Server Stuff

[.Maleficus.]

Ok, so I just finished setting up my first server. Ubuntu 6.06 LAMP. Install was pretty straight forward, and pretty easy. I set it up mostly with WebMin, which was super easy. But now, I have a few questions.

1. Security? What can I do to make this more secure? I don't want it to be easy to hack, or f*ck with. What can I do to increase the security of it?

2. FTP? I set up ProFTPD, and I can access Linux files from Windows, but how to I transfer? Would I use FireFTP on Windows (I have it on Firefox)? I've never really used it, so I think that's what I would use?

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help.

[calumc]

seceurit i know absolutely nothing about but with the ftp you can use any client you wish, filezilla is the only one ive ever used and its meant to be one of the best. its very simple to use and ive never had a problem with it.
Hope some of this helps

[.Maleficus.]

seceurit i know absolutely nothing about but with the ftp you can use any client you wish, filezilla is the only one ive ever used and its meant to be one of the best. its very simple to use and ive never had a problem with it.
Hope some of this helps

Yeah, I actually just figured out the FTP stuff. It was actually really easy.

I decided that I was going to try out Joomla! too, but I couldn't get it to install. I've narrowed it down to 2 reasons: 1. I put the files in the wrong Apache directory, and 2. Because I don't have a domain name yet. It's probably a mix of both, so I'm not going to worry about that until I buy a name. I still need some security tips though.


Edit: Also, in the tutorial, I was supposed to use port 8080 for HTTP. To do that, I had to change my router password and since I didn't want to do that, I just left it at port 80. Is that bad? Am I going to seriously f*ck our network and leave our house at risk of massive attack? Dear God I hope not... I'd be in sooo much trouble...

Edit 2: Yep, I'm dumb. I put the Joomla files in the wrong directory . Now, to learn what the hell MySQL and Apache do...

[yazeed1906]

mepis had a wonderful soho server that actually came on a live disk

[DaveW]

You want to be secure, then do yourself a favour and don't leave your username and password in a text file on the server.

-Dave

[.Maleficus.]

You want to be secure, then do yourself a favour and don't leave your username and password in a text file on the server.

-Dave

LOL, who do you think I am, Fox?

I'm pretty sure the only places I have my usernames and passwords are in the config files for Apache, MySQL, etc. I'm going ahead and installing a firewall right now too, and I'm on a website about Securing Apache.

[Crazy Buddhist]

I'm going ahead and installing a firewall right now too, and I'm on a website about Securing Apache.

If you have an old 486 and some NIC's laying around might be worth considering building yourself a dedicated firewall machine and installing ipcop on it to police the server or even your whole network.

[.Maleficus.]

If you have an old 486 and some NIC's laying around might be worth considering building yourself a dedicated firewall machine and installing ipcop on it to police the server or even your whole network.

I would do that, but I don't have any spare computers (or room for one..) to use. I might be able to get my hands on one (my dad said he'd look through some of the old stuff at work since I need some hard drives anyways) but I can't afford to have another PC on 24/7. I'll have to start paying some of the electricity if I do... . (I'm 15 if you didn't know)

I installed Firestarter on it, and it's working so far. 2 "serious" attempts have been blocked, so I'm feeling ok.

[Crazy Buddhist]

I'll have to start paying some of the electricity if I do... . (I'm 15 if you didn't know)

I do .. good thing about ipcop is it can run on a small and old machine with a 120W powerpack and no monitor. Just like a lightbulb.

CrazyB

ps. do the dishes a little more often? lol

[.Maleficus.]

Ok, I'm starting to like having a server even more (even with the headaches). Anyone ever hear of TorrentFlux? Well, it's pretty nifty. It allows me to remotely control torrents and download them directly to my server. And, it looks freaking cool. I swear, I don't know how I managed life without this. Hopefully I can buy a domain name today or tomorrow and really kick this off (since I can currently only access TorrentFlux through my network, and I'd like to be able to access it anywhere at anytime). And I'm really wanting to try Joomla!. I'm still not sure what MySQL does, but I plan on messing with that stuff today.

Man, having a 4GB hard drive really doesn't cut it.


And CrazyB, if I do the dishes more, it'll put my dishwasher out of a job .


Edit: Ahhh, the joys of remote administration. I just got VNC and SSH setup and I'm happily controlling the server from this computer. This. Is. Too. Cool.