Any suggestions for webserver for Win2000?

[Jonitus]

I have reached the point in my college career where I need to start getting my name out there to try and lock down a job. I would like, in addition to sending out resumes, to set up a professional website where potential employers could look at a version of my resume online that could provide them with more information than what is on the standard resume they will recieve.

I am on a static IP, so no real concerns there.

...there are however, security concerns. There are some persons on this network who, shall we say, are nasty little $hits that would trash my site for the fun of it if they had the chance.

Can anyone recommend a "good" webserver application that I can utilize to post my website. It should be able to handle Frontpage 2000 extensions, as well as have some security features built in (I don't want to have to screw with this thing too much)

If you can help, I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Apache

 

[Jonitus]

Thanks for the tip. I tried Apache and found it far too sophistocated and difficult for what I want to do, or perhaps I am too computer ignorant.

Maybe this is a lost cause.

 

[hooj]

Tomcat

This is what I use but you need to be working with Java

 

[GeSuN]

You may want to try Sambar . One of my friend has it and he likes it. I prefer Apache tough...

 

[Sunner]

Frankly speaking, if Apache is too hard to setup, I think it's a good idea to question if you are the right person to setup a webserver in a somewhat "hostile" environment.

Not intended as an insult or anything, just some constructive criticism.

 

[Jonitus]

Hostile environment? ...you are right about that.

I'll be the first to admit that my experience with these overgrown calculators is extremely limited.

Apache seems not only difficult to me...it might as well be in Chinese!

I guess I will find someplace that offers free hosting, and rely on their security measures.

Anyone got a suggestion for a free host that can take Front Page 2000, so I could essentially "paste" my html in and be done with the whole shebang?

 

[Thor86]

Uhh, maybe your ISP?

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< Hostile environment? ...you are right about that. >>



The internet is no place for children (not a knock on you, dont take it that way)



<< I'll be the first to admit that my experience with these overgrown calculators is extremely limited. >>



Thats the perfect way to be when you start learning.



<< Apache seems not only difficult to me...it might as well be in Chinese! >>



Maybe you downloaded the chinese version...



<< I guess I will find someplace that offers free hosting, and rely on their security measures. >>



You can get some free space with an isp, or pay a small fee to a hosting provider. There is one out there that charge $3.95 per month that looks decent.



<< Anyone got a suggestion for a free host that can take Front Page 2000, so I could essentially "paste" my html in and be done with the whole shebang? >>



Forget frontpage extentions. They are unnecessary. A simple scp/ftp and you can have everything you need up on the site.

 

[Sunner]

You can try wbws.net.

Check it out and see if they have what you need, Im using them and they've been good to me, had a minor issue or two, but their customer support has been excellent.

 

[Jonitus]

Thanks for the suggstions everyone, they have been helpful.

As far as hosting on my ISP...NOT!! I am lucky enough to be on a T1 network on campus, why would I give that up?

I'll keep looking into this thing, maybe something will catch my fancy.

I'll let everyone know how it went when I accomplish my mission.

Hasta.

 

[Raven76]

If your looking for a Win2000 based web server solution, IIS comes to mind first. After all, it is included with Win2000 server. Despite all the talk of security issues with IIS, if you keep it patched and set it up right it is secure. Plenty of sites with much more important info than your resume use IIS every day.

However, setting up your own web server is not exactly a simple task. If your not willing to spend a lot of time learning then I would go with a paid host. For less than $10 a month you can get a web host account with all the options. Speaking of options, that is probably the biggest downside to using IIS as a platform. I had an IIS server in my home for serveral months, and for serving static pages it was great, but for email, CGI, etc. it started to look VERY costly. I have since moved to Linux/Apache which is more complicated to start with, but free and full of features. Back to paid hosting. You get all the options, none of the hassle (if the host is good), and it's not that expensive. On my larger sites I use paid hosting through LiquidWeb.com. I'm very happy with them compared to other hosts I have used (and since relocated from). Good luck!

 

[Nothinman]

Plenty of sites with much more important info than your resume use IIS every day.

Because we all know you'll only get broken into if you have important data on your site...

 

[Swaz]

Glad to see that I am not that only one that uses Sambar.

 

[Raven76]

"Because we all know you'll only get broken into if you have important data on your site... "

I didn't say that important data is the only reason people hack sites. What I am saying is if IIS is secure enough for sites that are probably under attack fairly often (due to the info stored on those sites, or just their high profile on the Net), then there is no reason why IIS can't secure his resume as well.

