4 - Windows Services

Question 1

Windows Services do not depend on a User.
[True / False]

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Describe some of the OS features Windows Services are intended to provide.

Hint: List of 6

Answer 2

1. DHCP
2. DNS
3. FTP
4. Telnet
5. Web hosting
6. Email

Question 3

The more services running on a system, the more possible entry points there may be.

[True / False]

Answer 3

True

Question 4

From a configuration perspective, name the 3 things Windows Services consist of.

Hint: List of 3.

Answer 4

1. Service Applications
2. Service Control Programs (SCPs)
3. Service Control Manager (SCM)

Question 5

Describe Service Applications.

Answer 5

• The services themselves.
• They may be executables or DLLs, as long as they contain code allowing the SCM to interact with them.
• Most Windows services are DLLs that require a shared process to run. Svchost.exe processes are generic hosts for DLL services.
• The HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SvcHost Registry key identifies each svchost.exe process and the services it hosts.

Question 6

Describe Service Control Programs.

Answer 6

• GUI, command line or PS programs used to communicate desired service configuration changes to the SCM.
• SCPs allow users to view service properties as well as start, stop, and/or configure services.
• The most common SCP is the services.msc GUI.

Question 7

Describe Service Control Manager (SCM).

Answer 7

The SCM manages Windows services and is therefore responsible for starting, stopping, and interacting with all system services.

Question 8

Windows services are a special type of application that is configured to launch and run in the background.

[True / False]

Answer 8

True

Question 9

Windows Services can be configured to run as the local system account.

[True / False]

Answer 9

True

Question 10

A Service requires an Administrator account.

[True / False]

Answer 10

True

Note: Unlike regular applications, which can be simply launched and run under your user account, a service must be installed and registered with Windows, which requires an administrator account.

Question 11

Where can you manage the services running on your computer?

Answer 11

The Service panel

Question 12

Name the two steps required to open the Services panel.

Answer 12

1. Click the windows key + R on your keyboard
2. Type in “services.msc”
3. The Services panel will then show you a list of everything running
4. From there, you can either right click on any service running to start, stop, or pause it, or use the toolbar buttons.

Question 13

While in the Services panel, double clicking on a service will do what?

Answer 13

Double clicking on a service will provide more options for how to change the service.

Question 14

In the Services panel, what information does the General tab provide?

Answer 14

In the General tab, you can -

1. See the description of the Service
2. Choose how it starts up
3. Change the Service from automatically starting when the computer boots up (default) to other options

Question 15

What is the most common SCP?

Answer 15

services.msc

Question 16

In the Services panel, what does the Recovery tab allow you to do?

Answer 16

The Recovery tab allows you to choose options for what happens when the service fails.

Question 17

What is the default option for a Service failure?

Hint: Found under the Recovery tab

Answer 17

Restart the Service

Question 18

In the Services panel, what does the Dependencies tab show?

Answer 18

The dependencies tab shows which services depend on a particular service, and which services depend on the one you are looking at.