Week 11 - operating system security

Question 1

Operating systems?

Answer 1

collection of software that provides an interface, manages components (storage, memory, process) and peripherals (displays, printers, audio)

Question 2

whats a kernal?

Answer 2

manages the lower level tasks of the OS such as memory management, disc access and task scheduling.

Question 3

basic OS?

Answer 3

simple architecture, all elements within a single trust environment, authorised user has unrestricted access

Question 4

monolithic OS

Answer 4

separates breaks the system down into several trust zones, allows,allocated different memory storage, preventing access or corruption of other applications. improved performance. used by windows, linux and macOS

Question 5

server hardening

Answer 5

process applied to server with many facets which involves actions to make data, hardware, applications and accounts as secure as possible using configuration, firmware, hardware and segregation as well as intrusion detection and logging.

Question 6

system hardening

Answer 6

the process of securing a system’s configuration and settings to reduce IT vulnerability.

Question 7

basic input/output system (BIOS)

Answer 7

The basic input and output system is the program used to start the system up and load the operating system (OS) when it is powered on. It also manages the connections between the OS and attached devices.

Question 8

unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI)

Answer 8

Similar to Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) but with extended capabilities where initialisation information is stored in a file such that it can be updated more easily, larger discs can be supported and booting is faster and more secure.

Question 9

master boot record (MBR)

Answer 9

consists of a program and information stored on the first sector of a main hard disk that identifies how and where the operating system is located so that it can be loaded into the computer’s memory. It also includes information about disc partitions.