ADMIN$ C$ IPC$ security risk?

[tommy]

I have been connecting my laptop to my work LAN and was wondering if
the 3 shares I'm seeing in Computer Management, System Tools, Shared
Folders of ADMIN$, C$, IPC$ are secure. Can anyone use these to
compromise my system? Are they needed? Can they be deleted?

Thanks.

 

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

tommy wrote on 19-Sep-2004 7:04 PM:

I have been connecting my laptop to my work LAN and was wondering if
the 3 shares I'm seeing in Computer Management, System Tools, Shared
Folders of ADMIN$, C$, IPC$ are secure. Can anyone use these to
compromise my system? Are they needed? Can they be deleted?

Thanks.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; disable the administrative shares (C$)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters]
"AutoShareWks"=dword:00000000

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

I have been connecting my laptop to my work LAN and was wondering if
the 3 shares I'm seeing in Computer Management, System Tools, Shared
Folders of ADMIN$, C$, IPC$ are secure. Can anyone use these to
compromise my system? Are they needed? Can they be deleted?

Tommy,

they are protected by the administrator password. Make sure that
password is long and complex enough, like 14 characters and the
entire password not in any dictionary, or, at the very least, 7
characters containing uncommon special characters.

Hans-Georg

 

[tommy]

Just out of curiosity, what are they used for? Will there ever be a
time in the future that I might need them? If so, for what as an
example? Thanks.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Let's say, for example, that you hose your system and cannot log in. As
long as it can boot up in either normal or Safe Mode with Networking, the
Administrative share can be used to recover data.

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Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
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