How to Hide Apache Information on Ubuntu VPS/Dedicated Web server

Hiding Apache information on an Ubuntu VPS or dedicated server is a security best practice to prevent potential attackers from gathering information about your server setup. Revealing Apache version and module details can expose your web server to specific attacks targeting known vulnerabilities associated with those versions or modules.

Here are some reasons why you should hide Apache information:

  • Security through obscurity: While security through obscurity is not a standalone security measure, it adds an extra layer of protection by making it more difficult for attackers to gather information about your server.
  • Minimizing attack surface: By hiding Apache version and module information, you reduce the amount of information available to attackers, making it more challenging for them to identify and exploit known vulnerabilities.
  • Prevent targeted attacks: Attackers often scan servers looking for specific software versions with known security issues. Concealing your Apache information helps to avoid being targeted by such attacks.
  • Professional appearance: Hiding Apache information gives a more professional appearance to your server-generated pages, such as error pages and directory listings, as it removes any unnecessary information about your server setup.
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In summary, hiding Apache information on an Ubuntu VPS or dedicated web server is a simple yet effective security measure that helps protect your server from targeted attacks and potential exploitation of known vulnerabilities. It is one of the many steps you can take to improve the security of your web server.

To hide Apache information on an Ubuntu VPS or dedicated web server, you need to edit the Apache configuration file and modify the ServerTokens and ServerSignature directives. This helps to enhance the security of your web server by not exposing unnecessary information about the server software and version.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to hiding Apache information:

Step 1: Open the Apache Configuration File

Open the main Apache configuration file located at /etc/apache2/apache2.conf using a text editor like nano:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Step 2: Configure ServerTokens Directive

Look for the ServerTokens directive in the configuration file. If it’s not present, add the following line at the end of the file:

ServerTokens Prod

Setting ServerTokens to Prod will only show the word “Apache” in the server response header, without revealing any version information or other details.

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If the ServerTokens directive is already present, change its value to Prod.

Step 3: Configure ServerSignature Directive

Next, look for the ServerSignature directive in the configuration file. If it’s not present, add the following line at the end of the file:

ServerSignature Off

Setting ServerSignature to Off will disable the display of Apache version information and other details in the server-generated web pages, such as error pages and directory listings.

If the ServerSignature directive is already present, change its value to Off.

Step 4: Save and Close the Configuration File

Save the changes and close the text editor. In nano, press Ctrl + X, followed by Y, and then hit Enter to save and exit.

Step 5: Restart Apache

To apply the changes, restart the Apache service with the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Before:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 01:25:52 GMT
Server: Apache/2.4.7 (Ubuntu)
Last-Modified: Thu, 08 May 2014 16:39:14 GMT
ETag: "2cf6-4f8e61f1300ba"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 11510
Vary: Accept-Encoding
Content-Type: text/html

After:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Sun, 11 May 2014 01:29:50 GMT
Server: Apache
Last-Modified: Thu, 08 May 2014 16:39:14 GMT
ETag: "2cf6-4f8e61f1300ba"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 11510
Vary: Accept-Encoding
Content-Type: text/html

Commands Mentioned:

  • sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf – Open the Apache configuration file in a text editor.
  • ServerTokens Prod – Configure the ServerTokens directive to display minimal server information.
  • ServerSignature Off – Configure the ServerSignature directive to disable server information in server-generated web pages.
  • sudo systemctl restart apache2 – Restart the Apache service to apply the changes.
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Conclusion

You have successfully hidden Apache information on your Ubuntu VPS or dedicated web server. By concealing this information, you have made it more difficult for potential attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities associated with specific Apache versions or modules.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for improvement, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and it helps us create better and more informative content for our users.

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