{"id":88596,"date":"2021-09-13T15:41:49","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T19:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/?p=88596"},"modified":"2021-09-13T15:41:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T19:41:50","slug":"change-apache-servername","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/server\/apache\/change-apache-servername\/","title":{"rendered":"Replace Apache Servername in HTTP Headers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Change<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HTTP header modifications can harden your Linux server and obfuscate sensitive data to make cyber reconnaissance harder for cyber attackers. It is for this reason that many Linux system administrators decide to change Apache servername HTTP header information. HTTP responses from your Apache server will include the following by default:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HTTP\/1.1 200 OK<\/code>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2021 16:01:11 GMT<\/code>
Server: Apache\/2.4.10 (Debian)<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are multiple ways to view a server\u2019s HTTP headers. The easiest methods: SecurityHeaders.com, Observatory.Mozilla.org, or the command-line interface (CLI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

curl --head yourdomain.com<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\""curl<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
wget --server-response --spider yourdomain.com<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\""wget<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Read on to learn how to set a custom Apache servername.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ensure you have root access to your Linux server and ModSecurity<\/a> (mod_security) Apache module installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Change Apache Servername in HTTP Headers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
cPanel VPS or dedicated server administrators should follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
  1. Log into WebHost Manager (WHM) as root.<\/li>
  2. On the left, select \u201cApache Configuration.\u201d<\/li>
  3. Select \u201cGlobal Configuration.\u201d<\/li>
  4. Set \u201cServer Signature\u201d to \u201cOff.\u201d<\/li>
  5. Set \u201cServer Tokens\u201d to \u201cMinimal.\u201d 
    \"WHM<\/figure><\/li>
  6. Select \u201cSave\u201d at the bottom.<\/li>
  7. Select \u201cRebuild Configuration and Restart Apache.\u201d<\/li>
  8. Select \u201cTerminal\u201d on the left.<\/li>
  9. Edit your ModSecurity user configuration file:
    nano \/etc\/apache2\/conf.d\/modsec\/modsec2.user.conf<\/pre><\/li>
  10. It\u2019s okay if the file is blank. Add the following lines, changing the custom server signature to your preference: 
    ServerTokens OS<\/pre>
    SecServerSignature \"CustomSecretiveName\"<\/pre><\/li>
  11. Rebuild HTTPD: 
    \/scripts\/rebuildhttpdconf<\/pre><\/li>
  12. Restart Apache: 
    \/scripts\/restartsrv_httpd<\/pre><\/li>
  13. Check your Apache servername. 
    curl --head localhost<\/pre>
    \"Updated<\/figure><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    The steps below are for non-cPanel servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    1. Log into SSH as root.<\/li>
    2. Edit your Apache configuration file.
      CentOS:
      nano \/etc\/httpd\/conf\/httpd.conf<\/pre>Debian \/ Ubuntu:
      nano \/etc\/apache2\/conf-enabled\/security.conf<\/pre><\/li>
    3. Add or change the following lines as follows. For example, if ServerTokens OS<\/code> is present, change \u201cOS\u201d to \u201cFull.\u201d
      SecRuleEngine on<\/pre>
      ServerTokens Full<\/pre>
      SecServerSignature \"CustomSecretiveName\"<\/pre><\/li>
    4. You can remove, or disable (#), the \u201cServerSignature\u201d line if enabled.<\/li>
    5. Save your changes.<\/li>
    6. Restart Apache.
      CentOS:
      systemctl restart httpd<\/pre>Debian \/ Ubuntu:
      systemctl restart apache2<\/pre><\/li>
    7. Check your Apache servername.
      \"Updated<\/figure><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      Are you in the middle of a cybersecurity audit? Just looking for ways to better protect your digital assets? Learn more about server hardening with our Linux VPS security eBook<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n
      \r\n
      If you don\u2019t need cPanel, don't pay for it. Only pay for what you need with our scalable Cloud VPS Hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n
      \"checkCentOS, Debian, or Ubuntu    \"checkNo Bloatware    \"checkSSH and Root Access<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      HTTP header modifications can harden your Linux server and obfuscate sensitive data to make cyber reconnaissance harder for cyber attackers. It is for this reason that many Linux system administrators decide to change Apache servername HTTP header information. HTTP responses from your Apache server will include the following by default: HTTP\/1.1 200 OKDate: Mon, 10 Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4355],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apache"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChange Apache Servername with 3 Easy Changes | InMotion Hosting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to change Apache Servername in HTTP headers for additional protection from automated cyber attacks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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