Here we explain how you can protect an unmanaged server. There are a few steps to go through.

Don’t forget, that you will need root access to the server in order to complete the actions described below.

Securing an unmanaged server

The unmanaged server is a server to which you have root access and can run/configure it however you like. You can also install whatever you want on a server like this.

However, this freedom also gives you more administrative responsibilities. The most important of those responsibilities is the security of your website. Malicious actors can freely attack your website in case you do not secure it. And while some of them may just cause little annoying problems for you, some of the malicious actors can ruin your entire website including the configuration and all the data saved on it.

Below we provide a couple of recommendations for you to avoid others hacking into your website:

• Use a strong password as a weak password will not be able to protect your website for a long time. If you want to practice creating a fully secured website, start with a strong and complicated password.
• Disable root SSH access. The server’s root is all-powerful, so what you want to do to prevent others from accessing it, is to create a normal user account. After that disable the SSH access to the server’s root.
• Update the server regularly. With new patches comes better protection as security vulnerabilities are being found all the time. It is very important to always keep your server updated and patched in order to minimize the chance of an attack on your server.
• Set up a firewall, because with a firewall you will be able to track and all the incoming and outgoing network packets. For example, you can specify rules that block all incoming packets on port 25, or all outgoing packets to a certain port or host.
• Set up fail2ban which is a program that will allow you to secure your server against unauthorized access attempts by monitoring log files for suspicious activity. You can set the number of access attempts, and if they all are unsuccessful, the program will ban any further attempts.