Strengthening Web service security with Apache2: Best practices for 2025
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Summary
The article discusses best practices for securing Apache2 web services in 2025, noting that the server is robust and feature-rich but requires careful configuration to ensure optimal security.
The first tip is to keep Apache2 and all dependencies up to date, leveraging operating system package managers like Ubuntu’s apt or CentOS/RHEL’s yum to ensure everything is current, helping to reduce exposure to known CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures).
Other tips include using unique and strong passwords for all user accounts, configuring Apache2 to run on a non-standard port to mitigate against generic attacks, and enabling HTTPS to encrypt data transmitted between the server and clients, ensuring confidentiality and integrity.
The authors also recommend enabling Apache2 modules likeRather than relying on the default “It works!” message, customizing error messages to avoid giving away sensitive information, and using MOD_SECURITY to enable a range of security-related capabilities.
The benefits of logging and monitoring for security analysis and incident response and using server blocks for configuring separate Apache2 instances on the same machine are also discussed.