Detailed List of CIS 3.0.0 Level 1 and BitLocker policies

This knowledge base article will list all CIS Benchmark 3.0.0 Level 1 and BitLocker Level 1 policies.

The breakdown of this article will cover:

CIS 3.0.0 Level 1 (L1) Settings
CIS 3.0.0 BitLocker (BL) Settings

For all the entire list, please view the attachment.

CIS 3.0.0 Level 1 (L1) Settings

CIS Version #	Title #1	Title #2	Title #3	Recommended Value #	Description
1.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Enforce password history	is set to	24 or more password(s)	This policy setting determines the number of renewed, unique passwords that have to be associated with a user account before you can reuse an old password. The value for this policy setting must be between 0 and 24 passwords. The default value for stand-alone systems is 0 passwords, but the default setting when joined to a domain is 24 passwords. To maintain the effectiveness of this policy setting, use the Minimum password age setting to prevent users from repeatedly changing their password. The recommended state for this setting is: `24 or more password(s)`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center. Note #2: As of the publication of this benchmark, Microsoft currently has a maximum limit of 24 saved passwords. For more information, please visit [Enforce password history (Windows 10) - Windows security \| Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/enforce-password-history).
1.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Maximum password age	is set to	365 or fewer days, but not 0	This policy setting defines how long a user can use their password before it expires. Values for this policy setting range from 0 to 999 days. If you set the value to 0, the password will never expire. Because attackers can crack passwords, the more frequently you change the password the less opportunity an attacker has to use a cracked password. However, the lower this value is set, the higher the potential for an increase in calls to help desk support due to users having to change their password or forgetting which password is current. The recommended state for this setting is `365 or fewer days, but not 0`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.1.3	(L1) Ensure	Minimum password age	is set to	1 or more day(s)	This policy setting determines the number of days that you must use a password before you can change it. The range of values for this policy setting is between 1 and 999 days. (You may also set the value to 0 to allow immediate password changes.) The default value for this setting is 0 days. The recommended state for this setting is: `1 or more day(s))`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.1.4	(L1) Ensure	Minimum password length	is set to	14 or more character(s)	This policy setting determines the least number of characters that make up a password for a user account. There are many different theories about how to determine the best password length for an organization, but perhaps "passphrase" is a better term than "password." In Microsoft Windows 2000 or newer, passphrases can be quite long and can include spaces. Therefore, a phrase such as "I want to drink a $5 milkshake" is a valid passphrase; it is a considerably stronger password than an 8 or 10 character string of random numbers and letters, and yet is easier to remember. Users must be educated about the proper selection and maintenance of passwords, especially around password length. In enterprise environments, the ideal value for the Minimum password length setting is 14 characters, however you should adjust this value to meet your organization's business requirements. The recommended state for this setting is: `14 or more character(s)`. Note: In Windows Server 2016 and older versions of Windows Server, the GUI of the Local Security Policy (LSP), Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE) and Group Policy Management Editor (GPME) would not let you set this value higher than 14 characters. However, starting with Windows Server 2019, Microsoft changed the GUI to allow up to a 20 character minimum password length. Note #2: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.1.5	(L1) Ensure	Password must meet complexity requirements	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting checks all new passwords to ensure that they meet basic requirements for strong passwords. When this policy is enabled, passwords must meet the following minimum requirements: - Not contain the user's account name or parts of the user's full name that exceed two consecutive characters - Be at least six characters in length - Contain characters from three of the following categories: - English uppercase characters (A through Z) - English lowercase characters (a through z) - Base 10 digits (0 through 9) - Non-alphabetic characters (for example, !, $, #, %) - A catch-all category of any Unicode character that does not fall under the previous four categories. This fifth category can be regionally specific. Each additional character in a password increases its complexity exponentially. For instance, a seven-character, all lower-case alphabetic password would have 26 to the power of 7 (approximately 8 x 10 to the power of 9 or 8 billion) possible combinations. At 1,000,000 attempts per second (a capability of many password-cracking utilities), it would only take 133 minutes to crack. A seven-character alphabetic password with case sensitivity has 52 to the power of 7 combinations. A seven-character case-sensitive alphanumeric password without punctuation has 627 combinations. An eight-character password has 26 to the power of 8 (or 2 x 10 to the power of 11) possible combinations. Although this might seem to be a large number, at 1,000,000 attempts per second it would take only 59 hours to try all possible passwords. Remember, these times will significantly increase for passwords that use ALT characters and other special keyboard characters such as "!" or "@". Proper use of the password settings can help make it difficult to mount a brute force attack. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.1.6	(L1) Ensure	Relax minimum password length limits	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the minimum password length setting can be increased beyond the legacy limit of 14 characters. For more information, please see the following [Microsoft Security Blog](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-security-baselines/security-baseline-draft-windows-10-and-windows-server-version/ba-p/1419213). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting only affects _local_ accounts on the computer. Domain accounts are only affected by settings on the Domain Controllers, because that is where domain accounts are stored.
1.1.7	(L1) Ensure	Store passwords using reversible encryption	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether the operating system stores passwords in a way that uses reversible encryption, which provides support for application protocols that require knowledge of the user's password for authentication purposes. Passwords that are stored with reversible encryption are essentially the same as plaintext versions of the passwords. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Account lockout duration	is set to	15 or more minute(s)	This policy setting determines the length of time that must pass before a locked account is unlocked and a user can try to log on again. The setting does this by specifying the number of minutes a locked out account will remain unavailable. If the value for this policy setting is configured to 0, locked out accounts will remain locked out until an administrator manually unlocks them. Although it might seem like a good idea to configure the value for this policy setting to a high value, such a configuration will likely increase the number of calls that the help desk receives to unlock accounts locked by mistake. Users should be aware of the length of time a lock remains in place, so that they realize they only need to call the help desk if they have an extremely urgent need to regain access to their computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `15 or more minute(s)`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Account lockout threshold	is set to	5 or fewer invalid logon attempt(s), but not 0	This policy setting determines the number of failed logon attempts before the account is locked. Setting this policy to `0` does not conform to the benchmark as doing so disables the account lockout threshold. The recommended state for this setting is: `5 or fewer invalid logon attempt(s), but not 0`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
1.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Allow Administrator account lockout	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the built-in Administrator account is subject to the following Account Lockout Policy settings: _Account lockout duration_, _Account lockout threshold_, and _Reset account lockout counter_. By default, this account is excluded from the account lockout controls and will never be locked out with repeated bad password attempts. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting applies only to OSes patched as of October 11, 2022 (see [MS KB5020282](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5020282-account-lockout-available-for-built-in-local-administrators-bce45c4d-f28d-43ad-b6fe-70156cb2dc00)).
1.2.4	(L1) Ensure	Reset account lockout counter after	is set to	15 or more minute(s)	This policy setting determines the length of time before the Account lockout threshold resets to zero. The default value for this policy setting is Not Defined. If the Account lockout threshold is defined, this reset time must be less than or equal to the value for the Account lockout duration setting. If you leave this policy setting at its default value or configure the value to an interval that is too long, your environment could be vulnerable to a DoS attack. An attacker could maliciously perform a number of failed logon attempts on all users in the organization, which will lock out their accounts. If no policy were determined to reset the account lockout, it would be a manual task for administrators. Conversely, if a reasonable time value is configured for this policy setting, users would be locked out for a set period until all of the accounts are unlocked automatically. The recommended state for this setting is: `15 or more minute(s)`. Note: Password Policy settings (section 1.1) and Account Lockout Policy settings (section 1.2) must be applied via the Default Domain Policy GPO in order to be globally in effect on domain user accounts as their default behavior. If these settings are configured in another GPO, they will only affect local user accounts on the computers that receive the GPO. However, custom exceptions to the default password policy and account lockout policy rules for specific domain users and/or groups can be defined using Password Settings Objects (PSOs), which are completely separate from Group Policy and most easily configured using Active Directory Administrative Center.
2.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Access Credential Manager as a trusted caller	is set to	No One	This security setting is used by Credential Manager during Backup and Restore. No accounts should have this user right, as it is only assigned to Winlogon. Users' saved credentials might be compromised if this user right is assigned to other entities. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`.
2.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Access this computer from the network	is set to	Administrators, Remote Desktop Users	This policy setting allows other users on the network to connect to the computer and is required by various network protocols that include Server Message Block (SMB)-based protocols, NetBIOS, Common Internet File System (CIFS), and Component Object Model Plus (COM+). The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, Remote Desktop Users`. Note: If your organization is using Microsoft Defender for Identity (formerly Azure Advanced Threat Protection (Azure ATP)), the (organization-named) Defender for Identity Directory Service Account (DSA), will also need to be granted the same `Access this computer from the network` User Right Assignment. For more information on adding the service account please see [Make sure the DSA is allowed to access computers from the network in Microsoft Defender for Identity \| Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/deploy/remote-calls-sam#make-sure-the-dsa-is-allowed-to-access-computers-from-the-network-optional).
2.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Act as part of the operating system	is set to	No One	This policy setting allows a process to assume the identity of any user and thus gain access to the resources that the user is authorized to access. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.4	(L1) Ensure	Adjust memory quotas for a process	is set to	Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE	This policy setting allows a user to adjust the maximum amount of memory that is available to a process. The ability to adjust memory quotas is useful for system tuning, but it can be abused. In the wrong hands, it could be used to launch a denial of service (DoS) attack. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE`.
2.2.5	(L1) Ensure	Allow log on locally	is set to	Administrators, Users	This policy setting determines which users can interactively log on to computers in your environment. Logons that are initiated by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL key sequence on the client computer keyboard require this user right. Users who attempt to log on through Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services or IIS also require this user right. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, Users`. Note: The `Guest` account is also assigned this user right by default. Although this account is disabled by default, it's recommended that you configure this setting through Group Policy. However, this user right should generally be restricted to the `Administrators` and `Users` groups. Assign this user right to the `Backup Operators` group if your organization requires that they have this capability.
2.2.6	(L1) Ensure	Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services	is set to	Administrators, Remote Desktop Users	This policy setting determines which users or groups have the right to log on as a Remote Desktop Services client. If your organization uses Remote Assistance as part of its help desk strategy, create a group and assign it this user right through Group Policy. If the help desk in your organization does not use Remote Assistance, assign this user right only to the `Administrators` group or use the Restricted Groups feature to ensure that no user accounts are part of the `Remote Desktop Users` group. Restrict this user right to the `Administrators` group, and possibly the `Remote Desktop Users` group, to prevent unwanted users from gaining access to computers on your network by means of the Remote Assistance feature. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, Remote Desktop Users`. Note: The above list is to be treated as a whitelist, which implies that the above principals need not be present for assessment of this recommendation to pass. Note #2: In all versions of Windows prior to Windows 7, Remote Desktop Services was known as Terminal Services, so you should substitute the older term if comparing against an older OS.
2.2.7	(L1) Ensure	Back up files and directories	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to circumvent file and directory permissions to back up the system. This user right is enabled only when an application (such as `NTBACKUP`) attempts to access a file or directory through the NTFS file system backup application programming interface (API). Otherwise, the assigned file and directory permissions apply. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.8	(L1) Ensure	Change the system time	is set to	Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE	This policy setting determines which users and groups can change the time and date on the internal clock of the computers in your environment. Users who are assigned this user right can affect the appearance of event logs. When a computer's time setting is changed, logged events reflect the new time, not the actual time that the events occurred. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE`. Note: Discrepancies between the time on the local computer and on the Domain Controllers in your environment may cause problems for the Kerberos authentication protocol, which could make it impossible for users to log on to the domain or obtain authorization to access domain resources after they are logged on. Also, problems will occur when Group Policy is applied to client computers if the system time is not synchronized with the Domain Controllers.
2.2.9	(L1) Ensure	Change the time zone	is set to	Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, Users	This setting determines which users can change the time zone of the computer. This ability holds no great danger for the computer and may be useful for mobile workers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, Users`.
2.2.10	(L1) Ensure	Create a pagefile	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to change the size of the pagefile. By making the pagefile extremely large or extremely small, an attacker could easily affect the performance of a compromised computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`.
2.2.11	(L1) Ensure	Create a token object	is set to	No One	This policy setting allows a process to create an access token, which may provide elevated rights to access sensitive data. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.12	(L1) Ensure	Create global objects	is set to	Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE, SERVICE	This policy setting determines whether users can create global objects that are available to all sessions. Users can still create objects that are specific to their own session if they do not have this user right. Users who can create global objects could affect processes that run under other users' sessions. This capability could lead to a variety of problems, such as application failure or data corruption. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE, SERVICE`.
2.2.13	(L1) Ensure	Create permanent shared objects	is set to	No One	This user right is useful to kernel-mode components that extend the object namespace. However, components that run in kernel mode have this user right inherently. Therefore, it is typically not necessary to specifically assign this user right. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`.
2.2.14	(L1) Configure	Create symbolic links			This policy setting determines which users can create symbolic links. In Windows Vista, existing NTFS file system objects, such as files and folders, can be accessed by referring to a new kind of file system object called a symbolic link. A symbolic link is a pointer (much like a shortcut or .lnk file) to another file system object, which can be a file, folder, shortcut or another symbolic link. The difference between a shortcut and a symbolic link is that a shortcut only works from within the Windows shell. To other programs and applications, shortcuts are just another file, whereas with symbolic links, the concept of a shortcut is implemented as a feature of the NTFS file system. Symbolic links can potentially expose security vulnerabilities in applications that are not designed to use them. For this reason, the privilege for creating symbolic links should only be assigned to trusted users. By default, only `Administrators` can create symbolic links. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators` and (when the _Hyper-V_ feature is installed) `NT VIRTUAL MACHINE\Virtual Machines`.
2.2.15	(L1) Ensure	Debug programs	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting determines which user accounts will have the right to attach a debugger to any process or to the kernel, which provides complete access to sensitive and critical operating system components. Developers who are debugging their own applications do not need to be assigned this user right; however, developers who are debugging new system components will need it. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.16	(L1) Ensure	Deny access to this computer from the network	to include	Guests, Local account	This policy setting prohibits users from connecting to a computer from across the network, which would allow users to access and potentially modify data remotely. In high security environments, there should be no need for remote users to access data on a computer. Instead, file sharing should be accomplished through the use of network servers. This user right supersedes the Access this computer from the network user right if an account is subject to both policies. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Guests, Local account`. Caution: Configuring a standalone (non-domain-joined) workstation as described above may result in an inability to remotely administer the workstation. Note: The security identifier `Local account` is not available in Windows 7 and Windows 8.0 unless [MSKB 2871997](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2871997) has been installed.
2.2.17	(L1) Ensure	Deny log on as a batch job	to include	Guests	This policy setting determines which accounts will not be able to log on to the computer as a batch job. A batch job is not a batch (.bat) file, but rather a batch-queue facility. Accounts that use the Task Scheduler to schedule jobs need this user right. This user right supersedes the Log on as a batch job user right, which could be used to allow accounts to schedule jobs that consume excessive system resources. Such an occurrence could cause a DoS condition. Failure to assign this user right to the recommended accounts can be a security risk. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Guests`.
2.2.18	(L1) Ensure	Deny log on as a service	to include	Guests	This security setting determines which service accounts are prevented from registering a process as a service. This user right supersedes the Log on as a service user right if an account is subject to both policies. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Guests`. Note: This security setting does not apply to the `System`, `Local Service`, or `Network Service` accounts.
2.2.19	(L1) Ensure	Deny log on locally	to include	Guests	This security setting determines which users are prevented from logging on at the computer. This policy setting supersedes the Allow log on locally policy setting if an account is subject to both policies. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Guests`. Important: If you apply this security policy to the `Everyone` group, no one will be able to log on locally.
2.2.20	(L1) Ensure	Deny log on through Remote Desktop Services	to include	Guests, Local account	This policy setting determines whether users can log on as Remote Desktop clients. After the baseline workstation is joined to a domain environment, there is no need to use local accounts to access the workstation from the network. Domain accounts can access the workstation for administration and end-user processing. This user right supersedes the Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services user right if an account is subject to both policies. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Guests, Local account`. Caution: Configuring a standalone (non-domain-joined) workstation as described above may result in an inability to remotely administer the workstation. Note: The security identifier `Local account` is not available in Windows 7 and Windows 8.0 unless [MSKB 2871997](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2871997) has been installed. Note #2: In all versions of Windows prior to Windows 7, Remote Desktop Services was known as Terminal Services, so you should substitute the older term if comparing against an older OS.
2.2.21	(L1) Ensure	Enable computer and user accounts to be trusted for delegation	is set to	No One	This policy setting allows users to change the Trusted for Delegation setting on a computer object in Active Directory. Abuse of this privilege could allow unauthorized users to impersonate other users on the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.22	(L1) Ensure	Force shutdown from a remote system	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to shut down Windows Vista-based or newer computers from remote locations on the network. Anyone who has been assigned this user right can cause a denial of service (DoS) condition, which would make the computer unavailable to service user requests. Therefore, it is recommended that only highly trusted administrators be assigned this user right. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`.
2.2.23	(L1) Ensure	Generate security audits	is set to	LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE	This policy setting determines which users or processes can generate audit records in the Security log. The recommended state for this setting is: `LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.24	(L1) Ensure	Impersonate a client after authentication	is set to	Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE, SERVICE	The policy setting allows programs that run on behalf of a user to impersonate that user (or another specified account) so that they can act on behalf of the user. If this user right is required for this kind of impersonation, an unauthorized user will not be able to convince a client to connect—for example, by remote procedure call (RPC) or named pipes—to a service that they have created to impersonate that client, which could elevate the unauthorized user's permissions to administrative or system levels. Services that are started by the Service Control Manager have the built-in Service group added by default to their access tokens. COM servers that are started by the COM infrastructure and configured to run under a specific account also have the Service group added to their access tokens. As a result, these processes are assigned this user right when they are started. Also, a user can impersonate an access token if any of the following conditions exist: - The access token that is being impersonated is for this user. - The user, in this logon session, logged on to the network with explicit credentials to create the access token. - The requested level is less than Impersonate, such as Anonymous or Identify. An attacker with the Impersonate a client after authentication user right could create a service, trick a client to make them connect to the service, and then impersonate that client to elevate the attacker's level of access to that of the client. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE, SERVICE`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.25	(L1) Ensure	Increase scheduling priority	is set to	Administrators, Window Manager\Window Manager Group	This policy setting determines whether users can increase the base priority class of a process. (It is not a privileged operation to increase relative priority within a priority class.) This user right is not required by administrative tools that are supplied with the operating system but might be required by software development tools. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, Window Manager\Window Manager Group`.
2.2.26	(L1) Ensure	Load and unload device drivers	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to dynamically load a new device driver on a system. An attacker could potentially use this capability to install malicious code that appears to be a device driver. This user right is required for users to add local printers or printer drivers in Windows Vista. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.27	(L1) Ensure	Lock pages in memory	is set to	No One	This policy setting allows a process to keep data in physical memory, which prevents the system from paging the data to virtual memory on disk. If this user right is assigned, significant degradation of system performance can occur. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`.
2.2.30	(L1) Ensure	Manage auditing and security log	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting determines which users can change the auditing options for files and directories and clear the Security log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.31	(L1) Ensure	Modify an object label	is set to	No One	This privilege determines which user accounts can modify the integrity label of objects, such as files, registry keys, or processes owned by other users. Processes running under a user account can modify the label of an object owned by that user to a lower level without this privilege. The recommended state for this setting is: `No One`.
2.2.32	(L1) Ensure	Modify firmware environment values	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to configure the system-wide environment variables that affect hardware configuration. This information is typically stored in the Last Known Good Configuration. Modification of these values and could lead to a hardware failure that would result in a denial of service condition. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.33	(L1) Ensure	Perform volume maintenance tasks	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to manage the system's volume or disk configuration, which could allow a user to delete a volume and cause data loss as well as a denial-of-service condition. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: A workstation with Microsoft SQL Server installed will require a special exception to this recommendation for the account that runs the SQL Server service to be granted this user right.
