Using and Configuring Services

You should run only essential services on the server and disable any unnecessary services. The fewer the services that are running, the less likely it is there will be a mistake in the service's configuration that an attacker can exploit.

You should also unbind unnecessary services from network adapters that are connected to the Internet. To do this, double-click the Network icon in Control Panel, and then select the Bindings tab. For example, you can use the Server service to copy files from computers in your internal network, but you might not want remote users to have direct access to the Server service from the Internet. To use the Server service on your private network, you can prevent it from binding to any network adapter cards. You can use the Windows NT Server service over the Internet; however, you should understand the security implications and licensing issues of using this configuration.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the only protocol you need to bind to the network adapter card that is connected to the Internet. Make sure routing is disabled so that your internal network is isolated from the Internet.

If you decide to bind the Server service to the Internet adapter card, double-check the permissions for your network shares and the permissions for the files in the shared directories.