One of the things that can go overlooked when setting up a web server is the security if the web server instance itself. Sure, you can work to make your code secure all day long, but if there's an exploit in your server, none of that matters. Well, here to help you along on this path is this new article from DevShed.com.

In this posting they show you a few key steps along the way (of the installation) such as: where and how to get Apache, installation and testing the server (with Nikto), altering the Apache configuration to make it more secure, how to block IPs, as well as how to get SSL working with either Apache 1.3.x or 2.x. They show you the gpg packages (and how to use them) for hardening your web server for the external viewers.

This article is an excerpt from the Apress book "Hardening Apache"