In addition to the Microsoft Security Essentials software and the Microsoft Safety Scanner Microsoft just recently released another FREE antimalware removal product called the Windows Defender Offline Beta. While Security Essentials and Safety Scanner run within Windows, the purpose of the Windows Defender Offline Tool is to run offline from bootable USB or CD/DVD media. [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Security category.
Running an Application as Administrator or in Compatibility Mode
Today someone in a forum asked how to programmatically configure an application so that it runs in compatibility mode. Configuring this manually is easy, just open the file’s properties, select the Compatibility tab and apply the required settings. On Windows 7 this then looks as shown in the picture below. Now whatever we configure here, [...]
GPO Settings for Microsoft Security Essentials
With the release of the latest version of Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 in December 2010, Microsoft also changed the licensing terms. Small Business. If you operate a small business, then you may install and use the software on up to ten (10) devices in your business. Now although 10 PCs isn’t a lot, some Administrators [...]
A Security Baseline Resource for Windows 7–Internet Explorer and Windows 7 Firewall
If you are looking for some ideas how to secure your Windows 7 clients, have a look at the USGCB (The United States Government Configuration Baseline). The USGCB has been developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The documentation looks impressive and even if you aren’t going [...]
Automated Microsoft Security Essentials Installation
For all those that frequently setup test machines and get tired of manually installing the Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0, here’s a straight forward batch file (even a regular user could use) that does the following: Downloads the Microsoft Security Essential 2.0 (x86) installation source file Installs Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Downloads and updates the virus [...]
ReadTip: How to use Group Policy Preferences to Secure Local Administrator Groups
As we come to the year’s end I was doing some housekeeping in my home lab. Too many unused VMs, ad-hoc created Accounts etc. In the end I thought why not apply the same methods we apply within our enterprise environments and so I did. I was actually just about to blog how I solved [...]
Least Privilege Security for Windows 7, Vista and XP
Yesterday I received a pre-release copy of Russel Smith’s book called Least Privilege Security for Windows 7, Vista and XP. The book is entirely dedicated to the subject of running Least Privilege Security (or standard user accounts) on Windows operating systems in the enterprise. The book has 420 pages and covers the following topics: Chapter [...]
Updated MS10-015 Security Update and Kernel Update Compatibility Assessment Tool
During the past weeks we have seen quite some messages about the MS10-015 security update which can cause bluescreens after being installed. According to a recent post on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog there is a revised installation package for MS10-015 that prevents the update from installing if abnormal conditions exist such as an [...]
ToolTip: Fiddler HTTP Debugging Proxy
During an Application Compatibility webcast I attended recently the presenter mentioned the Fiddler Tool. There are many network traffic monitoring Tools out there, but if you are just after capturing HTTP traffic, this one should get your attention. Fiddler is a Web Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP(S) traffic between your computer and the Internet. [...]
AGPM Least Privilege Scenario (External)
Just going through an AGPM Installation (Advanced Group Policy Management) where I had to choose an Account for the AGPM Service which can be the Local System Account or a domain user account. Instead of just clicking next next…. I found some good guidance in the Ask the Directory Services Team blog – AGPM Least [...]
