Questions tagged [windows]
Related to security concerns specific to the Microsoft Windows operating system itself. For security of applications that happen to be running on Windows, please use [appsec]. For the X Window System, please use [x11].
2,239
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298
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What's the rationale behind Ctrl-Alt-Del for login
Why is Ctrl+Alt+Del required at login on certain Windows systems (I have not seen it elsewhere, but contradict me if I'm wrong) before the password can be typed in? From a usability point of view, it'...
- 2,929
197
votes
10
answers
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Search for military installed backdoors on laptop
My laptop was confiscated by the military institute of my country and they made me to give them all my passwords (I cannot tell you the name of my country). They did not give it back to me for one ...
- 1,811
195
votes
4
answers
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How does Windows 10 allow Microsoft to spy on you?
Windows 10 is perhaps the most Internet-connected and cloud-centric operating system released by Microsoft to date. This, of course, has caused many users to be concerned about how the OS respects ...
user83026
135
votes
19
answers
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Is it common to allow local desktop and/or active directory admin access and rights for developers in organizations?
I work at a company with a staff of about 1000+. We currently have programming development staff that work on web based projects (approx 50 people).
Recently due to security concerns our IT and ...
- 1,339
131
votes
14
answers
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Is a Windows installer that doesn't require admin rights dangerous?
I use Atlassian SourceTree on Windows, and one thing I like about it is that it doesn't require admin privileges to install or update. I happened to mention this to our ISSO (Information System ...
- 1,337
125
votes
8
answers
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Are there technical differences which make Linux less vulnerable to virus than Windows?
What makes Linux so different than Windows in terms of anti-virus needs?
My question is not if I should get an anti-virus for my Linux. I perfectly understand why an AV is important.
I would like ...
user69377
106
votes
5
answers
40k
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Why do you have to be an admin to create a symlink in Windows?
In linux every user can create symlinks, but in Windows I need an admin command line, or mklink fails. Why is that?
- 1,246
105
votes
2
answers
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Can a rogue .wmv file "hijack" Windows Media Player?
I've downloaded a .wmv file using P2P. Attempting to play it with Media Player Classic (K-Lite Codec Pack) only gave me a green square in the playback window:
I noticed that the video came with a ...
- 1,047
79
votes
2
answers
9k
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Windows language pack update with a gibberish name
This morning, I noticed that a new Windows update was offered to me. It looks very suspicious to me:
Here are the update details:
...
- 4,872
78
votes
9
answers
21k
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Is it theoretically possible to deploy backdoors on ports higher than 65535?
Assuming you were able to modify the OS/firmware/device for server/client to send and listen on ports higher than 65535, could it be possible to plant a backdoor and have it listen on, say, port 70000?...
- 3,126
72
votes
3
answers
12k
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Strange code running at startup
A piece of code was running on my Windows machine at startup. I would like to know exactly what this code is doing; it seems to refer to something like crackbook?
@echo off
if %...
- 739
71
votes
4
answers
537k
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How do I clear cached credentials from my Windows Profile?
Windows seems to be saving my credentials for a variety of applications (terminal servers, etc) and I'd like to purge this data.
How can I backup and purge this data?
- 51k
69
votes
3
answers
74k
views
How does the Windows "Secure Desktop" mode work?
Can anyone explain (or provide a link to a simple explanation) of what the Windows "Secure Desktop" mode is and how it works?
I just heard about it in the KeePass documentation (KeePass - Enter ...
- 1,025
68
votes
5
answers
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views
What can an attacker do with Bluetooth and how should it be mitigated?
What are the security risks of Bluetooth and what technologies and best practices should be used to protect my device? What can an attacker do once a malicious device is paired with mine?
...
- 51k
66
votes
1
answer
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What's the risk if I accidently type my password into a username field (Windows logon)?
I'm used to logging into my personal Mac which is a password-only field (like waking from sleep mode). Sometimes I have to use a Windows network on which I have an account, but of course I have to ...
- 3,272
64
votes
2
answers
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Does removing a GUI from a server make it less vulnerable?
Lately, I was watching an online video about Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) and in one of the videos it says "removing GUI from Windows server makes it less vulnerable."
Is that true? ...
- 1,627
64
votes
3
answers
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Why does Windows store Wi-Fi passwords in a reversible format?
Running
netsh wlan export profile key=clear
in PowerShell will dump your current stored Wi-Fi settings, including the password, into xml files inside of whatever directory you are currently in.
