How do I use an IPsec Packet Filter to protect my Windows server?
It doesn’t matter if you are running Apache or IIS, Windows leaves a lot of vulnerable ports open. Check which of your ports are open by going to this site’s port scan tool /scan In security, you want to adopt a “belt and suspenders” approach to most things. In this case you may want to use second second port scan tool. A well known port scan tool you can try is ShieldsUP! at »www.grc.com/ (skip through the cover page by clicking the ShieldsUP! logo then find the link for the test, about halfway down the page, click through the disclaimer, then click “all service ports”). If you are running Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2003 Server, or Windows XP Professional, you can use the built in IPsec facility to make a packet filter. The IPsec facility allows you very granular filtering: by IP address, port, and protocol. If you have XP Home, you can’t set up an IPsec packet filter. Your best move is to upgrade to XP SP2 and use its built-in firewall. If you are running
