Virtual Server Security: Close Your Vulnerabilities with DDoS and Firewall Installati...

DDoS Attacks and Security Vulnerabilities

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks aim to overwhelm a target server with excessive traffic, causing service outages. Virtual servers, especially due to shared resources, can be vulnerable to such attacks. In this article, we will step-by-step discuss how to secure your virtual servers and close vulnerabilities.

1. Firewall Installation

A firewall is crucial for blocking unwanted traffic from reaching your server. To set up a firewall using UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall), follow these steps:

• Install UFW: sudo apt-get install ufw
• Enable UFW: sudo ufw enable
• Open necessary ports: To allow web traffic (HTTP and HTTPS), execute:
  sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
• Check UFW status: sudo ufw status

2. DDoS Protection Settings

DDoS protection is often related to server and network configuration. You can reduce DDoS attacks by using Fail2Ban:

• Install Fail2Ban: sudo apt-get install fail2ban
• Edit the configuration file:
  sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
  Add the following lines:

[sshd]

enabled = true

port = ssh

filter = sshd

logpath = /var/log/auth.log

maxretry = 5

ban_time = 600

• Restart Fail2Ban: sudo systemctl restart fail2ban

3. Web Application Firewall (WAF) Installation

A WAF is used to protect your web applications from attacks. You can set up a simple WAF using ModSecurity:

• Install ModSecurity: sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-security2
• Enable ModSecurity: sudo a2enmod security2
• Edit the configuration file:
  sudo nano /etc/modsecurity/modsecurity.conf
  Find and change the following line:
  SecRuleEngine On
• Restart Apache: sudo systemctl restart apache2

4. Using SSL Certificates

Using an SSL certificate on your virtual servers increases data security by encrypting it. To obtain a free SSL certificate using Let's Encrypt:

• Install Certbot: sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-apache
• Obtain the SSL certificate: sudo certbot --apache
• Set up automatic renewal: sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Conclusion: By following the steps above, you can enhance the security of your virtual server, protect against DDoS attacks, and close your vulnerabilities. Remember, security is not a one-time effort but a continuous process, and keeping up with updates is crucial.