Why ...
- 741
59
votes
2
answers
7k
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Why does Windows Ship with Expired SSL Certificates?
I am cleaning up the certificate stores on my Windows machines, and considering which certificates I should keep, and which ones I should delete.
Why does a fresh install of Windows Server 2012 R2 ...
- 969
56
votes
5
answers
172k
views
Can I determine if my computer has a key logger installed?
A friend of mine just started a job at a security sensitive company. They've provided him with a laptop with Windows XP Professional installed. He's heard a rumor from other employees that the laptops ...
- 661
52
votes
6
answers
42k
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Create a unterminable process in Windows
I am a student, and am genuinely curious about unterminable processes in Windows.
For educational purposes, I would like to create an application (possibly in VB6?) which cannot be terminable by a ...
user20825
51
votes
8
answers
22k
views
Why am I allowed to access protected Windows files when I boot Ubuntu from USB?
How come I'm allowed to reboot a computer that I don't own, put in a USB, boot ubuntu from it and then access all files stored on the drives available (even critical files such as system files on C ...
- 697
51
votes
3
answers
12k
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Can USB drive infect my PC with malware if I don't allow any autorun.inf to run?
Assuming that I'm using a trusted USB flash drive (meaning that it's not some device that looks like a USB drive and whose purpose is to damage my PC), is it possible for my PC to get infected from ...
- 614
48
votes
4
answers
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how to import a private key in windows
Say I have an X.509 cert and a private key that corresponds to it. I can import X.509 certs easily enough into Windows but what about private keys?
Is the only way I can do that by converting both the ...
- 1,768
45
votes
7
answers
14k
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Does a virus need to be clicked on to function?
Can a virus infect my Windows XP operating system by its mere presence? I mean, if I copy/paste a virus on my computer and I never click on it, will it infect my computer or will it remain dormant, ...
user52577
42
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Should one buy new hardware after a system compromise?
If there are places on a laptop malicious programs can leave elements, hooks, backdoors etc, in locations such as BIOS, device controllers, firmware etc - what confidence can one have in wiping the ...
- 379
42
votes
2
answers
15k
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How secure is the Windows 8 included Anti Virus known as Windows Defender?
How secure is the new Windows 8 anti virus known as Windows Defender?
Does it have a protection against malware which uses UAC bypass/process injection/rootkits/process persistence/running the binary ...
- 589
36
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Is my data safe if, with an encrypted hard disk, I put Windows in "sleep" mode
Both my boot partition and my data partition are encrypted with TrueCrypt. My password is lengthy, so I find myself avoiding a reboot of my system whenever possible. When going to lunch (for instance),...
- 657
35
votes
6
answers
10k
views
On Windows boxes, is patching for Spectre and Meltdown necessary?
From what I've read, Spectre and Meltdown each require rogue code to be running on a Windows box in order for attacks to take place. The thing is, once a box has rogue code running, it's already ...
- 3,174
35
votes
5
answers
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Why can't Windows 98/IE5 connect to HTTPS sites in 2015?
Recently I found an old installation CD for Windows 98 Second Edition, and looking for a bit of a nostalgia kick, I installed it inside VirtualBox. Win98SE shipped with IE 5.0, and browsing the web ...
- 2,095
34
votes
6
answers
5k
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How do I purge Windows of my private data when formatting the drive is not an option?
I'm changing my employer, and I'm about to leave my office computer. Due to internal regulations and my supervisor's orders, I'm unable to format the disk drive. I was hoping I would be able to do ...
- 3,669
33
votes
5
answers
36k
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How secure is NTFS encryption?
How secure is the data in a encrypted NTFS folder on Windows (XP, 7)?
(The encryption option under file|folder -> properties -> advanced -> encrypt.)
If the user uses a decent password, can this ...
- 1,237
33
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What are the privacy and security implications of Windows Telemetry
There have been quite a few news stories relating to the use of "Telemetry" in Windows 10 (and also now Windows 7/8) with suggestions that users would want to disable or remove these updates due to ...
- 62.5k
32
votes
1
answer
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Is it possible to change original filename of an exe?
We are using an application control solution which denies access for some exes according to their original filename. Is it possible to change original filename with hex editor or another method?
