Securing Windows NT 4.0 Desktops Resource Guide

Archived content. No warranty is made as to technical accuracy. Content may contain URLs that were valid when originally published, but now link to sites or pages that no longer exist.

If possible, upgrade your system to Windows XP. If this is not possible, follow these steps to improve the security of the system:

  1. Install Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a, and then install the Windows NT 4.0 Security Roll-up.

  2. Visit the Microsoft Update site and install the latest critical updates. Some updates must be installed alone and will require a reboot. Visit Microsoft Update as many times as necessary to install all critical updates.

  3. Follow the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Baseline Security Checklist.

  4. Read the Securing Microsoft Windows NT Installation paper.

  5. Keep up with the latest security hotfixes by using the Security Bulletins Search.

  6. Refer to the Security section of the Windows NT Resource Kit to set up your network and Internet Security.

  7. Familiarize yourself with these Best Practices in Enterprise Security

  8. Update your anti-virus tools and signature files from viruses. Check out the Virus Alerts regularly.

  9. Use the Baseline Security Analyzer from a Windows 2000 or Windows XP system to scan and evaluate the security of your Windows NT 4.0 Server.

Ongoing Security Maintenance

Without ongoing maintenance your system can become vulnerable to new forms of attacks. Further, the security of your system will degrade over time due to human error of administrators managing the system. Follow these recommended steps on a regular basis:

  1. Use the Baseline Security Analyzer regularly to scan and evaluate the security of your system.

  2. Subscribe to the Microsoft Security Notification Service. This is a free e-mail notification service that Microsoft uses to send information to subscribers about the security of Microsoft products.

  3. As new security fixes become available, it is important to apply these new fixes. Microsoft has created the Qchain tool to chain hotfixes together in order for only one reboot to be required when installing several fixes.

Additional Security Resources