Peter <email@peter.com> writes:

> Hi all,
> I'm new to the computer security. Can you show me some starting point of
> securing a server? What i read on most sites about security is that
> updating the system is one of the best pratices. However, i find it quite
> hard to do that on daily basis, especially when you have a server with
> little or zero support such as Fedora 1/2/3 or Win2K. I also heard about
> IDS but most of IDS systems require experiences of the admin to set up a
> good database, which is impossible for beginner like me. How secure is a
> firewall with good policy?
> In case my server was intruded, what is the procedure to stop the attack,
> secure the system and rescue the data?
> If possible, please refer me to sources where i can learn more. I want
> something detailed, not just general guidlines that can be found by
> google.

You're dealing with big topics.

Win2k server:
http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whi.../win2k/189.php
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...HTBaseAnal.asp

That last link is to a reasonably useful tool that'll point out
glaring weaknesses. It has a very unfortunate asp file name though.

Fedora 1 or 2
dunno... they're old. Consider upgrading.

IDS's are good tools. They do require setup and admin. Snort is a
very popular free one. It's imperative to keep up with updates
though.

A firewall only secures your border. Are you running web servers?
How many internal users are there? Are there provision for external
access for employees?

No time to say more at this point, but if you can post what OS your
server is perhaps folks have a favorite, detailed hardening guide they
can point you to.

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/