NT Gatekeeper: Changing the Full Control Permissions for the Everyone Group in NT 4.0

Giving the Everyone group Full Control permissions is a dangerous practice. Learn how to tackle this problem when you create a new share.

Jan De Clercq

June 15, 2003

1 Min Read
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What's the best way to change Windows NT 4.0's default practice of giving the built-in Everyone group Full Control access when you create a new share?

The following guideline should be on the must-do list of every NT administrator: When creating a share, always immediately remove the Full Control permission for the Everyone group and replace it with a Full Control (or less) permission for the Authenticated Users and Domain Users groups. Administrators should always try to honor the principle of the least privilege: Give a user, service, or application only the rights and permissions that are necessary to do the job. The problem with the Everyone group is that it includes both authenticated and unauthenticated users. Unauthenticated users are people who try to access your systems anonymously—without identifying themselves and providing credentials.

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