to
each other.
In the same way that a telephone number or physical mail box might be associated with more than one person, a computer might have
multiple applications (e.g. email, file services, web services) running on the same IP address. Ports allow a computer to differentiate
services such as email data from web data. A port is simply a number associated with each application that uniquely identifies that service
on that computer. Both TCP and UDP use ports to identify services. Some common port numbers are 80 for web (HTTP), 25 for email
(SMTP), and 53 for Domain Name System (DNS).
L. What is a firewall?
The Firewalls FAQ (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/firewalls-faq/) defines a firewall as "a system or group of systems that enforces an access
control policy between two networks." In the context of home networks, a firewall typically takes one of two forms:
Software firewall - specialized software running on an individual computer, or
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Network firewall - a dedicated device designed to protect one or more computers.
Both types of firewall allow the user to define access policies for inbound connections to the computers they are protecting. Many also
provide the ability to control what services (ports) the protected computers are able to access on the Internet (outbound access). Most
firewalls intended for home use come with pre-configured security policies from which the user chooses, and some allow the user to
customize these policies for their specific needs.
More information on firewalls can be found in the Additional resources section of this document.
M. What does antivirus software do?
There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement
their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your computer that indicate
the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called
"signatures") provided by the vendor.
New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your
computer so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date.
More information about viruses and antivirus software can be found on the CERT Computer Virus Resource page
http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html
III. Computer security risks to home users
A. What is at risk?
Information security is concerned with three main areas:
Confidentiality - information should be available only to those who rightfully have access to it
Integrity -- information should be modified only by those who are authorized to do so
Availability -- information should be accessible to those who need it when they need it
These concepts apply to home Internet users just as much as they would to any corporate or government network. You probably wouldn't
let a stranger look through your important documents. In the same way, you may want to keep the tasks you perform on your computer
confidential, whether it's tracking your investments or sending email messages to family and friends. Also, you should have some
assurance that the information you enter into your computer remains intact and is available when you need it.
Some security risks arise from the possibility of intentional misuse of your computer by intruders via the Internet. Others are risks that you
would face even if you weren't connected to the Internet (e.g. hard disk failures, theft, power outages). The bad news is that you probably
cannot plan for every possible risk. The good news is that you can take some simple steps to reduce the chance that you'll be affected by
the most common threats -- and some of those steps help with both the intentional and accidental risks you're likely to face.
Before we get to what you can do to protect your computer or home network, lets take a closer look at some of these risks.
B. Intentional misuse of your computer
The most common methods used by intruders to gain control of home computers are briefly described below. More detailed information is
available by reviewing the URLs listed in the References section below.
Trojan horse programs
Back door and remote administration programs
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Denial of service
Being an intermediary for another attack
Unprotected Windows shares
Mobile code (Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX)
Cross-site scripting
Email spoofing
Email-borne viruses
Hidden file extensions
Chat clients
Packet sniffing
13. Trojan horse programs
Trojan horse programs are a common way for intruders to trick you (sometimes referred to as "social engineering") into installing "back
door" programs. These can allow intruders easy access to your computer without your knowledge, change your system configurations, or
infect your computer with a computer virus. More information about Trojan horses can be found in the following document.
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1999-02.html
14. Back door and remote administration programs
On Windows computers, three tools commonly used by intruders to gain remote access to your computer are BackOrifice, Netbus, and
SubSeven. These back door or remote administration programs, once installed, allow other people to access and control your computer. We
recommend that you review the CERT vulnerability note about Back Orifice. This document describes how it works, how to detect it, and
how to protect your computers from it:
http://www.cert.org/vul_notes/VN-98.07.backorifice.html
15. Denial of service
Another form of attack is called a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. This type of attack causes your computer to crash or to become so busy
processing data that you are unable to use it. In most cases, the latest patches will prevent the attack. The following documents describe
denial-of-service attacks in greater detail.
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2000-01.html
http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/DoS_trends.pdf
It is important to note that in addition to being the target of a DoS attack, it is possible for your computer to be used as a participant in a
denial-of-service attack on another system.
