Hardening Windows Server 2008/2012 and Azure SSL/TLS configuration

I guess it was long overdue for me to follow up on my Hardening Windows Server 2003 SSL/TLS configuration and Windows server 2003 vs 2008, SSL/TLS comparison posts. They were two of my very first blog posts and they still receive a decent amount of traffic. The world has fortunately moved forward since then, so in this blog post we’ll have a look at the default configuration of recent Windows Server (WS) versions in light of the latest recommendations from SSL Labs. We’ll keep the discussion at a reasonably high level, but I’ve included references to more in-depth information along the way for those who want to dig into the details. We’ll finish off with an announcement (Hint: it might have something to do with TLS configuration and Windows Azure).

The "Unable to remove directory "bin\Release\app.publish\" Azure packaging error

Just a quick note on an error I often run into when I'm working on my Azure applications. I usually create Azure packages and upload them by hand through the Azure management portal. Ever so often I get the following error when I create the package in Visual Studio (2012).

Unable to remove directory "bin\Release\app.publish\". Access to the path 'AzureStartupTest.Azure.cspkg' is denied.

 Turns out someone is holding on to that file!!

When you create an Azure package, VS opens a file explorer window showing you the published files. You should close this explorer window before you run the package command again. It also turns out that Internet Explorer holds on to the file if you've uploaded it through the Azure management portal. If you refresh (F5) the management portal, IE lets go of the file and you can run the package command again without problems.

It seems I'm not the only one on the Internet running into this problem. I found some shady advice out there, such as rebooting your computer or disabling the antivirus to make the problem go away. I would recommend neither. With the aforementioned trick you can safely re-enable your antivirus and get back to work.

Getting started with Windows Azure

Turns out it's very easy!

You need to install the Azure tools for VS. Then you can check out the Code Quick Start guide for Azure, to get up and running quickly. It took me about half an hour to deploy my first application to Azure, including installing the VS tools and eating a pizza.

I'll probably use my Azure subscription to host demo apps in the future. For now, you can check out my first Hello World application in Windows Azure.

This was fun!

Some Azure signup challenges

Yesterday I blogged that MSDN subscribers got an Azure subscription for free. Today, I decided to activate an Azure subscription and take the first small steps into the cloud.

The ancient browser problem

I've been using Opera as my primary browser for more than ten years now. Why am I telling you this? Well, during the signup process for the Azure subscription:

Oh, the horror. I can't remember the last time I had to tell Opera to identify as another browser. Fortunately, under "Site Preferences" I could tell Opera to "Mask as Firefox" and it was all well... Come on guys. It's the year 2011. I cannot believe that this should still be a problem.

A more modern browser problem
But I hadn't left the rough patch just yet.

Free Azure for MSDN subscribers

Well, som terms apply:

Windows Azure Platform Benefits for MSDN Subscribers

And also a notice of warning:

You'll need your credit card to sign up. If you use more than the amount of services included with your MSDN subscription, we'll bill your card for these overages.

I'll probably take my chances on testing the cloud next year, despite the credit card warning...

All Windows Azure offers can be found here.

A month or two ago I investigated the possibilities for testing out Azure, but I somehow managed to not stumble upon the MSDN subscription option. Either this is a new offering, or my Google skillz were seriously off at the time.

A while ago one of my colleagues tried an Azure subscription, but he quickly realized that the prizing followed the idea of a hotel room. He was charged for the room per its availability, not for its actual use. Not very developer friendly.

For Azure to become a smashing success, it's important that developers get a chance to play with the technology — without committing to a significant bill. I really hope that this Azure subscription is a permanent offering, and that there are controls in place to protect developers from getting burnt on their credit card bills.

I'll start tinkering in the cloud next year — pretty soon that is!

Happy new year! :)