New Linux Server? Do These 9 Things Before Anything Else
Every fresh VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, your homelab Proxmox box) boots up with the same problem: a root login over password, no firewall, and nothing installed. Before you deploy anything, spend 15 minutes on this checklist. Order matters. Firewall rules and SSH hardening can lock you out permanently if done in the wrong sequence. Do the steps in this order and you won’t have to rescue-boot your way back in. 1. Update everything first Connect as root and patch the box before touching anything else. ...