Which practice is part of hardening a Windows workstation?

Which practice is part of hardening a Windows workstation?

• A. Disable unnecessary services
• B. Enable default guest account
• C. Turn off updates
• D. Disable firewall

Answer: (A)

Hardening a Windows workstation means reducing the attack surface by removing or disabling everything that isn’t needed for the machine’s role. Each running service is like an entry point potential attackers could abuse, so turning off unnecessary services minimizes the chances of exploits and misconfigurations, and can also free up system resources. That’s why disabling unnecessary services is the best practice in this scenario. In contrast, enabling the default guest account creates a foothold for unauthorized access; turning off updates leaves the system open to known vulnerabilities; and disabling the firewall removes a critical defense that helps block unwanted network traffic.

Hardening a Windows workstation means reducing the attack surface by removing or disabling everything that isn’t needed for the machine’s role. Each running service is like an entry point potential attackers could abuse, so turning off unnecessary services minimizes the chances of exploits and misconfigurations, and can also free up system resources. That’s why disabling unnecessary services is the best practice in this scenario. In contrast, enabling the default guest account creates a foothold for unauthorized access; turning off updates leaves the system open to known vulnerabilities; and disabling the firewall removes a critical defense that helps block unwanted network traffic.