Securing a VPS (Virtual Private Server) – You must do this

Securing your Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a must. There are many hackers out there trying to get into servers to obtain sensitive information. A server is only good when it’s secure, and it’s up to you to ensure that your server is properly secured.

In the modern world, It’s impossible to feel 100% secure and safe, vulnerabilities are everywhere. Security should be one of your priorities, physics, and logic. In this article, I will share with you some tips to secure a VPS server.

Update Your Software

Using an older software version makes VPS more vulnerable to security attacks. That’s why make it a habit to ensure that your software is always up-to-date. Doing regular checks is an effective way to stay on top of the necessary updates.

Customize Your SSH Login to secure your VPS

It’s common for VPS users to use SSH or Secure Shell to log in to their servers. However, there’s a potential risk that may expose you to a virtual attack, when someone tries to log in to your SSH. To secure VPS, you need to change your SSH login to a customized one. Use strong passwords for maximum protection.

Add backup solution to secure data from your VPS

We don’t often think of backups in the security sense. But the last line of defense against data theft, malware, and particularly ransomware attacks, is a secure and automated, off-site backup. If you can easily delete the stolen data and recover it from a backup, an attacker can’t keep your data to ransom.

Stop Non-Essential Services

Any service running on a VPS constitutes a potential vulnerability to security. Bad actors are searching for systems with zero-day vulnerabilities or obsolete software to hack, so shutting down services that aren’t in use is more secure. Why run a mail transfer agent or a DNS service that you don’t need.

On modern Linux distributions with the Systemd service manager, use the “systemctl list-unit-files –type=service” command to determine which services are running. Use “systemctl stop $nameofservice” to stop service. Before disabling a service, research what it does to ensure that you don’t disable something vital.

Make Sure SSH Configuration Is Secure

SSH always needs to run on the VPS, which makes it a target for hackers. Make it a priority to keep your SSH secure by changing the default port from port 22 and prevent root access for users logging into the server using SSH. Additionally, disabling password-based authentication is better instead of requiring key pairs. It’s also best to limit logins to a specific group of users only.

Secure Your VPS Control Panel

Finally, don’t forget about your account on the control panel. Make sure you have a unique password that is hard to guess because if an attacker gains entry, they will circumvent all of your security measures.

These tips to secure your VPS will not take a lot of your time, but it requires a specific level of administrative experience. Keep in mind that server vulnerabilities can be detrimental, hence you need to implement the best practices to keep your server secure. You also have to remember that there’s a huge number of hackers out there that work around the clock to find the slightest security weaknesses in your VPS.

Get reliable hosting solutions for your business. We provide the best VPS hosting solutions at affordable prices and fast servers. And if you need any further assistance about securing your VPS or Dedicated Server, contact us our security team will help you.