2.2.34	(L1) Ensure	Profile single process	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting determines which users can use tools to monitor the performance of non-system processes. Typically, you do not need to configure this user right to use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Performance snap-in. However, you do need this user right if System Monitor is configured to collect data using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Restricting the Profile single process user right prevents intruders from gaining additional information that could be used to mount an attack on the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`.
2.2.35	(L1) Ensure	Profile system performance	is set to	Administrators, NT SERVICE\WdiServiceHost	This policy setting allows users to use tools to view the performance of different system processes, which could be abused to allow attackers to determine a system's active processes and provide insight into the potential attack surface of the computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, NT SERVICE\WdiServiceHost`.
2.2.36	(L1) Ensure	Replace a process level token	is set to	LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE	This policy setting allows one process or service to start another service or process with a different security access token, which can be used to modify the security access token of that sub-process and result in the escalation of privileges. The recommended state for this setting is: `LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK SERVICE`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.37	(L1) Ensure	Restore files and directories	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting determines which users can bypass file, directory, registry, and other persistent object permissions when restoring backed up files and directories on computers that run Windows Vista (or newer) in your environment. This user right also determines which users can set valid security principals as object owners; it is similar to the Back up files and directories user right. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.2.38	(L1) Ensure	Shut down the system	is set to	Administrators, Users	This policy setting determines which users who are logged on locally to the computers in your environment can shut down the operating system with the Shut Down command. Misuse of this user right can result in a denial of service condition. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators, Users`.
2.2.39	(L1) Ensure	Take ownership of files or other objects	is set to	Administrators	This policy setting allows users to take ownership of files, folders, registry keys, processes, or threads. This user right bypasses any permissions that are in place to protect objects to give ownership to the specified user. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators`. Note: This user right is considered a "sensitive privilege" for the purposes of auditing.
2.3.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Accounts: Block Microsoft accounts	is set to	Users can	This policy setting prevents users from adding new Microsoft accounts on this computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Users can't add or log on with Microsoft accounts`.
2.3.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Accounts: Guest account status	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether the Guest account is enabled or disabled. The Guest account allows unauthenticated network users to gain access to the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: This setting will have no impact when applied to the Domain Controllers organizational unit via group policy because Domain Controllers have no local account database. It can be configured at the domain level via group policy, similar to account lockout and password policy settings.
2.3.1.3	(L1) Ensure	Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether local accounts that are not password protected can be used to log on from locations other than the physical computer console. If you enable this policy setting, local accounts that have blank passwords will not be able to log on to the network from remote client computers. Such accounts will only be able to log on at the keyboard of the computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.1.4	(L1) Configure	Accounts: Rename administrator account			The built-in local administrator account is a well-known account name that attackers will target. It is recommended to choose another name for this account, and to avoid names that denote administrative or elevated access accounts. Be sure to also change the default description for the local administrator (through the Computer Management console).
2.3.1.5	(L1) Configure	Accounts: Rename guest account			The built-in local guest account is another well-known name to attackers. It is recommended to rename this account to something that does not indicate its purpose. Even if you disable this account, which is recommended, ensure that you rename it for added security.
2.3.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows administrators to enable the more precise auditing capabilities present in Windows Vista. The Audit Policy settings available in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory do not yet contain settings for managing the new auditing subcategories. To properly apply the auditing policies prescribed in this baseline, the Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings setting needs to be configured to Enabled. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Important: Be very cautious about audit settings that can generate a large volume of traffic. For example, if you enable either success or failure auditing for all of the Privilege Use subcategories, the high volume of audit events generated can make it difficult to find other types of entries in the Security log. Such a configuration could also have a significant impact on system performance.
2.3.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit: Shut down system immediately if unable to log security audits	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether the system shuts down if it is unable to log Security events. It is a requirement for Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC)-C2 and Common Criteria certification to prevent auditable events from occurring if the audit system is unable to log them. Microsoft has chosen to meet this requirement by halting the system and displaying a stop message if the auditing system experiences a failure. When this policy setting is enabled, the system will be shut down if a security audit cannot be logged for any reason. If the Audit: Shut down system immediately if unable to log security audits setting is enabled, unplanned system failures can occur. The administrative burden can be significant, especially if you also configure the Retention method for the Security log to Do not overwrite events (clear log manually). This configuration causes a repudiation threat (a backup operator could deny that they backed up or restored data) to become a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability, because a server could be forced to shut down if it is overwhelmed with logon events and other security events that are written to the Security log. Also, because the shutdown is not graceful, it is possible that irreparable damage to the operating system, applications, or data could result. Although the NTFS file system guarantees its integrity when an ungraceful computer shutdown occurs, it cannot guarantee that every data file for every application will still be in a usable form when the computer restarts. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.6.1	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Digitally encrypt or sign secure channel data (always)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether all secure channel traffic that is initiated by the domain member must be signed or encrypted. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.6.2	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Digitally encrypt secure channel data (when possible)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether a domain member should attempt to negotiate encryption for all secure channel traffic that it initiates. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.6.3	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Digitally sign secure channel data (when possible)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether a domain member should attempt to negotiate whether all secure channel traffic that it initiates must be digitally signed. Digital signatures protect the traffic from being modified by anyone who captures the data as it traverses the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.6.4	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Disable machine account password changes	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether a domain member can periodically change its computer account password. Computers that cannot automatically change their account passwords are potentially vulnerable, because an attacker might be able to determine the password for the system's domain account. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Some problems can occur as a result of machine account password expiration, particularly if a machine is reverted to a previous point-in-time state, as is common with virtual machines. Depending on how far back the reversion is, the older machine account password stored on the machine may no longer be recognized by the domain controllers, and therefore the computer loses its domain trust. This can also disrupt non-persistent VDI implementations, and devices with write filters that disallow permanent changes to the OS volume. Some organizations may choose to exempt themselves from this recommendation and disable machine account password expiration for these situations.
2.3.6.5	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Maximum machine account password age	is set to	30 or fewer days, but not 0	This policy setting determines the maximum allowable age for a computer account password. By default, domain members automatically change their domain passwords every 30 days. If you increase this interval significantly so that the computers no longer change their passwords, an attacker would have more time to undertake a brute force attack against one of the computer accounts. The recommended state for this setting is: `30 or fewer days, but not 0`. Note: A value of `0` does not conform to the benchmark as it disables maximum password age. Note #2: Some problems can occur as a result of machine account password expiration, particularly if a machine is reverted to a previous point-in-time state, as is common with virtual machines. Depending on how far back the reversion is, the older machine account password stored on the machine may no longer be recognized by the domain controllers, and therefore the computer loses its domain trust. This can also disrupt non-persistent VDI implementations, and devices with write filters that disallow permanent changes to the OS volume. Some organizations may choose to exempt themselves from this recommendation and disable machine account password expiration for these situations.
2.3.6.6	(L1) Ensure	Domain member: Require strong (Windows 2000 or later) session key	is set to	Enabled	When this policy setting is enabled, a secure channel can only be established with Domain Controllers that are capable of encrypting secure channel data with a strong (128-bit) session key. To enable this policy setting, all Domain Controllers in the domain must be able to encrypt secure channel data with a strong key, which means all Domain Controllers must be running Microsoft Windows 2000 or newer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.7.1	(L1) Ensure	Interactive logon: Do not require CTRL+ALT+DEL	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether users must press CTRL+ALT+DEL before they log on. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.7.2	(L1) Ensure	Interactive logon: Dont display last signed-in	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the account name of the last user to log on to the client computers in your organization will be displayed in each computer's respective Windows logon screen. Enable this policy setting to prevent intruders from collecting account names visually from the screens of desktop or laptop computers in your organization. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.7.4	(L1) Ensure	Interactive logon: Machine inactivity limit	is set to	900 or fewer second(s), but not 0	Windows notices inactivity of a logon session, and if the amount of inactive time exceeds the inactivity limit, then the screen saver will run, locking the session. The recommended state for this setting is: `900 or fewer second(s), but not 0`. Note: A value of `0` does not conform to the benchmark as it disables the machine inactivity limit.
2.3.7.5	(L1) Configure	Interactive logon: Message text for users attempting to log on			This policy setting specifies a text message that displays to users when they log on. Set the following group policy to a value that is consistent with the security and operational requirements of your organization.
2.3.7.6	(L1) Configure	Interactive logon: Message title for users attempting to log on			This policy setting specifies the text displayed in the title bar of the window that users see when they log on to the system. Configure this setting in a manner that is consistent with the security and operational requirements of your organization.
2.3.7.8	(L1) Ensure	Interactive logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration	is set to	between 5 and 14 days	This policy setting determines how far in advance users are warned that their password will expire. It is recommended that you configure this policy setting to at least 5 days but no more than 14 days to sufficiently warn users when their passwords will expire. The recommended state for this setting is: `between 5 and 14 days`.
2.3.7.9	(L1) Ensure	Interactive logon: Smart card removal behavior	is set to	Lock Workstation	This policy setting determines what happens when the smart card for a logged-on user is removed from the smart card reader. The recommended state for this setting is: `Lock Workstation`. Configuring this setting to `Force Logoff` or `Disconnect if a Remote Desktop Services session` also conforms to the benchmark.
2.3.8.1	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network client: Digitally sign communications (always)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether packet signing is required by the SMB client component. Note: When Windows Vista-based computers have this policy setting enabled and they connect to file or print shares on remote servers, it is important that the setting is synchronized with its companion setting, Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always), on those servers. For more information about these settings, see the "Microsoft network client and server: Digitally sign communications (four related settings)" section in Chapter 5 of the Threats and Countermeasures guide. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.8.2	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network client: Digitally sign communications (if server agrees)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the SMB client will attempt to negotiate SMB packet signing. Note: Enabling this policy setting on SMB clients on your network makes them fully effective for packet signing with all clients and servers in your environment. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.8.3	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network client: Send unencrypted password to third-party SMB servers	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether the SMB redirector will send plaintext passwords during authentication to third-party SMB servers that do not support password encryption. It is recommended that you disable this policy setting unless there is a strong business case to enable it. If this policy setting is enabled, unencrypted passwords will be allowed across the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.9.1	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network server: Amount of idle time required before suspending session	is set to	15 or fewer minute(s)	This policy setting allows you to specify the amount of continuous idle time that must pass in an SMB session before the session is suspended because of inactivity. Administrators can use this policy setting to control when a computer suspends an inactive SMB session. If client activity resumes, the session is automatically reestablished. The maximum value is 99999, which is over 69 days; in effect, this value disables the setting. The recommended state for this setting is: `15 or fewer minute(s)`.
2.3.9.2	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether packet signing is required by the SMB server component. Enable this policy setting in a mixed environment to prevent downstream clients from using the workstation as a network server. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.9.3	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (if client agrees)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the SMB server will negotiate SMB packet signing with clients that request it. If no signing request comes from the client, a connection will be allowed without a signature if the Microsoft network server: Digitally sign communications (always) setting is not enabled. Note: Enable this policy setting on SMB clients on your network to make them fully effective for packet signing with all clients and servers in your environment. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.9.4	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network server: Disconnect clients when logon hours expire	is set to	Enabled	This security setting determines whether to disconnect users who are connected to the local computer outside their user account's valid logon hours. This setting affects the Server Message Block (SMB) component. If you enable this policy setting you should also enable _Network security: Force logoff when logon hours expire_ (Rule 2.3.11.6). If your organization configures logon hours for users, this policy setting is necessary to ensure they are effective. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.9.5	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft network server: Server SPN target name validation level	is set to	Accept if provided by client	This policy setting controls the level of validation a computer with shared folders or printers (the server) performs on the service principal name (SPN) that is provided by the client computer when it establishes a session using the server message block (SMB) protocol. The server message block (SMB) protocol provides the basis for file and print sharing and other networking operations, such as remote Windows administration. The SMB protocol supports validating the SMB server service principal name (SPN) within the authentication blob provided by a SMB client to prevent a class of attacks against SMB servers referred to as SMB relay attacks. This setting will affect both SMB1 and SMB2. The recommended state for this setting is: `Accept if provided by client`. Configuring this setting to `Required from client` also conforms to the benchmark.
2.3.10.1	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Allow anonymous SID/Name translation	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether an anonymous user can request security identifier (SID) attributes for another user, or use a SID to obtain its corresponding user name. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.10.2	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Do not allow anonymous enumeration of SAM accounts	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the ability of anonymous users to enumerate the accounts in the Security Accounts Manager (SAM). If you enable this policy setting, users with anonymous connections will not be able to enumerate domain account user names on the systems in your environment. This policy setting also allows additional restrictions on anonymous connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This policy has no effect on Domain Controllers.
2.3.10.3	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Do not allow anonymous enumeration of SAM accounts and shares	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the ability of anonymous users to enumerate SAM accounts as well as shares. If you enable this policy setting, anonymous users will not be able to enumerate domain account user names and network share names on the systems in your environment. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This policy has no effect on Domain Controllers.
2.3.10.4	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Do not allow storage of passwords and credentials for network authentication	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Credential Manager (formerly called Stored User Names and Passwords) saves passwords or credentials for later use when it gains domain authentication. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Changes to this setting will not take effect until Windows is restarted.
2.3.10.5	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Let Everyone permissions apply to anonymous users	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines what additional permissions are assigned for anonymous connections to the computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.10.6	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Named Pipes that can be accessed anonymously	is set to	None	This policy setting determines which communication sessions, or pipes, will have attributes and permissions that allow anonymous access. The recommended state for this setting is: `<blank>` (i.e. None).
2.3.10.7	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Remotely accessible registry paths	is configured		This policy setting determines which registry paths will be accessible over the network, regardless of the users or groups listed in the access control list (ACL) of the `winreg` registry key. Note: This setting does not exist in Windows XP. There was a setting with that name in Windows XP, but it is called "Network access: Remotely accessible registry paths and sub-paths" in Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 (non-R2). Note #2: When you configure this setting you specify a list of one or more objects. The delimiter used when entering the list is a line feed or carriage return, that is, type the first object on the list, press the Enter button, type the next object, press Enter again, etc. The setting value is stored as a comma-delimited list in group policy security templates. It is also rendered as a comma-delimited list in Group Policy Editor's display pane and the Resultant Set of Policy console. It is recorded in the registry as a line-feed delimited list in a REG_MULTI_SZ value. The recommended state for this setting is: ``` System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Server Applications Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion ```
2.3.10.8	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Remotely accessible registry paths and sub-paths	is configured		This policy setting determines which registry paths and sub-paths will be accessible over the network, regardless of the users or groups listed in the access control list (ACL) of the `winreg` registry key. Note: In Windows XP this setting is called "Network access: Remotely accessible registry paths," the setting with that same name in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 (non-R2), and Windows Server 2003 does not exist in Windows XP. Note #2: When you configure this setting you specify a list of one or more objects. The delimiter used when entering the list is a line feed or carriage return, that is, type the first object on the list, press the Enter button, type the next object, press Enter again, etc. The setting value is stored as a comma-delimited list in group policy security templates. It is also rendered as a comma-delimited list in Group Policy Editor's display pane and the Resultant Set of Policy console. It is recorded in the registry as a line-feed delimited list in a REG\_MULTI\_SZ value. The recommended state for this setting is: ``` System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog Software\Microsoft\OLAP Server Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\UserConfig System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\DefaultUserConfiguration Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib System\CurrentControlSet\Services\SysmonLog ```
2.3.10.9	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Restrict anonymous access to Named Pipes and Shares	is set to	Enabled	When enabled, this policy setting restricts anonymous access to only those shares and pipes that are named in the `Network access: Named pipes that can be accessed anonymously` and `Network access: Shares that can be accessed anonymously` settings. This policy setting controls null session access to shares on your computers by adding `RestrictNullSessAccess` with the value `1` in the `HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters` registry key. This registry value toggles null session shares on or off to control whether the server service restricts unauthenticated clients' access to named resources. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.10.10	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Restrict clients allowed to make remote calls to SAM	is set to	Administrators: Remote Access: Allow	This policy setting allows you to restrict remote RPC connections to SAM. The recommended state for this setting is: `Administrators: Remote Access: Allow`. Note: A Windows 10 R1607, Server 2016 or newer OS is required to access and set this value in Group Policy. Note #2: This setting was originally only supported on Windows 10 R1607 or newer, then support for it was added to Windows 7 or newer via the March 2017 security patches. Note #3: If your organization is using Microsoft Defender for Identity (formerly Azure Advanced Threat Protection (Azure ATP)), the (organization-named) Defender for Identity Directory Service Account (DSA), will also need to be granted the same `Remote Access: Allow` permission. For more information on adding the service account please see [Configure SAM-R to enable lateral movement path detection in Microsoft Defender for Identity \| Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/remote-calls-sam).
2.3.10.11	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Shares that can be accessed anonymously	is set to	None	This policy setting determines which network shares can be accessed by anonymous users. The default configuration for this policy setting has little effect because all users have to be authenticated before they can access shared resources on the server. The recommended state for this setting is: `<blank>` (i.e. None).
2.3.10.12	(L1) Ensure	Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts	is set to	Classic - local users authenticate as themselves	This policy setting determines how network logons that use local accounts are authenticated. The Classic option allows precise control over access to resources, including the ability to assign different types of access to different users for the same resource. The Guest only option allows you to treat all users equally. In this context, all users authenticate as Guest only to receive the same access level to a given resource. The recommended state for this setting is: `Classic - local users authenticate as themselves`. Note: This setting does not affect interactive logons that are performed remotely by using such services as Telnet or Remote Desktop Services (formerly called Terminal Services).
2.3.11.1	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Allow Local System to use computer identity for NTLM	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Local System services that use Negotiate when reverting to NTLM authentication can use the computer identity. This policy is supported on at least Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.11.2	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Allow LocalSystem NULL session fallback	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether NTLM is allowed to fall back to a NULL session when used with LocalSystem. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
2.3.11.3	(L1) Ensure	Network Security: Allow PKU2U authentication requests to this computer to use online identities	is set to	Disabled	This setting determines if online identities are able to authenticate to this computer. The Public Key Cryptography Based User-to-User (PKU2U) protocol introduced in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is implemented as a security support provider (SSP). The SSP enables peer-to-peer authentication, particularly through the Windows 7 media and file sharing feature called HomeGroup, which permits sharing between computers that are not members of a domain. With PKU2U, a new extension was introduced to the Negotiate authentication package, `Spnego.dll`. In previous versions of Windows, Negotiate decided whether to use Kerberos or NTLM for authentication. The extension SSP for Negotiate, `Negoexts.dll`, which is treated as an authentication protocol by Windows, supports Microsoft SSPs including PKU2U. When computers are configured to accept authentication requests by using online IDs, `Negoexts.dll` calls the PKU2U SSP on the computer that is used to log on. The PKU2U SSP obtains a local certificate and exchanges the policy between the peer computers. When validated on the peer computer, the certificate within the metadata is sent to the logon peer for validation and associates the user's certificate to a security token and the logon process completes. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: If a hybrid environment is used, and PKU2U is `Disabled`, Remote Desktop connections from a hybrid joined system to a hybrid joined system will fail.
2.3.11.4	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Configure encryption types allowed for Kerberos	is set to	AES128_HMAC_SHA1, AES256_HMAC_SHA1, Future encryption types	This policy setting allows you to set the encryption types that Kerberos is allowed to use. The recommended state for this setting is: `AES128_HMAC_SHA1, AES256_HMAC_SHA1, Future encryption types`. Note: Some legacy applications and OSes may still require `RC4_HMAC_MD5` - we recommend you test in your environment and verify whether you can safely remove it.
