Mastering Windows Security and Hardening, Second Edition

Windows Security That Holds Up in the Real World 🔐

Windows environments rarely fail because one setting is wrong. They fail when identity, devices, cloud services, and legacy systems drift out of alignment. Mastering Windows Security and Hardening, Second Edition addresses that reality with a structured, defense-in-depth approach built around zero-trust security principles.

Mark Dunkerley and Matt Tumbarello move from foundational concepts to advanced hardening techniques, covering the tools Windows administrators and security teams actually use: baselines, Group Policy, Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Microsoft Defender, Azure AD, and more.

From Foundations to Applied Hardening

The book is organized into two practical parts:

• Part 1: Getting Started and Fundamentals — security transformation, threat landscape, ransomware preparedness, policies and standards, hardware and virtualization security, networking fundamentals, and identity and access management.
• Part 2: Applying Security and Hardening — device administration, policy management, secure deployment, Windows client hardening, and advanced protection for browsers, Microsoft 365 apps, and endpoint attack surfaces.

What You’ll Find Inside

• Building security baselines with CIS benchmarks and Windows security baselines
• Hardware-rooted protection including TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, VBS, Credential Guard, and HVCI
• Network security with Windows Defender Firewall and Azure network security groups
• Identity controls spanning Azure AD, MFA, Conditional Access, PIM, PAM, and passwordless authentication
• Managing devices with Configuration Manager, Intune, CSP, MDM, MAM, and co-management
• Secure provisioning and deployment using Windows Autopilot, Windows 365, and Azure Virtual Desktop
• Client security with update rings, BitLocker, Windows Hello for Business, and compliance policies
• Advanced hardening with Microsoft Defender, Application Guard, browser baselines, ASR, and removable storage controls

Who This Book Is For

This second edition is aimed at IT professionals, system administrators, security engineers, and architects who manage Windows clients, servers, or cloud-connected endpoints. It is equally useful for readers building a formal security baseline and for experienced practitioners who need a consolidated reference for modern Windows hardening.

Why the Second Edition Matters

Published in 2022, this edition reflects a Windows security landscape shaped by remote work, cloud identity, and increasingly sophisticated threats. The material connects policy, platform, and cloud controls so readers can see how individual hardening decisions support a wider security posture.

A Practical Reference for Windows Hardening 💻

Detailed, structured, and grounded in real administrative workflows, Mastering Windows Security and Hardening, Second Edition is designed to be read cover to cover or used as a targeted reference when configuring, auditing, or improving Windows security.