"Deep in the sea are riches beyond compare.
But if you seek safety, it is on the shore."

Tweaks and tricks for security and privacy : Part Two

NetBIOS problem and how to solve it

NetBIOS reveals lots of information about your system, like your name and workgroup. Also it has LOTS of build-in bugs that can be exploited by hackers one way or an other. If you have badly configured system, you might also be sharing the content of your computer to the rest of the world via “File and printer sharing” with NetBIOS. In principle, everyone having network card or internet connection might be vulnerable under Windows OS. If you are home-user without LAN or home network, then you don’t really need it. And you can always give it a try. Running any Windows with Netbios on is like asking for trouble. Get rid of it! But how?

Here’s the tricky part. If you run Windows95/98/ME, you really *cant* remove it. Why? Ask Bill Gates. So what you need to do is to make sure that Windows doesn’t load the NetBIOS at all!

- If you have WindowsME, then you need to run “MSconfig”, then choose “Static VxDs” and simply uncheck “NetBIOS”. That’s it! Now Windows doesn’t load it anymore. If you need it or find out that your connection isn’t working properly, you can just simply enable it again. Remember to reboot every time you do these chances so it will take effect.

- If you have Windows95/98, then you need to rename file “vnbt.386” to something else, like “vnbt.old” and reboot. That’s it! Again, if your system or network/internet doesn’t seem to work fine, then just rename it back to “vnbt.386” and reboot.

- If the previous ones don’t work for you, here is the “final way of doing it”. This has been produced by Steve Gibson at Gibson research. http://grc.com/su-rebinding9x.htm

- If you are using Windows2000/XP, you can disable Netbios by going to your network preferences and disabling it there...you can look the more precise guide at "Win2k/XP".

- You can go to https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 and run “Test my shields!” and see that NetBIOS is really off. Remember to turn off your firewall if you have one that is.

-Markus Jansson