Registry keys assosiated with security

[justiceman]

Lately i have readed in a book that a registry key named "VNETBIOS" is controlling the most dangerous port of all,port 139.I wanted to see if this really works so before removing this key from my registry i went to grc.com and i saw that my 139 port was wide open! I removed this key and rebooted, connected again and dropped by grc.com . My wide open 139 port was not open anymore! I would like to know if any one knows simular registry keys.I also want to say that i tested my Pc without firewall.
Thanks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[phishphreek]

There are tons of little tweaks you can do. Most of which you can also do with utilities... I like x-teq. (http://www.xteq.com/) It can increase both your performanace, security and a whole bunch of other things. If you do get this, run the update first before using it so you get ALL the features. Be careful with some though... (the ones with the warnings) as you can mess stuff up if you don't know what you're doing.

http://www.winguides.com/registry/category.php/4/ is the security category at www.winguides.com

most of what you find at winguides you can also find in the x-teq program too... just with xteq... you're not digging in the registry. The program will do it for you and you can undo your changes.

But.. just in case! BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE PLAYING!

[Algaen]

Did you have file and printer sharing enabled when you deleted the key? If so, it would have been a lot easier and safer to simply disable it.
What I'm trying to say is that ports are opened by services running on your machine. The safest way to close them is to stop running the service. It's a lot easier and safer than mucking around in the registry and risking screwing up your whole machine.

[phishphreek]

What I'm trying to say is that ports are opened by services running on your machine. The safest way to close them is to stop running the service. It's a lot easier and safer than mucking around in the registry and risking screwing up your whole machine.

hellz ya! visit http://www.blackviper.com/ for a couple of really good services guides for 2k and xp.

[PhirePhreak]

Right on, Algaen. If there's an easier way to do something that doesn't involve trial-and-error work in the Registry, take the easy route. The last thing you want to do is destroy your Registry while trying to tweak your box.

--PhirePhreak

[thehorse13]

While I agree that complexity is the number one enemy to the security and stability of your system, (and your sanity for that matter) sometimes merely stopping a service is not sufficient enough to achieve desired results. I'd rather say, "Begin by disabling services and then move on to the registry." From there you should move on to local security policies and *really* have a field day!

Oh yeah, here is the official Microsoft services list:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/management/fileservmac#fileservmac