1 Host configuration
Hosts can be made more secure by modifying their configurations. Default configuration of most devices typically turn on a large number of many operating systems turn on many special-purpose programs, called services, that are not essential. Turning on unnecessary features and extra services maximizes the likelihood of successful installation without the need for customer support. This convenience, however, comes at the cost of creating security weaknesses. Every program running on a host represents a potential point of attack because it probably contains flaws, vulnerabilities, that can be exploited to either crash the system or take control of it. Therefore, any optional programs and features that are not user should be disabled. Tool like the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and vulnerability scanners can be used to identhreats. This process of turning off unnecessary features is called hardening.