Networking / Beginners

Server Security Tweaks

IPsec filters

Our favorite "tweak" is not actually a tweak at all. It is a technology that you can use to prevent systems from talking to each other. IPsec is a layer 3 and 4 host-based security mechanism that enables you to configure authentication and/or encryption settings on a per-port basis. It is one of the most powerful and important security tools ever devised. It is what we use to ensure that hosts cannot send or receive traffic that is not essential for their functioning. Therefore, we do not elaborate on it any further here.

Caution IPsec, incorrectly configured, can be hazardous to your network health; and your career.
IPsec is an absolutely marvelous technology for blocking traffic. In fact, even if you did not intend to block any traffic, that usually is the end result in the first few tries. Do not deploy an IPsec policy on a production network until you have thoroughly tested it and are sure it will work as intended.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Protecting Hosts
  2. Security Configuration Myths
  3. Myth 1: Security Guides Make Your System Secure
  4. Myth 2: If We Hide It, they Not Find It
  5. Myth 3: The More Tweaks, the Better
  6. Myth 4: Tweaks Are Necessary
  7. Myth 5: All Environments Should At Least Use <Insert Favorite Guide Here>
  8. Myth 6: "High Security" Is an End Goal for All Environments
  9. Myth 7: Start Securing Your Environment by Applying a Security Guide
  10. Myth 8: Security Tweaks Can Fix Physical Security Problems
  11. Myth 9: Security Tweaks Will Stop Worms/Viruses
  12. Myth 10: An Expert Recommended This Tweak as Defense in Depth
  13. Server Security Tweaks
  14. Software Restriction Policies
  15. Do Not Store LAN Manager Hash Value
  16. Anonymous Restrictions
  17. Security Identifiers (SIDs)
  18. Password Policies
  19. SMB Message Signing
  20. Networking LAN Manager Authentication Level
  21. TCP Hardening
  22. Restricted Groups
  23. Audit Settings
  24. Client Security Tweaks
  25. Firewalls
  26. IPsec Filters
  27. SafeDllSearchMode
  28. Local Administrator Account Control
  29. Limit Local Account Use of Blank Passwords to Console Logon Only
  30. Logon Events
  31. Allowed to Format and Eject Removable Media
  32. The Caution ListChanges You Should Not Make
  33. Crash on Audit Failure
  34. Clear Virtual Memory Page File
  35. Security Configuration Tools