Hardening

In Computing, hardening is the process of securing a system. This work is especially done to protect systems against attackers.

This would typically include removal of unnecessary user names or logins and the disabling or removal of unnecessary services. On a typical Microsoft Windows server, one example would be the disabling of the print spooler as this may not be needed.

There are various methods of hardening Unix and Linux systems. This may involve, among other measures, applying a patch to the kernel (computer science) such as Exec Shield or PaX; closing open port (computing)s; and setting up intrusion-detection systems (such as firewall (networking)) and intrusion-prevention systems. There are also hardening script (computer programming) like Bastille Linux that can, for example, deactivate unneeded features in configuration files or perform various other protective measures.

=See also=

*Computer security *Computer network security *Network security policy **Linux: ***Security-Enhanced Linux