Chapter 3. Securing Your Server—Windows

Somebody or something open to attack or damage is considered vulnerable. A computer system is considered vulnerable if it is susceptible to the operations that try to disrupt, degrade, steal, or destroy information resident on it. As we explained in the first chapter, the weak points of every server intended for hosting Moodle are operating system, web server, PHP, database server, and Moodle itself. In this chapter we will explain how to properly install and configure all of these elements assuming that the operating system is Windows. By properly configuring all crucial elements of a Moodle server, we reduce the possibility of any security breaches and can offer a reliable and stable platform to our users or institutions. If you do not use Windows, then you can skip this chapter. The content is divided into the following topics:

• Securing Windows—the basics

• File security in Windows

• Recommended installation and configuration of PHP under Windows web server...