Perhaps the only server impervious to hackers is the one still sealed in its packing box. Once a server is plugged into its grounding source and running on a network, it immediately becomes a target.

Apple's new rack-mounted Xserve is no exception. If it is not configured correctly, hackers can break in with ease, perpetrating denial-of-service attacks or vandalizing Web pages. Also, since Apple's server software has a Unix core, it is susceptible to most of the same vulnerabilities as Linux, Solaris and the 31 other flavors of Unix powering servers across the Internet.

Even so, Xserve may be inherently more secure than Windows servers, and Apple appears to have set up its flagship server to be as dummy-proof as possible.

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