Windows Defender Exploit Guard is a set of host intrusion prevention capabilities that are built into Windows 10 and Windows Server operating systems. Exploit Guard is designed to provide advanced security against a wide range of exploit and malware attacks by preventing the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the operating system and applications. It offers a range of features that protect your system from various threat vectors.
Concept: Exploit Guard is designed to protect your system against advanced and evolving threats, including zero-day attacks and fileless malware. It employs a combination of advanced techniques to do this, such as code integrity, attack surface reduction, network protection, and controlled folder access. These components work together to mitigate the risk of malware infection and prevent successful exploitation of vulnerabilities.
Prerequisites: To use Windows Defender Exploit Guard, you need:
- Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 and later.
- Administrative access to configure and manage Exploit Guard settings.
Usage and Working Examples: Exploit Guard includes several features, and you can configure each based on your security requirements:
- Attack Surface Reduction (ASR):
- Concept: ASR helps prevent the execution of potentially malicious code by blocking or allowing specific actions in different applications.
- Usage Example: You can configure ASR rules to block executable content from email or web-based communication apps, thus preventing malicious code from running.
- Network Protection:
- Concept: Network Protection prevents the loading of malicious and untrusted content from the web.
- Usage Example: You can use Network Protection to block suspicious content from being loaded in your web browsers, thus protecting your system from web-based threats.
- Controlled Folder Access:
- Concept: Controlled Folder Access prevents unauthorized changes to sensitive files and folders by blocking untrusted processes from accessing them.
- Usage Example: You can add important folders to a protected list, ensuring that only trusted applications can make changes to these folders, protecting your data from ransomware attacks.
- Exploit Protection:
- Concept: Exploit Protection is a set of system-level mitigations that can be configured to prevent common exploitation techniques.
- Usage Example: You can configure specific protection rules to block specific memory protection techniques or control flow guard, which can prevent buffer overflow exploits.
Configuration and Management Steps: To configure and manage Windows Defender Exploit Guard, follow these steps:
- Open Windows Security:
- Go to “Start” and search for “Windows Security.”
- Open the app.
- Access Exploit Protection:
- In Windows Security, click on “App & browser control.”
- Under “Exploit protection settings,” click “Exploit protection.”
- Configure Exploit Protection Settings:
- You can configure system-level mitigations under the “System settings” tab.
- To configure specific application settings, click on the “Program settings” tab and select an application to configure its protection.
- Configure Controlled Folder Access:
- In Windows Security, click on “Virus & threat protection.”
- Under “Ransomware protection,” click on “Manage ransomware protection.”
- Configure the folders you want to protect.
- Configure Attack Surface Reduction:
- In Windows Security, click on “App & browser control.”
- Under “Attack surface reduction,” click “Edit.”
- Configure ASR rules according to your organization’s requirements.
- Configure Network Protection:
- In Windows Security, click on “App & browser control.”
- Under “Web protection,” click “Manage providers.”
- Configure network protection settings.
These steps allow you to configure and manage Exploit Guard features according to your organization’s security needs.
Windows Defender Exploit Guard is a critical component in protecting your system and data from a wide range of advanced threats. By properly configuring and managing its features, you can enhance your system’s security and protect against emerging security risks.