2.3.11.5	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Do not store LAN Manager hash value on next password change	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether the LAN Manager (LM) hash value for the new password is stored when the password is changed. The LM hash is relatively weak and prone to attack compared to the cryptographically stronger Microsoft Windows NT hash. Since LM hashes are stored on the local computer in the security database, passwords can then be easily compromised if the database is attacked. Note: Older operating systems and some third-party applications may fail when this policy setting is enabled. Also, note that the password will need to be changed on all accounts after you enable this setting to gain the proper benefit. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.11.6	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Force logoff when logon hours expire	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether to disconnect users who are connected to the local computer outside their user account's valid logon hours. This setting affects the Server Message Block (SMB) component. If you enable this policy setting you should also enable _Microsoft network server: Disconnect clients when logon hours expire_ (Rule 2.3.9.4). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.11.7	(L1) Ensure	Network security: LAN Manager authentication level	is set to	Send NTLMv2 response only. Refuse LM & NTLM	LAN Manager (LM) was a family of early Microsoft client/server software (predating Windows NT) that allowed users to link personal computers together on a single network. LM network capabilities included transparent file and print sharing, user security features, and network administration tools. In Active Directory domains, the Kerberos protocol is the default authentication protocol. However, if the Kerberos protocol is not negotiated for some reason, Active Directory will use LM, NTLM, or NTLMv2. LAN Manager authentication includes the LM, NTLM, and NTLM version 2 (NTLMv2) variants, and is the protocol that is used to authenticate all Windows clients when they perform the following operations: - Join a domain - Authenticate between Active Directory forests - Authenticate to down-level domains - Authenticate to computers that do not run Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, or Windows XP - Authenticate to computers that are not in the domain The Network security: LAN Manager authentication level setting determines which challenge/response authentication protocol is used for network logons. This choice affects the level of authentication protocol used by clients, the level of session security negotiated, and the level of authentication accepted by servers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Send NTLMv2 response only. Refuse LM & NTLM`.
2.3.11.8	(L1) Ensure	Network security: LDAP client signing requirements	is set to	Negotiate signing	This policy setting determines the level of data signing that is requested on behalf of clients that issue LDAP BIND requests. Note: This policy setting does not have any impact on LDAP simple bind (`ldap_simple_bind`) or LDAP simple bind through SSL (`ldap_simple_bind_s`). No Microsoft LDAP clients that are included with Windows XP Professional use `ldap_simple_bind` or `ldap_simple_bind_s` to communicate with a Domain Controller. The recommended state for this setting is: `Negotiate signing`. Configuring this setting to `Require signing` also conforms to the benchmark.
2.3.11.9	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Minimum session security for NTLM SSP based (including secure RPC) clients	is set to	Require NTLMv2 session security, Require 128-bit encryption	This policy setting determines which behaviors are allowed by clients for applications using the NTLM Security Support Provider (SSP). The SSP Interface (SSPI) is used by applications that need authentication services. The setting does not modify how the authentication sequence works but instead require certain behaviors in applications that use the SSPI. The recommended state for this setting is: `Require NTLMv2 session security, Require 128-bit encryption`. Note: These values are dependent on the _Network security: LAN Manager Authentication Level_ (Rule 2.3.11.7) security setting value.
2.3.11.10	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Minimum session security for NTLM SSP based (including secure RPC) servers	is set to	Require NTLMv2 session security, Require 128-bit encryption	This policy setting determines which behaviors are allowed by servers for applications using the NTLM Security Support Provider (SSP). The SSP Interface (SSPI) is used by applications that need authentication services. The setting does not modify how the authentication sequence works but instead require certain behaviors in applications that use the SSPI. The recommended state for this setting is: `Require NTLMv2 session security, Require 128-bit encryption`. Note: These values are dependent on the _Network security: LAN Manager Authentication Level_ (Rule 2.3.11.7) security setting value.
2.3.11.11	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Restrict NTLM: Audit Incoming NTLM Traffic	is set to	Enable auditing for all accounts	This policy setting allows the auditing of incoming NTLM traffic. Events for this setting are recorded in the operational event log (e.g. Applications and Services Log\Microsoft\Windows\NTLM). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enable auditing for all accounts`.
2.3.11.12	(L1) Ensure	Network security: Restrict NTLM: Outgoing NTLM traffic to remote servers	is set to	Audit all	This policy setting allows the auditing of outgoing NTLM traffic. Events for this setting are recorded in the operational event log (e.g. Applications and Services Log\Microsoft\Windows\NTLM). The recommended state for this setting is: `Audit all`. Configuring this setting to `Deny All` also conforms to the benchmark. Note: Configuring this setting to `Deny All` is more secure, however it could have a negative impact on applications that still require NTLM. Test carefully before implementing the `Deny All` value.
2.3.15.1	(L1) Ensure	System objects: Require case insensitivity for non-Windows subsystems	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether case insensitivity is enforced for all subsystems. The Microsoft Win32 subsystem is case insensitive. However, the kernel supports case sensitivity for other subsystems, such as the Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX (POSIX). Because Windows is case insensitive (but the POSIX subsystem will support case sensitivity), failure to enforce this policy setting makes it possible for a user of the POSIX subsystem to create a file with the same name as another file by using mixed case to label it. Such a situation can block access to these files by another user who uses typical Win32 tools, because only one of the files will be available. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.15.2	(L1) Ensure	System objects: Strengthen default permissions of internal system objects (e.g. Symbolic Links)	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines the strength of the default discretionary access control list (DACL) for objects. Active Directory maintains a global list of shared system resources, such as DOS device names, mutexes, and semaphores. In this way, objects can be located and shared among processes. Each type of object is created with a default DACL that specifies who can access the objects and what permissions are granted. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.17.1	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the behavior of Admin Approval Mode for the built-in Administrator account. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.17.2	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode	is set to	Prompt for consent on the secure desktop	This policy setting controls the behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators. The recommended state for this setting is: `Prompt for consent on the secure desktop`. Configuring this setting to `Prompt for credentials on the secure desktop` also conforms to the benchmark.
2.3.17.3	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users	is set to	Automatically deny elevation requests	This policy setting controls the behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users. The recommended state for this setting is: `Automatically deny elevation requests`.
2.3.17.4	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the behavior of application installation detection for the computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.17.5	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether applications that request to run with a User Interface Accessibility (UIAccess) integrity level must reside in a secure location in the file system. Secure locations are limited to the following: - `…\Program Files\`, including subfolders - `…\Windows\System32\` - `…\Program Files (x86)\`, including subfolders (for 64-bit versions of Windows) Note: Windows enforces a public key infrastructure (PKI) signature check on any interactive application that requests to run with a UIAccess integrity level regardless of the state of this security setting. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.17.6	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the behavior of all User Account Control (UAC) policy settings for the computer. If you change this policy setting, you must restart your computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: If this policy setting is disabled, the Security Center notifies you that the overall security of the operating system has been reduced.
2.3.17.7	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether the elevation request prompt is displayed on the interactive user's desktop or the secure desktop. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
2.3.17.8	(L1) Ensure	User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether application write failures are redirected to defined registry and file system locations. This policy setting mitigates applications that run as administrator and write run-time application data to: - `%ProgramFiles%` - `%windir%` - `%windir%\System32` - `HKLM\SOFTWARE` The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
5.3	(L1) Ensure	Computer Browser (Browser)	is set to	Disabled	Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: In Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, this service is bundled with the _SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support_ optional feature. As a result, removing that feature (highly recommended unless backward compatibility is needed to XP/2003 and older Windows OSes - see [Stop using SMB1 \| Storage at Microsoft](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2016/09/16/stop-using-smb1/)) will also remediate this recommendation. The feature is not installed by default starting with Windows 10 R1709.
5.6	(L1) Ensure	IIS Admin Service (IISADMIN)	is set to	Disabled	Enables the server to administer the IIS metabase. The IIS metabase stores configuration for the SMTP and FTP services. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Internet Information Services_). Note #2: An organization may choose to selectively grant exceptions to web developers to allow IIS (or another web server) on their workstation, in order for them to locally test & develop web pages. However, the organization should track those machines and ensure the security controls and mitigations are kept up to date, to reduce risk of compromise.
5.7	(L1) Ensure	Infrared monitor service (irmon)	is set to	Disabled	Detects other Infrared devices that are in range and launches the file transfer application. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`.
5.9	(L1) Ensure	LxssManager (LxssManager)	is set to	Disabled	The LXSS Manager service supports running native ELF binaries. The service provides the infrastructure necessary for ELF binaries to run on Windows. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Windows Subsystem for Linux_).
5.10	(L1) Ensure	Microsoft FTP Service (FTPSVC)	is set to	Disabled	Enables the server to be a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Internet Information Services - FTP Server_).
5.12	(L1) Ensure	OpenSSH SSH Server (sshd)	is set to	Disabled	SSH protocol based service to provide secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but it is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_OpenSSH Server_).
5.23	(L1) Ensure	Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator (RpcLocator)	is set to	Disabled	In Windows 2003 and older versions of Windows, the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator service manages the RPC name service database. In Windows Vista or newer versions of Windows, this service does not provide any functionality and is present for application compatibility. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.25	(L1) Ensure	Routing and Remote Access (RemoteAccess)	is set to	Disabled	Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.27	(L1) Ensure	Simple TCP/IP Services (simptcp)	is set to	Disabled	Supports the following TCP/IP services: Character Generator, Daytime, Discard, Echo, and Quote of the Day. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Simple TCPIP services (i.e. echo, daytime etc)_).
5.29	(L1) Ensure	Special Administration Console Helper (sacsvr)	is set to	Disabled	This service allows administrators to remotely access a command prompt using Emergency Management Services. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but it is installed by enabling an optional Windows capability (_Windows Emergency Management Services and Serial Console_).
5.30	(L1) Ensure	SSDP Discovery (SSDPSRV)	is set to	Disabled	Discovers networked devices and services that use the SSDP discovery protocol, such as UPnP devices. Also announces SSDP devices and services running on the local computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.31	(L1) Ensure	UPnP Device Host (upnphost)	is set to	Disabled	Allows UPnP devices to be hosted on this computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.32	(L1) Ensure	Web Management Service (WMSvc)	is set to	Disabled	The Web Management Service enables remote and delegated management capabilities for administrators to manage for the Web server, sites and applications present on the machine. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Internet Information Services - Web Management Tools - IIS Management Service_).
5.35	(L1) Ensure	Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (WMPNetworkSvc)	is set to	Disabled	Shares Windows Media Player libraries to other networked players and media devices using Universal Plug and Play. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`.
5.36	(L1) Ensure	Windows Mobile Hotspot Service (icssvc)	is set to	Disabled	Provides the ability to share a cellular data connection with another device. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.40	(L1) Ensure	World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC)	is set to	Disabled	Provides Web connectivity and administration through the Internet Information Services Manager. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled` or `Not Installed`. Note: This service is not installed by default. It is supplied with Windows, but is installed by enabling an optional Windows feature (_Internet Information Services - World Wide Web Services_). Note #2: An organization may choose to selectively grant exceptions to web developers to allow IIS (or another web server) on their workstation, in order for them to locally test & develop web pages. However, the organization should track those machines and ensure the security controls and mitigations are kept up to date, to reduce risk of compromise.
5.41	(L1) Ensure	Xbox Accessory Management Service (XboxGipSvc)	is set to	Disabled	This service manages connected Xbox Accessories. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.42	(L1) Ensure	Xbox Live Auth Manager (XblAuthManager)	is set to	Disabled	Provides authentication and authorization services for interacting with Xbox Live. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.43	(L1) Ensure	Xbox Live Game Save (XblGameSave)	is set to	Disabled	This service syncs save data for Xbox Live save enabled games. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
5.44	(L1) Ensure	Xbox Live Networking Service (XboxNetApiSvc)	is set to	Disabled	This service supports the Windows.Networking.XboxLive application programming interface. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
9.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Firewall state	is set to	On (recommended)	Select On (recommended) to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security use the settings for this profile to filter network traffic. If you select Off, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security will not use any of the firewall rules or connection security rules for this profile. The recommended state for this setting is: `On (recommended)`.
9.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Inbound connections	is set to	Block (default)	This setting determines the behavior for inbound connections that do not match an inbound firewall rule. The recommended state for this setting is: `Block (default)`.
9.1.3	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Settings: Display a notification	is set to	No	Select this option to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security display notifications to the user when a program is blocked from receiving inbound connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `No`. Note: When the `Apply local firewall rules` setting is configured to `No`, it's recommended to also configure the `Display a notification setting` to `No`. Otherwise, users will continue to receive messages that ask if they want to unblock a restricted inbound connection, but the user's response will be ignored.
9.1.4	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Logging: Name	is set to	%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\domainfw.log	Use this option to specify the path and name of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\domainfw.log`.
9.1.5	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Logging: Size limit (KB)	is set to	16,384 KB or greater	Use this option to specify the size limit of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `16,384 KB or greater`.
9.1.6	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Logging: Log dropped packets	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security discards an inbound packet for any reason. The log records why and when the packet was dropped. Look for entries with the word `DROP` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
9.1.7	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Domain: Logging: Log successful connections	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security allows an inbound connection. The log records why and when the connection was formed. Look for entries with the word `ALLOW` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
9.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Firewall state	is set to	On (recommended)	Select On (recommended) to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security use the settings for this profile to filter network traffic. If you select Off, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security will not use any of the firewall rules or connection security rules for this profile. The recommended state for this setting is: `On (recommended)`.
9.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Inbound connections	is set to	Block (default)	This setting determines the behavior for inbound connections that do not match an inbound firewall rule. The recommended state for this setting is: `Block (default)`.
9.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Settings: Display a notification	is set to	No	Select this option to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security display notifications to the user when a program is blocked from receiving inbound connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `No`. Note: When the `Apply local firewall rules` setting is configured to `No`, it's recommended to also configure the `Display a notification` setting to `No`. Otherwise, users will continue to receive messages that ask if they want to unblock a restricted inbound connection, but the user's response will be ignored.
9.2.4	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Logging: Name	is set to	%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\privatefw.log	Use this option to specify the path and name of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\privatefw.log`.
9.2.5	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Logging: Size limit (KB)	is set to	16,384 KB or greater	Use this option to specify the size limit of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `16,384 KB or greater`.
9.2.6	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Logging: Log dropped packets	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security discards an inbound packet for any reason. The log records why and when the packet was dropped. Look for entries with the word `DROP` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
9.2.7	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Private: Logging: Log successful connections	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security allows an inbound connection. The log records why and when the connection was formed. Look for entries with the word `ALLOW` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
9.3.1	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Firewall state	is set to	On (recommended)	Select On (recommended) to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security use the settings for this profile to filter network traffic. If you select Off, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security will not use any of the firewall rules or connection security rules for this profile. The recommended state for this setting is: `On (recommended)`.
9.3.2	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Inbound connections	is set to	Block (default)	This setting determines the behavior for inbound connections that do not match an inbound firewall rule. The recommended state for this setting is: `Block (default)`.
9.3.3	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Settings: Display a notification	is set to	No	Select this option to have Windows Firewall with Advanced Security display notifications to the user when a program is blocked from receiving inbound connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `No`.
9.3.4	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Settings: Apply local firewall rules	is set to	No	This setting controls whether local administrators are allowed to create local firewall rules that apply together with firewall rules configured by Group Policy. The recommended state for this setting is: `No`. Note: When the `Apply local firewall rules` setting is configured to `No`, it's recommended to also configure the `Display a notification` setting to `No`. Otherwise, users will continue to receive messages that ask if they want to unblock a restricted inbound connection, but the user's response will be ignored.
9.3.5	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Settings: Apply local connection security rules	is set to	No	This setting controls whether local administrators are allowed to create connection security rules that apply together with connection security rules configured by Group Policy. The recommended state for this setting is: `No`.
9.3.6	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Logging: Name	is set to	%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\publicfw.log	Use this option to specify the path and name of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\publicfw.log`.
9.3.7	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Logging: Size limit (KB)	is set to	16,384 KB or greater	Use this option to specify the size limit of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information. The recommended state for this setting is: `16,384 KB or greater`.
9.3.8	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Logging: Log dropped packets	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security discards an inbound packet for any reason. The log records why and when the packet was dropped. Look for entries with the word `DROP` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
9.3.9	(L1) Ensure	Windows Firewall: Public: Logging: Log successful connections	is set to	Yes	Use this option to log when Windows Firewall with Advanced Security allows an inbound connection. The log records why and when the connection was formed. Look for entries with the word `ALLOW` in the action column of the log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Yes`.
17.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Credential Validation	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports the results of validation tests on credentials submitted for a user account logon request. These events occur on the computer that is authoritative for the credentials. For domain accounts, the Domain Controller is authoritative, whereas for local accounts, the local computer is authoritative. In domain environments, most of the Account Logon events occur in the Security log of the Domain Controllers that are authoritative for the domain accounts. However, these events can occur on other computers in the organization when local accounts are used to log on. Events for this subcategory include: - 4774: An account was mapped for logon. - 4775: An account could not be mapped for logon. - 4776: The Domain Controller attempted to validate the credentials for an account. - 4777: The Domain Controller failed to validate the credentials for an account. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Application Group Management	is set to	Success and Failure	This policy setting allows you to audit events generated by changes to application groups such as the following: - Application group is created, changed, or deleted. - Member is added or removed from an application group. Application groups are utilized by Windows Authorization Manager, which is a flexible framework created by Microsoft for integrating role-based access control (RBAC) into applications. More information on Windows Authorization Manager is available at [MSDN - Windows Authorization Manager](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897401.aspx). The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`. Note: Although Microsoft "[Deprecated](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/feature-lifecycle#terminology)" Windows Authorization Manager (AzMan) in Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, this feature still exists in the OS (unimproved), and therefore should still be audited.
17.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit Security Group Management	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports each event of security group management, such as when a security group is created, changed, or deleted or when a member is added to or removed from a security group. If you enable this Audit policy setting, administrators can track events to detect malicious, accidental, and authorized creation of security group accounts. Events for this subcategory include: - 4727: A security-enabled global group was created. - 4728: A member was added to a security-enabled global group. - 4729: A member was removed from a security-enabled global group. - 4730: A security-enabled global group was deleted. - 4731: A security-enabled local group was created. - 4732: A member was added to a security-enabled local group. - 4733: A member was removed from a security-enabled local group. - 4734: A security-enabled local group was deleted. - 4735: A security-enabled local group was changed. - 4737: A security-enabled global group was changed. - 4754: A security-enabled universal group was created. - 4755: A security-enabled universal group was changed. - 4756: A member was added to a security-enabled universal group. - 4757: A member was removed from a security-enabled universal group. - 4758: A security-enabled universal group was deleted. - 4764: A group's type was changed. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Audit User Account Management	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports each event of user account management, such as when a user account is created, changed, or deleted; a user account is renamed, disabled, or enabled; or a password is set or changed. If you enable this Audit policy setting, administrators can track events to detect malicious, accidental, and authorized creation of user accounts. Events for this subcategory include: - 4720: A user account was created. - 4722: A user account was enabled. - 4723: An attempt was made to change an account's password. - 4724: An attempt was made to reset an account's password. - 4725: A user account was disabled. - 4726: A user account was deleted. - 4738: A user account was changed. - 4740: A user account was locked out. - 4765: SID History was added to an account. - 4766: An attempt to add SID History to an account failed. - 4767: A user account was unlocked. - 4780: The ACL was set on accounts which are members of administrators groups. - 4781: The name of an account was changed: - 4794: An attempt was made to set the Directory Services Restore Mode. - 5376: Credential Manager credentials were backed up. - 5377: Credential Manager credentials were restored from a backup. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.3.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit PNP Activity	is set to include	Success	This policy setting allows you to audit when plug and play detects an external device. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`. Note: A Windows 10, Server 2016 or newer OS is required to access and set this value in Group Policy.
17.3.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit Process Creation	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports the creation of a process and the name of the program or user that created it. Events for this subcategory include: - 4688: A new process has been created. - 4696: A primary token was assigned to process. Refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 947226: [Description of security events in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/947226) for the most recent information about this setting. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.5.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Account Lockout	is set to include	Failure	This subcategory reports when a user's account is locked out as a result of too many failed logon attempts. Events for this subcategory include: - 4625: An account failed to log on. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Failure`.
17.5.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit Group Membership	is set to include	Success	This policy allows you to audit the group membership information in the user’s logon token. Events in this subcategory are generated on the computer on which a logon session is created. For an interactive logon, the security audit event is generated on the computer that the user logged on to. For a network logon, such as accessing a shared folder on the network, the security audit event is generated on the computer hosting the resource. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`. Note: A Windows 10, Server 2016 or newer OS is required to access and set this value in Group Policy.
