The issue of VPS security is a topic of concern, even for established website owners. As a novice, remember that web hosting security is vital for the success of your website.
While ordering or choosing a server for your website, you will face challenges between accepting managed and unmanaged servers.
For a managed server, you will get access to a team of experts who can handle new threats at any time of the day. Your passwords and sensitive information on things your credit cards and location will remain unprotected in unmanaged servers.
Here you have no support team to maintain your network from vulnerabilities.
Look for web hosting providers that have a strong VPS hosting security record without major breaches or poor reviews. A great example of affordable, secure, and powerful is Hostinger.Com, but there are plenty of other options out there for you to find.
Not completely convinced that a VPS is right for your website? If so, have you considered using a cloud hosting provider instead? Cloudways offers an ideal cloud hosting solution, with industry-leading performance and unparalleled security features — from its built-in Cloudflare CDN to Malcare bot protection and end-to-end encryption.
VPS Hosting Security Features
One of the biggest challenges with using VPS Hosting is that your host does not have access to your project. However, different hosting companies will provide you with support with the control panel and hosting challenges only.
And so, you must always remember that your work is vulnerable to cyber threats such as theft of credit card information, customer data, or even total loss of the project’s content. Here are some of the ways to address security concerns about VPS hosting. Here we go!
Set Up Your Firewall
Configuring firewalls is very important, especially when you want to block unwanted traffic. We have many firewalls you can choose from to ensure you are running on a secure VPS.
In many cases, some operating systems such as Linux come with integrated firewalls such as iptables and firewalld. They come integrated within the Linux Kernel to block or allow traffic to protect your website from DDOS attacks.
However, you can better your security by installing a ConfigServer Firewall, to get access to the control panel where you can manage your firewall setting for standardized logging, hostname verification, and spoofing protection.
The most important thing you must configure whether for preinstalled or custom firewalls include the following:
- Defining a pattern for filtering traffic
- Choosing an IP address to allow or block access
- Ensuring that ports that are non-essential during scan prevention remain closed
- Auditing the firewall to ensure that configurations remain up-to-date
- Performing regular update to guarantee that your firewall is ready for new security threats
Monitor Your VPS Server Logs and Control User Access
Always monitor your server log to stay in control of what is happening with your servers. You can set up an email notification to alert you about unauthorized events, traffic levels, user activities, the use of resources, and system or software errors.
Managing your server helps you track system activities and consequently protect your project. You can further control user access to manage access and distribution of resources.
You can enhance your VPS security by controlling who can access some resources and files. Start by setting up various file permissions by using tools such as SELinux, which user-managements access. Therefore, you can now access your user interface to limit access to prevent access to sensitive projects on your VPS.
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Always Update Software to the Latest Version
As a new website owner, always remember that you are more equipped with modern security threats with the latest version software. Luckily, most OS updates are only a few mouse clicks away.
You can consider automating your updates by using apt-get, Ubuntu, and cron jobs for Debian and CentOS, Linux, respectively. Also, remember to initiate server-side and Content Management System (CMS) updates whenever they are available.
Remember to Change Your Default SSH Login
For a more secure VPS, you may consider changing your default SSH. Most VPS users use the SSH login method, which is susceptible to brute-force attacks. The brute-force attack often occurs when a person tries to access your server using a common password.
You can prevent this by replacing the default SSH 22 login credentials with a more complex password, which is unique with alphanumeric, numbers, and other unique characters in a mix of lower and upper cases. You can also switch to SSH key authentication for advanced security.
Protect Against Brute-force Attacks
Besides having a secure pass work, you are not yet entirely safe from brute-force attacks. Consider reinforcing your server security with tools that can detect and report brute force attacks.
A tool such as cPhulk is embedded within the control panel to block unwanted logins. It can identify multiple failed attempts before blocking access to data and resources to hackers trying to use automated programs to gain unauthorized access.
Use SSL Certificates
Remember to use SSL certificates to protect them from hackers. The primary purpose of this measure is to create a secure channel to exchange transfer information through platforms such as emails. You can guarantee that any information that passes from server to client remains private only if you have correctly installed and implemented SSL certificates.
Always Ensure That the Server is Malware-protected
Besides having a secure firewall to protect you from unwanted traffic, also ensure that you have a solid antivirus and antimalware software to protect the data you upload to your VPS. This strategy is a second defense mechanism to detect malware that passes the firewall.
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In a Nutshell
Always remain vigilant to protect your project from new and possibly unprecedented threats. The best ways to stay alert include performing regular malware scans, checking security logs, disabling compilers, using a CDN, and anti-DDoS measures to protect from other kinds of attacks.
While VPS hosting is powerful, due to its back end being your responsibility, you really need to think through all the choices and implementations you make. Especially, since you’ll only receive help with managed VPS hosting plans, which can be pricey.
Also, conduct frequent backups to a secure separate server that allows easy access when you may want to restore the data in the future. Backing up data is the best way to roll-back even anything ever happens to your project.
