How to secure your VPS (firewall, SSH keys)

Last updated 2025-01-20 5 min read VPS Hosting

What this solves

A new VPS is exposed to the internet. This guide covers basic hardening: firewall and SSH.

Firewall

On Ubuntu/Debian: enable UFW: ufw allow 22 (SSH), ufw allow 80, ufw allow 443, then ufw enable. On CentOS: use firewalld or iptables to allow SSH, HTTP, HTTPS, then enable.

SSH keys

Generate a key on your PC (ssh-keygen). Copy the public key to the VPS: ssh-copy-id root@your.vps.ip. Test login with the key, then disable password auth in /etc/ssh/sshd_config: PasswordAuthentication no. Restart sshd.

Create a sudo user, add your key to it, then set PermitRootLogin no in sshd_config. Always ensure you can still log in as the sudo user before closing the root session.

Warning: Don’t lock yourself out. Test key login before disabling passwords.

When to contact support

If you’re locked out after changes, we can help with rescue or console access.

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