To complete the exercises in this chapter, you will need a PC or virtual machine running Windows 7 or above (preferably Windows 10) with a working network connection.

Before we dive into this subject in detail, I think it is important to actually define what actually constitutes a network. Network is one of those terms that is used often but when you ask someone to describe it, they can't without being vague.

For the purpose of this book, I will define a network as a set of two or more endpoint devices that communicate with each other through a shared medium. You will notice that I refer to endpoint devices and avoid the use of the terms computer and servers. While it would not truly be incorrect to describe them as such, these terms tend to narrow down an individual's train of thought. We'll look at this in the following activity.

I would envisage that your list included at least PCs, servers, and laptops. At one...

With all of this interconnectivity, it is important that we protect our networks and the data held within them. At this stage, I would like to introduce you to some of the following basic security technologies that we can utilize to protect our networks:

• Firewalls
• DMZ
• VPN

Firewalls are arguably one of the best methods of protecting your computer, yet very few people understand them. I would suggest the reason for this is because Microsoft does a pretty good job of implementing firewalls within their Windows operating systems (OSes). Windows Firewall has been part of the OS since its introduction in Windows XP Service Pack 2, and over time, its functionality has increased...

Despite its name, the Internet Options settings within the Windows OS also applies to the intranet. These options are accessible through the control panels of all the recent versions of Windows:

Alternatively, we can access them through the settings of the Internet Explorer browser, as shown in the following screenshot. Oddly, its successor, Microsoft Edge, doesn't have the same functionality. Regardless of the version of Windows being used, the options we will discuss are the same:

The Internet Options settings allow you to configure security levels separately for each of the four zones: Internet, Local intranet...

In this chapter, we discussed the minimal requirements that are needed to form a network. We highlighted how networks had grown away from the traditional idea of connecting personal computers together and moved toward the interconnectivity of a whole range of items. We introduced the concept of internets, intranets, and extranets while highlighting the subtle difference between internets and the Internet. Then, we went on to describe some of the basic security concepts involved in a network. Firewalls were discussed as a means of regulating traffic in and out of our network. Then, we covered demilitarized zones, or perimeter networks, and their use of providing public access to a subset of an organization's infrastructure. Next, VPNs and their implementation were introduced. Finally, we listed the security zones that are available in Windows operating systems and...

1. Which of these refers to the connectivity between different external networks?

(A) VPN
(B) Intranet
(C) Internet
(D) DMZ

2. Which of these does not allow us to identify a device on the network?

(A) Virtual port number
(B) IP address
(C) MAC address
(D) Hostname

3. Replace the underlined word in the following statement with the correct word(s). If you believe the statement is already correct, then select No change is required:
A DMZ allows or denies network traffic based on a set of rules.

(A) VPN
(B) Internet
(C) Firewall
(D) No change is required

4. Which of these technologies allows you to securely connect to a private network over an insecure network?

(A) Extranet
(B) DMZ
(C) Firewall
(D) VPN

5. Which of the following devices would you most likely position within a DMZ?

(A) Domain controller
(B) DHCP server
(C) Print server
(D) Web server

6. What is the default security...

To find out more about remote access VPN, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-access/vpn/always-on-vpn/.