17.5.3	(L1) Ensure	Audit Logoff	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports when a user logs off from the system. These events occur on the accessed computer. For interactive logons, the generation of these events occurs on the computer that is logged on to. If a network logon takes place to access a share, these events generate on the computer that hosts the accessed resource. If you configure this setting to No auditing, it is difficult or impossible to determine which user has accessed or attempted to access organization computers. Events for this subcategory include: - 4634: An account was logged off. - 4647: User initiated logoff. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.5.4	(L1) Ensure	Audit Logon	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports when a user attempts to log on to the system. These events occur on the accessed computer. For interactive logons, the generation of these events occurs on the computer that is logged on to. If a network logon takes place to access a share, these events generate on the computer that hosts the accessed resource. If you configure this setting to No auditing, it is difficult or impossible to determine which user has accessed or attempted to access organization computers. Events for this subcategory include: - 4624: An account was successfully logged on. - 4625: An account failed to log on. - 4648: A logon was attempted using explicit credentials. - 4675: SIDs were filtered. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.5.5	(L1) Ensure	Audit Other Logon/Logoff Events	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports other logon/logoff-related events, such as Remote Desktop Services session disconnects and reconnects, using RunAs to run processes under a different account, and locking and unlocking a workstation. Events for this subcategory include: - 4649: A replay attack was detected. - 4778: A session was reconnected to a Window Station. - 4779: A session was disconnected from a Window Station. - 4800: The workstation was locked. - 4801: The workstation was unlocked. - 4802: The screen saver was invoked. - 4803: The screen saver was dismissed. - 5378: The requested credentials delegation was disallowed by policy. - 5632: A request was made to authenticate to a wireless network. - 5633: A request was made to authenticate to a wired network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.5.6	(L1) Ensure	Audit Special Logon	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports when a special logon is used. A special logon is a logon that has administrator-equivalent privileges and can be used to elevate a process to a higher level. Events for this subcategory include: - 4964 : Special groups have been assigned to a new logon. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.6.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Detailed File Share	is set to include	Failure	This subcategory allows you to audit attempts to access files and folders on a shared folder. Events for this subcategory include: - 5145: network share object was checked to see whether client can be granted desired access. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Failure`
17.6.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit File Share	is set to	Success and Failure	This policy setting allows you to audit attempts to access a shared folder. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`. Note: There are no system access control lists (SACLs) for shared folders. If this policy setting is enabled, access to all shared folders on the system is audited.
17.6.3	(L1) Ensure	Audit Other Object Access Events	is set to	Success and Failure	This policy setting allows you to audit events generated by the management of task scheduler jobs or COM+ objects. For scheduler jobs, the following are audited: - Job created. - Job deleted. - Job enabled. - Job disabled. - Job updated. For COM+ objects, the following are audited: - Catalog object added. - Catalog object updated. - Catalog object deleted. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.6.4	(L1) Ensure	Audit Removable Storage	is set to	Success and Failure	This policy setting allows you to audit user attempts to access file system objects on a removable storage device. A security audit event is generated only for all objects for all types of access requested. If you configure this policy setting, an audit event is generated each time an account accesses a file system object on a removable storage. Success audits record successful attempts and Failure audits record unsuccessful attempts. If you do not configure this policy setting, no audit event is generated when an account accesses a file system object on a removable storage. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`. Note: A Windows 8.0, Server 2012 (non-R2) or newer OS is required to access and set this value in Group Policy.
17.7.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Audit Policy Change	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports changes in audit policy including SACL changes. Events for this subcategory include: - 4715: The audit policy (SACL) on an object was changed. - 4719: System audit policy was changed. - 4902: The Per-user audit policy table was created. - 4904: An attempt was made to register a security event source. - 4905: An attempt was made to unregister a security event source. - 4906: The CrashOnAuditFail value has changed. - 4907: Auditing settings on object were changed. - 4908: Special Groups Logon table modified. - 4912: Per User Audit Policy was changed. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.7.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit Authentication Policy Change	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports changes in authentication policy. Events for this subcategory include: - 4706: A new trust was created to a domain. - 4707: A trust to a domain was removed. - 4713: Kerberos policy was changed. - 4716: Trusted domain information was modified. - 4717: System security access was granted to an account. - 4718: System security access was removed from an account. - 4739: Domain Policy was changed. - 4864: A namespace collision was detected. - 4865: A trusted forest information entry was added. - 4866: A trusted forest information entry was removed. - 4867: A trusted forest information entry was modified. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.7.3	(L1) Ensure	Audit Authorization Policy Change	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports changes in authorization policy. Events for this subcategory include: - 4703: A user right was adjusted. - 4704: A user right was assigned. - 4705: A user right was removed. - 4670: Permissions on an object were changed. - 4911: Resource attributes of the object were changed. - 4913: Central Access Policy on the object was changed. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.7.4	(L1) Ensure	Audit MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory determines whether the operating system generates audit events when changes are made to policy rules for the Microsoft Protection Service (MPSSVC.exe). Events for this subcategory include: - 4944: The following policy was active when the Windows Firewall started. - 4945: A rule was listed when the Windows Firewall started. - 4946: A change has been made to Windows Firewall exception list. A rule was added. - 4947: A change has been made to Windows Firewall exception list. A rule was modified. - 4948: A change has been made to Windows Firewall exception list. A rule was deleted. - 4949: Windows Firewall settings were restored to the default values. - 4950: A Windows Firewall setting has changed. - 4951: A rule has been ignored because its major version number was not recognized by Windows Firewall. - 4952: Parts of a rule have been ignored because its minor version number was not recognized by Windows Firewall. The other parts of the rule will be enforced. - 4953: A rule has been ignored by Windows Firewall because it could not parse the rule. - 4954: Windows Firewall Group Policy settings have changed. The new settings have been applied. - 4956: Windows Firewall has changed the active profile. - 4957: Windows Firewall did not apply the following rule. - 4958: Windows Firewall did not apply the following rule because the rule referred to items not configured on this computer. The recommended state for this setting is : `Success and Failure`
17.7.5	(L1) Ensure	Audit Other Policy Change Events	is set to include	Failure	This subcategory contains events about EFS Data Recovery Agent policy changes, changes in Windows Filtering Platform filter, status on Security policy settings updates for local Group Policy settings, Central Access Policy changes, and detailed troubleshooting events for Cryptographic Next Generation (CNG) operations. - 5063: A cryptographic provider operation was attempted. - 5064: A cryptographic context operation was attempted. - 5065: A cryptographic context modification was attempted. - 5066: A cryptographic function operation was attempted. - 5067: A cryptographic function modification was attempted. - 5068: A cryptographic function provider operation was attempted. - 5069: A cryptographic function property operation was attempted. - 5070: A cryptographic function property modification was attempted. - 6145: One or more errors occurred while processing security policy in the group policy objects. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Failure`.
17.8.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit Sensitive Privilege Use	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports when a user account or service uses a sensitive privilege. A sensitive privilege includes the following user rights: - Act as part of the operating system - Back up files and directories - Create a token object - Debug programs - Enable computer and user accounts to be trusted for delegation - Generate security audits - Impersonate a client after authentication - Load and unload device drivers - Manage auditing and security log - Modify firmware environment values - Replace a process-level token - Restore files and directories - Take ownership of files or other objects Auditing this subcategory will create a high volume of events. Events for this subcategory include: - 4672: Special privileges assigned to new logon. - 4673: A privileged service was called. - 4674: An operation was attempted on a privileged object. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.9.1	(L1) Ensure	Audit IPsec Driver	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports on the activities of the Internet Protocol security (IPsec) driver. Events for this subcategory include: - 4960: IPsec dropped an inbound packet that failed an integrity check. If this problem persists, it could indicate a network issue or that packets are being modified in transit to this computer. Verify that the packets sent from the remote computer are the same as those received by this computer. This error might also indicate interoperability problems with other IPsec implementations. - 4961: IPsec dropped an inbound packet that failed a replay check. If this problem persists, it could indicate a replay attack against this computer. - 4962: IPsec dropped an inbound packet that failed a replay check. The inbound packet had too low a sequence number to ensure it was not a replay. - 4963: IPsec dropped an inbound clear text packet that should have been secured. This is usually due to the remote computer changing its IPsec policy without informing this computer. This could also be a spoofing attack attempt. - 4965: IPsec received a packet from a remote computer with an incorrect Security Parameter Index (SPI). This is usually caused by malfunctioning hardware that is corrupting packets. If these errors persist, verify that the packets sent from the remote computer are the same as those received by this computer. This error may also indicate interoperability problems with other IPsec implementations. In that case, if connectivity is not impeded, then these events can be ignored. - 5478: IPsec Services has started successfully. - 5479: IPsec Services has been shut down successfully. The shutdown of IPsec Services can put the computer at greater risk of network attack or expose the computer to potential security risks. - 5480: IPsec Services failed to get the complete list of network interfaces on the computer. This poses a potential security risk because some of the network interfaces may not get the protection provided by the applied IPsec filters. Use the IP Security Monitor snap-in to diagnose the problem. - 5483: IPsec Services failed to initialize RPC server. IPsec Services could not be started. - 5484: IPsec Services has experienced a critical failure and has been shut down. The shutdown of IPsec Services can put the computer at greater risk of network attack or expose the computer to potential security risks. - 5485: IPsec Services failed to process some IPsec filters on a plug-and-play event for network interfaces. This poses a potential security risk because some of the network interfaces may not get the protection provided by the applied IPsec filters. Use the IP Security Monitor snap-in to diagnose the problem. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.9.2	(L1) Ensure	Audit Other System Events	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports on other system events. Events for this subcategory include: - 5024 : The Windows Firewall Service has started successfully. - 5025 : The Windows Firewall Service has been stopped. - 5027 : The Windows Firewall Service was unable to retrieve the security policy from the local storage. The service will continue enforcing the current policy. - 5028 : The Windows Firewall Service was unable to parse the new security policy. The service will continue with currently enforced policy. - 5029: The Windows Firewall Service failed to initialize the driver. The service will continue to enforce the current policy. - 5030: The Windows Firewall Service failed to start. - 5032: Windows Firewall was unable to notify the user that it blocked an application from accepting incoming connections on the network. - 5033 : The Windows Firewall Driver has started successfully. - 5034 : The Windows Firewall Driver has been stopped. - 5035 : The Windows Firewall Driver failed to start. - 5037 : The Windows Firewall Driver detected critical runtime error. Terminating. - 5058: Key file operation. - 5059: Key migration operation. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
17.9.3	(L1) Ensure	Audit Security State Change	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports changes in security state of the system, such as when the security subsystem starts and stops. Events for this subcategory include: - 4608: Windows is starting up. - 4609: Windows is shutting down. - 4616: The system time was changed. - 4621: Administrator recovered system from CrashOnAuditFail. Users who are not administrators will now be allowed to log on. Some audit-able activity might not have been recorded. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.9.4	(L1) Ensure	Audit Security System Extension	is set to include	Success	This subcategory reports the loading of extension code such as authentication packages by the security subsystem. Events for this subcategory include: - 4610: An authentication package has been loaded by the Local Security Authority. - 4611: A trusted logon process has been registered with the Local Security Authority. - 4614: A notification package has been loaded by the Security Account Manager. - 4622: A security package has been loaded by the Local Security Authority. - 4697: A service was installed in the system. The recommended state for this setting is to include: `Success`.
17.9.5	(L1) Ensure	Audit System Integrity	is set to	Success and Failure	This subcategory reports on violations of integrity of the security subsystem. Events for this subcategory include: - 4612 : Internal resources allocated for the queuing of audit messages have been exhausted, leading to the loss of some audits. - 4615 : Invalid use of LPC port. - 4618 : A monitored security event pattern has occurred. - 4816 : RPC detected an integrity violation while decrypting an incoming message. - 5038 : Code integrity determined that the image hash of a file is not valid. The file could be corrupt due to unauthorized modification or the invalid hash could indicate a potential disk device error. - 5056: A cryptographic self test was performed. - 5057: A cryptographic primitive operation failed. - 5060: Verification operation failed. - 5061: Cryptographic operation. - 5062: A kernel-mode cryptographic self test was performed. The recommended state for this setting is: `Success and Failure`.
18.1.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent enabling lock screen camera	is set to	Enabled	Disables the lock screen camera toggle switch in PC Settings and prevents a camera from being invoked on the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.1.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Prevent enabling lock screen slide show	is set to	Enabled	Disables the lock screen slide show settings in PC Settings and prevents a slide show from playing on the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.1.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow users to enable online speech recognition services	is set to	Disabled	This policy enables the automatic learning component of input personalization that includes speech, inking, and typing. Automatic learning enables the collection of speech and handwriting patterns, typing history, contacts, and recent calendar information. It is required for the use of Cortana. Some of this collected information may be stored on the user's OneDrive, in the case of inking and typing; some of the information will be uploaded to Microsoft to personalize speech. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.4.1	(L1) Ensure	Apply UAC restrictions to local accounts on network logons	is set to	Enabled	This setting controls whether local accounts can be used for remote administration via network logon (e.g., NET USE, connecting to C$, etc.). Local accounts are at high risk for credential theft when the same account and password is configured on multiple systems. Enabling this policy significantly reduces that risk. Enabled: Applies UAC token-filtering to local accounts on network logons. Membership in powerful group such as Administrators is disabled and powerful privileges are removed from the resulting access token. This configures the `LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy` registry value to `0`. This is the default behavior for Windows. Disabled: Allows local accounts to have full administrative rights when authenticating via network logon, by configuring the `LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy` registry value to `1`. For more information about local accounts and credential theft, review the "[Mitigating Pass-the-Hash (PtH) Attacks and Other Credential Theft Techniques](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36036)" documents. For more information about `LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy`, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 951016: [Description of User Account Control and remote restrictions in Windows Vista](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/951016). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.4.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC packet level privacy setting for incoming connections	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls packet level privacy for Remote Procedure Call (RPC) incoming connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.4.3	(L1) Ensure	Configure SMB v1 client driver	is set to	Enabled: Disable driver (recommended)	This setting configures the start type for the Server Message Block version 1 (SMBv1) client driver service (`MRxSmb10`), which is recommended to be disabled. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Disable driver (recommended)`. Note: Do not, _under any circumstances_, configure this overall setting as `Disabled`, as doing so will delete the underlying registry entry altogether, which will cause serious problems.
18.4.4	(L1) Ensure	Configure SMB v1 server	is set to	Disabled	This setting configures the server-side processing of the Server Message Block version 1 (SMBv1) protocol. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.4.5	(L1) Ensure	Enable Certificate Padding	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting configures whether the [WinVerifyTrust](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/wintrust/nf-wintrust-winverifytrust) function performs strict Windows Authenticode signature verification for Portable Executable files (PE files). If enabled, PE files will be considered "unsigned" if Windows identifies content in them that does not conform to the Authenticode specification. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.4.6	(L1) Ensure	Enable Structured Exception Handling Overwrite Protection (SEHOP)	is set to	Enabled	Windows includes support for Structured Exception Handling Overwrite Protection (SEHOP). We recommend enabling this feature to improve the security profile of the computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.4.7	(L1) Ensure	NetBT NodeType configuration	is set to	Enabled: P-node (recommended)	This setting determines which method NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) uses to register and resolve names. The available methods are: - The B-node (broadcast) method only uses broadcasts. - The P-node (point-to-point) method only uses name queries to a name server (WINS). - The M-node (mixed) method broadcasts first, then queries a name server (WINS) if broadcast failed. - The H-node (hybrid) method queries a name server (WINS) first, then broadcasts if the query failed. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: P-node (recommended)` (point-to-point). Note: Resolution through LMHOSTS or DNS follows these methods. If the `NodeType` registry value is present, it overrides any `DhcpNodeType` registry value. If neither `NodeType` nor `DhcpNodeType` is present, the computer uses B-node (broadcast) if there are no WINS servers configured for the network, or H-node (hybrid) if there is at least one WINS server configured.
18.4.8	(L1) Ensure	WDigest Authentication	is set to	Disabled	When WDigest authentication is enabled, Lsass.exe retains a copy of the user's plaintext password in memory, where it can be at risk of theft. If this setting is not configured, WDigest authentication is disabled in Windows 8.1 and in Windows Server 2012 R2; it is enabled by default in earlier versions of Windows and Windows Server. For more information about local accounts and credential theft, review the "[Mitigating Pass-the-Hash (PtH) Attacks and Other Credential Theft Techniques](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36036)" documents. For more information about `UseLogonCredential`, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2871997: [Microsoft Security Advisory Update to improve credentials protection and management May 13, 2014](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2871997). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.5.1	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (AutoAdminLogon) Enable Automatic Logon	is set to	Disabled	This setting is separate from the Welcome screen feature in Windows XP and Windows Vista; if that feature is disabled, this setting is not disabled. If you configure a computer for automatic logon, anyone who can physically gain access to the computer can also gain access to everything that is on the computer, including any network or networks to which the computer is connected. Also, if you enable automatic logon, the password is stored in the registry in plaintext, and the specific registry key that stores this value is remotely readable by the Authenticated Users group. For additional information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 324737: [How to turn on automatic logon in Windows](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/324737). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.5.2	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (DisableIPSourceRouting IPv6) IP source routing protection level	is set to	Enabled: Highest protection, source routing is completely disabled	IP source routing is a mechanism that allows the sender to determine the IP route that a datagram should follow through the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Highest protection, source routing is completely disabled`.
18.5.3	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (DisableIPSourceRouting) IP source routing protection level	is set to	Enabled: Highest protection, source routing is completely disabled	IP source routing is a mechanism that allows the sender to determine the IP route that a datagram should take through the network. It is recommended to configure this setting to Not Defined for enterprise environments and to Highest Protection for high security environments to completely disable source routing. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Highest protection, source routing is completely disabled`.
18.5.5	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (EnableICMPRedirect) Allow ICMP redirects to override OSPF generated routes	is set to	Disabled	Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirects cause the IPv4 stack to plumb host routes. These routes override the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) generated routes. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.5.7	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (NoNameReleaseOnDemand) Allow the computer to ignore NetBIOS name release requests except from WINS servers	is set to	Enabled	NetBIOS over TCP/IP is a network protocol that among other things provides a way to easily resolve NetBIOS names that are registered on Windows-based systems to the IP addresses that are configured on those systems. This setting determines whether the computer releases its NetBIOS name when it receives a name-release request. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.5.9	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (SafeDllSearchMode) Enable Safe DLL search mode	is set to	Enabled	The DLL search order can be configured to search for DLLs that are requested by running processes in one of two ways: - Search folders specified in the system path first, and then search the current working folder. - Search current working folder first, and then search the folders specified in the system path. When enabled, the registry value is set to `1`. With a setting of `1`, the system first searches the folders that are specified in the system path and then searches the current working folder. When disabled the registry value is set to 0 and the system first searches the current working folder and then searches the folders that are specified in the system path. Applications will be forced to search for DLLs in the system path first. For applications that require unique versions of these DLLs that are included with the application, this entry could cause performance or stability problems. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: More information on how Safe DLL search mode works is available at this link: [Dynamic-Link Library Search Order - Windows applications \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/dlls/dynamic-link-library-search-order)
18.5.10	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (ScreenSaverGracePeriod) The time in seconds before the screen saver grace period expires	is set to	Enabled: 5 or fewer seconds	Windows includes a grace period between when the screen saver is launched and when the console is actually locked automatically when screen saver locking is enabled. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 5 or fewer seconds`.
18.5.13	(L1) Ensure	MSS: (WarningLevel) Percentage threshold for the security event log at which the system will generate a warning	is set to	Enabled: 90% or less	This setting can generate a security audit in the Security event log when the log reaches a user-defined threshold. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 90% or less`. Note: If log settings are configured to Overwrite events as needed or Overwrite events older than x days, this event will not be generated.
