5 Security best practices when using servers

So, you just got remote access to a shiny new server for your birthday and you want to host your “cleanly coded”😉 website on it. Ok just ssh into it and……wait!!!!! Let’s look at some security practices you should follow to protect your server from your hackers.

Why do I need to do this you might ask. Well let’s look at some reasons why you might need to secure your server from attackers

1. Web Servers may contain business data that may be confidential.
2. The privacy of your customers is at risk if your servers are compromised
3. You can lose all your data by typing the wrong command by mistake😬
4. If a hacker gains control of one server, he/she can potentially gain access to all other servers in your network

Ok, those are just a few reasons why server security is important but I’ll link additional resources below if you want to read more.

Ok, so what are the best practices?

There are numerous things to do to secure your servers, but I’ll just be listing a few. Again, I’ll link some resources down below for you to read up on

1. Always use a secure connection. The ssh protocol is a common one.
2. Avoid using chmod 777. This gives full access to a file to anyone who accesses your server, even hackers.
3. Avoid using the root user for everyday tasks. Always create a user and give it sudo permissions
4. Set Up and Maintain a Firewall. This prevents unwanted access into your server
5. Always use a strong password or an ssh key to authorize access to your server.

Ok, these are just a few of them but here are some additional resources👇

Additional resources

Server security tips

https://phoenixnap.com/kb/server-security-tips

https://www.serverwatch.com/security/server-security-best-practices/

5 server security tips & best practices | Manchester Digital

Why do we secure servers

Why Web Server Security is Important

Why You Need a Secure Server for your Website

Ok, so I guess that will be all for now, but watch this space for more DevOps-related posts. You can reach out to me on Github or send me an email at utibeabasiumanah6@gmail.com. Thanks for reading✌️

Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts about the topic — I am open to learning and knowledge explorations.