Your first hour on a new server.

SECURITY · 6 MIN READ

Do the ordinary things carefully. A repeatable baseline is more useful than a pile of commands you have not checked.

Verify how you received access.

Use the delivery instructions associated with your order. Confirm the destination and server identity through a trusted channel. Do not paste private keys into support messages. Change temporary credentials when instructed.

Update before you add complexity.

Apply the supported distribution’s security updates. Read the package manager output and determine whether a restart is needed. Avoid copying commands written for a different Linux distribution or release.

Create named access.

Give administrators individual accounts and use SSH keys where supported. Test a second login session before tightening SSH access. Keep the current working connection open until you know the new one succeeds.

Expose only what you use.

List the ports your application needs. Configure a firewall with explicit rules and verify that your administration path remains reachable. Bind internal databases and caches to an appropriate private or loopback interface rather than exposing them publicly by default.

Keep secrets out of the wrong places.

Do not commit credentials to source control or bake them into publicly shared images. Restrict file permissions. Rotate credentials when access changes or a secret may have been exposed.

Make updates and backups a habit.

Choose a maintenance routine, subscribe to relevant vendor security notices and test recovery. Monitor disk usage and logs without collecting unnecessary personal information.