Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 16.04

Estimated reading time: 3 min

Introduction

Our servers are using a default template which allows you to log in and finalize the setup. While the basics allow you to remotely log in with an administrative user we recommend our users to follow these instructions to increase the security and usability of their servers.

Prerequisites

Since we’re just starting out, there are no prerequisites other than knowing the IP address and root login for your server.

Step 1: Log in as root

Your server is set without a graphical environment. You need to log in with SSH to execute commands on your server. If you’re not familiar with how to connect please have a look at our “How to connect to your server with SSH” article.

Step 2: Create a new user

We will be creating a new user called johnny. If you want to use a different username please replace johnny with your preferred username.

adduser johnny

You will be prompted with a couple of questions, most importantly the password (twice) for the new user, answer accordingly, hit “Enter” after each answer you’ve given:

Adding user `johnny' ...
Adding new group `johnny' (1000) ...
Adding new user `johnny' (1000) with group `johnny' ...
Creating home directory `/home/johnny' ...
Copying files from `/etc/skel' ...
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Changing the user information for johnny
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
Full Name []:
Room Number []:
Work Phone []:
Home Phone []:
Other []:
Is the information correct? [Y/n]

Step 3: Add user to the sudo group

usermod -aG sudo johnny

Step 4: Test logging in with the new user and become root

You need to log in with the newly created user and become root before proceeding with the next steps. Replace “johnny” with your newly created username and x.x.x.x with the IP address of your server.

ssh [email protected]

The server should ask you for your password and show you the prompt once you enter your password correctly:

[email protected]'s password:
...
...
...
johnny@hostname:~$

Now become root:

sudo -i

The server reply should be similar to this:

[sudo] password for johnny:
root@hostname:~#

Now go back to your non-elevated account:

exit

The server reply should be similar to:

logout
johnny@hostname:~$

Great, now you can proceed with the next steps!

Step 5: Disable interactive root login with SSH

Hackers and bots will try to crack the root password of your system because every Linux server has a root user. Because the username is known hackers will try brute-force attacks to hack into your server. It is wise to disable logging in with root using a password. The following configuration changes need to be done:First, open the SSH server configuration with your favorite text editor. We use nano:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

If you are asked for a password fill in your password. Find (CTRL+W to open search dialog in nano) the following line:

PermitRootLogin yes

Change that line to:

PermitRootLogin without-password

Save the file and exit with CTRL+X. Afterward restart the SSH daemon with:

sudo service ssh restart

Step 6: Update your server

It’s time to update your server. First update catalogs:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y dist-upgrade

Sometimes you need to answer questions that are asked. It’s safe to give the default answer by just hitting “Enter”.

Step 7: Setting timezone

We will use “Europe/Amsterdam” as our timezone, adjust as needed. A list of available timezones is available here.

sudo rm -f /etc/localtime ; sudo ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Amsterdam /etc/localtime

Step 8: Configure a firewall

It’s advised to use a firewall to further secure your server. While an extensive firewall configuration is out of the scope of this document we advise at least the following steps: Allow SSH access:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH

Output:

Rules updated
Rules updated (v6)

Enable firewall:

sudo ufw enable

You will be asked if you want to proceed. Answer y and hit “Enter”:

Command may disrupt existing ssh connections. Proceed with operation (y|n)? y

Output:

Firewall is active and enabled on system startup

You can show the status of the firewall as follows:

sudo ufw status

Output:

Status: active 
To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
OpenSSH (v6)               ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)

When you install additional services remember to allow access to them by adjusting the firewall settings. You can show a list of available applications by issuing the following command:

sudo ufw app list

Output:

Available applications:
OpenSSH

Step 9: Reboot

During updates often a kernel update is installed which will require a reboot. Reboot your server with the following command:

sudo reboot

Conclusion

Your server is now hardened against basic attempts to break-in. Users must use an SSH key (not a password) to log in, and we’ve done some basic setup to make sure you’re ready to go. Enjoy your newly setup server!

Was this article helpful?
Dislike 0
Views: 11055

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *