Remove Virtual Directories

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 with SP1

The Internet Information Services (IIS) Lockdown Tool works by turning off unnecessary IIS features and components to reduce the attack surface of the Web server. To assist in mitigating these potential risks, remove any unnecessary virtual directories.

Procedures

To remove a virtual directory using IIS Manager

1. In IIS Manager, expand the site containing the virtual directory you want to remove, right-click the virtual directory, and then click Delete.

2. Click Yes.

To remove a virtual directory using Windows Explorer

1. In Windows Explorer, browse to the folder containing the virtual directory you want to remove, right-click the directory, and then click Sharing and Security.

2. Click the Web Sharing tab, click Remove, and then click Yes.

3. Click OK.

   You can verify that the virtual directory was deleted by starting IIS Manager and expanding the Web site.

   Note

   The following method does not work for root virtual directories

To delete a virtual directory using the Iisvdir.vbs administration script

1. In the Run dialog box, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. At the command prompt, use the cd command to change to the directory where the Iisvdir.vbs script is installed. The default location for this file is systemroot**/system32/iisvdir.vbs**.

3. At the command prompt, type:

   cscript iisvdir.vbs /delete "Sample Web Site" VirtualDirectoryName.
   

   Substitute your Web site name and virtual directory name as appropriate. If there are spaces in the Web site name, use quotation marks around the Web site name, as shown in the preceding example.

4. Click OK.