VPS Security Hardening Guide

Nexelya,. You secure the guest operating system, applications, databases, and data. Treat every VPS as internet-facing even if you intend private use—scanning is continuous across the public IPv4 space.

This guide focuses on practical hardening for Linux workloads; adapt principles for Windows Server with Group Policy, Windows Defender, and equivalent firewall rules.

Disable password authentication in sshd_config once keys are verified. Use ed25519 keys where supported. Rotate keys when staff leave and maintain an inventory of authorized keys per environment.

For teams, integrate SSO or centralized secrets only at the application layer—Nexelya panel access should use unique accounts with strong passwords and MFA when available.

• PermitRootLogin no after creating sudo users.
• MaxAuthTries 3 and LoginGraceTime 30 reduce brute force.
• Use ssh-audit or similar tools to validate cipher suites periodically.

Default-deny inbound policies are appropriate for most servers. Explicitly allow 22/tcp or your SSH port, 80/443 for web stacks, and application-specific ports. Use ipset or security groups at the orchestration layer when running many similar nodes.

Outbound filtering is underrated: restrict egress except DNS, NTP, package mirrors, and required APIs to limit exfiltration if a workload is compromised.

Enable unattended-upgrades on Debian/Ubuntu for security pockets or schedule maintenance windows for controlled reboots. Pin critical package versions in production and test upgrades in staging VPS instances first—Nexelya makes cloning and parallel environments affordable.

Verify checksums when downloading runtimes outside package managers. Avoid curling bash installers directly into production without review.

Install fail2ban or crowdsec for SSH and web attack surfaces. Ship auth logs to a central SIEM if compliance requires retention. Monitor disk and CPU anomalies that may indicate cryptominers.

Review Nexelya audit logs for panel actions—power events, reimages, and console launches should match your change management records.

Never commit API keys or database passwords to git. Use environment files with restrictive permissions, HashiCorp Vault, or your cloud secret manager. Encrypt backups at rest and restrict backup storage credentials.

For regulated workloads, pair Nexelya VPS with contact paths are available .com.

Nexelya does not provide managed patching on self-service VPS—you own guest OS updates. Managed security offerings live under the broader Nexelya portfolio at nexelya.com.

DDoS mitigation at the network edge may absorb volumetric attacks, but application-layer attacks still require WAF rules and rate limiting in your stack.

PCI DSS on a single VPS is possible but demanding; segregate cardholder data, log comprehensively, and engage a QSA—hosting compliance alone is insufficient.