RE: IIS6 Security and other web servers

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Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 09:44:52 +0000
To: randyw@techsource.com, security-basics@securityfocus.com

--Am I to take the statement that "IIS6 is a very secure platform" to mean

that IIS6 is only secure after it has been hardened from its insecure
default installation and protected by layered security that prevents
direct access to the Internet".--

IIS6 is very secured and locked down from the word go, most problems I see
are people opening them up too much because of the lack of usability that
comes with it being locked down. I think you make the mistake not
recognising the difference between IIS6 and the OS, and the 3rd party
software that entails, IIS6 is secure, and the OS isn't so much.

Other thing, no hosting centre's I know of have IIS OR Apache webserve
boxes outside of an application firewall (SEF, F5) - not if they are
offering a viable solution for customers.

The statement 'Web servers are only as secure as the person who secured it
is knowledgeable' is more correct

Tom Farrar
Data Centre Engineer
tom.farrar@it-ps.com

IT Professional Services
t +44 (0)191 442 8300
f +44 (0)191 442 8301
Support: +44 (0)870 444 0535

-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Williams [mailto:randyw@techsource.com]
Sent: 27 January 2005 16:36
To: security-basics@securityfocus.com
Subject: Re: IIS6 Security and other web servers

Greetings All,

I'd like to ask for some clarification here. I know that Ebay,
Anandtech, et al. run on a purely Windows architecture (for the ease of
programming in .Net from what the folks at Anandtech are saying) for
their web-services and that works well for them.

However, I know of no Windows architecture that is exposed directly to
the Internet. Every vendor/consultant/Admin I have ever met is saying
that in order for Windows to be secure it must be protected by layers of
protection (hardened router, hardware firewall, etc).

On the other hand, I know of a number of LAMP-type servers that are
exposed directly to the Internet with no intervening layers.

Am I to take the statement that "IIS6 is a very secure platform" to mean
that IIS6 is only secure after it has been hardened from its insecure
default installation and protected by layered security that prevents
direct access to the Internet".

I may well be wrong here, so please feel free to correct me if I'm out
on a limb.

Thank you,

RandyW

Roger A. Grimes wrote:

>IIS6 is a very secure platform. Some of the largest and most
>Internet-exposed companies in the world run it. Ebay runs it. Like any
>web server, you must follow basic guidelines and keep your patches
>up-to-date, but that is any product.
>
>If you have mostly Windows experience, it certainly isn't a poor choice.
>Anyone saying otherwise is just going on inaccurate or old data, or just
>letting their personal preferences get involved. I use both IIS and
>Apache, and both are secure when implemented as recommended. I'm a
>Windows guy, though, so configuring security and other things is easier
>for me in IIS (click, click, click) than in Apache (find text file to
>edit...).
>
>In fact, Windows IT Pro mag and I are sponsoring a Hack IIS contest in a
>few months with prizes.
>
>Roger
>
>************************************************************************
>***
>*Roger A. Grimes, Banneret Computer Security, Computer Security
>Consultant
>*CPA, CISSP, MCSE: Security (NT/2000/2003/MVP), CNE (3/4), CEH, CHFI
>*email: roger@banneretcs.com
>*cell: 757-615-3355
>*Author of Malicious Mobile Code: Virus Protection for Windows by
>O'Reilly
>*http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/malmobcode
>*Author of Honeypots for Windows (Apress)
>*http://www.apress.com/book/bookDisplay.html?bID=281
>************************************************************************
>****
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rivera Alonso, David [mailto:drivera@iberdrola.es]
>Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 9:52 AM
>To: security-basics@securityfocus.com
>Subject: IIS6 Security and other web servers
>
>
>Dear friends,
>
>I just want to throw a little question to know your opinion.
>I was discussing yesterday with a friend about the quality of IIS6 from
>a Security point of view.
>He immediately said it's a bad choice, as previous Microsoft web
>servers.
>I've read a few papers and I have this opinion: as it's been redesigned
>from the ground (with all the previous failures in mind), with the
>security perspective, with every little service and option disabled by
>default, and so on, I told him that now, in my opinion, IIS6 is a good
>choice.
>He loves GNU, Linux, and, logically, he thinks Apache is the king in
>security.
>Just because I felt curious, I went into www.securityfocus.com to check
>the latest vulnerability advisories, for Apache and IIS6. Incredible,
>Apache wins, it has many more (not to talk about the many releases since
>version 2.0)! In fact, I just found one alert about IIS6.
>
>What do you experts think?
>Of course, I know IIS was very dangerous before version 6.
>But, maybe an IIS6 in a well configured, patched and securized Windows
>2003 machine is al last a good choice to house Web Applications?
>Or maybe it's too soon, there are few installed, and maybe in the future
>it'll have as many holes as the predecessors?
>
>What do you think?
>
>best regards from Spain,
>
>DAVID
>
>
>
>
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• Previous message: Philip Wagenaar: "Betr.: Re: encryption"
• Maybe in reply to: Rivera Alonso, David: "IIS6 Security and other web servers"
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