I love how people go out of their way to change the meaning of other people comments.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< "Because we all know you'll only get broken into if you have important data on your site... "

I didn't say that important data is the only reason people hack sites. What I am saying is if IIS is secure enough for sites that are probably under attack fairly often (due to the info stored on those sites, or just their high profile on the Net), then there is no reason why IIS can't secure his resume as well.

I love how people go out of their way to change the meaning of other people comments. >>



Should we look at the percentages? Should we see how many breakins there are because of IIS compared to Apache? Do you really want to know which big sites have been broken into? Do you know which sites are usually the easiest to get into? Do you know where the most hacked servers reside? The second most? The third most?

 

[GeSuN]

Tonight Apache visits IIS at Microsoft's Arena.

The game is now 100-0 for the visitors in the first period ...

 

[Raven76]

On second though I realize you guys are right. Don't ever use IIS. If you use IIS you WILL GET HACKED. There is no question about it, and no way to avoid it. Why? Because IIS in known to be less secure than Apache and some sites that use IIS have been hacked. Because of this, the idea of using IIS is simply absurd. What more do you need to know?

Still not convinced? Let me give you an example*:

Chance of getting hacked if you use Apache = 0.01% (or 1 in 10,000)
Chance of getting hacked if you use IIS = 0.10% (or 1 in 1000)

As you can see, Apache is 10x more secure than IIS. There you have it. According to my math there is no way to setup an IIS server without getting hacked. I once knew a man that installed IIS on his webserver. Two days later, hackers deleted all his files, used his server as a DOS attack bot, killed his dog, raped his wife, ate his children, and burned his house down. Don't let hackers do this to you!

*91.47% of all statistics are made up.

 

[GeSuN]

Two days later, hackers deleted all his files, used his server as a DOS attack bot, killed his dog, raped his wife, ate his children, and burned his house down.

Damn, these hackers are bad to the bone! HAHAHHAAHHA

Glad to see that I am not that only one that uses Sambar.

Swaz, yeah I know, Sambar is pretty cool for small sites...

 

[Saltin]

There's no question that Apache is more robust than IIS, but a properly set up IIS , patched and locked down ( the lockdown tool is huge...must use it if you use IIS, IMO) is not likely to get hacked. If someone talented enough wants into your site, they will get in, regardless of the webserver.
So what? Its the same with your house, your car, etc, and you can't <back up> your car or house!!


The reason IIS is so readily hacked is that alot of NT/2k admins know enough to get it up, but dont care/know enough to secure it properly. This is due to the ease of set-up. It's easy. Alot easier than Apache. Apache attracts, in general, a more elite crowd, it's more difficult to get up and attracts the competent. They are using Apache becuase they know the web server game, and they know Apache is for them.

I can set up an IIS server that is tough as nails to crack. It's not impregnible, but it's tough enough to make people think about moving on to the next site.... hehe, unless they want me particularly

Even then, I wish them luck.

There is no question a network's security relies on the software/hardware that is running the networking services, but you cannot ignore the factor of competence either.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Raven76 I did not say IIS was always insecure, but the work it takes to secure it is much more than it would take to secure Apache. One of Apache's big goals is security. They have made concessions in the name of security. It could be much faster and have a billion more features, but security is important enough that it does not. In the hands of a competant admin IIS can be great. But if you have never set it up in a secure environment the chances of a great first live setup are pretty bad. Most users do not want to invest the time and effort learning to secure it either. That is the #2 reason I tell people they should probably not use IIS. And if you look at the ways Linux/BSD/UNIX machines are hacked these days, almost none of them involve Apache. They are usually setup mistakes by the admin. That is similar to Windows, but many times it is because of a lazy/ignorant/stupid admin setting up IIS.

On that note, Ill change my answer. Setup IIS. But do it on Linux.

 

[reicherb]

n0cmonkey:

I setup my first IIS server last month and didn't do anything to secure it other than make sure all of the patches were applied. Is there anything else I should be doing? Is there any place to find more info?

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< <FONT face=Verdana size=1>n0cmonkey:

I setup my first IIS server last month and didn't do anything to secure it other than make sure all of the patches were applied. Is there anything else I should be doing? Is there any place to find more info?
</FONT> >>



Ive never used IIS. Other than patches there are plenty of things you can do though. Disable all of the unneeded features is usually a good start. Removing unnecessary files (in both Apache and IIS (I think) there are example files that are unnecessary and have led to security holes). microsoft.com should have some info.

 

[Saltin]

The IIS Lockdown tool
will harden your site significantly.

 

[jcg]

IIS