Tag: SQL Server Security
SQL Server security guidance and scripts covering authentication, permissions, encryption, certificates, and secure configuration practices.
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Working with SQL Server Database Master Keys
SQL Server uses an encryption hierarchy to protect secrets such as credentials, asymmetric keys and certificates. At the database level, that hierarchy is anchored by the database master key (DMK). Because all other encrypted objects depend on it, losing access to the DMK can render those objects unusable. This post walks through how to: It also…
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Check SQL Server Connection Encryption and Protocol
Modern SQL Server environments often use encrypted connections by default, but that does not always mean what people think it means. When troubleshooting connectivity problems, certificate errors, performance questions, or unexpected client behaviour, DBAs usually need to answer one very specific question: What protocol and encryption is this connection actually using right now? This post…
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SSMS Certificate Chain Not Trusted Error (Trust Server Certificate Fix)
If you’ve recently upgraded SQL Server Management Studio and suddenly can’t connect to SQL Server, you may see an SSL or certificate error during login. This commonly appears after upgrading to newer SSMS versions and is caused by a change in how SSMS handles encryption by default. The good news: this is usually quick to…