Introduction to Windows Services and Administration

Every modern Windows environment relies on background processes to keep critical systems running smoothly. Understanding how to manage, monitor, and secure these Windows Services is an essential skill for system administrators, support technicians, and security professionals alike. This course provides a clear path to mastering these core operating system components from the ground up. You will start by learning foundational terminology, discovering how services interact with the operating system, and exploring the Service Control Manager. From there, you will learn how to inspect and control services using PowerShell commands and investigate key security concepts, such as the risks associated with unquoted service paths. What you will learn: Understand the core architecture and lifecycle of Windows Services; Manage service states and startup types using the Service Control Manager; Use PowerShell cmdlets to query, start, stop, and configure services; Identify and analyze security vulnerabilities like unquoted service paths; Apply best practices for service account permissions and modern security hardening. This text-based course guides you step-by-step from fundamental operating system concepts to practical administration and security analysis. This course is designed for IT beginners, aspiring system administrators, and security enthusiasts with no prior experience in Windows administration. Start building your operating system administration skills today.