Personal Web Server Help

Securing Your Web Site

Securing Your Web Site: An Overview

Maintaining an activity log

Creating users and groups

Removing users and groups

Restricting access to Web site folders

Securing Your Web Site: An Overview

The simplest form of Web site security is to maintain a log of the people who visit your site. The log records who visited your site, when they visited, and what they looked at. By checking your logs, you can find out how people are using your site, and make sure that no one is misusing it. Microsoft Personal Web Server control panel has an option that allows you to maintain an activity log. As long as this option is on, Personal Web Server will record all the activity on your site.

However, although an activity log enables you to monitor who visits your site and how they use it, it doesn't enable you to limit who has access to your site. Everyone on your network or on the Internet can still access everything on your Web site. If you have files in your Web site folder that you don't want everyone see, use access controls to define who is allowed to gain access to the items on your site. Microsoft Personal Web Server uses Macintosh Personal File Sharing access control privileges to determine who is allowed to gain access to your Web site.

When you specify a Web Site folder, you are effectively preventing people from accessing files outside of that folder, but there are two exceptions: aliases and disk browsing.

Creating Aliases
Personal Web Server will follow aliases to the real file, if possible. For instance, suppose you had a Default.htm file on another hard disk outside the Personal Web Site folder. You can create an alias of this file (command-M in the Finder) and drag that alias into your Web Site Folder. Make sure you delete the " alias" on the end of the name, so that its name is exactly Default.htm. When Personal Web Server retrieves the file, it will see that the file is an alias, and will get the contents of the real HTML file on the other hard disk.

You can do the same with folders. Creating an alias to a folder and placing it in the Personal Web Site folder gives access to the real folder (and all its files and subfolders within it). You can even have aliases within already aliased folders.

Disk Browsing
Personal Web Server also enables you to browse the contents of your entire disk and all other disks mounted on the desktop. This is an optional feature, which you must turn on. In addition, you must choose a secure password and user name to prevent other people from gaining access to your disk by using this method. The most secure passwords contain both letters and numbers and should be changed frequently.

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To maintain an activity log

Open the Microsoft Personal Web Server control panel and click the Web Site button.
Select the Log Web Site Activity check box.
Visit your home page.
Click the Owner Sign-in link.
Type the owner name and password.
Click the View Web Site Activity Log link.

Note

When the Log Web Site Activity check box is selected, every request to your Web server creates an entry in your log file. The log file is named MS Personal Web Server Log and is located in the Personal Web Server folder in MS Internet folder which is located inside your System folder.
Each line in the log file consists of several fields separated by tabs. These fields are:
- The date and time that the server received the request.
- The IP address of the client.
- The domain name of the client. If a domain name could not be found, the IP address is repeated here.
- The URL requested.
- The HTTP result code for this request (200 is a successful result).
- The user making the request. This field only has a value if the client successfully submitted a user name and password.
- The number of bytes transmitted.

Tip

Everyone on your network or on the Internet can still access everything on your Web site unless you use access controls.

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To create users and groups

From the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, and double-click Users & Groups.
From the File menu, choose New User.
A New User icon will appear in the Users & Groups window. Replace "New User" with the name of the user you are adding. This is the user name that the user will need to type to gain access to restricted files on your Web site.
Double-click the icon.
Type a password for the user in the User Password text box. This is the password that the user will need to type to gain access to restricted files on your Web site.
Make sure the Allow User to Connect is selected.
To create a group of users, choose New Group from the File Menu and drag users into the Group.
From the File menu, choose Close Window.
Click the Save button.

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To remove users or groups

From the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, and double-click Users & Groups.
Do one of the following:
- Drag the user or group you want to remove to the Trash.
- To remove a user from a group, double-click the group, and drag the user to the Trash.

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To restrict access to a Web site folder

Make sure that file sharing is on. To do so, from the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, and double-click Users & Groups.
Click Start.
Select your Web site folder in the Finder, or any folder contained in it, and then choose Sharing from the File menu.
To change the sharing privileges for a folder, select the Share This Item And Its Contents check box.
Use the Sharing window to define which users or groups are allowed to gain access to the selected folder. The See Files check box determines access to the site and should be selected. However, the See Folders and Make Changes check boxes do not affect access to your Web site.
You can clear the Share This Item And Its Contents check box (optional).
From the File menu, choose Close, and save your settings.
Open the Microsoft Personal Web Server control panel and click the Web Site button.
Select the Restrict Access check box. Now, when anyone tries to gain access to documents in that folder, they will be asked to type their name and password.

Notes

If the Restrict Access check box is selected, and you want to make the items in a given folder public, select the See Files check box that corresponds to Everyone in the Sharing window for that folder.

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