The State of VPS Security in 2024

In the process of making this blog I decided I was going to use VPS hosting, thinking it would be a better option than self-hosting on my own homelab equipment. (I'm a Network Admin for an MSP) So, in my nievity of the scope of scraping bots, I spun up my linux VPS and began initial configurations, like some hardening and package downloads for management.

I decided I wanted to check out the auth.log(s) just to take a peek and see if anyone was trying to poke at my machine. What I was greeted with kind of freaked me out...

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This scared me enough to nuke my linux server from orbit and start fresh, knowing that there were gaping holes in my configuration and because of my poor documentation(trying to fix this) I wasn't sure exactly where I left off and where those holes would be.

It's a much better idea to begin a project and have a causal link of steps taken to ensure that whatever thing you're working on is put together correctly, leading to safer and more enjoyable outcomes. If you fly wild, without a stuctured plan, you're much more likely to make mistakes or forget important steps. In this context, that means things like RCE's and RAT's and general assholery from the tsunami of security risks on the internet. Which is what this article is really about.

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