It is also very important not to use public computers or public networks to access corporate servers remotely, such as in internet café’s or public wireless networks. Remote access should also be restricted to a specific number of IP’s and to specific accounts only. Using security tokens and other single sign on equipment and software, is a very good security practice. If remote access is needed, one must make sure that the remote connection is secured properly, by using tunneling and encryption protocols. Remote accessĪlthough nowadays it is not practical, when possible, server administrators should login to web servers locally. Switching off unnecessary services will also give an extra boost to your server performances, by freeing some hardware resources. Switch off all unnecessary services and disable them, so next time the server is rebooted, they are not started automatically. The more services running on an operating system, the more ports will be left open, thus leaving more open doors for malicious users to abuse. In a typical default installation, many network services which won’t be used in a web server configuration are installed, such as remote registry services, print server service, RAS etc. Remove Unnecessary Servicesĭefault operating system installations and configurations, are not secure. Below is a list of tasks one should follow when securing a web server. Therefore one must take some necessary steps in order to increase web server security.
#Iis web server extensions software
Irrelevant of what web server software and operating system you are running, an out of the box configuration is usually insecure. Long hours of research and an overdose of coffee and take away food, can save you from long nights at the office, headaches and data breaches in the future. Your company’s security is as strong as its weakest point.Īlthough securing a web server can be a daunting operation and requires specialist expertise, it is not an impossible task. If you have a secure web application and an insecure web server, or vice versa, it still puts your business at a huge risk. Securing a web server is as important as securing the website or web application itself and the network around it. Web servers are one of the most targeted public faces of an organization, because of the sensitive data they usually host. Various high-profile hacking attacks have proven that web security remains the most critical issue to any business that conducts its operations online.