18.6.4.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure DNS over HTTPS (DoH) name resolution	is set to	Enabled: Allow DoH or higher	This setting determines if DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is used by the system. DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is a protocol for performing remote Domain Name System (DNS) resolution over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). For additional information on DNS over HTTPS (DoH), visit: [Secure DNS Client over HTTPS (DoH) on Windows Server 2022 \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/dns/doh-client-support). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Allow DoH`. Configuring this setting to `Enabled: Require DoH` also conforms to the benchmark.
18.6.4.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure NetBIOS settings	is set to	Enabled: Disable NetBIOS name resolution on public networks	This policy setting specifies if the Domain Name System (DNS) client will perform name resolution over Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS). NetBIOS is a legacy name resolution method for internal Microsoft networking that predates the use of DNS for that purpose (pre–Active Directory). Some legacy applications still require the use of NetBIOS for full functionality. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Disable NetBIOS name resolution on public networks`. Configuring this setting to `Enabled: Disable NetBIOS name resolution` also conforms to the benchmark.
18.6.4.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn off multicast name resolution	is set to	Enabled	LLMNR is a secondary name resolution protocol. With LLMNR, queries are sent using multicast over a local network link on a single subnet from a client computer to another client computer on the same subnet that also has LLMNR enabled. LLMNR does not require a DNS server or DNS client configuration, and provides name resolution in scenarios in which conventional DNS name resolution is not possible. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.6.8.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable insecure guest logons	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines if the SMB client will allow insecure guest logons to an SMB server. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.6.11.2	(L1) Ensure	Prohibit installation and configuration of Network Bridge on your DNS domain network	is set to	Enabled	You can use this procedure to control a user's ability to install and configure a Network Bridge. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.6.11.3	(L1) Ensure	Prohibit use of Internet Connection Sharing on your DNS domain network	is set to	Enabled	Although this "legacy" setting traditionally applied to the use of Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows 2000, Windows XP & Server 2003, this setting now freshly applies to the Mobile Hotspot feature in Windows 10 & Server 2016. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.6.11.4	(L1) Ensure	Require domain users to elevate when setting a network	is set to	Network's Location	This policy setting determines whether to require domain users to elevate when setting a network's location. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.6.14.1	(L1) Ensure	Hardened UNC Paths	is set to	Enabled, with "Require Mutual Authentication", "Require Integrity", and “Require Privacy” set for all NETLOGON and SYSVOL shares	This policy setting configures secure access to UNC paths. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled, with "Require Mutual Authentication", "Require Integrity", and “Require Privacy” set for all NETLOGON and SYSVOL shares`.
18.6.21.1	(L1) Ensure	Minimize the number of simultaneous connections to the Internet or a Windows Domain	is set to	Enabled: 3 = Prevent Wi-Fi when on Ethernet	This policy setting prevents computers from establishing multiple simultaneous connections to either the Internet or to a Windows domain. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 3 = Prevent Wi-Fi when on Ethernet`.
18.6.21.2	(L1) Ensure	Prohibit connection to non-domain networks when connected to domain authenticated network	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting prevents computers from connecting to both a domain based network and a non-domain based network at the same time. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.6.23.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Windows to automatically connect to suggested open hotspots, to networks shared by contacts, and to hotspots offering paid services	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether users can enable the following WLAN settings: "Connect to suggested open hotspots," "Connect to networks shared by my contacts," and "Enable paid services". - "Connect to suggested open hotspots" enables Windows to automatically connect users to open hotspots it knows about by crowdsourcing networks that other people using Windows have connected to. - "Connect to networks shared by my contacts" enables Windows to automatically connect to networks that the user's contacts have shared with them, and enables users on this device to share networks with their contacts. - "Enable paid services" enables Windows to temporarily connect to open hotspots to determine if paid services are available. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: These features are also known by the name "_Wi-Fi Sense_".
18.7.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Print Spooler to accept client connections	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether the Print Spooler service will accept client connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: The Print Spooler service must be restarted for changes to this policy to take effect.
18.7.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure Redirection Guard	is set to	Enabled: Redirection Guard Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Redirection Guard is enabled for the print spooler. Redirection Guard can prevent file redirections from being used within the print spooler. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Redirection Guard Enabled`.
18.7.3	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC connection settings: Protocol to use for outgoing RPC connections	is set to	Enabled: RPC over TCP	This policy setting controls which protocol and protocol settings to use for outgoing Remote Procedure Call (RPC) connections to a remote print spooler. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: RPC over TCP`
18.7.4	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC connection settings: Use authentication for outgoing RPC connections	is set to	Enabled: Default	This policy setting controls which protocol and protocol settings to use for outgoing Remote Procedure Call (RPC) connections to a remote print spooler. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Default`
18.7.5	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC listener settings: Protocols to allow for incoming RPC connections	is set to	Enabled: RPC over TCP	This policy setting controls which protocols incoming Remote Procedure Call (RPC) connections to the print spooler are allowed to use. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: RPC over TCP`.
18.7.6	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC listener settings: Authentication protocol to use for incoming RPC connections:	is set to	Enabled: Negotiate	This policy setting controls which protocols incoming Remote Procedure Call (RPC) connections to the print spooler are allowed to use. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Negotiate` or higher.
18.7.7	(L1) Ensure	Configure RPC over TCP port	is set to	Enabled: 0	This policy setting controls which port is used for RPC over TCP for incoming connections to the print spooler and outgoing connections to remote print spoolers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 0`.
18.7.8	(L1) Ensure	Limits print driver installation to Administrators	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether users who aren't Administrators can install print drivers on the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: On August 10, 2021, Microsoft announced a [Point and Print Default Behavior Change](https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2021/08/10/point-and-print-default-behavior-change/) which modifies the default Point and Print driver installation and update behavior to require Administrator privileges. This is documented in [KB5005652—Manage new Point and Print default driver installation behavior (CVE-2021-34481)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/kb5005652-manage-new-point-and-print-default-driver-installation-behavior-cve-2021-34481-873642bf-2634-49c5-a23b-6d8e9a302872).
18.7.9	(L1) Ensure	Manage processing of Queue-specific files	is set to	Enabled: Limit Queue-specific files to Color profiles	This policy setting manages how queue-specific files are processed during printer installation. At printer installation time, a vendor-supplied installation application can specify a set of files, of any type, to be associated with a particular print queue. The files are downloaded to each client that connects to the print server. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Limit Queue-specific files to Color profiles`.
18.7.10	(L1) Ensure	Point and Print Restrictions: When installing drivers for a new connection	is set to	Enabled: Show warning and elevation prompt	This policy setting controls whether computers will show a warning and a security elevation prompt when users create a new printer connection using Point and Print. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Show warning and elevation prompt`. Note: On August 10, 2021, Microsoft announced a [Point and Print Default Behavior Change](https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2021/08/10/point-and-print-default-behavior-change/) which modifies the default Point and Print driver installation and update behavior to require Administrator privileges. This is documented in [KB5005652—Manage new Point and Print default driver installation behavior (CVE-2021-34481)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/kb5005652-manage-new-point-and-print-default-driver-installation-behavior-cve-2021-34481-873642bf-2634-49c5-a23b-6d8e9a302872). This change overrides all Point and Print Group Policy settings and ensures that only Administrators can install printer drivers from a print server using Point and Print.
18.7.11	(L1) Ensure	Point and Print Restrictions: When updating drivers for an existing connection	is set to	Enabled: Show warning and elevation prompt	This policy setting controls whether computers will show a warning and a security elevation prompt when users are updating drivers for an existing connection using Point and Print. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Show warning and elevation prompt`. Note: On August 10, 2021, Microsoft announced a [Point and Print Default Behavior Change](https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2021/08/10/point-and-print-default-behavior-change/) which modifies the default Point and Print driver installation and update behavior to require Administrator privileges. This is documented in [KB5005652—Manage new Point and Print default driver installation behavior (CVE-2021-34481)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/kb5005652-manage-new-point-and-print-default-driver-installation-behavior-cve-2021-34481-873642bf-2634-49c5-a23b-6d8e9a302872). This change overrides all Point and Print Group Policy settings and ensures that only Administrators can install printer drivers from a print server using Point and Print.
18.9.3.1	(L1) Ensure	Include command line in process creation events	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether the process creation command line text is logged in security audit events when a new process has been created. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This feature that this setting controls was not originally supported in workstation OSes older than Windows 8.1. However, in February 2015 Microsoft added support for the feature to Windows 7 and Windows 8.0 via an update - [KB3004375](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3004375/microsoft-security-advisory-update-to-improve-windows-command-line-aud). Therefore, this setting is also important to set on those older OSes.
18.9.4.1	(L1) Ensure	Encryption Oracle Remediation	is set to	Enabled: Force Updated Clients	Some versions of the CredSSP protocol that is used by some applications (such as Remote Desktop Connection) are vulnerable to an encryption oracle attack against the client. This policy controls compatibility with vulnerable clients and servers and allows you to set the level of protection desired for the encryption oracle vulnerability. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Force Updated Clients`.
18.9.4.2	(L1) Ensure	Remote host allows delegation of non-exportable credentials	is set to	Enabled	Remote host allows delegation of non-exportable credentials. When using credential delegation, devices provide an exportable version of credentials to the remote host. This exposes users to the risk of credential theft from attackers on the remote host. The Restricted Admin Mode and Windows Defender Remote Credential Guard features are two options to help protect against this risk. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: More detailed information on Windows Defender Remote Credential Guard and how it compares to Restricted Admin Mode can be found at this link: [Protect Remote Desktop credentials with Windows Defender Remote Credential Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/access-protection/remote-credential-guard)
18.9.5.1	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting specifies whether Virtualization Based Security is enabled. Virtualization Based Security uses the Windows Hypervisor to provide support for security services. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs. Note #3: If the Level 2 recommendation to configure _Log on as a service_ (from Section 2.2) is implemented, the additional security principal `WDAGUtilityAccount` must also be granted that User Right Assignment in order for Virtualization Based Security (in Microsoft Defender Application Guard) with the Next Generation Windows Security (NGWS) profile to function.
18.9.5.2	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Select Platform Security Level	is set to	Secure Boot	This policy setting specifies whether Virtualization Based Security (VBS) is enabled. VBS uses the Windows Hypervisor to provide support for security services. The recommended state for this setting is: `Secure Boot` or `Secure Boot and DMA Protection`. Note: VBS requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.5.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Virtualization Based Protection of Code Integrity	is set to	Enabled with UEFI lock	This setting enables virtualization based protection of Kernel Mode Code Integrity. When this is enabled, kernel mode memory protections are enforced and the Code Integrity validation path is protected by the Virtualization Based Security feature. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled with UEFI lock`. Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.5.4	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Require UEFI Memory Attributes Table	is set to	True (checked)	This option will only enable Virtualization Based Protection of Code Integrity on devices with UEFI firmware support for the Memory Attributes Table. Devices without the UEFI Memory Attributes Table may have firmware that is incompatible with Virtualization Based Protection of Code Integrity which in some cases can lead to crashes or data loss or incompatibility with certain plug-in cards. If not setting this option the targeted devices should be tested to ensure compatibility. The recommended state for this setting is: `True (checked)`. Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.5.5	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Credential Guard Configuration	is set to	Enabled with UEFI lock	This setting lets users turn on Credential Guard with virtualization-based security to help protect credentials. The "Enabled with UEFI lock" option ensures that Credential Guard cannot be disabled remotely. In order to disable the feature, you must set the Group Policy to "Disabled" as well as remove the security functionality from each computer, with a physically present user, in order to clear configuration persisted in UEFI. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled with UEFI lock`. Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.5.6	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Secure Launch Configuration	is set to	Enabled	Secure Launch protects the Virtualization Based Security environment from exploited vulnerabilities in device firmware. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.5.7	(L1) Ensure	Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection	is set to	Enabled: Enabled in enforcement mode	This policy setting enables Hardware-enforced Stack Protection for kernel-mode code. Kernel-mode data stacks are hardened with hardware-based shadow stacks, which store intended return address targets to ensure that program control flow is not tampered. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Enabled in enforcement mode`. Note: Virtualization Based Security (VBS) requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements) Note #2: This specific security feature of VBS is only compatible with Windows 11 Release 22H2 (or newer). Note #3: Only Intel CPUs from Tiger Lake and beyond or AMD CPUs Zen3 and beyond (both were release in fall 2020) are compatible with this security feature. Note #4: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.9.7.2	(L1) Ensure	Prevent device metadata retrieval from the Internet	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to prevent Windows from retrieving device metadata from the Internet. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This will not prevent the installation of basic hardware drivers, but does prevent associated third-party utility software from automatically being installed under the context of the `SYSTEM` account.
18.9.13.1	(L1) Ensure	Boot-Start Driver Initialization Policy	is set to	Enabled: Good, unknown and bad but critical	This policy setting allows you to specify which boot-start drivers are initialized based on a classification determined by an Early Launch Antimalware boot-start driver. The Early Launch Antimalware boot-start driver can return the following classifications for each boot-start driver: - `Good`: The driver has been signed and has not been tampered with. - `Bad`: The driver has been identified as malware. It is recommended that you do not allow known bad drivers to be initialized. - `Bad, but required for boot`: The driver has been identified as malware, but the computer cannot successfully boot without loading this driver. - `Unknown`: This driver has not been attested to by your malware detection application and has not been classified by the Early Launch Antimalware boot-start driver. If you enable this policy setting you will be able to choose which boot-start drivers to initialize the next time the computer is started. If your malware detection application does not include an Early Launch Antimalware boot-start driver or if your Early Launch Antimalware boot-start driver has been disabled, this setting has no effect and all boot-start drivers are initialized. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Good, unknown and bad but critical`.
18.9.19.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure registry policy processing: Do not apply during periodic background processing	is set to	Enabled: FALSE	The "Do not apply during periodic background processing" option prevents the system from updating affected registry policies in the background while the computer is in use. When background updates are disabled, registry policy changes will not take effect until the next user logon or system restart. This setting affects all policy settings within the Administrative Templates folder and any other policies that store values in the registry. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: FALSE` (unchecked).
18.9.19.3	(L1) Ensure	Configure registry policy processing: Process even if the Group Policy objects have not changed	is set to	Enabled: TRUE	The "Process even if the Group Policy objects have not changed" option updates and reapplies registry policies even if the registry policies have not changed. This setting affects all registry policy settings within the Administrative Templates folder and any other policies that store values in the registry. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: TRUE` (checked).
18.9.19.4	(L1) Ensure	Configure security policy processing: Do not apply during periodic background processing	is set to	Enabled: FALSE	The "Do not apply during periodic background processing" option prevents the system from updating affected security policies in the background while the computer is in use. When background updates are disabled, updates to security policies will not take effect until the next user logon or system restart. This setting affects all policy settings that use the built-in security template of Group Policy (e.g. Windows Settings\Security Settings). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: FALSE` (unchecked).
18.9.19.5	(L1) Ensure	Configure security policy processing: Process even if the Group Policy objects have not changed	is set to	Enabled: TRUE	The "Process even if the Group Policy objects have not changed" option updates and reapplies security policies even if the security policies have not changed. This setting affects all policy settings within the built-in security template of Group Policy (e.g. Windows Settings\Security Settings). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: TRUE` (checked).
18.9.19.6	(L1) Ensure	Continue experiences on this device	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether the Windows device is allowed to participate in cross-device experiences (continue experiences). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.19.7	(L1) Ensure	Turn off background refresh of Group Policy	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting prevents Group Policy from being updated while the computer is in use. This policy setting applies to Group Policy for computers, users and Domain Controllers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.20.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Turn off downloading of print drivers over HTTP	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether the computer can download print driver packages over HTTP. To set up HTTP printing, printer drivers that are not available in the standard operating system installation might need to be downloaded over HTTP. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.20.1.6	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Internet download for Web publishing and online ordering wizards	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether Windows will download a list of providers for the Web publishing and online ordering wizards. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.25.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure password backup directory	is set to	Enabled: Active Directory	This policy setting configures which directory Windows LAPS will use to back up the local admin account password. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Active Directory` or `Enabled: Azure Active Directory`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory). Note #3: Windows LAPS does not support simultaneous storage of the local admin password in both directory types. Note #4: If the setting is configured and the managed device is not joined to the configured directory type, the local administrator password will not be managed by Windows LAPS.
18.9.25.2	(L1) Ensure	Do not allow password expiration time longer than required by policy	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting configures whether the password age dictated by the Windows LAPS "Password Settings" policy is enforced and cannot be extended manually (only shortened) by an authorized technician. If an expiration is detected, the password is changed immediately, and password expiration is set according to policy. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
18.9.25.3	(L1) Ensure	Enable password encryption	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether the Windows LAPS managed password is encrypted before being sent to Active Directory. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory). Note #3: This setting has no effect unless the password has been configured to be backed up to Active Directory, and the Active Directory domain functional level is at Windows Server 2016 or above. Note #4: This setting has no relevance (but is harmless) when storing Windows LAPS passwords to Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) as it automatically encrypts all Windows LAPS passwords.
18.9.25.4	(L1) Ensure	Password Settings: Password Complexity	is set to	Enabled: Large letters + small letters + numbers + special characters	This policy setting configures the Windows LAPS Password Settings policy for password complexity. Each additional character in a password increases its complexity exponentially. For instance, a seven-character, all lower-case alphabetic password would have 26 to the power of 7 (approximately 8 x 10 to the power of 9 or 8 billion) possible combinations. At 1,000,000 attempts per second (a capability of many password-cracking utilities), it would only take 133 minutes to crack. A seven-character alphabetic password with case sensitivity has 52 to the power of 7 combinations. A seven-character case-sensitive alphanumeric password without punctuation has 627 combinations. An eight-character password has 26 to the power of 8 (or 2 x 10 to the power of 11) possible combinations. Although this might seem to be a large number, at 1,000,000 attempts per second it would take only 59 hours to try all possible passwords. Remember, these times will significantly increase for passwords that use ALT characters and other special keyboard characters such as "!" or "@". Proper use of the password settings can help make it difficult to mount a brute force attack. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Large letters + small letters + numbers + special characters`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
18.9.25.5	(L1) Ensure	Password Settings: Password Length	is set to	Enabled: 15 or more	This policy setting configures the Windows LAPS Password Settings policy for password length. Each additional character in a password increases its complexity exponentially. For instance, a seven-character, all lower-case alphabetic password would have 26 to the power of 7 (approximately 8 x 10 to the power of 9 or 8 billion) possible combinations. At 1,000,000 attempts per second (a capability of many password-cracking utilities), it would only take 133 minutes to crack. A seven-character alphabetic password with case sensitivity has 52 to the power of 7 combinations. A seven-character case-sensitive alphanumeric password without punctuation has 627 combinations. An eight-character password has 26 to the power of 8 (or 2 x 10 to the power of 11) possible combinations. Although this might seem to be a large number, at 1,000,000 attempts per second it would take only 59 hours to try all possible passwords. Remember, these times will significantly increase for passwords that use ALT characters and other special keyboard characters such as "!" or "@". Proper use of the password settings can help make it difficult to mount a brute force attack. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 15 or more`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
18.9.25.6	(L1) Ensure	Password Settings: Password Age (Days)	is set to	Enabled: 30 or fewer	This policy setting configures the Windows LAPS Password Settings policy for password length. Each additional character in a password increases its complexity exponentially. For instance, a seven-character, all lower-case alphabetic password would have 26 to the power of 7 (approximately 8 x 10 to the power of 9 or 8 billion) possible combinations. At 1,000,000 attempts per second (a capability of many password-cracking utilities), it would only take 133 minutes to crack. A seven-character alphabetic password with case sensitivity has 52 to the power of 7 combinations. A seven-character case-sensitive alphanumeric password without punctuation has 627 combinations. An eight-character password has 26 to the power of 8 (or 2 x 10 to the power of 11) possible combinations. Although this might seem to be a large number, at 1,000,000 attempts per second it would take only 59 hours to try all possible passwords. Remember, these times will significantly increase for passwords that use ALT characters and other special keyboard characters such as "!" or "@". Proper use of the password settings can help make it difficult to mount a brute force attack. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 30 or fewer`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
18.9.25.7	(L1) Ensure	Post-authentication actions: Grace period (hours)	is set to	Enabled: 8 or fewer hours, but not 0	This policy settings configures post-authentication actions which will be executed after detecting an authentication by the Windows LAPS managed account. The `Grace period` refers to the amount of time (hours) to wait after an authentication before executing the specified post-authentication actions. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 8 or fewer hours, but not 0`. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory). Note #3: If this policy is set to `0` it prevents all post-authentication actions from occurring.