16. Being an intermediary for another attack
Intruders will frequently use compromised computers as launching pads for attacking other systems. An example of this is how distributed
denial-of-service (DDoS) tools are used. The intruders install an "agent" (frequently through a Trojan horse program) that runs on the
compromised computer awaiting further instructions. Then, when a number of agents are running on different computers, a single "handler"
can instruct all of them to launch a denial-of-service attack on another system. Thus, the end target of the attack is not your own computer,
but someone elses -- your computer is just a convenient tool in a larger attack.
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17. Unprotected Windows shares
Unprotected Windows networking shares can be exploited by intruders in an automated way to place tools on large numbers of Windows-
based computers attached to the Internet. Because site security on the Internet is interdependent, a compromised computer not only
creates problems for the computer's owner, but it is also a threat to other sites on the Internet. The greater immediate risk to the Internet
community is the potentially large number of computers attached to the Internet with unprotected Windows networking shares combined
with distributed attack tools such as those described in
http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-01.html
Another threat includes malicious and destructive code, such as viruses or worms, which leverage unprotected Windows networking shares
to propagate. One such example is the 911 worm described in
http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-03.html
There is great potential for the emergence of other intruder tools that leverage unprotected Windows networking shares on a widespread
basis.
18. Mobile code (Java/JavaScript/ActiveX)
There have been reports of problems with "mobile code" (e.g. Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX). These are programming languages that let
web developers write code that is executed by your web browser. Although the code is generally useful, it can be used by intruders to
gather information (such as which web sites you visit) or to run malicious code on your computer. It is possible to disable Java, JavaScript,
and ActiveX in your web browser. We recommend that you do so if you are browsing web sites that you are not familiar with or do not trust.
Also be aware of the risks involved in the use of mobile code within email programs. Many email programs use the same code as web
browsers to display HTML. Thus, vulnerabilities that affect Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX are often applicable to email as well as web pages.
More information on malicious code is available in http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/malicious_code_FAQ.html
More information on ActiveX security is available in http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/activeX_report.pdf
19. Cross-site scripting
A malicious web developer may attach a script to something sent to a web site, such as a URL, an element in a form, or a database inquiry.
Later, when the web site responds to you, the malicious script is transferred to your browser.
You can potentially expose your web browser to malicious scripts by
following links in web pages, email messages, or newsgroup postings without knowing what they link to
using interactive forms on an untrustworthy site
viewing online discussion groups, forums, or other dynamically generated pages where users can post text containing HTML tags
More information regarding the risks posed by malicious code in web links can be found in CA-2000-02 Malicious HTML Tags Embedded in
Client Web Requests.
20. Email spoofing
Email spoofing is when an email message appears to have originated from one source when it actually was sent from another source.
Email spoofing is often an attempt to trick the user into making a damaging statement or releasing sensitive information (such as
passwords).
Spoofed email can range from harmless pranks to social engineering ploys. Examples of the latter include
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email claiming to be from a system administrator requesting users to change their passwords to a specified string and threatening to
suspend their account if they do not comply
email claiming to be from a person in authority requesting users to send them a copy of a password file or other sensitive information
Note that while service providers may occasionally request that you change your password, they usually will not specify what you should
change it to. Also, most legitimate service providers would never ask you to send them any password information via email. If you suspect
that you may have received a spoofed email from someone with malicious intent, you should contact your service provider's support
personnel immediately.
21. Email borne viruses
Viruses and other types of malicious code are often spread as attachments to email messages. Before opening any attachments, be sure
you know the source of the attachment. It is not enough that the mail originated from an address you recognize. The Melissa virus (see
References) spread precisely because it originated from a familiar address. Also, malicious code might be distributed in amusing or enticing
programs.
Many recent viruses use these social engineering techniques to spread. Examples include
W32/Sircam -- http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-22.html
W32/Goner -- http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2001-15.html
Never run a program unless you know it to be authored by a person or company that you trust. Also, don't send programs of unknown
origin to your friends or coworkers simply because they are amusing -- they might contain a Trojan horse program.
