What is the recommended action regarding unneeded protocols in Windows configurations?

Disabling protocols that are not needed is a recommended action in Windows configurations to enhance security and reduce vulnerability. Unused protocols can present an attack surface; by having them enabled, they may allow unauthorized access or potential exploitation.

This practice aligns with the principle of least privilege, which consists of limiting exposure to only what is necessary for the system’s function. Disabling unneeded protocols helps streamline the configuration, ensuring that only the essential services are running, which mitigates the risk of exploitation through unused entry points.

Moreover, with fewer active protocols, system performance can also be improved, as resources are not being diverted to maintain unnecessary services. Organizations that follow this guidance strengthen their security posture, reduce complexity, and simplify management tasks.

Other options suggest maintaining unnecessary protocols, keeping all defaults unchanged, or limiting only to critical protocols, which do not emphasize the proactive reduction of potential security risks that arise from unnecessary protocols being present in the configuration.