Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a standard
protocol that supports configuration, management, and querying for
configuration information of remote computers and other devices. SNMP is
commonly used with remote network management tools.

Once you configure the
SNMP service in Windows 2000 Professional, you should ensure that SNMP is
configured securely. For instance, you should make sure each computer is
configured to accept SNMP packets only from the appropriate management systems,
and use community names that are difficult to guess. (The community names act
as a password that is shared by one or more hosts.)

You configure SNMP security settings through the properties
of the SNMP Service in the Services console. To configure the settings, open
the Services console from the Administrative Tools folder, double-click the
SNMP Service, and click the Security tab.

The Send authentication trap option (if enabled) causes the
computer to send a message to all trap destinations (specified on the Traps
tab) if the computer receives an SNMP request from a host or community not
listed on the Security tab. This option can help you identify unauthorized
attempts at access and other authentication problems.

Use the Accepted Community Names list to configure the list
of community names to be supported by the computer. Choose community names that
are difficult to guess and make sure to use Read-Only rights for all
communities that don’t require Write or Create rights.

Finally, to restrict SNMP access, choose the option Accept
SNMP Packets From These Hosts. Then, click Add and
specify the host name, IP address, or IPX address of an allowed host. Repeat
the process to add other hosts as needed.

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