In cloud server environments, it is possible that other customers with VPS instances within the same public IP address range may have misconfigured Windows systems. Specifically, if the interface associated with the public IP is marked as a private network or trusted network, the system may expose certain services by default and respond to discovery traffic, especially over IPv6.
In addition, if the operating system firewall is disabled or configured with overly permissive rules, these machines may become visible to other hosts within the same public segment and, in certain cases, even to the Internet if excessively open rules also exist in the Clouding network profile for IPv4.
How to disable sharing
To reduce this exposure, open the Control Panel and navigate to Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center → Change advanced sharing settings.
In the network profile corresponding to the interface associated with the public IP address, whether Private or Public, disable the following options:
- Network discovery
- File and printer sharing
How to disable sharing components
As an additional security measure, we also recommend disabling the following components on the public interface:
- Client for Microsoft Networks
- File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
- Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
This will help prevent both unnecessary service exposure and system discovery over IPv6:
How to disable interface options
We also recommend disabling the LMHOSTS Lookup and NetBIOS over TCP/IP options on the server’s public interface.
To do so, go to the WINS tab within the Advanced settings of the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) properties.
We hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions about this or any other issue related to your servers at Clouding, feel free to contact us at soporte@clouding.io. We will be happy to help.