Apache Today: Is your web server running unnecessary software?

“Since Apache and most Linux and BSD operating systems are so
stable, you could probably just forget about the server and it’ll
still be running great a year later. (In fact, I have had past jobs
where I know the actively-used servers are no longer maintained and
continue to run great — including one Debian Linux box with an
uptime of 485 days and counting.) Of course, this is not a good
idea and I’d never suggest that an administrator entirely ignore
their servers.”

“Usually the default installations of popular Unix-like
operating systems start up a bunch of useful, possibly useful and
entirely unuseful programs all running in the background. (These
are usually called daemons.) Or you may inherit a server that was
installed and administered by someone else — who may have
installed other programs or never cleaned up the system.”

“You may find that your ‘web’ server is running a print spooler,
a mail server (which may be relaying spam), a console mouse
handler, and a variety of other software. In fact, you may learn
that your webserver — which doesn’t even have a video monitor
anymore — may be running a graphical windowing system.”

“Over time, your performance needs may change. And over time,
more security exploits are found (and fixed). This article will
quickly share some ideas on how beginning webserver administrators
can improve server efficiency, ease management and, hopefully,
improve security as well. It shares a few examples of processes
that don’t need to be running, required programs and some ideas for
BSD and System V-type systems for disabling startup scripts. “

Complete Story