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Windows Server 2008 Security

Security is one of those topics that is so large that it is hard to get an overall picture of it. One way to try to achieve this overview is to look at the demands for security in a computer network. Once the demands are defined, you can look at how Windows Server 2008 handles the demands. Security demands include the following, which also are the major sections of this tutorial:

• Authenticating the user Knowing who is using a computer or network connection
• Controlling access Placing and maintaining limits on what a user can do
• Securing stored data Keeping stored data from being used even with access
• Securing data transmission Keeping data in a network from being misused

Windows Server 2008 uses a multilayered approach to implementing security and provides a number of facilities that are used to handle security demands. Central to Windows Server 2008's security strategy is the use of Active Directory to store user accounts and provide authentication services, although security features are available without Active Directory. Active Directory provides a centralization of security management that is very beneficial to strong security. In each of the following sections, a security demand is further explained and the Windows Server 2008 facilities that address that demand are discussed, as are the ways to implement those facilities.

NOTE: Most sets of steps in this tutorial require that you be logged on as Administrator.