To hide the Apache web server version number, you can use the ServerSignature and ServerTokens directives in the Apache configuration file.
The ServerSignature directive controls the inclusion of the server version and other server information in the server-generated error messages, such as the 404 Page Not Found error message. The ServerTokens directive controls the information that the server sends in the Server HTTP response header field.
To hide the Apache web server version number, you can set the ServerSignature directive to Off and the ServerTokens directive to Prod. This will disable the inclusion of server version information in error messages and the Server HTTP response header field.
To configure these directives, you can add the following lines to the Apache configuration file (usually located at /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf):
ServerSignature Off ServerTokens Prod
After making these changes, you will need to restart the Apache web server for the changes to take effect. You can do this by running the following command:
service httpd restart
Keep in mind that you will need to have root privileges (or be a member of the sudo group) in order to edit the Apache configuration file and restart the Apache web server.
By hiding the Apache web server version number, you can make it more difficult for attackers to target specific vulnerabilities in your web server. However, this is just one aspect of a comprehensive security strategy and should be used in conjunction with other measures, such as keeping the web server software and system packages up to date and configuring the web server securely.