Total Linux n00bie - first time VPS setup (Linode.com).
I've spent a month researching and attempting setups. After a few dumps and reinstalls, I finally have a server up and functioning (been up for a few weeks now). I'd love some feedback on my security measures from the experts.
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Setup: typical Ubuntu 10.04 LAMP environment
Console: webmin (port 10000)
mail: postfix (port 25)
security measures:
(following http://www.andrewault.net/2010/05/17/securing-an-ubuntu-server/ )
ssh via public/private keys (putty on a win7 machine)
PasswordAuthentication no PermintRootLogin no
UFW
- ufw default deny incoming
- ufw default allow outgoing
- ufw allow 80/tcp (http)
- ufw allow 443/tcp (ssl)
- ufw allow XXX/tcp (ssh custom port)
- ufw allow 25 (mail server)
- ufw allow 10000 (webmin)
- ufw deny 22 (ssh default)
- ufw deny 3306/tcp (mysql)
- ufw enable
install fail2ban - disallow bruteforce attacks
disallow source routing of incoming packets
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_source_route=0
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.default.accept_source_route=0
install tiger - security scanner
install psad - intrusion detection
install nmap - port scanning
install chkrootkit - root kit presence
install logwatch
UPKEEP
regular (once or twice weekly)
apt-get update/upgrade
run psad, nmap, chkrootkit, logwatch, tiger
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Okay... so, as I said, I'm a complete newb with linux, but I've been involved in web technologies for many years (including many local WAMP / XAMPP installs and setups). Following Linode's basic cookbook entries, getting a server up and running wasn't too tough, but I did feel pretty over my head when it came to the security aspect of things (which is saying a lot, as I deal in complex tech commonly). Hell - if you are a pro with this stuff - props to you. It's hard.
After I got all the virtual server / dns entries ironed out, I was able to set up a few default site installs (drupal, wordpress), and they have been functioning as expected for several weeks now.
I can clearly see in the psad entries that UFW is doing its job - bouncing thousands of port scans, and I have yet to turn anything serious up with tiger. Tho - reading the tiger security report, there are many warnings about system configurations that I'm really not sure if I should take steps to rectify. So there is question #1. For example - I get warnings that my passwords aren't properly hashed. Is this a problem if I have password authentication turned off?
That all being said - How confident can I be in this server setup? Is there a system or service I can use to audit my settings, or to do an automatic system scan? (Something like how you can scan a site for malware with google's web tools.) I'd like to migrate all my sites from shared hosting to this server, but I don't want to do it prematurely...
Any feedback would be most appreciated. I completely realize this question is pretty common, but I feel I've done my due diligence - I'd just like some guidance from the pros on this before I commit.