Windows 2000 Security Handbook [Paperback]

Phillip Cox (Author), Philip Cox (Author)

Book Description

Series: Network Professional's Library | Publication Date: November 27, 2000

Deploy and administer bullet-proof Windows 2000 security policies. This book explains how to safeguard intranet, Internet, and e-commerce transactions with IPSec, defend against hacking, spoofing, sniffing, and DDS attacks, and secure your network with firewalls, proxy servers, and VPNs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Your practical guide to securing your Windows 2000 network

Implement rock-solid security on your Windows 2000 enterprise network with the expert information in this comprehensive resource. Windows 2000 Security Handbook shows you, step-by-step, how to locate and plug security holes and backdoors, authenticate users, and defend against the latest methods of attack. You'll get in-depth coverage of the all-new security features in Windows 2000 - from Active Directory, Kerveros 5, and smartcards, to IPSec and PKI. Throughout the book, you'll get advice on how to incorporate sound security practices into your daily administrative tasks. The companion web site at www.osborne.com includes bonus content on Microsoft Certificate Services, a listing of Windows 2000 Services and their dependencies, and common protocols and ports used by Windows 2000 Services. Plus, you'll get eight pages of blueprints illustrating the four major factors in building a scalable, robust, and secure Windows 2000 network with proper Active Directory and DNS structure, as well as proper Organizational Unit and Group Policy usage.

• Understand the threats to your Windows 2000 enterprise network and the appropriate countermeasures
• Understand Windows 2000-based security mechanisms, and use them to proactively defeat attackers
• Customize administrative control over your Active Directory with Group Policy, Organizational Units, and delegation
• Plan and implement countermeasures, such as system patches, defensive configuration, encryption, and intrusion detection methods
• Provide application-transparent encryption services for IP Traffic with IPSec
• Establish secure Active Directory domain components, including group and user permissions, OUs, and trust relationships
• Enable strong authentication with Kerberos 5 and PKI
• Utilize access control lists and the Encrypting File System to protect access to critical files and objects
• Build secure firewalls and implement strong authentication policies on VPNs
• Handle fault tolerance with disk mirroring, disk striping, replication, and RAID arrays

About the Author

Tom Sheldon (Big Sur, CA) has worked as a computer programmer, consultant, and network administrator since the late 1970's. He is the author of several highly acclaimed Osborne books including Encyclopedia of Networking, Electronic Edition, Windows NT Security Handbook, Microsoft Internet Information Server: The Complete Reference, and Windows 98 Made Easy. In the past few ears, Tom has become a recognized networking expert. Phil Cox (Tracy, CA) is a MCSE forcused on Microsoft NT and UNIX security issues. He is a featured columnist in the USENIX Association Magazine and serves on the editorial board of the SAN NT-digest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 738 pages
• Publisher: Osborne/McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (November 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072124334
• ISBN-13: 978-0072124330
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,529,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unapologetic and complete look at Windows 2000 security, August 31, 2001

By 

Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity" (Metro Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Windows 2000 Security Handbook (Paperback)

I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I read the Windows 2000 Security Handbook (W2KSH) to learn how to advise clients on improving the survivability of their Windows 2000 platforms. Like its predecessor, Tom Sheldon's excellent "Windows NT Security Handbook," W2KSH delivers practical content in a digestable format. I recommend Windows 2000 system administrators read and heed this book.

Good operating system security books are thorough, educational, and honest; W2KSH is all three. The authors are not mindless Microsoft prophets -- consider this sample from page 501: "It seems that Microsoft just does not get it when it comes to the need for robust auditing/logging of services... the logging configurations are totally inadequate." To deal with these and other deficiencies, W2KSH provides installation, configuration, and deployment recommendations. This advice, on topics like Active Directory, user and group management, and file systems, equips system administrators to survive hostile network environments.

As an intrusion detector, I was most happy to read how the Microsoft security model operates, and what components present the greatest vulnerabilities. I appreciated explanations of system and discretionary access control lists, and how to effectively employ them. I learned Microsoft includes Web, FTP, SMTP, and NNTP features in Internet Information Service (IIS). I also became aware of best practices for secure deployment of a Microsoft infrastructure.

W2KSH has a few problems. Like Microsoft products, its "backwards compatibility" revealed weaknesses. For example, some text was lifted directly from Shelton's earlier book, but necessary background material was omitted (see pages 86, 88-90, 148). This issue was awkward but minor. I also did not leave the book with a strong understanding of the different types of groups in Windows 2000. Such complexity is not the authors' fault. They show that the OS' dozens of options leaves plenty of room for misconfiguration, leading to compromise.

If you're familiar with general security practices, skip Part I (TCP/IP, threats, countermeasures, and policies). I recommend the authors mention these topics briefly in the introduction and move the bulk to appendices. Start with Part II, and keep your highlighter handy. W2KSH gives balanced insight into the workings of Windows 2000, and helps system administrators and security personnel better understand the opportunities and liabilities of running this operating system.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Major Kudos for an Outstanding Resource, July 5, 2001

By 

Martin Jeffrey (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows 2000 Security Handbook (Paperback)

I've read many books on Windows NT and Windows 2000 security. Most did not live up to my expectations. They were difficult to read and you needed a Computer Science/Engineering degree to understand them. In my opinion, this book is THE best book on Windows 2000 Security. Mr Cox and Mr Sheldon wrote a very easy to read, easy to understand, and most importantly, an easy to follow recipe for securing your Win2K systems. This book should be in every adminstrator's library. If you don't have this book, you deserve to be hacked! I teach system security, and this book is a valuable tool and resource, not just for me, but for my students. This is money well spent!...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of book "Windows 2000 Security Handbook", February 20, 2001

By 

Tom Christian (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windows 2000 Security Handbook (Paperback)

The "Windows 2000 Security Handbook" is an excellent book! Not only is it a good book to learn the nitty-gritty details of Win2K OS and network security, but the first section of the book is a great overview of security in general (Win2k and non-Win2K). For someone who is just getting involved with Win2K security, the book is a must. It has both a good theoretical and practical focus; not only do you get the explanations of of the various Win2K security elements, but you get a step by step guide on how to configure each one. The book is also an excellent reference for those already experienced in Win2K. Very comprehensive and well organized.