Windows server 2k3 security

Hi all;

I have windows 2003 server and i dont know how secure is it?
I have antivirus,antispyware programs up to date but its not enough i think...

For example do i need to install a firewall?I am worrying about ddos attacks and please show me a way how to prevent my server from this type of attacks...

If u make any other additional recommendations i ll be appreciated...


thank you

Burak

 

If the server contains any important information on it (which I assume it does, since few people run WinServer2k3 without having important files on it...) then you really don't want to take any chances. In my mind, there is no such thing as secure enough. Having just recovered from a hardware failure myself, I know first-hand how good it feels to be properly prepared for disaster. Of course, we all hope that disaster never comes, but....

So anyway, I'd say that the bare minimum here would be two firewalls: One hardware and one software. It may seem expensive for some products, but weigh the cost of the hardware firewall against the costs associated with recovering from a damaging attack... if someone (or some program/virus/worm) happens to break into your system and performs any kind of attack (be it DOS, dDos, whatever), will the cost of rebuilding the lost data/uptime be equal or greater to the cost of buying a Cisco (yes, I play favorites here, they've NEVER let me down, unlike some other brands..) firewall? Just something to ask yourself.

And, in addition to a hardware firewall, it's ALWAYS a good idea to make use of an Active-Directory-friendly software firewall.

If it's a webserver you're hosting, you'll definitely want both. The hardware firewall can be configured to block all incomming traffic that isn't on ports you specify and will block against many known attacks, such as your typical Denial of Service or Decentralized Denial of Service attacks. The software firewall will help block intranet traffic (assuming you're running this as a domain controller with other computers on the network) that could be harmful, and will also help keep potentially-harmful applications from accessing the net without your permission.

 

Download the Microsoft baseline security analyser and run it against your server. Will give you some feed back on settings relating to your server and tell you what best practice Microsoft recommend in locking it down.