Keep Your Dedicated Server Secure

Dedicated servers are meant to offer a wide variety of services to internal as well as external users and contain a big chunk of sensitive information about the web, emails, infrastructure management and numerous file servers. It has seen that dedicated servers are frequently attacked by the con users and hackers who could later use it for the purpose of identity theft. Dedicates servers are prone to the various potential threats both on network and information levels like:

• Malicious hackers may add software bugs to get an unauthorized access to the server
• Attacks on supporting network infrastructure and associated services
• Unauthorized alteration of data

Let's check out some of the cautions need to take in charge to avoid any potential threat on the dedicated server functioning.

Install only vital services :

Probability of the malicious attacks and security holes increases with the number of ports open for the applications on the server. Since you have no option but to run certain services on the server, keep those services on that are vital and very necessary in nature. For an instance, you should rely on the SSH rather than Telnet, as the later one can be easily accessed by the cons. Thus web hosting companies suggest you to disable your FTP service if you are nor using at a certain moment.

Firewall Installation :

Using firewalls could also be make a better prevention against the attackers on the vital services of the server. Detecting intrusion attempts is the biggest advantage of the firewalls. Firewalls act as a wall between the application and external threats. A number of such firewalls are available both for Linux and windows platforms.

Password Security:

The very first thing that you must do is to change the password of your dedicated server. Since your host provider offers you a set of default user names and passwords in the non-encrypted text, any one thus can easily access these details. It's certainly a good practice to change at frequent intervals. You are however recommended to assign separate passwords both for personal and administrative accounts.

Server Monitoring :

Monitor your dedicated server against any potential threat and schedule frequent alerts about any server malfunctioning. Several independent services are available to rationalize your server monitoring process. Install some effective security auditing tools to keep vigil on hacking attempts. An expert web hosting company explores good strategies for server monitoring.

Regular Data Backups:

Data backups should be maintained to ensure the easy and on time accessibility of the critical data files.These files include contents of the database, FTP and other website traffic log. All configuration files for web server, email server, and other software should also be kept in the safe place.

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