Security Update For Windows Server 2003

Microsoft has released the first service pack for its two-year old Windows Server 2003 that is heavily flavored with security enhancements designed to make it easier for corporate users to lock down their servers. The important features in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), now available for download from Microsoft's Web site, is the Security Configuration Wizard, designed to reduce the product's "attack surface" by collecting data about specific server roles and then automatically blocking all services and ports that are not needed to carry out those roles.
SP1 also contains Microsoft's Windows Firewall that permits network wide control though Group Policy.
Other security improvements in the release include Internet Information Services 6.0 Auditing, which allows administrators to better identify potential malicious users in case a data store becomes corrupted. The company has also added Network Access Quarantine Control components that let administrators isolate out-of-date virtual private network assets.
Separately, Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will make the first Service Pack available for its Small Business Server within the next 60 days. That package will roll up all the latest service packs and updates available for the product, including built-in and customized integration capabilities that make installing the product less complex.