18.9.25.8	(L1) Ensure	Post-authentication actions: Actions	is set to	Enabled: Reset the password and logoff the managed account	This policy settings configures post-authentication actions which will be executed after detecting an authentication by the LAPS managed account. The `Action` refers to actions to take upon expiry of the grace period before executing the specified post-authentication actions. Post-authentication actions: - `Reset password`: upon expiry of the grace period, the managed account password will be reset. - `Reset the password and logoff the managed account`: upon expiry of the grace period, the managed account password will be reset and any interactive logon sessions using the managed account will terminated. - `Reset the password and reboot the device`: upon expiry of the grace period, the managed account password will be reset and the managed device will be immediately rebooted. Warning: After an interactive logon session is terminated, other authenticated sessions using the Windows LAPS managed account may still be active. The only way to ensure that the previous password is no longer in use is to reboot the OS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Reset the password and logoff the managed account` or higher. Note: Organizations that utilize third-party commercial software to manage unique & complex local Administrator passwords on domain members may opt to disregard these LAPS recommendations. Note #2: Windows LAPS does not support standalone computers - they must be joined to an Active Directory domain or Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
18.9.26.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Custom SSPs and APs to be loaded into LSASS	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls the configuration under which the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) will load custom Security Support Provider/Authentication Package (SSP/AP). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.26.2	(L1) Ensure	Configures LSASS to run as a protected process	is set to	Enabled: Enabled with UEFI Lock	This policy setting controls whether the Local Security Authority Subservice Service (LSASS) runs in protected mode and also has the option to lock in protected mode with Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). The Local Security Authority (LSA), which includes the LSASS process, validates users for local and remote sign-ins and enforces local security policies. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Enabled with UEFI Lock`. Note: This additional protection to prevent reading memory and code injection by non-protected processes is supported by Windows 8.1 (or newer).
18.9.28.1	(L1) Ensure	Block user from showing account details on sign-in	is set to	Enabled	This policy prevents the user from showing account details (email address or user name) on the sign-in screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.28.2	(L1) Ensure	Do not display network selection UI	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to control whether anyone can interact with available networks UI on the logon screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.28.3	(L1) Ensure	Do not enumerate connected users on domain-joined computers	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting prevents connected users from being enumerated on domain-joined computers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.28.4	(L1) Ensure	Enumerate local users on domain-joined computers	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows local users to be enumerated on domain-joined computers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.28.5	(L1) Ensure	Turn off app notifications on the lock screen	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to prevent app notifications from appearing on the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.28.6	(L1) Ensure	Turn off picture password sign-in	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to control whether a domain user can sign in using a picture password. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: If the picture password feature is permitted, the user's domain password is cached in the system vault when using it.
18.9.28.7	(L1) Ensure	Turn on convenience PIN sign-in	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to control whether a domain user can sign in using a convenience PIN. In Windows 10, convenience PIN was replaced with Passport, which has stronger security properties. To configure Passport for domain users, use the policies under Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Passport for Work. Note: The user's domain password will be cached in the system vault when using this feature. Note #2: If this setting is `Disabled`, Windows Hello will not allow Windows Hello Face or Fingerprint to be configured. An exception to this recommendation might be needed if these features are used in the environment. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.33.6.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow network connectivity during connected-standby (on battery)	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to control the network connectivity state in standby on modern standby-capable systems. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.33.6.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow network connectivity during connected-standby (plugged in)	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to control the network connectivity state in standby on modern standby-capable systems. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.33.6.5	(L1) Ensure	Require a password when a computer wakes (on battery)	is set to	Enabled	Specifies whether or not the user is prompted for a password when the system resumes from sleep. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.33.6.6	(L1) Ensure	Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in)	is set to	Enabled	Specifies whether or not the user is prompted for a password when the system resumes from sleep. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.35.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure Offer Remote Assistance	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to turn on or turn off Offer (Unsolicited) Remote Assistance on this computer. Help desk and support personnel will not be able to proactively offer assistance, although they can still respond to user assistance requests. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.35.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure Solicited Remote Assistance	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to turn on or turn off Solicited (Ask for) Remote Assistance on this computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.36.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable RPC Endpoint Mapper Client Authentication	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether RPC clients authenticate with the Endpoint Mapper Service when the call they are making contains authentication information. The Endpoint Mapper Service on computers running Windows NT4 (all service packs) cannot process authentication information supplied in this manner. This policy setting can cause a specific issue with _1-way_ forest trusts if it is applied to the _trusting_ domain DCs (see Microsoft [KB3073942](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3073942)), so we do not recommend applying it to Domain Controllers. Note: This policy will not in effect until the system is rebooted. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.36.2	(L1) Ensure	Restrict Unauthenticated RPC clients	is set to	Enabled: Authenticated	This policy setting controls how the RPC server runtime handles unauthenticated RPC clients connecting to RPC servers. This policy setting impacts all RPC applications. In a domain environment this policy setting should be used with caution as it can impact a wide range of functionality including group policy processing itself. Reverting a change to this policy setting can require manual intervention on each affected machine. This policy setting should never be applied to a Domain Controller. A client will be considered an authenticated client if it uses a named pipe to communicate with the server or if it uses RPC Security. RPC Interfaces that have specifically requested to be accessible by unauthenticated clients may be exempt from this restriction, depending on the selected value for this policy setting. -- "None" allows all RPC clients to connect to RPC Servers running on the machine on which the policy setting is applied. -- "Authenticated" allows only authenticated RPC Clients (per the definition above) to connect to RPC Servers running on the machine on which the policy setting is applied. Exemptions are granted to interfaces that have requested them. -- "Authenticated without exceptions" allows only authenticated RPC Clients (per the definition above) to connect to RPC Servers running on the machine on which the policy setting is applied. No exceptions are allowed. This value has the potential to cause serious problems and is not recommended. Note: This policy setting will not be applied until the system is rebooted. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Authenticated`.
18.9.51.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable Windows NTP Client	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting specifies whether the Windows NTP Client is enabled. Enabling the Windows NTP Client allows synchronization from a systems computer clock to NTP server(s). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: If a third-party time provider is used in the environment, an exception to this recommendation will be needed.
18.9.51.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Enable Windows NTP Server	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies whether the Windows NTP Server is enabled. Disabling this setting prevents the system from acting as a NTP Server (time source) to service NTP requests from other systems (NTP Clients). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.3.2	(L1) Ensure	Prevent non-admin users from installing packaged Windows apps	is set to	Enabled	This setting manages non-Administrator users' ability to install Windows app packages. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.4.1	(L1) Ensure	Let Windows apps activate with voice while the system is locked	is set to	Enabled: Force Deny	This policy setting specifies whether Windows apps can be activated by voice (apps and Cortana) while the system is locked. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Force Deny`.
18.10.5.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Microsoft accounts to be optional	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting lets you control whether Microsoft accounts are optional for Windows Store apps that require an account to sign in. This policy only affects Windows Store apps that support it. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.7.1	(L1) Ensure	Disallow Autoplay for non-volume devices	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting disallows AutoPlay for MTP devices like cameras or phones. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.7.2	(L1) Ensure	Set the default behavior for AutoRun	is set to	Enabled: Do not execute any autorun commands	This policy setting sets the default behavior for Autorun commands. Autorun commands are generally stored in `autorun.inf` files. They often launch the installation program or other routines. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Do not execute any autorun commands`.
18.10.7.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Autoplay	is set to	Enabled: All drives	Autoplay starts to read from a drive as soon as you insert media in the drive, which causes the setup file for programs or audio media to start immediately. An attacker could use this feature to launch a program to damage the computer or data on the computer. Autoplay is disabled by default on some removable drive types, such as floppy disk and network drives, but not on CD-ROM drives. Note: You cannot use this policy setting to enable Autoplay on computer drives in which it is disabled by default, such as floppy disk and network drives. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: All drives`.
18.10.8.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure enhanced anti-spoofing	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether enhanced anti-spoofing is configured for devices which support it. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.12.1	(L1) Ensure	Turn off cloud consumer account state content	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether cloud consumer account state content is allowed in all Windows experiences. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.12.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting turns off experiences that help consumers make the most of their devices and Microsoft account. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: [Per Microsoft TechNet](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/group-policies-for-enterprise-and-education-editions), this policy setting only applies to Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education editions.
18.10.13.1	(L1) Ensure	Require pin for pairing	is set to	Enabled: First Time	This policy setting controls whether or not a PIN is required for pairing to a wireless display device. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: First Time` OR `Enabled: Always`.
18.10.14.1	(L1) Ensure	Do not display the password reveal button	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to configure the display of the password reveal button in password entry user experiences. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.14.2	(L1) Ensure	Enumerate administrator accounts on elevation	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether administrator accounts are displayed when a user attempts to elevate a running application. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.14.3	(L1) Ensure	Prevent the use of security questions for local accounts	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether security questions can be used to reset local account passwords. The security question feature does not apply to domain accounts, only local accounts on the workstation. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.15.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Diagnostic Data	is set to	Enabled: Diagnostic data off (not recommended)	This policy setting determines the amount of diagnostic and usage data reported to Microsoft: - A value of (0) `Diagnostic data off (not recommended)`. Using this value, no diagnostic data is sent from the device. This value is only supported on Enterprise, Education, and Server editions. If you choose this setting, devices in your organization will still be secure. - A value of (1) `Send required diagnostic data`. This is the minimum diagnostic data necessary to keep Windows secure, up to date, and performing as expected. Using this value disables the _Optional diagnostic data_ control in the Settings app. - A value of (3) `Send optional diagnostic data`. Additional diagnostic data is collected that helps us to detect, diagnose and fix issues, as well as make product improvements. Required diagnostic data will always be included when you choose to send optional diagnostic data. Optional diagnostic data can also include diagnostic log files and crash dumps. Use the _Limit Dump Collection_ and the _Limit Diagnostic Log Collection_ policies for more granular control of what optional diagnostic data is sent. Windows telemetry settings apply to the Windows operating system and some first party apps. This setting does not apply to third party apps running on Windows 10/11. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Diagnostic data off (not recommended)` or `Enabled: Send required diagnostic data`. Note: If your organization relies on Windows Update, the minimum recommended setting is `Required diagnostic data`. Because no Windows Update information is collected when diagnostic data is off, important information about update failures is not sent. Microsoft uses this information to fix the causes of those failures and improve the quality of updates. Note #2: The _Configure diagnostic data opt-in settings user interface_ group policy can be used to prevent end users from changing their data collection settings. Note #3: Enhanced diagnostic data setting is not available on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 and has been replaced with policies that can control the amount of optional diagnostic data that is sent. For more information on these settings visit [Manage diagnostic data using Group Policy and MDM](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy/configure-windows-diagnostic-data-in-your-organization#manage-diagnostic-data-using-group-policy-and-mdm)
18.10.15.3	(L1) Ensure	Disable OneSettings Downloads	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether Windows attempts to connect with the OneSettings service to download configuration settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.15.4	(L1) Ensure	Do not show feedback notifications	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows an organization to prevent its devices from showing feedback questions from Microsoft. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.15.5	(L1) Ensure	Enable OneSettings Auditing	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether Windows records attempts to connect with the OneSettings service to the Event Log. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.15.6	(L1) Ensure	Limit Diagnostic Log Collection	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls whether additional diagnostic logs are collected when more information is needed to troubleshoot a problem on the device. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Diagnostic logs are only sent when the device has been configured to send optional diagnostic data. Diagnostic data is limited when recommendation `Allow Diagnostic Data` is set to `Enabled: Diagnostic data off (not recommended)` or `Enabled: Send required diagnostic data` to send only basic information.
18.10.15.7	(L1) Ensure	Limit Dump Collection	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting limits the type of memory dumps that can be collected when more information is needed to troubleshoot a problem.  The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Memory dumps are only sent when the device has been configured to send optional diagnostic data. Diagnostic data is limited when recommendation `Allow Diagnostic Data` is set to `Enabled: Diagnostic data off (not recommended)` or `Enabled: Send required diagnostic data` to send only basic information.
18.10.15.8	(L1) Ensure	Toggle user control over Insider builds	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether users can access the Insider build controls in the Advanced Options for Windows Update. These controls are located under "Get Insider builds," and enable users to make their devices available for downloading and installing Windows preview software. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: This policy setting applies only to devices running Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise, up until Release 1703. For Release 1709 or newer, Microsoft encourages using the `Manage preview builds` setting (Section 18.10.92). We have kept this setting in the benchmark to ensure that any older builds of Windows 10 in the environment are still enforced.
18.10.16.1	(L1) Ensure	Download Mode	is NOT set to	Enabled: Internet	This policy setting specifies the download method that Delivery Optimization can use in downloads of Windows Updates, Apps and App updates. The following methods are supported: - 0 = HTTP only, no peering. - 1 = HTTP blended with peering behind the same NAT. - 2 = HTTP blended with peering across a private group. Peering occurs on devices in the same Active Directory Site (if exist) or the same domain by default. When this option is selected, peering will cross NATs. To create a custom group use Group ID in combination with Mode 2. - 3 = HTTP blended with Internet Peering. - 99 = Simple download mode with no peering. Delivery Optimization downloads using HTTP only and does not attempt to contact the Delivery Optimization cloud services. - 100 = Bypass mode. Do not use Delivery Optimization and use BITS instead. The recommended state for this setting is any value EXCEPT: `Enabled: Internet (3)`. Note: The default on all SKUs other than Enterprise, Enterprise LTSB or Education is `Enabled: Internet (3)`, so on other SKUs, be sure to set this to a different value.
18.10.17.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable App Installer	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether standard users have access to the Windows Package Manager. Windows Package Manager is a package manager solution that consists of a command line tool and set of services for installing applications on Microsoft Windows 10 and 11. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.17.2	(L1) Ensure	Enable App Installer Experimental Features	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether users can enable experimental features in the Windows Package Manager. The recommended state for this setting is `Disabled`.
18.10.17.3	(L1) Ensure	Enable App Installer Hash Override	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether or not users can override the SHA256 security validation in the Windows Package Manager settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.17.4	(L1) Ensure	Enable App Installer ms-appinstaller protocol	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether users can install packages from a website that is using the `ms-appinstaller` protocol. The `ms-appinstaller` protocol allows users to install an application by clicking a link on a website. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.25.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Application: Control Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Old events may or may not be retained according to the _Backup log automatically when full_ policy setting.
18.10.25.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Application: Specify the maximum log file size (KB)	is set to	Enabled: 32,768 or greater	This policy setting specifies the maximum size of the log file in kilobytes. The maximum log file size can be configured between 1 megabyte (1,024 kilobytes) and 4 terabytes (4,194,240 kilobytes) in kilobyte increments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 32,768 or greater`.
18.10.25.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Security: Control Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Old events may or may not be retained according to the _Backup log automatically when full_ policy setting.
18.10.25.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Security: Specify the maximum log file size (KB)	is set to	Enabled: 196,608 or greater	This policy setting specifies the maximum size of the log file in kilobytes. The maximum log file size can be configured between 1 megabyte (1,024 kilobytes) and 4 terabytes (4,194,240 kilobytes) in kilobyte increments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 196,608 or greater`.
18.10.25.3.1	(L1) Ensure	Setup: Control Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Old events may or may not be retained according to the _Backup log automatically when full_ policy setting.
18.10.25.3.2	(L1) Ensure	Setup: Specify the maximum log file size (KB)	is set to	Enabled: 32,768 or greater	This policy setting specifies the maximum size of the log file in kilobytes. The maximum log file size can be configured between 1 megabyte (1,024 kilobytes) and 4 terabytes (4,194,240 kilobytes) in kilobyte increments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 32,768 or greater`.
18.10.25.4.1	(L1) Ensure	System: Control Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls Event Log behavior when the log file reaches its maximum size. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Old events may or may not be retained according to the _Backup log automatically when full_ policy setting.
18.10.25.4.2	(L1) Ensure	System: Specify the maximum log file size (KB)	is set to	Enabled: 32,768 or greater	This policy setting specifies the maximum size of the log file in kilobytes. The maximum log file size can be configured between 1 megabyte (1,024 kilobytes) and 4 terabytes (4,194,240 kilobytes) in kilobyte increments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 32,768 or greater`.
18.10.28.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Data Execution Prevention for Explorer	is set to	Disabled	Disabling Data Execution Prevention can allow certain legacy plug-in applications to function without terminating Explorer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Some legacy plug-in applications and other software may not function with Data Execution Prevention and will require an exception to be defined for that specific plug-in/software.
18.10.28.4	(L1) Ensure	Turn off heap termination on corruption	is set to	Disabled	Without heap termination on corruption, legacy plug-in applications may continue to function when a File Explorer session has become corrupt. Ensuring that heap termination on corruption is active will prevent this. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.28.5	(L1) Ensure	Turn off shell protocol protected mode	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to configure the amount of functionality that the shell protocol can have. When using the full functionality of this protocol, applications can open folders and launch files. The protected mode reduces the functionality of this protocol allowing applications to only open a limited set of folders. Applications are not able to open files with this protocol when it is in the protected mode. It is recommended to leave this protocol in the protected mode to increase the security of Windows. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.41.1	(L1) Ensure	Block all consumer Microsoft account user authentication	is set to	Enabled	This setting determines whether applications and services on the device can utilize new consumer Microsoft account authentication via the Windows `OnlineID` and `WebAccountManager` APIs. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.16	(L1) Ensure	Configure detection for potentially unwanted applications	is set to	Enabled: Block	This policy setting controls detection and action for Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA), which are sneaky unwanted application bundlers or their bundled applications, that can deliver adware or malware. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Block`. For more information, see this link: [Block potentially unwanted applications with Microsoft Defender Antivirus \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-antivirus/detect-block-potentially-unwanted-apps-windows-defender-antivirus)
18.10.42.17	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Microsoft Defender AntiVirus	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting turns off Microsoft Defender Antivirus. If the setting is configured to Disabled, Microsoft Defender Antivirus runs and computers are scanned for malware and other potentially unwanted software. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.42.5.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure local setting override for reporting to Microsoft MAPS	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration to join Microsoft Active Protection Service (MAPS), which Microsoft renamed to _Windows Defender Antivirus Cloud Protection Service_ and then _Microsoft Defender Antivirus Cloud Protection Service_. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.42.6.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure Attack Surface Reduction rules	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting controls the state for the Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.6.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure Attack Surface Reduction rules: Set the state for each ASR rule	is configured		This policy setting sets the Attack Surface Reduction rules. The recommended state for this setting is: `26190899-1602-49e8-8b27-eb1d0a1ce869 - 1` (Block Office communication application from creating child processes) `3b576869-a4ec-4529-8536-b80a7769e899 - 1` (Block Office applications from creating executable content) `56a863a9-875e-4185-98a7-b882c64b5ce5 - 1` (Block abuse of exploited vulnerable signed drivers) `5beb7efe-fd9a-4556-801d-275e5ffc04cc - 1` (Block execution of potentially obfuscated scripts) `75668c1f-73b5-4cf0-bb93-3ecf5cb7cc84 - 1` (Block Office applications from injecting code into other processes) `7674ba52-37eb-4a4f-a9a1-f0f9a1619a2c - 1` (Block Adobe Reader from creating child processes) `92e97fa1-2edf-4476-bdd6-9dd0b4dddc7b - 1` (Block Win32 API calls from Office macro) `9e6c4e1f-7d60-472f-ba1a-a39ef669e4b2 - 1` (Block credential stealing from the Windows local security authority subsystem (lsass.exe)) `b2b3f03d-6a65-4f7b-a9c7-1c7ef74a9ba4 - 1` (Block untrusted and unsigned processes that run from USB) `be9ba2d9-53ea-4cdc-84e5-9b1eeee46550 - 1` (Block executable content from email client and webmail) `d3e037e1-3eb8-44c8-a917-57927947596d - 1` (Block JavaScript or VBScript from launching downloaded executable content) `d4f940ab-401b-4efc-aadc-ad5f3c50688a - 1` (Block Office applications from creating child processes) `e6db77e5-3df2-4cf1-b95a-636979351e5b - 1` (Block persistence through WMI event subscription) Note: More information on ASR rules can be found at the following link: [Use Attack surface reduction rules to prevent malware infection \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-exploit-guard/attack-surface-reduction-exploit-guard)
18.10.42.6.3.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent users and apps from accessing dangerous websites	is set to	Enabled: Block	This policy setting controls Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard network protection. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Block`.
