Start by reducing exposure
Do not expose administrative services simply because Guard can protect them. Restrict RDP and management interfaces through VPN, gateway, trusted source networks or other controlled paths wherever practical. Disable unused accounts and services, maintain patching and use MFA where the application supports it.
Monitor the evidence Windows already creates
Guard includes preconfigured monitors for common Windows authentication sources such as failed logons, Kerberos, SQL Server and IIS/RDWeb scenarios. These are preinstalled monitors rather than a closed support list. Custom Monitors can extend the same event-and-policy model to other Windows Event channels and application log files.
Block the source rather than the account
When a source repeatedly fails authentication, Guard can create a local firewall block according to policy. That lets the server stop communicating with the offending source without disabling the account being guessed. The resulting event remains visible with the monitor, count, username where available, duration and reason.
Watch for low-and-slow behavior
A source does not need to generate hundreds of failures per minute. Longer windows and repeat-offender handling help identify campaigns that deliberately stay below short burst thresholds. Distributed attempts may also need reputation and cross-server context rather than one local counter.
Centralize when the estate grows
One protected server is simple. Ten or fifty independent configurations are not. Guard Datacenter provides central policy, fleet visibility, licensing, monitor distribution and shared settings so the protection model remains manageable as the environment grows.
Practical depth: examples, failure modes and what to verify
Source note: current Scantide material describes the present platform. Older JufCorp/Red Cloud material is retained as field experience and historical context. Old product names, versions and configuration examples are not presented as current requirements.
Current Scantide detail
Current Scantide source: Scantide Guard for Windows ServerScantide Guard is intended for Windows Server estates ranging from Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 through current Windows Server releases. The product family includes Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022 and Windows Server 2025. Server 2008 R2 uses the Legacy Guard implementation; later Windows Server versions use the modern Guard implementation.
Current Scantide source: RdpGuard Alternative for Windows & Linux Server ProtectionNo. This page explains Scantide Guard capabilities for administrators evaluating the same category of server brute-force protection. Product capabilities and licensing should be checked with each vendor.
Current Scantide source: Scantide Guard Product & Server Security GuidesProtect Windows Server from repeated RDP, IIS/RDWeb, Kerberos and SQL Server authentication attacks with deterministic monitoring and Windows Firewall blocking.
Current Scantide source: Scantide Guard Product & Server Security GuidesLinux server brute-force and hostile web request protection for SSH, Apache, Nginx, Tomcat and WildFly using local evidence and nftables enforcement.
Current Scantide source: Brute Force Protection for Windows & Linux ServersNo. Guard does not perform brute-force testing. It observes authentication evidence generated by the protected server and responds according to policy.
Field experience from the archive
Historical source · JufCorp: Brute force protection on Windows ServerThere's a not that many tools to use natively in a Windows Server environment apart from Account Lockout Policies (which in some cases can do more harm than good to be honest). Imagine having 100 000 deliberately using all of your usernames but faulty passwords. This will simply render all of your user accounts locked out from your systems and nobody except Administrator is allowed to login (since that account can't be locked out)
Anyhoo.. just a short post on the matter of brute force prevention on Windows and what it can do for yu.
Brute force attacks are a constantly ongoing thing. Basically they're all automated and they (usually) try usernames such as administrator, root, backup etc .
Historical source · JufCorp: Securing your servers, users and customers onlineBrute force attacks Another method of rendering you server useless is to use a brute force attack on the usernames (sometimes also known as a "dictionary attack" ) .
Use an automatic brute force prevention software ( I can recommend you some that can block attacks on RDWeb, RDP, Exchange Webmail, FTP, Citrix., basically anything that uses Windows Authentication or help you set it up if you like)
You simply need this to get rid of the attacks where username/password is hammered onto you servers (brute force attacks/dictionary attacks) . (I've written an earlier entry on why firewalls, VPN, account lockout polices and so on aren't enough here :
Practical review checklist
- Scantide Guard is intended for Windows Server estates ranging from Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 through current Windows Server releases.
- Protect Windows Server from repeated RDP, IIS/RDWeb, Kerberos and SQL Server authentication attacks with deterministic monitoring and Windows Firewall blocking.
- Linux server brute-force and hostile web request protection for SSH, Apache, Nginx, Tomcat and WildFly using local evidence and nftables enforcement.
- There's a not that many tools to use natively in a Windows Server environment apart from Account Lockout Policies (which in some cases can do more harm than good to be honest).
- Brute force attacks Another method of rendering you server useless is to use a brute force attack on the usernames (sometimes also known as a "dictionary attack" ) .
- Use an automatic brute force prevention software ( I can recommend you some that can block attacks on RDWeb, RDP, Exchange Webmail, FTP, Citrix., basically anything that uses Windows Authentication or help you set it up if you like)
- You simply need this to get rid of the attacks where username/password is hammered onto you servers (brute force attacks/dictionary attacks) .