22. Hidden file extensions
Windows operating systems contain an option to "Hide file extensions for known file types". The option is enabled by default, but a user may
choose to disable this option in order to have file extensions displayed by Windows. Multiple email-borne viruses are known to exploit
hidden file extensions. The first major attack that took advantage of a hidden file extension was the VBS/LoveLetter worm which contained
an email attachment named "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs". Other malicious programs have since incorporated similar naming schemes.
Examples include
Downloader (MySis.avi.exe or QuickFlick.mpg.exe)
VBS/Timofonica (TIMOFONICA.TXT.vbs)
VBS/CoolNote (COOL_NOTEPAD_DEMO.TXT.vbs)
VBS/OnTheFly (AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs)
The files attached to the email messages sent by these viruses may appear to be harmless text (.txt), MPEG (.mpg), AVI (.avi) or other file
types when in fact the file is a malicious script or executable (.vbs or .exe, for example). For further information about these and other
viruses, please visit the sites listed on our Computer Virus Resource page:
http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html
23. Chat clients
Internet chat applications, such as instant messaging applications and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks, provide a mechanism for
information to be transmitted bi-directionally between computers on the Internet. Chat clients provide groups of individuals with the means
to exchange dialog, web URLs, and in many cases, files of any type.
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Because many chat clients allow for the exchange of executable code, they present risks similar to those of email clients. As with email
clients, care should be taken to limit the chat clients ability to execute downloaded files. As always, you should be wary of exchanging files
with unknown parties.
24. Packet sniffing
A packet sniffer is a program that captures data from information packets as they travel over the network. That data may include user
names, passwords, and proprietary information that travels over the network in clear text. With perhaps hundreds or thousands of
passwords captured by the packet sniffer, intruders can launch widespread attacks on systems. Installing a packet sniffer does not
necessarily require administrator-level access.
Relative to DSL and traditional dial-up users, cable modem users have a higher risk of exposure to packet sniffers since entire
neighborhoods of cable modem users are effectively part of the same LAN. A packet sniffer installed on any cable modem user's computer
in a neighborhood may be able to capture data transmitted by any other cable modem in the same neighborhood.
C. Accidents and other risks
In addition to the risks associated with connecting your computer to the Internet, there are a number of risks that apply even if the
computer has no network connections at all. Most of these risks are well-known, so we wont go into much detail in this document, but it is
important to note that the common practices associated with reducing these risks may also help reduce susceptibility to the network-based
risks discussed above.
0. Disk failure
Recall that availability is one of the three key elements of information security. Although all stored data can become unavailable -- if the
media its stored on is physically damaged, destroyed, or lost -- data stored on hard disks is at higher risk due to the mechanical nature of
the device. Hard disk crashes are a common cause of data loss on personal computers. Regular system backups are the only effective
remedy.
1. Power failure and surges
Power problems (surges, blackouts, and brown-outs) can cause physical damage to a computer, inducing a hard disk crash or otherwise
harming the electronic components of the computer. Common mitigation methods include using surge suppressors and uninterruptible
power supplies (UPS).
2. Physical Theft
Physical theft of a computer, of course, results in the loss of confidentiality and availability, and (assuming the computer is ever recovered)
makes the integrity of the data stored on the disk suspect. Regular system backups (with the backups stored somewhere away from the
computer) allow for recovery of the data, but backups alone cannot address confidentiality. Cryptographic tools are available that can
encrypt data stored on a computers hard disk. The CERT/CC encourages the use of these tools if the computer contains sensitive data or is
at high risk of theft (e.g. laptops or other portable computers).
IV. Actions home users can take to protect their computer systems
The CERT/CC recommends the following practices to home users:
Consult your system support personnel if you work from home
Use virus protection software
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Use a firewall
Dont open unknown email attachments
Dont run programs of unknown origin
Disable hidden filename extensions
Keep all applications (including your operating system) patched
Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in use
Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible
Disable scripting features in email programs
Make regular backups of critical data
Make a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised
Further discussion on each of these points is given below.
Recommendations
13. Consult your system support personnel if you work from home
If you use your broadband access to connect to your employer's network via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or other means, your
employer may have policies or procedures relating to the security of your home network. Be sure to consult with your employer's support
personnel, as appropriate, before following any of the steps outlined in this document.
