How to secure your web server?

Web Server

How to secure your web server?

More advanced the technology, the higher the chance for certain challenges. There is a huge increase in hacking attacks on web servers. Various high-profile hacking attacks have proven that web security remains the most critical issue to any. Web servers are one of the most targeted public faces of an organization. Hacking attacks are painful and disastrous for any business online.


A web server is server software, or hardware dedicated to running said software, that can satisfy World Wide Web client requests. A web server can, in general, contain one or more websites.


Web servers are an integral part of any online business because they store all the confidential information, secret data, your emails, data from valuable resources, and all the other resources of your whole businesses and organizations.


So, it has become very important for businesses and organizations to understand the foundation of these hacking and malicious activities on your web server. Securing a web server is as important as securing the website or web application itself and the network around it.


Securing a web server can be a daunting operation and requires specialist expertise, but it's not an impossible task. Extra care and maintenance of the web servers are quintessential.


Therefore one must take some necessary steps in order to increase web server security. This article will review how to secure your web server.

So, let's get started -

Audit of the Website Regularly

Most of the servers are public facing, therefore it's imperative to execute task for all Internet-based services and solutions. Regular audits of the website are mandatory in order to detect any malicious activity, threats, or hacking alerts.

Omit Unnecessary Services

In a typical default installation, many network services which won’t be used in a web server configuration are installed. The more ports will be left open, thus leaving more open doors for malicious users to attack. Disabling unnecessary services will give an extra boost to your server performances, by freeing some hardware resources.

Use Application Scanners

Use internally developed application scanner code to protect applications and web servers. This practice will detect all the possible threats that can happen to your web server.

Remote Access

Using security tokens and other single sign on equipment and software, is a very good security practice. Remote access should also be restricted to a specific number of IP’s and to specific accounts only. It is also very important not to use public computers or public networks to access corporate servers remotely.

Secure System Binaries

Core system binaries can be write protected by using special file system settings. Preventing modification at filesystem level can be an effective deterrent against core system infection.

SSH Keys

SSH keys are a pair of cryptographic keys that can be used to authenticate to an SSH server as an alternative to password-based logins. A private and public key pair are created prior to authentication. The private key is kept secret and secure by the user, while the public key can be shared with anyone. To configure the SSH key authentication, you must place the user’s public key on the server in a special directory.

Disable Weak Encryption Protocols

Everyone knows encryption is good, but not many know that there are weak encryption systems that can be easily cracked. Many servers by default use weak encryption methods, which lead to information disclosure. Self-signed certs always display an error, and end-users then tend to ignore warnings, even if it says there’s active snooping going on. So, it’s best to use certificates from valid certificate authorities.

Use Separate Development Server

It's a sense to test applications on a stand-alone web server, but most companies allow developers to tweak code and, in many cases, allow developing new applications on a production server. It can cause many problems. It is not reliable and also not secure.

Software Updates

Out-of-date software is likely to contain security vulnerabilities that are known to hackers. This applies to both the server operating system and any software you may be running on your website. Keep your dependencies up to date, and use the tools to get automatic notifications when a vulnerability is announced in one of your components.

SQL Injection

SQL injection attacks are when an attacker uses a web form field or URL parameter to gain access to or manipulate your database. When you use standard Transact SQL it is easy to unknowingly insert rogue code into your query that could be used to change tables, get information and delete data. You can easily prevent this by always using parameterised queries, most web languages have this feature and it is easy to implement.

Secure File Uploads

Allowing users to upload files to your website can be a big website security risk, even if it’s simply to change their avatar. The risk is that any file uploaded, however innocent it may look, could contain a script that when executed on your server, completely opens up your website.

Use HTTPS

HTTPS is a protocol that provides security over the Internet. HTTPS guarantees that users are talking to the server they expect, and that nobody else can intercept or change the content they're seeing in transit. It's highly advisable to use only HTTPS to deliver it.