I'm building a new server and I have a questions for the Tech crew.

I want the ability to access it remotely and was wondering what ya'll think is the most secure way to access it. I'll be running server 2003 and it will have a website running on it along wiht some other misc stuff. I know about Remote Desktop but I was wondering if there was something more secure.



Thanks in advance,

Justin

 

Start reading up on SSH or secure shell. Most SSH server programs for Windows cost money, but if you're decent with linux, you can make it work.

 

Bump

 

Depends what you want to do remotely. If you want complete control over the server, with the look-and-feel of the actual desktop, then Remote Desktop, provided that keep up with Microsoft's patches, should be fine.

 

MS server on the web by itself = bad.

Get a firewall w/ VPN capability. It's bad enough you're using it as a web server, don't let anything else to it. Make 'em establish a VPN tunnel then give them whatever they want... remote desktop over VPN rocks. Full access and totally secure. Enforce the use of complex passwords and password rotation.

I have no idea what your budget is, but the above is the best method. Never leave a server just hang out on the web. Layered security is key.

 

what would you recommend

 

Has the box at least been hardened? IE, ALL unnessary services shut down, port filtering turned on, etc....

I'm still parital to hardened unix/linux boxes for web servers. You can really crank them down well (if you know what your doing). If you take the time and plan out your security and implement it well, you'll be just fine. Careless setup will bring down any server... windoze, linux, it doesn't matter. The VAST majority of exploits are a direct result of misconfiguration.

In a perfect world you'd have a pro configure the box, have a proper firewall setup, and for those with fat budgets, an IDS/IPS device. Couple this with training, good security policies and regular audits and your on easy street.

 

I do not have it online yet. I'm still buildiong and setting things up. I will have everyport not required for what i'm doing disabled. Along with the server being behide a firewall.

 

I used freeSSHd and Tight VNC to set up something similar a while back just to tinker with. Seemed to work quite well.

 

Great, hopefully the firewall has VPN capabillity. If yes, there you go. VPN w/ remote desktop!