18.10.42.7.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable file hash computation feature	is set to	Enabled	This setting determines whether hash values are computed for files scanned by Microsoft Defender. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.10.1	(L1) Ensure	Scan all downloaded files and attachments	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting configures scanning for all downloaded files and attachments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.10.2	(L1) Ensure	Turn off real-time protection	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting configures real-time protection prompts for known malware detection. Microsoft Defender Antivirus alerts you when malware or potentially unwanted software attempts to install itself or to run on your computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.42.10.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn on behavior monitoring	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to configure behavior monitoring for Microsoft Defender Antivirus. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.10.4	(L1) Ensure	Turn on script scanning	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows script scanning to be turned on/off. Script scanning intercepts scripts then scans them before they are executed on the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.13.1	(L1) Ensure	Scan packed executables	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting manages whether or not Microsoft Defender Antivirus scans packed executables. Packed executables are executable files that contain compressed code. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.13.2	(L1) Ensure	Scan removable drives	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting manages whether or not to scan for malicious software and unwanted software in the contents of removable drives, such as USB flash drives, when running a full scan. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.42.13.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn on e-mail scanning	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting configures e-mail scanning. When e-mail scanning is enabled, the engine will parse the mailbox and mail files, according to their specific format, in order to analyze the mail bodies and attachments. Several e-mail formats are currently supported, for example: pst (Outlook), dbx, mbx, mime (Outlook Express), binhex (Mac). The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.43.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow auditing events in Microsoft Defender Application Guard	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to decide whether auditing events can be collected from Microsoft Defender Application Guard. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.43.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow camera and microphone access in Microsoft Defender Application Guard	is set to	Disabled	The policy allows you to determine whether applications inside Microsoft Defender Application Guard can access the device’s camera and microphone. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.43.3	(L1) Ensure	Allow data persistence for Microsoft Defender Application Guard	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to decide whether data should persist across different sessions in Microsoft Defender Application Guard. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.43.4	(L1) Ensure	Allow files to download and save to the host operating system from Microsoft Defender Application Guard	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether to save downloaded files to the host operating system from the Microsoft Defender Application Guard container. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.43.5	(L1) Ensure	Configure Microsoft Defender Application Guard clipboard settings: Clipboard behavior setting	is set to	Enabled: Enable clipboard operation from an isolated session to the host	This policy setting allows you to decide how the clipboard behaves while in Microsoft Defender Application Guard. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Enable clipboard operation from an isolated session to the host`. Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.43.6	(L1) Ensure	Turn on Microsoft Defender Application Guard in Managed Mode	is set to	Enabled: 1	This policy setting enables application isolation through Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Application Guard). There are 4 options available: - 0. Disable Microsoft Defender Application Guard - 1. Enable Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge ONLY - 2. Enable Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Office ONLY - 3. Enable Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge AND Microsoft Office The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 1` (Enable Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge ONLY). Note: Microsoft Defender Application Guard requires a 64-bit version of Windows and a CPU supporting hardware-assisted CPU virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). This feature is not officially supported on virtual hardware, although it can work on VMs (especially for testing) provided that the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature is exposed by the host to the guest VM. More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at [System requirements for Microsoft Defender Application Guard (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-guard/reqs-wd-app-guard) Note #2: At time of publication, Microsoft Defender Application Guard in all currently released versions of Windows 10 does not yet support protection for Microsoft Office, only for Microsoft Edge. Therefore the additional available options of `2` and `3` in this setting are not yet valid. Note #3: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.
18.10.50.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting lets you prevent apps and features from working with files on OneDrive using the Next Generation Sync Client. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.56.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Do not allow passwords to be saved	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting helps prevent Remote Desktop clients from saving passwords on a computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: If this policy setting was previously configured as Disabled or Not configured, any previously saved passwords will be deleted the first time a Remote Desktop client disconnects from any server.
18.10.56.3.3.3	(L1) Ensure	Do not allow drive redirection	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting prevents users from sharing the local drives on their client computers to Remote Desktop Servers that they access. Mapped drives appear in the session folder tree in Windows Explorer in the following format: `\\TSClient\<driveletter>$` If local drives are shared they are left vulnerable to intruders who want to exploit the data that is stored on them. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.56.3.9.1	(L1) Ensure	Always prompt for password upon connection	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting specifies whether Remote Desktop Services always prompts the client computer for a password upon connection. You can use this policy setting to enforce a password prompt for users who log on to Remote Desktop Services, even if they already provided the password in the Remote Desktop Connection client. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.56.3.9.2	(L1) Ensure	Require secure RPC communication	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to specify whether Remote Desktop Services requires secure Remote Procedure Call (RPC) communication with all clients or allows unsecured communication. You can use this policy setting to strengthen the security of RPC communication with clients by allowing only authenticated and encrypted requests. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.56.3.9.3	(L1) Ensure	Require use of specific security layer for remote (RDP) connections	is set to	Enabled: SSL	This policy setting specifies whether to require the use of a specific security layer to secure communications between clients and RD Session Host servers during Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: SSL`. Note: In spite of this setting being labeled _SSL_, it is actually enforcing Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.0, not the older (and less secure) SSL protocol.
18.10.56.3.9.4	(L1) Ensure	Require user authentication for remote connections by using Network Level Authentication	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to specify whether to require user authentication for remote connections to the RD Session Host server by using Network Level Authentication. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.56.3.9.5	(L1) Ensure	Set client connection encryption level	is set to	Enabled: High Level	This policy setting specifies whether to require the use of a specific encryption level to secure communications between client computers and RD Session Host servers during Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections. This policy only applies when you are using native RDP encryption. However, native RDP encryption (as opposed to SSL encryption) is not recommended. This policy does not apply to SSL encryption. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: High Level`.
18.10.56.3.11.1	(L1) Ensure	Do not delete temp folders upon exit	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies whether Remote Desktop Services retains a user's per-session temporary folders at logoff. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.57.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent downloading of enclosures	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting prevents the user from having enclosures (file attachments) downloaded from an RSS feed to the user's computer. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.58.3	(L1) Ensure	Allow Cortana	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies whether Cortana is allowed on the device. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.58.4	(L1) Ensure	Allow Cortana above lock screen	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting determines whether or not the user can interact with Cortana using speech while the system is locked. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.58.5	(L1) Ensure	Allow indexing of encrypted files	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether encrypted items are allowed to be indexed. When this setting is changed, the index is rebuilt completely. Full volume encryption (such as BitLocker Drive Encryption or a non-Microsoft solution) must be used for the location of the index to maintain security for encrypted files. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.58.6	(L1) Ensure	Allow search and Cortana to use location	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies whether search and Cortana can provide location aware search and Cortana results. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.65.2	(L1) Ensure	Only display the private store within the Microsoft Store	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting denies access to the retail catalog in the Microsoft Store, but displays the private store. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.65.3	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Automatic Download and Install of updates	is set to	Disabled	This setting enables or disables the automatic download and installation of Microsoft Store app updates. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.65.4	(L1) Ensure	Turn off the offer to update to the latest version of Windows	is set to	Enabled	Enables or disables the Microsoft Store offer to update to the latest version of Windows. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.71.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow widgets	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies whether the Widgets feature is allowed on the device. The Widgets feature provides information such as, weather, news, sports, stocks, traffic, and entertainment (not an inclusive list). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.75.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Automatic Data Collection	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection can collect additional information such as content displayed, sounds played, and application memory when users enter their work or school password into a suspicious website or app. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Per Microsoft, this information is used only for security purposes and helps SmartScreen determine whether the website or app is malicious.
18.10.75.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Notify Malicious	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns users if they type their work or school password into one of the following malicious scenarios: into a reported phishing site, into a Microsoft login URL with an invalid certificate, or into an application connecting to either a reported phishing site or a Microsoft login URL with an invalid certificate. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft Accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on-prem domain-joined accounts.
18.10.75.1.3	(L1) Ensure	Notify Password Reuse	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns users if they reuse their work or school password. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft Accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on prem domain-joined accounts.
18.10.75.1.4	(L1) Ensure	Notify Unsafe App	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns users if they type their work or school passwords in Notepad, WordPad, or M365 Office apps like OneNote, Word, Excel, etc. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft Accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on prem domain-joined accounts.
18.10.75.1.5	(L1) Ensure	Service Enabled	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection is in audit mode. This allows notifications to be sent to users regarding unsafe password events. Additionally, Enhanced Phishing Protection captures unsafe password entry events and sends diagnostic data through Microsoft Defender. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on-prem domain-joined accounts.
18.10.75.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure Windows Defender SmartScreen	is set to	Enabled: Warn and prevent bypass	This policy setting allows you to manage the behavior of Windows Defender SmartScreen. Windows Defender SmartScreen helps keep PCs safer by warning users before running unrecognized programs downloaded from the Internet. Some information is sent to Microsoft about files and programs run on PCs with this feature enabled. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Warn and prevent bypass`.
18.10.77.1	(L1) Ensure	Enables or disables Windows Game Recording and Broadcasting	is set to	Disabled	This setting enables or disables the Windows Game Recording and Broadcasting features. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.78.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable ESS with Supported Peripherals	is set to	Enabled: 1	Enhanced Sign-in Security isolates Windows Hello biometric (face and fingerprint) template data and matching operations to trusted hardware or specified memory regions. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 1`. (Enhanced Sign-in Security Enabled)
18.10.79.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow Windows Ink Workspace	is set to	Enabled: On, but disallow access above lock	This policy setting determines whether Windows Ink items are allowed above the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: On, but disallow access above lock` OR `Enabled: Disabled`.
18.10.80.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow user control over installs	is set to	Disabled	This setting controls whether users are permitted to change installation options that typically are available only to system administrators. The security features of Windows Installer normally prevent users from changing installation options that are typically reserved for system administrators, such as specifying the directory to which files are installed. If Windows Installer detects that an installation package has permitted the user to change a protected option, it stops the installation and displays a message. These security features operate only when the installation program is running in a privileged security context in which it has access to directories denied to the user. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.80.2	(L1) Ensure	Always install with elevated privileges	is set to	Disabled	This setting controls whether or not Windows Installer should use system permissions when it installs any program on the system. Note: This setting appears both in the Computer Configuration and User Configuration folders. To make this setting effective, you must enable the setting in both folders. Caution: If enabled, skilled users can take advantage of the permissions this setting grants to change their privileges and gain permanent access to restricted files and folders. Note that the User Configuration version of this setting is not guaranteed to be secure. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.81.1	(L1) Ensure	Enable MPR notifications for the system	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether `winlogon` sends Multiple Provider Router (MPR) notifications. MPR handles communication between the Windows operating system and the installed network providers. MPR checks the registry to determine which providers are installed on the system and the order they are cycled through. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.81.2	(L1) Ensure	Sign-in and lock last interactive user automatically after a restart	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether a device will automatically sign-in the last interactive user after Windows Update restarts the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.88.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Basic authentication	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) client uses Basic authentication. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.88.1.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow unencrypted traffic	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) client sends and receives unencrypted messages over the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.88.1.3	(L1) Ensure	Disallow Digest authentication	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) client will not use Digest authentication. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.88.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow Basic authentication	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service accepts Basic authentication from a remote client. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.88.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Allow unencrypted traffic	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service sends and receives unencrypted messages over the network. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.88.2.4	(L1) Ensure	Disallow WinRM from storing RunAs credentials	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service will allow RunAs credentials to be stored for any plug-ins. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: If you enable and then disable this policy setting, any values that were previously configured for `RunAsPassword` will need to be reset.
18.10.90.1	(L1) Ensure	Allow clipboard sharing with Windows Sandbox	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting enables or disables clipboard sharing with the Windows Sandbox. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: The Windows Sandbox feature was first introduced in Windows 10 R1903, and allows a temporary "clean install" virtual instance of Windows to be run inside the host, for the ostensible purpose of testing applications without making changes to the host.
18.10.90.2	(L1) Ensure	Allow networking in Windows Sandbox	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting enables or disables networking in the Windows Sandbox. Networking is achieved by creating a virtual switch on the host, and connecting the Windows Sandbox to it via a virtual Network Interface Card (NIC). The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: The Windows Sandbox feature was first introduced in Windows 10 R1903, and allows a temporary "clean install" virtual instance of Windows to be run inside the host, for the ostensible purpose of testing applications without making changes to the host.
18.10.91.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent users from modifying settings	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting prevent users from making changes to the Exploit protection settings area in the Windows Security settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.92.1.1	(L1) Ensure	No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting specifies that Automatic Updates will wait for computers to be restarted by the users who are logged on to them to complete a scheduled installation. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: This setting applies only when you configure Automatic Updates to perform scheduled update installations. If you configure the Configure Automatic Updates setting to Disabled, this setting has no effect.
18.10.92.2.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure Automatic Updates	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting specifies whether computers in your environment will receive security updates from Windows Update or WSUS. If you configure this policy setting to Enabled, the operating system will recognize when a network connection is available and then use the network connection to search Windows Update or your designated intranet site for updates that apply to them. After you configure this policy setting to Enabled, select one of the following three options in the Configure Automatic Updates Properties dialog box to specify how the service will work: - 2 - Notify for download and auto install _(Notify before downloading any updates)_ - 3 - Auto download and notify for install _(Download the updates automatically and notify when they are ready to be installed.) (Default setting)_ - 4 - Auto download and schedule the install _(Automatically download updates and install them on the schedule specified below.))_ - 5 - Allow local admin to choose setting _(Leave decision on above choices up to the local Administrators (Not Recommended))_ The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: The sub-setting "_Configure automatic updating:_" has 4 possible values – all of them are valid depending on specific organizational needs, however if feasible we suggest using a value of `4 - Auto download and schedule the install`. This suggestion is not a scored requirement. Note #2: Organizations that utilize a third--party solution for patching may choose to exempt themselves from this recommendation, and instead configure it to `Disabled` so that the native Windows Update mechanism does not interfere with the third--party patching process.
18.10.92.2.2	(L1) Ensure	Configure Automatic Updates: Scheduled install day	is set to	0 - Every day	This policy setting specifies when computers in your environment will receive security updates from Windows Update or WSUS. The recommended state for this setting is: `0 - Every day`. Note: This setting is only applicable if `4 - Auto download and schedule the install` is selected in the recommendation _'Configure Automatic Updates'_. It will have no impact if any other option is selected.
18.10.92.2.3	(L1) Ensure	Enable features introduced via servicing that are off by default	is set to	Disabled	This policy settings configures whether or not features and enhancements that are introduced through monthly cumulative updates (servicing), are enabled on the system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.92.2.4	(L1) Ensure	Remove access to “Pause updates” feature	is set to	Enabled	This policy removes access to "Pause updates" feature. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.92.4.1	(L1) Ensure	Manage preview builds	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting manages which updates that are received prior to the update being released. Dev Channel: Ideal for highly technical users. Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive builds from our active development branch that is earliest in a development cycle. These builds are not matched to a specific Windows 10 release. Beta Channel: Ideal for feature explorers who want to see upcoming Windows 10 features. Your feedback will be especially important here as it will help our engineers ensure key issues are fixed before a major release. Release Preview Channel (default): Insiders in the Release Preview Channel will have access to the upcoming release of Windows 10 prior to it being released to the world. These builds are supported by Microsoft. The Release Preview Channel is where we recommend companies preview and validate upcoming Windows 10 releases before broad deployment within their organization. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: Preview Build enrollment requires a telemetry level setting of 2 or higher and your domain registered on insider.windows.com. For additional information on Preview Builds, see: [https://aka.ms/wipforbiz](https://aka.ms/wipforbiz)
18.10.92.4.2	(L1) Ensure	Select when Preview Builds and Feature Updates are received	is set to	Enabled: 180 or more days	This policy setting determines when Preview Build or Feature Updates are received. Defer Updates This enables devices to defer taking the next Feature Update available to your channel for up to 14 days for all the pre-release channels and up to 365 days for the Semi-Annual Channel. Or, if the device is updating from the Semi-Annual Channel, a version for the device to move to and/or stay on until the policy is updated or the device reaches end of service can be specified. Note: If you set both policies, the version specified will take precedence and the deferrals will not be in effect. Please see the Windows Release Information page for OS version information. Pause Updates To prevent Feature Updates from being received on their scheduled time, you can temporarily pause Feature Updates. The pause will remain in effect for 35 days from the specified start date or until the field is cleared (Quality Updates will still be offered). Note: If the "Allow Diagnostic Data" (formerly "Allow Telemetry") policy is set to 0, this policy will have no effect. Note #2: Starting with Windows 10 R1607, Microsoft introduced a new Windows Update (WU) client behavior called Dual Scan, with an eye to cloud-based update management. In some cases, this Dual Scan feature can interfere with Windows Updates from Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and/or manual WU updates. If you are using WSUS in your environment, you may need to set the above setting to `Not Configured` _or_ configure the setting _Do not allow update deferral policies to cause scans against Windows Update_ (added in the Windows 10 Release 1709 Administrative Templates) in order to prevent the Dual Scan feature from interfering. More information on Dual Scan is available at these links: - [Demystifying “Dual Scan” – WSUS Product Team Blog](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/wsus/2017/05/05/demystifying-dual-scan/) - [Improving Dual Scan on 1607 – WSUS Product Team Blog](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/wsus/2017/08/04/improving-dual-scan-on-1607/) Note #3: Prior to Windows 10 R1703, values above 180 days are not recognized by the OS. Starting with Windows 10 R1703, the maximum number of days you can defer is 365 days.
18.10.92.4.3	(L1) Ensure	Select when Quality Updates are received	is set to	Enabled: 0 days	This settings controls when Quality Updates are received. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: 0 days`. Note: If the "Allow Diagnostic Data" (formerly "Allow Telemetry") policy is set to 0, this policy will have no effect. Note #2: Starting with Windows 10 R1607, Microsoft introduced a new Windows Update (WU) client behavior called Dual Scan, with an eye to cloud-based update management. In some cases, this Dual Scan feature can interfere with Windows Updates from Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and/or manual WU updates. If you are using WSUS in your environment, you may need to set the above setting to `Not Configured` _or_ configure the setting _Do not allow update deferral policies to cause scans against Windows Update_ (added in the Windows 10 Release 1709 Administrative Templates) in order to prevent the Dual Scan feature from interfering. More information on Dual Scan is available at these links: - [Demystifying “Dual Scan” – WSUS Product Team Blog](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/wsus/2017/05/05/demystifying-dual-scan/) - [Improving Dual Scan on 1607 – WSUS Product Team Blog](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/wsus/2017/08/04/improving-dual-scan-on-1607/)
18.10.92.4.4	(L1) Ensure	Enable optional updates	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting controls whether devices are able to receive optional updates (including Controlled Feature Rollout (CFRs)). These optional updates can include non-security updates, feature enhancements, and other improvements. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
19.5.1.1	(L1) Ensure	Turn off toast notifications on the lock screen	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting turns off toast notifications on the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is `Enabled`.