14. Use virus protection software
The CERT/CC recommends the use of anti-virus software on all Internet-connected computers. Be sure to keep your anti-virus software up-
to-date. Many anti-virus packages support automatic updates of virus definitions. We recommend the use of these automatic updates when
available.
See http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html#VI for more information.
15. Use a firewall
We strongly recommend the use of some type of firewall product, such as a network appliance or a personal firewall software package.
Intruders are constantly scanning home user systems for known vulnerabilities. Network firewalls (whether software or hardware-based)
can provide some degree of protection against these attacks. However, no firewall can detect or stop all attacks, so its not sufficient to
install a firewall and then ignore all other security measures.
16. Don't open unknown email attachments
Before opening any email attachments, be sure you know the source of the attachment. It is not enough that the mail originated from an
address you recognize. The Melissa virus spread precisely because it originated from a familiar address. Malicious code might be distributed
in amusing or enticing programs.
If you must open an attachment before you can verify the source, we suggest the following procedure:
be sure your virus definitions are up-to-date (see "Use virus protection software" above)
save the file to your hard disk
scan the file using your antivirus software
open the file
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For additional protection, you can disconnect your computer's network connection before opening the file.
Following these steps will reduce, but not wholly eliminate, the chance that any malicious code contained in the attachment might spread
from your computer to others.
17. Don't run programs of unknown origin
Never run a program unless you know it to be authored by a person or company that you trust. Also, don't send programs of unknown
origin to your friends or coworkers simply because they are amusing -- they might contain a Trojan horse program.
18. Disable hidden filename extensions
Windows operating systems contain an option to "Hide file extensions for known file types". The option is enabled by default, but you can
disable this option in order to have file extensions displayed by Windows. After disabling this option, there are still some file extensions that,
by default, will continue to remain hidden.
There is a registry value which, if set, will cause Windows to hide certain file extensions regardless of user configuration choices elsewhere
in the operating system. The "NeverShowExt" registry value is used to hide the extensions for basic Windows file types. For example, the
".LNK" extension associated with Windows shortcuts remains hidden even after a user has turned off the option to hide extensions.
Specific instructions for disabling hidden file name extensions are given in http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-07.html
19. Keep all applications, including your operating system, patched
Vendors will usually release patches for their software when a vulnerability has been discovered. Most product documentation offers a
method to get updates and patches. You should be able to obtain updates from the vendor's web site. Read the manuals or browse the
vendor's web site for more information.
Some applications will automatically check for available updates, and many vendors offer automatic notification of updates via a mailing list.
Look on your vendor's web site for information about automatic notification. If no mailing list or other automated notification mechanism is
offered you may need to check periodically for updates.
20. Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in use
Turn off your computer or disconnect its Ethernet interface when you are not using it. An intruder cannot attack your computer if it is
powered off or otherwise completely disconnected from the network.
21. Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible
Be aware of the risks involved in the use of "mobile code" such as ActiveX, Java, and JavaScript. A malicious web developer may attach a
script to something sent to a web site, such as a URL, an element in a form, or a database inquiry. Later, when the web site responds to
you, the malicious script is transferred to your browser.
The most significant impact of this vulnerability can be avoided by disabling all scripting languages. Turning off these options will keep you
from being vulnerable to malicious scripts. However, it will limit the interaction you can have with some web sites.
Many legitimate sites use scripts running within the browser to add useful features. Disabling scripting may degrade the functionality of
these sites.
Detailed instructions for disabling browser scripting languages are available in http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/malicious_code_FAQ.html
More information on ActiveX security, including recommendations for users who administer their own computers, is available in
http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/activeX_report.pdf
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More information regarding the risks posed by malicious code in web links can be found in CA-2000-02 Malicious HTML Tags Embedded in
Client Web Requests.
22. Disable scripting features in email programs
Because many email programs use the same code as web browsers to display HTML, vulnerabilities that affect ActiveX, Java, and
JavaScript are often applicable to email as well as web pages. Therefore, in addition to disabling scripting features in web browsers (see
"Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible", above), we recommend that users also disable these features in their email programs.
