Security

• Windows Update

  • Is a service provided by Microsoft to provide security updates, feature enhancements, and patches for the Windows operating system and other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Defender. 
  • Updates are typically released on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. This day is called Patch Tuesday. That doesn't necessarily mean that a critical update/patch has to wait for the next Patch Tuesday to be released. If the update is urgent, then Microsoft will push the update via the Windows Update service to the Windows devices.
• Windows Update is located in Settings > Update & Security

  • Tip: Another way to access Windows Update is from the Run dialog box, or CMD, by running the command control /name Microsoft.WindowsUpdate.

  1. The Windows Update settings are 'managed'. (Typically, home users will not see this type of message) 
  2. There are no available updates available for the virtual machine. (The attached virtual machine does not have Internet access to communicate with Microsoft to obtain new updates)
• • Throughout the years, Windows users have grown accustomed to pushing Windows Updates off to a later date or not installing the updates at all. Various reasons caused this action, one being the fact that a reboot is typically required after a Windows update.  

  Microsoft notably addressed this issue with Windows 10. The updates can no longer be ignored or pushed to the side until forgotten. Windows updates can only be postponed, but eventually, the update will happen, and your computer will reboot. Microsoft provides these updates to keep the device safe and secure. 
• WIndows Security:

  • In case you missed it, Windows Security is also available in Settings > Updates & Security
  • In the above image, focus your attention on Protection areas.
  • Virus & threat protection
  • Firewall & network protection
  • App & browser control
  • Device security
  • Green means your device is sufficiently protected, and there aren't any recommended actions.
  • Yellow means there is a safety recommendation for you to review.
  • Red is a warning that something needs your immediate attention.

  
• Virus & threat protection is divided into two parts::

  • Current threats
  • Virus & threat protection settings

  Current threats

  Scan options

  • Quick scan - Checks folders in your system where threats are commonly found.
  • Full scan - Checks all files and running programs on your hard disk. This scan could take longer than one hour.
  • Custom scan - Choose which files and locations you want to check.

  
• Virus & threat protection

  Threat history

  • Last scan - Windows Defender Antivirus automatically scans your device for viruses and other threats to help keep it safe.
  • Quarantined threats - Quarantined threats have been isolated and prevented from running on your device. They will be periodically removed.
  • Allowed threats - Allowed threats are items identified as threats, which you allowed to run on your device. 
• Virus & threat protection settings

  Manage settings 

  • Real-time protection - Locates and stops malware from installing or running on your device.
  • Cloud-delivered protection - Provides increased and faster protection with access to the latest protection data in the cloud.
  • Automatic sample submission - Send sample files to Microsoft to help protect you and others from potential threats. 
• Virus & threat protection settings

  Manage settings 

  • Controlled folder access - Protect files, folders, and memory areas on your device from unauthorized changes by unfriendly applications.
  • Exclusions Windows Defender Antivirus won't scan items that you've excluded.
  • Notifications - Windows Defender Antivirus will send notifications with critical information about the health and security of your device. 
• Virus & threat protection updates

  • Check for updates - Manually check for updates to update Windows Defender Antivirus definitions.  

  Ransomware protection

  • Controlled folder access - Ransomware protection requires this feature to be enabled, which in turn requires Real-time protection to be enabled.
• Note: Real-time protection is turned off in the attached VM to decrease the chances of performance issues. Since the VM can't reach the Internet and there aren't any threats in the VM, this is safe to do. Real-time protection should definitely be enabled in your personal Windows devices unless you have a 3rd party product that provides the same protection. Ensure it's always up-to-date and enabled.  

  Tip: You can perform on-demand scans on any file/folder by right-clicking the item and selecting 'Scan with Microsoft Defender'.
• What is a firewall?

  • Per Microsoft, "Traffic flows into and out of devices via what we call ports. A firewall is what controls what is - and more importantly isn't - allowed to pass through those ports. You can think of it like a security guard standing at the door, checking the ID of everything that tries to enter or exit".
• Windows Firewall:

  What is the difference between the 3 (Domain, Private, and Public)?

  Per Microsoft, "Windows Firewall offers three firewall profiles: domain, private and public".

  • Domain - The domain profile applies to networks where the host system can authenticate to a domain controller. 
  • Private - The private profile is a user-assigned profile and is used to designate private or home networks.
  • Public - The default profile is the public profile, used to designate public networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, airports, and other locations.

  
• Windows Firewall:

  • If you click on any firewall profile, another screen will appear with two options: turn the firewall on/off and block all incoming connections. 
  • Warning: Unless you are 100% confident in what you are doing, it is recommended that you leave your Windows Defender Firewall enabled. 

  
• Windows Firewall: Allow an app through firewall:

  • You can view what the current settings for any firewall profile are. In the above image, several apps have access in the Private and/or Public firewall profile. Some of the apps will provide additional information if it's available via the Details button. 

  
• Microsoft Defender SmartScreen

  • Per Microsoft, "Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protects against phishing or malware websites and applications, and the downloading of potentially malicious files".
  • Check apps and files: Windows Defender SmartScreen helps protect your device by checking for unrecognized apps and files from the web. 
  • Exploit protection: Exploit protection is built into Windows 10 (and, in our case, Windows Server 2019) to help protect your device against attacks. 

  
• Device Security:

  Core isolation

  • Memory Integrity - Prevents attacks from inserting malicious code into high-security processes. eg Security Processor AKA TPM
• What is the Trusted Platform Module (TPM)?

  • Per Microsoft, "Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology is designed to provide hardware-based, security-related functions. A TPM chip is a secure crypto-processor that is designed to carry out cryptographic operations. The chip includes multiple physical security mechanisms to make it tamper-resistant, and malicious software is unable to tamper with the security functions of the TPM".
• What is BitLocker?

  • Per Microsoft, "BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature that integrates with the operating system and addresses the threats of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or inappropriately decommissioned computers".
  • On devices with TPM installed, BitLocker offers the best protection.
• What is BitLocker?

  • Per Microsoft, "BitLocker provides the most protection when used with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 1.2 or later. The TPM is a hardware component installed in many newer computers by the computer manufacturers. It works with BitLocker to help protect user data and to ensure that a computer has not been tampered with while the system was offline".
• On devices that don't have a TPM, BitLocker can still be used to encrypt the operating system drive. This implementation requires the user to either:

  • use a startup key, which is a file stored on a removable drive that is used to start the device, or when resuming from hibernation
  • use a password. This option isn't secure since it's subject to brute force attacks as there isn't a password lockout logic. As such, the password option is discouraged and disabled by default
• Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

  • Coordinates the required actions to create a consistent shadow copy (also known as a snapshot or a point-in-time copy) of the data that is to be backed up. 
  • Volume Shadow Copies are stored on the System Volume Information folder on each drive that has protection enabled.
• If VSS is enabled (System Protection turned on), you can perform the following tasks from within advanced system settings. 

  • Create a restore point
  • Perform system restore
  • Configure restore settings
  • Delete restore points

  From a security perspective, malware writers know of this Windows feature and write code in their malware to look for these files and delete them. Doing so makes it impossible to recover from a ransomware attack unless you have an offline/off-site backup.