News

IIS Security Tool Screens Incoming Traffic

Microsoft Corp. this week gave Web server administrators a tool that lets them act as a border guard -- stopping suspicious requests before they damage IIS boxes.

The protection comes in the form of a tool called URLScan. The tool screens all incoming requests to the Web server and filters them based on rules set by the administrator.

Using the tool, IIS administrators may be able to turn away many of the common types of denial-of-service and other attacks that rely on attackers' flooding a server with malformed requests.

The tool comes with a default set of rules. Administrators can configure the rules themselves to customize the tool for their own needs. However, Microsoft does warn that the tool should only be used by experienced Web administrators. "It is possible to configure the filters in a way that would interfere with normal Web site operation," Microsoft notes.

The tool works with IIS versions 4.0, 5.0 and 5.1 on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The 162 KB executable can be downloaded here.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • World Map Image

    Microsoft Taps Nebius in $17B AI Infrastructure Deal To Alleviate Cloud Strain

    Microsoft has signed a five-year, $17.4 billion agreement with Amsterdam-based Nebius Group to expand its AI computing capabilities through third-party GPU infrastructure.

  • Microsoft Brings Copilot AI Into Viva Engage

    Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Engage is now generally available, extending Copilot's AI-powered assistant capabilities deeper into the Viva platform.

  • MIT Finds Only 1 in 20 AI Investments Translate into ROI

    Despite pouring billions into generative AI technologies, 95 percent of businesses have yet to see any measurable return on investment.

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

Most   Popular