You are in charge of server administration for unmanaged hosting packages. Securing your server is one of the most crucial things you can do. This post explains how to secure your unmanaged server using strong passwords, blocking root SSH access, upgrading the server often, using a firewall, and implementing fai12ban.
Several actions you may take to help secure an unmanaged server are outlined in this article.
With an unmanaged server, you have complete control. You may install anything you want, set it up anyway you want, and operate it as you want since you have root access to the server.
However, increased flexibility comes with more administrative duties, and security is one of the most crucial of them. Malicious actors can attack your server if you don't take precautions to keep it safe. While a massive assault may wipe out your whole server setup and data, a little attack might only be an inconvenience.
As a result, it is crucial that you make every effort to safeguard your server. Here are some suggestions to assist you in doing so.
Even the most properly designed system can be compromised with weak passwords. Using strong passwords is the first step in good security measures.
One of the first things you should do on a new unmanaged server is to create a regular user account and block root SSH access because the root account has all the power.
Finding and fixing security flaws is a continuous process. (The OpenSSL vulnerability known as "Heartbleed," which was revealed in April 2014, is one well-known example.) To keep your server more safe, you must keep it updated with the newest patches and updates.
You may regulate incoming and outgoing network packets with a firewall. You may set rules to, for instance, prohibit all outgoing packets to a certain port or address or all incoming packets on port 25.
By keeping an eye on log files for questionable behavior, the fail2ban application helps protect your server from unwanted access attempts. An IP address is automatically blocked by fail2ban after a certain number of unsuccessful access attempts.