For organizations and individuals who are using Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), it is important that security is an integral part of the deployment plans. Although the default installation of Windows XP is quite secure, it is important to remember the trade-offs that exist between security, usability, and functionality of the client computers in your environment. A thorough understanding of these trade-offs places your organization in a position to maximize the security of the Windows XP environment.

The Windows XP Security Guide, created by Microsoft mainly for organizations, provides specific recommendations about how to harden computers that run Windows XP with SP2 in three distinct environments:

• Enterprise Client (EC) - Client computers in this environment are located in an Active Directory® directory service domain and only need to communicate with systems that run Windows 2000 or later versions of the Windows operating system.
• Stand-Alone (SA) - Client computers in this environment are not members of an Active Directory domain and may need to communicate with systems that run Windows NT® 4.0.
• Specialized Security - Limited Functionality (SSLF). Concern for security in this environment is so great that a significant loss of functionality and manageability is acceptable. For example, military and intelligence agency computers operate in this type of environment.

The Guide includes step-by-step instructions, and unlike some Microsoft documents, it doesn’t focus exclusively on the typical enterprise network and ignore standalone systems or those deployed in smaller, unmanaged environments. There are three different scenarios covered: XP in the enterprise (with a Windows 2000 or Server 2003 domain), XP in the “high security” environment” (becoming more and more common), and XP as a standalone machine or in an “unmanaged” environment. This broadens the audience considerably and makes the Guide useful to IT administrators over a large scope of organizations.

Reference links: http://www.microsoft.com.nsatc.net/technet/security/prodtech/windowsxp/secwinxp/default.mspx: Windows XP security guide