19.7.5.1	(L1) Ensure	Do not preserve zone information in file attachments	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting allows you to manage whether Windows marks file attachments with information about their zone of origin (such as restricted, Internet, intranet, local). This requires NTFS in order to function correctly, and will fail without notice on FAT32. By not preserving the zone information, Windows cannot make proper risk assessments. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: The Attachment Manager feature warns users when opening or executing files which are marked as being from an untrusted source, unless/until the file's zone information has been removed via the "Unblock" button on the file's properties or via a separate tool such as [Microsoft Sysinternals Streams](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/streams).
19.7.5.2	(L1) Ensure	Notify antivirus programs when opening attachments	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting manages the behavior for notifying registered antivirus programs. If multiple programs are registered, they will all be notified. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: An updated antivirus program must be installed for this policy setting to function properly.
19.7.8.1	(L1) Ensure	Configure Windows spotlight on lock screen	is set to	Disabled	This policy setting lets you configure Windows Spotlight on the lock screen. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`. Note: [Per Microsoft TechNet](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/manage/group-policies-for-enterprise-and-education-editions), this policy setting only applies to Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education editions.
19.7.8.2	(L1) Ensure	Do not suggest third-party content in Windows spotlight	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether Windows will suggest apps and content from third-party software publishers. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
19.7.8.5	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Spotlight collection on Desktop	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting removes the Spotlight collection setting in Personalization, rendering the user unable to select and subsequently download daily images from Microsoft to the system desktop. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
19.7.26.1	(L1) Ensure	Prevent users from sharing files within their profile.	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting determines whether users can share files within their profile. By default, users are allowed to share files within their profile to other users on their network after an administrator opts in the computer. An administrator can opt in the computer by using the sharing wizard to share a file within their profile. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
19.7.38.1	(L1) Ensure	Turn off Windows Copilot	is set to	Enabled	This policy setting configures the use of Windows Copilot. Windows Copilot is an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that's integrated in Microsoft Windows workstation OSes, beginning with Windows 11 Release 23H2. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
19.7.42.1	(L1) Ensure	Always install with elevated privileges	is set to	Disabled	This setting controls whether or not Windows Installer should use system permissions when it installs any program on the system. Note: This setting appears both in the Computer Configuration and User Configuration folders. To make this setting effective, you must enable the setting in both folders. Caution: If enabled, skilled users can take advantage of the permissions this setting grants to change their privileges and gain permanent access to restricted files and folders. Note that the User Configuration version of this setting is not guaranteed to be secure. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.

CIS 3.0.0 BitLocker (B1) Settings

CIS Version #	Title #	Description
2.3.7.3	(BL) Ensure 'Interactive logon: Machine account lockout threshold' is set to '10 or fewer invalid logon attempts, but not 0'	This security setting determines the number of failed logon attempts that causes the machine to be locked out. Failed password attempts against workstations or member servers that have been locked using either CTRL+ALT+DELETE or password protected screen savers counts as failed logon attempts. The machine lockout policy is enforced only on those machines that have BitLocker enabled for protecting OS volumes. Please ensure that appropriate recovery password backup policies are enabled. The recommended state for this setting is: `10 or fewer invalid logon attempts, but not 0`. Note: A value of `0` does not conform to the benchmark as it disables the machine account lockout threshold. Values from `1` to `3` will be interpreted as `4`.
18.9.7.1.1	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of Plug and Play hardware IDs and compatible IDs for devices that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing a device whose hardware ID or compatible ID appears in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, devices can be installed and updated as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: In versions of Windows 10 Release 1803 (or newer), there is a new control named _Enumeration policy for external devices incompatible with Kernel DMA Protection_ available that mitigates much of the risk for malicious devices that may perform Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks. The newer control is also now part of the Windows 10 CIS benchmark, in section 18.8.26. However, if your environment still contains any Windows 10 Release 1709 (or older) workstations, then the newer control will not work, so this setting remains important to disable Thunderbolt devices on those systems.
18.9.7.1.2	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs: Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs' is set to 'PCI\CC_0C0A'	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of Plug and Play hardware IDs and compatible IDs for devices that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing a device whose hardware ID or compatible ID appears in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, devices can be installed and updated as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `PCI\CC_0C0A` Note: This device ID is for Thunderbolt controllers. The USB Type-C (USB-C) port standard that is now common in many computers, especially laptops, utilizes Thunderbolt technology, and therefore may be affected by this restriction. If your organization needs to use USB-C extensively, you may need to decide, internally, to allow yourselves an exception to this recommendation. However, please ensure that all necessary decision-makers have accepted the increased risk of BitLocker encryption key theft (and therefore data theft) via malicious Thunderbolt devices (when left unattended), by doing so. Note #2: In versions of Windows 10 Release 1803 (or newer), there is a new control named _Enumeration policy for external devices incompatible with Kernel DMA Protection_ available that mitigates much of the risk for malicious devices that may perform Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks. The newer control is also now part of the Windows 10 CIS benchmark, in section 18.8.26. However, if your environment still contains any Windows 10 Release 1709 (or older) workstations, then the newer control will not work, so this setting remains important to disable Thunderbolt devices on those systems.
18.9.7.1.3	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs: Also apply to matching devices that are already installed.' is set to 'True' (checked)	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of Plug and Play hardware IDs and compatible IDs for devices that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing a device whose hardware ID or compatible ID appears in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, devices can be installed and updated as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `True (checked)`. Note: In versions of Windows 10 Release 1803 (or newer), there is a new control named _Enumeration policy for external devices incompatible with Kernel DMA Protection_ available that mitigates much of the risk for malicious devices that may perform Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks. The newer control is also now part of the Windows 10 CIS benchmark, in section 18.8.26. However, if your environment still contains any Windows 10 Release 1709 (or older) workstations, then the newer control will not work, so this setting remains important to disable Thunderbolt devices on those systems.
18.9.7.1.4	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices using drivers that match these device setup classes' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of device setup class globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) for device drivers that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing or updating device drivers whose device setup class GUIDs appear in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows can install and update devices as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.9.7.1.5	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices using drivers that match these device setup classes: Prevent installation of devices using drivers for these device setup' is set to 'IEEE 1394 device setup classes'	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of device setup class globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) for device drivers that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing or updating device drivers whose device setup class GUIDs appear in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows can install and update devices as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. Here are the four entries we recommend and what they translate to: - `{d48179be-ec20-11d1-b6b8-00c04fa372a7}` - IEEE 1394 devices that support the SBP2 Protocol Class - `{7ebefbc0-3200-11d2-b4c2-00a0C9697d07}` - IEEE 1394 devices that support the IEC-61883 Protocol Class - `{c06ff265-ae09-48f0-812c-16753d7cba83}` - IEEE 1394 devices that support the AVC Protocol Class - `{6bdd1fc1-810f-11d0-bec7-08002be2092f}` - IEEE 1394 Host Bus Controller Class The full list of system-defined device setup classes available in Windows is here: [System-Defined Device Setup Classes Available to Vendors \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/system-defined-device-setup-classes-available-to-vendors) The recommended state for this setting is: `{d48179be-ec20-11d1-b6b8-00c04fa372a7}`, `{7ebefbc0-3200-11d2-b4c2-00a0C9697d07}`, `{c06ff265-ae09-48f0-812c-16753d7cba83}`, and `{6bdd1fc1-810f-11d0-bec7-08002be2092f}` Note: IEEE 1394 has also been known/branded as _FireWire_ (by Apple), _i.LINK_ (by Sony) and _Lynx_ (by Texas Instruments).
18.9.7.1.6	(BL) Ensure 'Prevent installation of devices using drivers that match these device setup classes: Also apply to matching devices that are already installed.' is set to 'True' (checked)	This policy setting allows you to specify a list of device setup class globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) for device drivers that Windows is prevented from installing. This policy setting takes precedence over any other policy setting that allows Windows to install a device. If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing or updating device drivers whose device setup class GUIDs appear in the list you create. If you enable this policy setting on a remote desktop server, the policy setting affects redirection of the specified devices from a remote desktop client to the remote desktop server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows can install and update devices as allowed or prevented by other policy settings. The recommended state for this setting is: `True (checked)`.
18.9.24.1	(BL) Ensure 'Enumeration policy for external devices incompatible with Kernel DMA Protection' is set to 'Enabled: Block All'	This policy is intended to provide additional security against external DMA-capable devices. It allows for more control over the enumeration of external DMA-capable devices that are not compatible with DMA Remapping/device memory isolation and sandboxing. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Block All`. Note: This policy does not apply to 1394, PCMCIA or ExpressCard devices. The protection also only applies to Windows 10 R1803 or higher and requires a UEFI BIOS to function. Note #2: More information on this feature is available at this link: [Kernel DMA Protection for Thunderbolt™ 3 (Windows 10) \| Microsoft Docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/kernel-dma-protection-for-thunderbolt).
18.9.33.6.3	(BL) Ensure 'Allow standby states (S1-S3) when sleeping (on battery)' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting manages whether or not Windows is allowed to use standby states when putting the computer in a sleep state. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.9.33.6.4	(BL) Ensure 'Allow standby states (S1-S3) when sleeping (plugged in)' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting manages whether or not Windows is allowed to use standby states when putting the computer in a sleep state. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.4	(BL) Ensure 'Disable new DMA devices when this computer is locked' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to block direct memory access (DMA) for all hot pluggable PCI downstream ports until a user logs into Windows. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`. Note: Microsoft changed the implementation of this setting in Windows 10 R1709 to strengthen its enforcement. As a result, some hardware configurations may experience unexpected problems with this setting in that release (or newer), until updated firmware and/or drivers from the vendor are installed to correct the problem. See the Impact Statement for more information.
18.10.9.1.1	(BL) Ensure 'Allow access to BitLocker-protected fixed data drives from earlier versions of Windows' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting configures whether or not fixed data drives formatted with the FAT file system can be unlocked and viewed on computers running Windows Server 2008 (non-R2), Windows Vista, Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) operating systems. Note: This policy setting does not apply to drives that are formatted with the NTFS file system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.1.2	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected fixed data drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for fixed data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for fixed data drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for fixed data drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.1.3	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Allow data recovery agent' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected fixed data drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.1.4	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Recovery Password' is set to 'Enabled: Allow 48-digit recovery password' or higher	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Allow 48-digit recovery password` or `Enabled: Require 48-digit recovery password`.
18.10.9.1.5	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Recovery Key' is set to 'Enabled: Allow 256-bit recovery key' or higher	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Allow 256-bit recovery key` or `Enabled: Require 256-bit recovery key`.
18.10.9.1.6	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.1.7	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Save BitLocker recovery information to AD DS for fixed data drives' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for fixed data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.1.8	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Configure storage of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS' is set to 'Enabled: Backup recovery passwords and key packages'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for fixed data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Backup recovery passwords and key packages`.
18.10.9.1.9	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected fixed drives can be recovered: Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored to AD DS for fixed data drives' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected fixed data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for fixed data drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for fixed data drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.1.10	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of hardware-based encryption for fixed data drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting allows you to manage BitLocker's use of hardware-based encryption on fixed data drives and specify which encryption algorithms it can use with hardware-based encryption. Using hardware-based encryption can improve performance of drive operations that involve frequent reading or writing of data to the drive. You can specify additional options that control whether BitLocker software-based encryption is used instead of hardware-based encryption on computers that do not support hardware-based encryption and whether you want to restrict the encryption algorithms and cipher suites used with hardware-based encryption. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.1.11	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of passwords for fixed data drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting specifies whether a password is required to unlock BitLocker-protected fixed data drives. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a volume. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.1.12	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of smart cards on fixed data drives' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to specify whether smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to the BitLocker-protected fixed data drives on a computer. Smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to the drive. You can require smart card authentication by selecting the "Require use of smart cards on fixed data drives" check box. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a drive. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.1.13	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of smart cards on fixed data drives: Require use of smart cards on fixed data drives' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to specify whether smart cards _must_ be used to authenticate user access to the BitLocker-protected fixed data drives on a computer. Smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to the drive. You can require a smart card authentication by selecting the "Require use of smart cards on fixed data drives" check box. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a drive. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.2.1	(BL) Ensure 'Allow enhanced PINs for startup' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to configure whether or not enhanced startup PINs are used with BitLocker. Enhanced startup PINs permit the use of characters including uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, numbers, and spaces. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.2.2	(BL) Ensure 'Allow Secure Boot for integrity validation' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to configure whether Secure Boot will be allowed as the platform integrity provider for BitLocker operating system drives. Secure Boot ensures that the PC's pre-boot environment only loads firmware that is digitally signed by authorized software publishers. Secure Boot also provides more flexibility for managing pre-boot configuration than legacy BitLocker integrity checks. Secure Boot requires a system that meets the UEFI 2.3.1 Specifications for Class 2 and Class 3 computers. When this policy is enabled and the hardware is capable of using Secure Boot for BitLocker scenarios, the "Use enhanced Boot Configuration Data validation profile" group policy setting is ignored and Secure Boot verifies BCD settings according to the Secure Boot policy setting, which is configured separately from BitLocker. Note: If the group policy setting "Configure TPM platform validation profile for native UEFI firmware configurations" is enabled and has PCR 7 omitted, BitLocker will be prevented from using Secure Boot for platform or Boot Configuration Data (BCD) integrity validation. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.2.3	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow certificate-based data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected operating system drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services", choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for operating system drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.2.4	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Allow data recovery agent' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow certificate-based data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected operating system drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.2.5	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Recovery Password' is set to 'Enabled: Require 48-digit recovery password'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Require 48-digit recovery password`.
18.10.9.2.6	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Recovery Key' is set to 'Enabled: Do not allow 256-bit recovery key'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Do not allow 256-bit recovery key`.
18.10.9.2.7	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.2.8	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Save BitLocker recovery information to AD DS for operating system drives' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services", choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for operating system drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.2.9	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Configure storage of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS:' is set to 'Enabled: Store recovery passwords and key packages'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services", choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for operating system drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. Storing the key package supports recovering data from a drive that has been physically corrupted. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Store recovery passwords and key packages`.
18.10.9.2.10	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored to AD DS for operating system drives' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.2.11	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of hardware-based encryption for operating system drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting allows you to manage BitLocker's use of hardware-based encryption on operating system drives and specify which encryption algorithms it can use with hardware-based encryption. Using hardware-based encryption can improve performance of drive operations that involve frequent reading or writing of data to the drive. You can specify additional options that control whether BitLocker software-based encryption is used instead of hardware-based encryption on computers that do not support hardware-based encryption and whether you want to restrict the encryption algorithms and cipher suites used with hardware-based encryption. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.2.12	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of passwords for operating system drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting specifies the constraints for passwords used to unlock BitLocker-protected operating system drives. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a volume. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.2.13	(BL) Ensure 'Require additional authentication at startup' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to configure whether BitLocker requires additional authentication each time the computer starts and whether you are using BitLocker with or without a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Note: Only one of the additional authentication options can be required at startup, otherwise a policy error occurs. If you want to use BitLocker on a computer without a TPM, select the "Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM" check box. In this mode a USB drive is required for start-up and the key information used to encrypt the drive is stored on the USB drive, creating a USB key. When the USB key is inserted the access to the drive is authenticated and the drive is accessible. If the USB key is lost or unavailable you will need to use one of the BitLocker recovery options to access the drive. On a computer with a compatible TPM, four types of authentication methods can be used at startup to provide added protection for encrypted data. When the computer starts, it can use only the TPM for authentication, or it can also require insertion of a USB flash drive containing a startup key, the entry of a 4-digit to 20-digit personal identification number (PIN), or both. Users can configure advanced startup options in the BitLocker setup wizard. Note #2: If you want to require the use of a startup PIN and a USB flash drive, you must configure BitLocker settings using the command-line tool `manage-bde` instead of the BitLocker Drive Encryption setup wizard. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.2.14	(BL) Ensure 'Require additional authentication at startup: Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to configure whether you can use BitLocker without a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), instead using a password or startup key on a USB flash drive. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.3.1	(BL) Ensure 'Allow access to BitLocker-protected removable data drives from earlier versions of Windows' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting configures whether or not removable data drives formatted with the FAT file system can be unlocked and viewed on computers running Windows Server 2008 (non-R2), Windows Vista, Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) operating systems. Note: This policy setting does not apply to drives that are formatted with the NTFS file system. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.3.2	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected removable data drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for removable data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for removable data drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for removable data drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.3.3	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Allow data recovery agent' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. The "Allow data recovery agent" check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected removable data drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.3.4	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Recovery Password' is set to 'Enabled: Do not allow 48-digit recovery password'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Do not allow 48-digit recovery password`.
18.10.9.3.5	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Recovery Key' is set to 'Enabled: Do not allow 256-bit recovery key'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Configure user storage of BitLocker recovery information" select whether users are allowed, required, or not allowed to generate a 48-digit recovery password or a 256-bit recovery key. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Do not allow 256-bit recovery key`.
18.10.9.3.6	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select "Omit recovery options from the BitLocker setup wizard" to prevent users from specifying recovery options when they enable BitLocker on a drive. This means that you will not be able to specify which recovery option to use when you enable BitLocker, instead BitLocker recovery options for the drive are determined by the policy setting. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.3.7	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Save BitLocker recovery information to AD DS for removable data drives' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for removable data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.3.8	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Configure storage of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS:' is set to 'Enabled: Backup recovery passwords and key packages'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. In "Save BitLocker recovery information to Active Directory Domain Services" choose which BitLocker recovery information to store in AD DS for removable data drives. If you select "Backup recovery password and key package", both the BitLocker recovery password and key package are stored in AD DS. If you select "Backup recovery password only", only the recovery password is stored in AD DS. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: Backup recovery passwords and key packages`.
18.10.9.3.9	(BL) Ensure 'Choose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored to AD DS for removable data drives' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker. Select the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for removable data drives" check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds. Note: If the "Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for removable data drives" check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).
18.10.9.3.10	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of hardware-based encryption for removable data drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting allows you to manage BitLocker's use of hardware-based encryption on removable data drives and specify which encryption algorithms it can use with hardware-based encryption. Using hardware-based encryption can improve performance of drive operations that involve frequent reading or writing of data to the drive. You can specify additional options that control whether BitLocker software-based encryption is used instead of hardware-based encryption on computers that do not support hardware-based encryption and whether you want to restrict the encryption algorithms and cipher suites used with hardware-based encryption. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.3.11	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of passwords for removable data drives' is set to 'Disabled'	This policy setting allows you to specify whether a password is required to unlock BitLocker-protected removable data drives. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a drive. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Disabled`.
18.10.9.3.12	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of smart cards on removable data drives' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting specifies whether smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to BitLocker-protected removable data drives on a computer. Smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to the drive. You can require smart card authentication by selecting the "Require use of smart cards on removable data drives" check box. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a volume. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.3.13	(BL) Ensure 'Configure use of smart cards on removable data drives: Require use of smart cards on removable data drives' is set to 'Enabled: True'	This policy setting specifies whether smart cards _must_ be used to authenticate user access to BitLocker-protected removable data drives on a computer. Smart cards can be used to authenticate user access to the drive. You can require smart card authentication by selecting the "Require use of smart cards on removable data drives" check box. Note: This setting is enforced when turning on BitLocker, not when unlocking a volume. BitLocker will allow unlocking a drive with any of the protectors available on the drive. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: True` (checked).
18.10.9.3.14	(BL) Ensure 'Deny write access to removable drives not protected by BitLocker' is set to 'Enabled'	This policy setting configures whether BitLocker protection is required for a computer to be able to write data to a removable data drive. All removable data drives that are not BitLocker-protected will be mounted as read-only. If the drive is protected by BitLocker, it will be mounted with read and write access. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled`.
18.10.9.3.15	(BL) Ensure 'Deny write access to removable drives not protected by BitLocker: Do not allow write access to devices configured in another organization' is set to 'Enabled: False'	This policy setting configures whether the computer will be able to write data to BitLocker-protected removable drives that were configured in another organization. The recommended state for this setting is: `Enabled: False` (unchecked).