Harden your Linux VPS in an afternoon

The first hour on a new server

“What should I do first on a brand new server?”

8 min read

SSH keys and turning off password login

“How do I stop people brute forcing my SSH password?”

7 min read

Firewall rules that will not lock you out

“What firewall rules do I actually need?”

7 min read

fail2ban and automatic security updates

“How do I block repeat attackers automatically?”

8 min read

Reading your server logs when something looks wrong

“Something is wrong with my server. Which logs do I look at and what am I looking for? Cover journalctl and the files under /var/log, which log answers which question, how to follow a log live, and how to tell a real problem from the normal noise of a server on the public internet.”

9 min read

What DDoS protection covers, and what it does not

“What does the DDoS protection on my VPS actually do? Explain in plain terms what volumetric filtering stops, what it cannot stop such as application level floods and a badly written script hammering your own database, and what you still have to do yourself. Note that the protection is on the UK rang”

8 min read

Setting up an alert for when your server goes down

“How do I find out my server is down before my customers tell me? Cover free external monitoring, what to monitor beyond a ping, checking disk space and certificate expiry before they become an outage, and where to send the alert so it actually wakes you.”

8 min read

How to tell if your server has been compromised

“How do I know if someone has got into my server?”

9 min read