23. Make regular backups of critical data
Keep a copy of important files on removable media such as ZIP disks or recordable CD-ROM disks (CD-R or CD-RW disks). Use software
backup tools if available, and store the backup disks somewhere away from the computer.
24. Make a boot disk in case your computer
Top 75 Security Tools
In May of 2003, I conducted a survey of Nmap users from the nmap-hackers mailing list to determine their favorite security tools. Each
respondent could list up to 8. This was a followup to the highly successful June 2000 Top 50 list. An astounding 1854 people responded in
'03, and their recommendations were so impressive that I have expanded the list to 75 tools! Anyone in the security field would be well
advised to go over the list and investigate tools they are unfamiliar with. I discovered several powerful new tools this way. I also plan to
point newbies to this page whenever they write me saying "I do not know where to start".
Respondents were allowed to list open source or commercial tools on any platform. Commercial tools are noted as such in the list below.
Many of the descriptions were taken from the application home page or the Debian or Freshmeat package descriptions. I removed
marketing fluff like "revolutionary" and "next generation". No votes for the Nmap Security Scanner were counted because the survey was
taken on an Nmap mailing list. This audience also means that the list is slightly biased toward "attack" tools rather than defensive ones.
These icons are used: Did not appear on the 2000 list
Generally costs money. These rarely includes source code. A free limited/demo/trial version may be available.
Works on Linux
Works on FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD and/or proprietary UNIX systems (Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, etc.)
Supports Microsoft Windows
Translations:Spanish Translation by ThiOsk (os_k&at&softhome.net) and Kerozene (kerozene&at&hackemate.com.ar)Portuguese
Translation by Andr Zquete (avz&at&det.ua.pt)
Here is the list (starting with the most popular):
Nessus: The premier Open Source vulnerability assessment tool Nessus is a remote security scanner for Linux, BSD, Solaris, and other
Unices. It is plug-in-based, has a GTK interface, and performs over 1200 remote security checks. It allows for reports to be generated in
HTML, XML, LaTeX, and ASCII text, and suggests solutions for security problems.
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Ethereal: Sniffing the glue that holds the Internet togetherEthereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It allows you
to examine data from a live network or from a capture file on disk. You can interactively browse the capture data, viewing summary and
detail information for each packet. Ethereal has several powerful features, including a rich display filter language and the ability to view the
reconstructed stream of a TCP session. A text-based version called tethereal is included.
Snort: A free intrusion detection system (IDS) for the massesSnort is a lightweight network intrusion detection system, capable of
performing real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks. It can perform protocol analysis, content searching/matching and
can be used to detect a variety of attacks and probes, such as buffer overflows, stealth port scans, CGI attacks, SMB probes, OS
fingerprinting attempts, and much more. Snort uses a flexible rule based language to describe traffic that it should collect or pass, and a
modular detection engine. Many people also suggested that the Analysis Console for Intrusion Databases (ACID) be used with Snort.
Netcat: The network swiss army knifeA simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using TCP or UDP
protocol. It is designed to be a reliable "back-end" tool that can be used directly or easily driven by other programs and scripts. At the
same time, it is a feature-rich network debugging and exploration tool, since it can create almost any kind of connection you would need
and has several interesting built-in capabilities.
TCPDump / WinDump: The classic sniffer for network monitoring and data acquisitionTcpdump is a well-known and well-loved text-based
network packet analyzer ("sniffer"). It can be used to print out the headers of packets on a network interface that matches a given
expression. You can use this tool to track down network problems or to monitor network activities. There is a separate Windows port named
WinDump. TCPDump is also the source of the Libpcap/WinPcap packet capture library, which is used by Nmap among many other utilities.
Note that many users prefer the newer Ethereal sniffer.
Hping2: A network probing utility like ping on steroidshping2 assembles and sends custom ICMP/UDP/TCP packets and displays any replies.
