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Difficulty: MediumWorkstation Hardening and Best Practices

A desktop technician is configuring local security settings on newly provisioned standalone Windows workstations for a financial call center. The security baseline requires mitigating credential-based attacks targeting default accounts and restricting unauthorized incoming network traffic without disabling essential management access. Which TWO configuration settings should the technician implement to meet these hardening requirements?

  1. Disable the built-in Guest account and rename the local Administrator account.Answer
  2. B
    Set the User Account Control (UAC) prompt behavior to 'Never Notify' for administrative users.
  3. Enable Windows Defender Firewall and configure the active profile to block all inbound connections by default.Answer
  4. D
    Open Event Viewer to configure the Local Account Lockout Policy thresholds.

Answer

The technician should disable the built-in Guest account and rename the local Administrator account, as well as enable Windows Defender Firewall and configure the active profile to block all inbound connections by default.
Disabling default built-in accounts such as Guest and renaming the default Administrator account eliminates well-known targets for brute-force attacks. Simultaneously, enforcing an inbound block rule on the host firewall minimizes network attack vectors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify baseline account hardening requirements.
Disabling the Guest account and renaming the Administrator account mitigates brute-force attacks aimed at predictable default account names.
Default accounts with well-known SIDs are primary targets for automated reconnaissance and privilege escalation attempts.
2
Identify network-level workstation hardening controls.
Enabling the host firewall to block unsolicited inbound connections hardens the network stack.
Blocking inbound connections by default reduces vulnerable open ports and prevents unauthorized lateral movement or probing.
3
Evaluate and eliminate incorrect management options.
Discard setting UAC to 'Never Notify' and using Event Viewer for policy edits.
Lowering UAC weakens security, and Event Viewer is a log viewer rather than a security configuration tool.

Key Concept

Workstation Hardening via Account Restructuring and Host Firewall Configuration
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Topics

Workstation Hardening and Best Practices

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