- 437
31
votes
4
answers
124k
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Windows Firewall - how to block inbound for all .exe files in a folder
In Windows Firewall with Advanced Settings I can create a rule which blocks all inbound or outbound traffic for particular program by pointing to its .exe file. The problem is that this program has ...
- 457
30
votes
6
answers
5k
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What is the point of making a complicated PUBLIC password?
I have downloaded a couple of Virtual Machine images from http://modern.ie, in order to test different versions of Internet Explorer.
When running these images, a complete Windows environment is ...
- 403
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votes
4
answers
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Checklist on building an Offline Root & Intermediate Certificate Authority (CA)
Microsoft allows a CA to use Cryptography Next Generation (CNG) and advises of incompatibility issues for clients that do not support this suite.
Here is an image of the default cryptography settings ...
- 51k
30
votes
6
answers
16k
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How can normal files hide a virus?
How can normal files supported in the Windows operating system hide a virus?
Sometimes opening a .txt , .jpg or .docx files leads to running a virus. How is this possible?
user52577
30
votes
1
answer
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views
Are shatter attacks still possible in the days of User Interface Privilege Isolation?
Before Windows introduced User Interface Privilege Isolation, any application could send all kinds of window messages to any window on the same desktop (a shatter attack), allowing elevation of ...
- 2,501
29
votes
2
answers
29k
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Something is changing my hosts file without asking
First: I can't find any information on this phenomenon, not anywhere on the net.
I don't know which application does it, but something in my Windows 7 Home Premium system (fully updated & legal) ...
- 413
28
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Is a password-protected stolen laptop safe?
Let's assume I have a Windows 10 computer and my login password has an entropy of infinity.
If I did not encrypt my entire hard-drive, does it matter how secure my password is? Is it possible for ...
- 809
28
votes
4
answers
4k
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How Do Rootkits & Other Low-Level Malware Still Manage to Load on Systems Protected by Secure Boot (and TB/MB)?
Let me try asking my question this way...
Let's say that I'm a offensive cyber Bad Guy working for a foreign state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat unit. My unit is charged with, say, stealing ...
- 2,785
27
votes
4
answers
9k
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How long does malware last "in the wild"?
I watched this YouTube video where the uploader connected a Windows 2000 virtual machine directly to the internet, no NAT or firewall.
Within minutes, his VM is infected with malware, the overwhelming ...
26
votes
5
answers
6k
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How can a non-admin program cover your entire screen with a window?
This year, since many students are online, College Board (the company that administers AP Exams in the US, along with the SAT) recently released its Digital Testing App. Once installed, and going ...
- 361
26
votes
4
answers
5k
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Do my Windows system binaries contain sensitive information?
I have a dataset from a malware detection project that others want to use. Part of that dataset is system binaries that I had retrieved from my PC by searching for *.exe files (to serve as a benign ...
- 369
26
votes
3
answers
2k
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Stack Overflow is www.doioig.gov/? If not, then could I be infected
Great! I made a post recently where I mentioned that my system might be infected. Now something new came up. When I search for Stack Overflow on Google, I see that the URL is www.doioig.gov/. When I ...
- 1,490
26
votes
4
answers
23k
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Is it possible to detect a honeypot? [closed]
Do techniques exists to know if a machine is a honeypot (or suspicious indicators)?
What techniques can be used for a software inside the honeypot or outside it?
What techniques uses malware to ...
- 263
26
votes
3
answers
5k
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Are .dll files normally found in system32 but now in a user’s AppData folder always suspicious?
I recently had to read over some malware reports and associated logs for a confirmed malware detection and subsequent infection of a Windows asset. The logs clearly show .dll files in a user’s AppData ...
- 7,839
26
votes
3
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8k
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Can Windows malware harm a Linux computer when it's executed with Wine?
I am an (Ubuntu) Linux user. Sometimes, I have to use Wine for running Windows executables.
I would like to know if Windows malware (virus, trojan, worm,...), i.e. malware that was not intended to ...
- 3,942
25
votes
2
answers
37k
views
How secure is the Windows Credential Manager?
I'm a Lastpass user and many times I thought about switching to the Credential Manager, for auto sync and a certain comfort with the windows environment. The only thing that I'm worried about is its ...
user106781
24
votes
3
answers
7k
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Why aren't applications sandboxed in Windows?
Sandboxing seem to be a way to restrict what an application can do. Today, I don't have much control of what my applications do with my computer. It feels more secure to use JavaScript based web ...
- 5,233