It was inspired by the ping command, but offers far more control over the probes sent. It also has a handy traceroute mode and supports
IP fragmentation. This tool is particularly useful when trying to traceroute/ping/probe hosts behind a firewall that blocks attempts using the
standard utilities.
DSniff: A suite of powerful network auditing and penetration-testing toolsThis popular and well-engineered suite by Dug Song includes many
tools. dsniff, filesnarf, mailsnarf, msgsnarf, urlsnarf, and webspy passively monitor a network for interesting data (passwords, e-mail, files,
etc.). arpspoof, dnsspoof, and macof facilitate the interception of network traffic normally unavailable to an attacker (e.g, due to layer-2
switching). sshmitm and webmitm implement active monkey-in-the-middle attacks against redirected SSH and HTTPS sessions by exploiting
weak bindings in ad-hoc PKI. A separately maintained partial Windows port is available here.
GFI LANguard: A commercial network security scanner for WindowsLANguard scans networks and reports information such as service pack
level of each machine, missing security patches, open shares, open ports, services/applications active on the computer, key registry
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entries, weak passwords, users and groups, and more. Scan results are outputted to an HTML report, which can be customized/queried.
Apparently a limited free version is available for non-commercial/trial use.
Ettercap: In case you still thought switched LANs provide much extra securityEttercap is a terminal-based network sniffer/interceptor/logger
for ethernet LANs. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones, like SSH and HTTPS). Data injection in
an established connection and filtering on the fly is also possible, keeping the connection synchronized. Many sniffing modes were
implemented to give you a powerful and complete sniffing suite. Plugins are supported. It has the ability to check whether you are in a
switched LAN or not, and to use OS fingerprints (active or passive) to let you know the geometry of the LAN.
Whisker/Libwhisker: Rain.Forest.Puppy's CGI vulnerability scanner and libraryWhisker is a scanner which allows you to test HTTP servers
for many known security holes, particularly the presence of dangerous CGIs. Libwhisker is a perl library (used by Whisker) which allows for
the creation of custom HTTP scanners. If you wish to audit more than just web servers, have a look at Nessus.
John the Ripper: An extraordinarily powerful, flexible, and fast multi-platform password hash crackerJohn the Ripper is a fast password
cracker, currently available for many flavors of Unix (11 are officially supported, not counting different architectures), DOS, Win32, BeOS,
and OpenVMS. Its primary purpose is to detect weak Unix passwords. It supports several crypt(3) password hash types which are most
commonly found on various Unix flavors, as well as Kerberos AFS and Windows NT/2000/XP LM hashes. Several other hash types are
added with contributed patches.
OpenSSH / SSH: A secure way to access remote computersSsh (Secure Shell) is a program for logging into or executing commands on a
remote machine. It provides secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. X11 connections
and arbitrary TCP/IP ports can also be forwarded over the secure channel. It is intended as a replacement for rlogin, rsh and rcp, and can
be used to provide rdist, and rsync with a secure communication channel. OpenSSH is affiliated with the OpenBSD project, though a
portable version runs on most UNIX systems. Note that the SSH.Com link above costs money for some uses, while OpenSSH is always free.
Windows users may want to try the free PuTTY SSH Client or the nice terminal-based port of OpenSSH that comes with Cygwin. There are
dozens of other clients (free or prorietary) available for most platforms - here is a huge list.
Sam Spade: Freeware Windows network query toolSamSpade provides a consistent GUI and implementation for many handy network
query tasks. It was designed with tracking down spammers in mind, but can be useful for many other network exploration, administration,
and security tasks. It includes tools such as ping, nslookup, whois, dig, traceroute, finger, raw HTTP web browser, DNS zone transfer, SMTP
relay check, website search, and more. Non-Windows users can enjoy online versions of many of their tools.
