Following several web browser updates, browsers have started warning that sites using a version earlier than TLS 1.2 are insecure. For this reason, TLS 1.2 must be enabled to meet the security requirements for our websites. Below are the steps to enable TLS 1.2 on a server running Windows Server 2008 R2.
Edit the Windows registry
To edit the Windows registry, click "Start", type "regedit" in the search box, and click the result that appears.
Once the Windows registry is open, it is important to create a backup in case you make a mistake. To do this, right-click "Computer" and then click "Export".
Select a destination folder for the backup, enter a name, and click "Save".
Once you have created the backup, use the directory tree on the left side of the Registry Editor to navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols".
Right-click the "Protocols" folder and select "New", then "Key".
Name the new folder "TLS 1.2"
In this new folder, right-click and create two new entries using "Key". Name these two new keys "Client" and "Server".
Now, right-click "Client" and select "New" and "DWORD (32-bit) Value".
Rename the new "Dword" to "DisabledByDefault" . Right-click "DisabledByDefault" and select "Modify". Set "Value data" to "0" and under "Base" select "Hexadecimal".
Create another "DWORD" as before and rename it to "Enabled". Modify it as in the previous step, setting "Value data" to "1" and under "Base" select "hexadecimal".
Restart the server to apply the changes.
Check that TLS 1.2 has been enabled correctly
To check whether TLS 1.2 is enabled, you can use the online tool from SSL Labs, which lets you analyze the SSL configuration of any web server. To do this, follow the link and in the "Hostname" text box, enter your website's domain with "https" and click "Submit".
Once SSL Labs has analyzed your site, you can see the protocols supported by your server in the configuration section:
With these steps, you have verified that TLS 1.2 has been enabled correctly on your Windows Server 2008 R2 server.
Remember, if you have any questions about this or anything else related to your servers on Clouding, feel free to email soporte@clouding.io We're here to help with whatever you need. Get in touch!