Servers&Hosting

Category: Servers

How to Set Up a Secure Linux Web Server (Step-by-Step Guide)
Setting up a Linux web server is a must for developers, businesses, and hobbyists who want performance, control, and security. In this guide, you’ll learn how to configure a secure, production-ready web server from scratch using a modern Linux distribution.

Step 1: Choose the Right Linux Distribution

Before anything else, pick a solid Linux distro. Here are some battle-tested options:
- Ubuntu Server (LTS) – Easy to use, great documentation.
- Debian – Stable, minimal, and widely supported.
- AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux (CentOS alternatives) – Enterprise-grade stability.
Pro Tip: Choose LTS (Long-Term Support) versions to ensure consistent security updates.

Step 2: Secure Initial Access
1. Log into your server via SSH:
  ssh root@your-server-ip
2. Create a new non-root user:
  adduser yourusername
  usermod -aG sudo yourusername
3. Disable root login via SSH:
  Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config:
  PermitRootLogin no
  Then restart SSH: systemctl restart sshd
Step 3: Harden SSH Access
- Use SSH key authentication instead of passwords:
  ssh-keygen ssh-copy-id yourusername@your-server-ip
- (Optional) Change the default SSH port (for obscurity):
  nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
- Change the line:
  Port 2222
- Then restart SSH:
  systemctl restart sshd
Step 4: Set Up a Firewall

For Ubuntu/Debian:
```
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 'Nginx Full'    # or 'Apache Full'
ufw enable
```
For CentOS/RHEL:
```
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
firewall-cmd --reload
```
Step 5: Install a Web Server

Option 1: Nginx
```
sudo apt install nginx           # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install nginx           # CentOS/RHEL
systemctl enable nginx
systemctl start nginx
```
Option 2: Apache
```
sudo apt install apache2         # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install httpd           # CentOS/RHEL
systemctl enable apache2         # or httpd
systemctl start apache2
```
Step 6: Secure with HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt)

Install Certbot:
```
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx    #Nginx

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache   #Apache
```
Obtain SSL Certificate:
```
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

#or
sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com
```
Enable auto-renewal:
```
sudo systemctl enable certbot.timer
```
Step 7: Harden the Server

Install Fail2Ban:
```
sudo apt install fail2ban
```
Enable Unattended Security Updates:
```
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure --priority=low unattended-upgrades
```
Disable unused services:
```
systemctl disable service-name
```
Step 8: Deploy Your Website or App
- Upload files to /var/www/html/ or your virtual host directory.
- Set proper permissions:
  chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/
Step 9: Monitor & Maintain

Keep your server running smoothly and securely:
- Monitor system usage:
  top, htop, uptime, netstat, df -h
- Review logs:
  /var/log/auth.log /var/log/nginx/access.log
- Schedule regular updates:
  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Final Security Checklist
- Root login disabled
- SSH key authentication in place
- Firewall configured
- Web server installed and tested
- HTTPS enabled with auto-renewal
- Fail2Ban configured
- Regular updates scheduled
Conclusion

Setting up a secure Linux web server doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following these steps, you’ll have a hardened, reliable environment ready to serve your site or app to the world — safely.

Sponsored

Check out vertahost.com from hosting accounts, to large server setups, we offer it all. Just contact our team with your needs, 24/7!
May 11, 2025
Checking disk use on your server
To check disk usage on your server, you can use several command-line tools available in most Unix-based systems (like Linux and macOS). These tools help you monitor how much disk space is being used, what’s taking up space, and how much free space remains. This is essential for managing server health, especially for avoiding downtime due to full disks.

1. Using the df Command

The df (disk free) command shows how much space is used and available on mounted filesystems.

Basic usage:
```
df -h
```
Explanation:
- -h stands for “human-readable,” and it displays sizes in KB, MB, or GB.
- This shows a list of mounted filesystems, their total size, used space, available space, and usage percentage.
Sample output:
```
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        50G   25G   23G  53% /
tmpfs           2.0G     0  2.0G   0% /dev/shm
```
This tells you how much space is being used on each mounted partition (e.g., / is the root directory).

2. Using the du Command

The du (disk usage) command shows how much space individual files and directories are using.

Check space in a directory:
```
du -sh /path/to/directory
```
Explanation:
- -s summarizes the total.
- -h makes it human-readable.
To view usage of all folders in a directory:
```
du -h --max-depth=1 /path
```
This breaks down disk usage for each subdirectory inside /path.

Example output:
```
1.1G    /home/user/Documents
200M    /home/user/Downloads
```
This is very helpful when tracking down what’s consuming disk space.

3. Combining du with sort

You can sort folders by size to find the biggest ones:
```
du -h /path | sort -hr | head -n 10
```
- sort -hr: Sorts in human-readable format, largest first.
- head -n 10: Shows the top 10 results.
This helps locate space hogs quickly.

4. Graphical Alternatives

If you’re using a desktop environment, tools like ncdu (for terminal-based interactive browsing) can help:

Install and use ncdu on Ubuntu based servers:
```
sudo apt install ncdu
ncdu /
```
It shows a navigable summary of disk usage by folder.

5. Checking Disk Inodes

Disk space may be free, but you could still run out of inodes (used to track files). Check inode usage with:
```
df -i
```
Final Thoughts

For quick checks, use df -h. For detailed usage by directory, use du -sh or ncdu. Regular disk checks can help avoid outages or performance issues due to full storage.

^Sponsored
Check out vertahost.com for all of your web hosting needs, including 24/7 support, and server expertise
May 8, 2025