ISS Internet Scanner: Application-level vulnerability assessmentInternet Scanner started off in '92 as a tiny Open Source scanner by
Christopher Klaus. Now he has grown ISS into a billion-dollar company with a myriad of security products. ISS Internet Scanner is pretty
good, but is not cheap. So companies on a tight budget may wish to look at Nessus instead. A March 2003 Information Security magazine
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review of 5 VA tools (including these) is available here. Note that VA tools only report vulnerabilities. Commercial tools for actually
exploiting them include CORE Impact and Dave Aitel's Canvas. Free exploits for some vulnerabilities can be found at sites like Packet Storm
and SecurityFocus
Tripwire: The grand-daddy of file integrity checkersA file and directory integrity checker. Tripwire is a tool that aids system administrators
and users in monitoring a designated set of files for any changes. Used with system files on a regular (e.g., daily) basis, Tripwire can notify
system administrators of corrupted or tampered files, so damage control measures can be taken in a timely manner. An Open Source Linux
version is freely available at Tripwire.Org. UNIX users may also want to consider AIDE, which has been designed to be a free Tripwire
replacement. Or you may wish to investigate Radmind.
Nikto: A more comprehensive web scannerNikto is a web server scanner which looks for over 2000 potentially dangerous files/CGIs and
problems on over 200 servers. It uses LibWhisker but is generally updated more frequently than Whisker itself.
Kismet: A powerful wireless snifferKismet is an 802.11b network sniffer and network dissector. It is capable of sniffing using most wireless
cards, automatic network IP block detection via UDP, ARP, and DHCP packets, Cisco equipment lists via Cisco Discovery Protocol, weak
cryptographic packet logging, and Ethereal and tcpdump compatible packet dump files. It also includes the ability to plot detected networks
and estimated network ranges on downloaded maps or user supplied image files. Windows support is currently preliminary, so those users
may want to look at Netstumbler if they run into trouble. Linux (and Linux PDAs like Zaurus) users may wish to also look at the Wellenreiter
wireless scanner.
SuperScan: Foundstone's Windows TCP port scannerA connect-based TCP port scanner, pinger and hostname resolver. No source code is
provided. It can handle ping scans and port scans using specified IP ranges. It can also connect to any discovered open port using user-
specified "helper" applications (e.g. Telnet, Web browser, FTP).
L0phtCrack 4 (now called "LC4"): Windows password auditing and recovery applicationL0phtCrack attempts to crack Windows passwords
from hashes which it can obtain (given proper access) from stand-alone Windows NT/2000 workstations, networked servers, primary
domain controllers, or Active Directory. In some cases it can sniff the hashes off the wire. It also has numerous methods of generating
password guesses (dictionary, brute force, etc). L0phtcrack currently costs $350/machine and no source code is provided. Companies on a
tight budget may want to look at John the Ripper, Cain & Abel, and pwdump3.
Automatically detect security vulnerabilities on your network
GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.) checks your network for all potential methods that a hacker might use to attack it. By
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analyzing the operating system and the applications running on your network, GFI LANguard N.S.S. identifies possible security holes. In
other words, it plays the devil's advocate and alerts you to weaknesses before a hacker can find them, enabling you to deal with these
issues before a hacker can exploit them.
Provides in-depth information about all machines/devices
GFI LANguard N.S.S. scans your entire network, IP by IP, and provides information such as service pack level of the machine, missing
security patches, wireless access points, USB devices, open shares, open ports, services/applications active on the computer, key registry
entries, weak passwords, users and groups, and more. Scan results can easily be analyzed using filters and reports, enabling you to
proactively secure your network - for example, by shutting down unnecessary ports, closing shares, installing service packs and hotfixes,
etc.
Patch management
GFI LANguard N.S.S. is also a complete patch management solution. After it has scanned your network and determined missing patches and
service packs - both in the operating system and in the applications - you can use GFI LANguard N.S.S. to deploy those service packs and
patches network-wide. It can also deploy custom software network-wide. >>
Why use GFI LANguard N.S.S.?
>
Check for unused user accounts on workstations
>
Audit your network for security vulnerabilities (Windows and Linux)
>
Detect unnecessary shares, open ports & unused user accounts on workstations
>
Check for and deploy missing security patches & service packs in OS & Office
>
Wireless node/link detection and USB device scanning
>
#1 Windows security scanner (voted by NMAP users & 200,000+ sold)
>
Unbeatable pricing: $575 for 100 IPs, $999 for unlimited IPs.

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