It’s an old vulnerability but still exists.
Due to security vulnerabilities with NetBIOS over TCP/IP, you may wish to disable it by following instructions.
There are two ways to disable NetBIOS and this works on the majority of Windows OS including Windows 8/10 desktop and Windows 2012/2016/2019 servers.
Disable NetBIOS using GUI
- Right-click on the Network icon on the start bar at the right-hand side and click on open network and sharing center
- Click on Change adapter settings
- Right-click on your network interface and click on Properties
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties
- Click on Advanced on the properties window
- Click on the WINS tab and select Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP
- Click OK
Done, NetBIOS over TCP/IP is disabled now.
Disable NetBIOS through Registry
If you are using Windows Server core edition or prefer using registry then the following will help.
- Launch Registry Editor
- Navigate to the following
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesNetBTParametersInterfaces- You may have multiple interfaces. Go to the respective interface where you want to disable
- Double click on NetbiosOptions and change the value to
2and Ok
That’s all!
Conclusion
Disabling NetBIOS on Windows is easy as you could see above.
Next, explore multiple ways to Boot Windows in safe mode.
