Windows Operating Systems

Windows 10

1. Press the Windows  +S key combination to display the “Search” box, then type windows update.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. Click the Check for updates button

Windows 7

1. Click on Start, Click on All Programs, and scroll and click on Windows Update
2. In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer
3. If any updates are found, click Install updates.
4. You might see both important and optional updates. Click install updates, click OK.
   1. Note: You might be prompted to enter your administrator credentials, installing updates requires elevated administrator privileges.
5. Once updates are fully downloaded and installed a pop-up on the bottom left of your desktop screen might appear requesting a restart. 
6. You may have the option to delay restart though we encourage you to restart your computer immediately.
   
   

By default, Windows systems "should" be enabled for logging.  To enable logging:

For Windows OS:

1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Administrative Tools
4. Click Event Viewer

Note:  For advanced or Windows 8 users, you can simply do a search for eventvwr and select the application.

In the left column, expand the Windows Logs folder.  The application, security, and system logs should now be visible.  To configure settings for each log file:

1. Click on Application
2. On the menu bar, click on Action, followed by Properties
3. On the Log Properties view, verify that Enable Logging is checked
4. Input 50000 KB as the maximum log size
5. Under the When maximum event log size is reached, select Overwrite events as needed (oldest events first)
6. Press OK
7. Repeat the same steps for the security and system logs

Note: For the security log, input 100000 KB as the maximum log size.

Configure Portmap (RPC) Service

A system allows its portmap service to be queried from the public Internet. Portmapper is an RPC service, which always listens on tcp and udp 111, and is used to map other RPC 
services (such as nfs, nlockmgr, quotad, mountd, etc.) to their corresponding port number on the server. When a remote host makes an RPC call to that server, it first consults with 
portmap to determine where the RPC server is listening.Querying portmapper is a small request (~82 bytes via UDP) which generates a large response (7x to 28x amplification), which 
makes it a good candidate for DDoS attacks--especially considering its prevalence among virtually all modern Unix systems.

Portmap must be restricted from the public internet with access controls or authentication.

Running as an administrator?  Administrative accounts are granted the ability to virtually perform anything on the computer. Every computer has an administrative account, and many users have the tendency to operating their computer in an administrative mode.

With an administrative account, malware/viruses have an easier time:

• Hiding itself in the system to install rootkits, backdoors, keyloggers.
• Creating new administrative accounts
• Accessing and running privileges services
• Using an infected system to attack other vulnerable computers on the network

If your current account is now an administrative account, you should downgrade this account with only “user” privileges, while also creating a new account for administrative purposes.

Important:  Please Read - Information Security Office:  How to Not Login as Administrator (and still get your job done)

Create a new Administrative Account

1. Click on Start, then navigate to the Control Panel
2. Select User Accounts and Family Safety, then User Accounts
3. If you are currently in Small/Large icon view, proceed to click on User Accounts.

Note:  Windows 8 and above, you can simply do a search for control panel and proceed with the remaining steps.

1. Select Manage another account
2. Select Create a new account
3. Enter an account name, select Administrator, click Create Account

Assign a password to the new administrative account

1. Click on the new account, select Create a password
2. Enter a strong password and click Create Password when done

Demote the original user account to a standard user

1. Select Manage another account
2. Click on your original account from the accounts list (not the one recently created)
3. Select Change the account type
4. Select Standard User and click Change Account Type
5. Close the Control Panel and then log off and back on the system with your primary/standard user account.

Password Complexity

• Passwords 101 - Information Security Office
• How to create a good, strong password

• The Importance of Strong Passwords

• Keep Safe with Strong Passwords

• Tips for Keeping Your UT EID Password Secure

Secure unattended computers

1. Navigate to the Control Panel (varies between Windows 7, 8.1, 10)
2. Select Appearance and Personalization
3. Select Personalization
4. Click Screen Saver, Set the number of minutes in the Wait box for a recommended 15 minutes
5. Check On resume, display logon screen

Note:  Windows 8, 10 users, you can simply do a search for control panel and proceed with the remaining steps.