Windows Server 2003 Technology Primer - Improved Security
(Page 9 of 20 )
Significantly more than just cosmetic updates are the security enhancements added to Windows Server 2003. During the middle of the development of the Windows Server 2003 product, Microsoft launched its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, which stipulated that all products and solutions from Microsoft meet very stringent requirements for security. So, although Windows Server 2003 was slated to have several new security enhancements, Trustworthy Computing created an environment in which the Windows Server 2003 product would be the most secured Windows operating system shipped to date.
Part IV of this book is focused on security in various different core areas. Chapter 12 addresses server-level security, which, from a Windows Server 2003 perspective, addresses some of the new defaults where most services are disabled on installation and must be enabled for access. Although this change might seem trivial in Windows operating system development, it provides a relatively secured server directly from initial installation. In previous versions of the Windows operating system, going through all the unneeded features of Windows and disabling the functionality to lock down a server system could easily take an hour. The server defaults as well as the functional or operational differences are also noted in Chapter 12.
IPSec and Wireless Security Improvements
Transport-level security in the form of IPSec was included in Windows 2000, but organizations have been slow to adopt this type of security typically due to a lack of understanding how it works. Chapter 13, "Transport-Level Security," addresses best practices in the way IPSec is enabled in organizations that provide a high level of server-to-server, site-to-site, and remote user–to–LAN secured communications. Also covered in Chapter 13 is the new secured wireless LAN (802.1X) technology that is built into Windows Server 2003. Windows Server 2003 includes dynamic key determination for improvements in wireless security over the more common Wired Equivalency Protocol (WEP) that is used with standard 802.11 wireless communications. By improving the encryption on wireless communications, an organization can increase its confidence that Windows Server 2003 can provide a truly secured networking environment.
Microsoft Passport Support
New to Windows Server 2003 is Microsoft Passport support for logon authentication. Microsoft Passports, first introduced in the Windows XP desktop operating system, allowed desktop users to create secured communications with Passport-enabled services. The initial Passport-enabled services included instant messaging, access to certain Web sites, and Passport-enabled e-commerce sites. With the inclusion of Microsoft Passport support on Windows Server 2003, a Passport-enabled client can now log on using secured credentials to a Windows Server 2003 network. Therefore, the same Passport that allows a user to access e-commerce sites, Web sites, and instant messaging allows the user to create a secured connection to the Windows Server 2003 environment. Microsoft Passport support in a Windows Server 2003 environment is covered in detail in Chapter 14, "Windows Server 2003 Passports."
 This chapter is from Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, by Rand Morimoto, et al. (Sams Publishing, 2004, ISBN: 0672326671). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today.
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