Setting up a new linux web server

server-setup.md

create limited user

adduser example_user

adduser example_user sudo OR usermod -aG sudo example_user

login as limited user

set up ssh for limited user

mkdir ~/.ssh chmod 700 ~/.ssh vim ~/.ssh/authorized_keys chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Harden SSH Access

• disable password authentication
• disable root login over ssh

sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config PasswordAuthentication no PermitRootLogin no

sudo systemctl reload sshd sudo service sshd restart

Configure a Firewall

sudo ufw app list sudo ufw allow OpenSSH sudo ufw enable sudo ufw status

install nginx

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade sudo apt-get install nginx

configure firewall for Nginx

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP' sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTPS'

Remove Unused Network-Facing Services

https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/remove-unused-network-facing-services

manage nginx process

sudo systemctl stop nginx

Create and configure site

mkdir /var/www/sitename/html cp /etc/nginx/ /etc/nginx/sites-available/sitename vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/sitename ln /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/sitename /etc/nginx/sites-available/sitename

Enable SSL

Monitoring

Analtyics

Setup References

• https://becomesovran.com/blog/server-setup-basics.html
• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/initial-server-setup-with-ubuntu-16-04
• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/initial-server-setup-with-ubuntu-22-04
• https://www.linode.com/docs/websites/hosting-a-website
• https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/how-to-install-and-use-nginx-on-ubuntu-20-04/
• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-nginx-on-ubuntu-16-04

Security References

https://www.linode.com/docs/security/securing-your-server

• https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/set-up-and-secure/

https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/security/ https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/using-fail2ban-to-secure-your-server-a-tutorial/