---
author: paolomatarazzo
ms.author: paoloma
ms.date: 12/11/2024
ms.topic: include
---

## Server Message Block file services

Server Message Block (SMB) and file services are the most common Windows workloads in the commercial and public sector ecosystem. Users and applications rely on SMB to access the files that run organizations of all sizes.

Windows 11 introduced significant security updates to meet today's threats, including AES-256 SMB encryption, accelerated SMB signing, Remote Directory Memory Access (RDMA) network encryption, and SMB over QUIC for untrusted networks.

[!INCLUDE [new-24h2](new-24h2.md)]

New security options include mandatory SMB signing by default, NTLM blocking, authentication rate limiting, and several other enhancements.

[!INCLUDE [learn-more](learn-more.md)]

- [Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes in Windows 11, version 24H2](/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-11-version-24h2#server-message-block-smb-protocol-changes)
- [File sharing using the SMB 3 protocol](/windows-server/storage/file-server/file-server-smb-overview)