Operating System Security
Activities
0Handouts:
Activities
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
Activity 1-1: Reviewing elements and mechanisms
found in operating systems
In this activity, you will compare Windows 2000 and Linux to discover how each
implements common operating system elements and security mechanisms.
1. Several common operating system elements or security elements are listed in
the left column of Table A1-1. Fill in the specific name of the Windows 2000
or Linux operating system element or mechanism that each operating system
supplies.
Table A1-1: Operating system elements and security mechanisms
Operating
System
Element or
Security
Mechanism
Windows 2000
Linux
User Account
Information
Authentication
Control
Access Control
Data
Encryption and
Integrity
In this activity, you have identified how Windows 2000 and Linux implement
operating system elements and common security mechanisms.
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
Activity 2-1: Identifying common operating system
security parameters
In this activity, you will review your understanding of various operating system
security parameters.
1. Give the common term for the description provided:
•
The practice of blocking a user account after repeated logon failure:
_______________________________________________________________
•
Automatically re-enabling an account after it is blocked:
_______________________________________________________________
•
Passwords that use non-standard characters and are at least six characters
long:
_______________________________________________________________
•
Remembering previously used passwords so they cannot be reused:
_______________________________________________________________
In this lab, you have identified commonly-used security parameters. All operating
systems contain their own implementations of the above parameters. As you gain
more security experience, you will be able to easily map abstract concepts to
actual implementation.
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
Activity 3-1: Understanding shares and share points
In this activity, you will review the difference between shares and share points.
1. Study the graphic in Figure A3-1.
C:\
Share = Root
C:\ACCT
Share = Acct
C:\HR
Share = HR
C:\CORP
Share = Corp
C:\CORP\PUB
Share = Pub
C:\DATA
Share = Data
Figure A3-1: Studying shares and share points
This graphic suggests only share-level permissions. No NTFS-level permissions
apply. Now, answer the following questions:
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
2. A user has just connected to the Pub share of your system. Describe why this
user cannot access the C:\Corp directory:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. A user has just connected to the Acct share on the system. What subdirectories
will this user be able to access?
_______________________________________________________________
4. Suppose that a user has accessed the Root share. What other directories, if
any, will this user be able to access?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
In this activity, you have differentiated between shares and share points, and have
learned about how a share allows access to all subdirectories beneath a share
point.
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
Activity 4-1: Identifying security risks
In this activity, you will review security risks discussed in this chapter.
1. Read the description in the left column of Table A4-1, then provide the
relevant network server, service or daemon.
Table A4-1: Describing network, service and daemon security issues
Network Service, Daemon or
Server
Security Issue
Cleartext transfer of maps
Possible confusion of usernames
and user id’s.
Weak authentication of remote
processes
Susceptibility to keyloggers
Default shares
Buffer overflows
In this activity, you identified common problems associated with various services,
daemons and servers.
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07
Operating System Security
Activities
Activity 5-1: Diagramming the SMB/CIFS connection
process
In this activity, you will explain how SMB/CIFS systems begin a connection and
negotiate a dialect.
1. In the following diagram, provide a step-by step diagram of the SMB
connection process.
In this activity, you have identified the steps of the SMB connection process
© 2002 ProsoftTraining All Rights Reserved.
Version 3.07