[Gllug] Securing XP

[John Winters]

On Mon, 2005-04-04 at 10:01 +0100, John Southern wrote:
> On Monday 04 April 2005 08:58, John Winters wrote:
> > My question is this.  Are there any other directories which XP shares by
> > default?  Is there a global setting which I can change saying, "Don't
> > share anything"?
> 
> At a guess I would say this is XP professional as Home should not allow 
> everyone by default.

Yes, XP Pro.

> Start/All Programs/Accessories/Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View
> Deselect "Use simple file sharing" option

Thank you - done that.

> This now adds the Security tab within the folder Properties interface and the 
> Sharing tab of the root file system of a drive shows the available setting 
> options. Sharing the root directory is probably a very bad idea.

It seems to be shared by default (as C$) and Windows is very reluctant
to let you change it.

> I am pretty sure that the default security level is Everyone with no Admin 
> password.

Don't you just love it!?

> Still, installing a virus is the least of your worries. What happens if some 
> twisted student with a grudge uploaded pr0n onto your machine and then 
> complained you were showing it around school.
> Is there an audit trail available in XP to prove you do not do things?

Interesting idea.  I doubt any of our pupils would have the wit.
They're usually pretty shocked to discover that I can access their home
directories on the file server.  I do it in front of them to get, for
example, a copy of their coursework and make a point of not looking in
their "My pictures" folder.

Still - I've blocked it off now.  It's horrifying to discover how weak
XP's security is by default.  I'm awfully glad I use Linux 99% of the
time.

John

-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at gllug.org.uk
http://lists.gllug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug