Introduction to the Windows operating system.

Introduction to Windows

The Windows operating system (OS) is a complex product with many system files, utilities, settings, features, etc.

This module will attempt to provide a general overview of just a handful of what makes up the Windows OS, navigate the user interface, make changes to the system, etc. The content is aimed at those who wish to understand and use the Windows OS on a more comfortable level.

Launch the attached virtual machine. The virtual machine should open within your web browser.

If you want to access the virtual machine via Remote Desktop, use the credentials below.

Machine IP: 10.10.18.182

User: administrator

Password: letmein123!

Accept the Certificate when prompted, and you should be logged into the remote system now.

Note: The virtual machine may take up to 3 minutes to load.

Question: Read above and start the virtual machine.

Answer: No answer needed

Connect using xfreerdp

root@ip-10-10-37-158:~# xfreerdp /u:administrator /p:letmein123! /v:10.10.18.182

Windows Editions

The Windows operating system has a long history dating back to 1985, and currently, it is the dominant operating system in both home use and corporate networks. Because of this, Windows has always been targeted by hackers & malware writers.

[…]

Answer the questions below

Question: What encryption can you enable on Pro that you can’t enable in Home? Answer: BitLocker

The Desktop (GUI)

The Windows Desktop, aka the graphical user interface or GUI in short, is the screen that welcomes you once you log into a Windows 10 machine.

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Answer the questions below

Question: Which selection will hide/disable the Search box?

Answer: hidden

Question: Which selection will hide/disable the Task View button?

Answer: Show Task View Button

Question: Besides Clock, Volume, and Network, what other icon is visible in the Notification Area?

Answer: Action Center

The File System

The file system used in modern versions of Windows is the New Technology File System or simply NTFS.

Before NTFS, there was FAT16/FAT32 (File Allocation Table) and HPFS (High Performance File System).

[…]

Answer the questions below

Question: What is the meaning of NTFS?

Answer: New Technology File System

The Windows\System32 Folders

The Windows folder (C:\Windows) is traditionally known as the folder which contains the Windows operating system.

The folder doesn’t have to reside in the C drive necessarily. It can reside in any other drive and technically can reside in a different folder.

[…]

Answer the questions below

Question: What is the system variable for the Windows folder?

Answer: %windir%

User Accounts, Profiles, and Permissions

User accounts can be one of two types on a typical local Windows system: Administrator & Standard User.

The user account type will determine what actions the user can perform on that specific Windows system.

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Answer the questions below

Visit to C:\Users to see the others users.

Question: What is the name of the other user account?

Answer: tryhackmebilly

Press Windows + R and type lusrmgr.msc and navigate to Users and the check proparties of tryhackmebilly after than go to Member Of

Question: What groups is this user a member of?

Answer: Remote Desktop Users, Users

Question: What built-in account is for guest access to the computer?

Answer: Guest

Question: What is the account status?

Answer: Account is disabled

User Account Control

The large majority of home users are logged into their Windows systems as local administrators. Remember from the previous task that any user with administrator as the account type can make changes to the system.

[…]

Answer the questions below

Question: What does UAC mean?

Answer: User Account Control

Settings and the Control Panel

On a Windows system, the primary locations to make changes are the Settings menu and the Control Panel.

For a long time, the Control Panel has been the go-to location to make system changes, such as adding a printer, uninstall a program, etc.

[…]

Answer the questions below

Go to control panel and change the icon to small after changing the icon size you’ll see last setting is Windows Defender Firewall.

Question: In the Control Panel, change the view to Small icons. What is the last setting in the Control Panel view?

Answer: Windows Defender Firewall

Task Manager

The last subject that will be touched on in this module is the Task Manager.

The Task Manager provides information about the applications and processes currently running on the system. Other information is also available, such as how much CPU and RAM are being utilized, which falls under Performance.

[…]

Answer the questions below

Question: What is the keyboard shortcut to open Task Manager?

Answer: Ctrl+Shift+Esc

Conclusion

Again, this was a generic overview of the Windows OS.

There are intermediate and advanced topics for each topic (task) that was covered in this room.

Hence, Task 8 ended with a detailed blog post explaining the Task Manager in great detail.

In future modules, we’ll cover topics like the Windows folder, the management console, security tools (Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, etc.), to name a few.

Answer the questions below

Question: Read above.

Answer: No answer needed