Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Thinking about switching to VPS from shared hosting.

Options
  • 26-10-2011 5:13pm
    #1
    techguy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭


    Hi Guys,

    I'm currently on a shared webhost which has been great for the last couple of years. My requirements are now expanding and I think it's time to ove to VPS.

    I've just found a VPS for an extra euro a month so i'm thinking of trying it out.

    I am aware of the differences and that shared servers are usually managed by the hosting company and that the VPS is a raw server that I will have to manage myself.

    My main concerns here are security. I'm well able to configure a linux (Ubuntu) box but when it comes to hardening it etc i'm kinda lost.

    What way will I receive my VPS if I get one. Will it have a base install that is secure enough. Then I just ensure i'm careful about any changes I make and what I install etc?

    My main concerns are around the fact it will be my main store of emails and subversion repositories.

    Should I stay away or just go with it?

    Thanks.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    gerryk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭gerryk


    Frim my experience, your concerns will be less about hardening the actual OS and more about just making sure your webapps are patched and not misconfigured. World writable image upload directories are one big hole to be aware of.

    I usually configure ssh to require a client key as well as a passphrase, and I don't use control panel type things or server-side stats tools.

    I also use GreenSQL and mod_security. GreenSQLproxys MySQL and will parse out any potential SQL injection code, even if the webapp does not. Mod_security does similar for http requests.

    Subversion can be tunnelled over ssh, and your email can be accessed over TLS with a decent password.

    Also, backups.


  • Options
    #3
    techguy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭techguy


    Great stuff, i've asked a few others and spoke along the same lines as you.

    I'll give it a go when I get some time..

    Thanks :D


  • Options
    #4
    gerryk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭gerryk


    If you want to play around without costing a fortune, sign up to Amazon AWS. New sign-ups get a free EC2 micro-instance (roughly 1GHz processor & 512MB RAM) and 10GB of Elastic Block Storage for a year.
    Drop a bare Ubuntu AMI on it and play away.
    ElasticFox and S3fox are handy plugins for Firefox that make administering Amazon AWS dead easy.


  • Options
    #5
    techguy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭techguy


    GREAT POINT!!

    I had completely forgotten about Amazon. Cheers!!


Advertisement