GeekISP FAQ - The five questions posted most recently: GeekISP Faq System http://geekisp.com/faq <![CDATA[How do I allow Apache to act as a proxy?]]> Apache has the ability to act as a proxy in several different forms - the most common is the reverse HTTP proxy, by which Apache receives a HTTP request and forwards it onto another server.  The other server is typically something like Tomcat or other local webserver.

All the details of configuring mod_proxy are outside the scope of this FAQ, so you should consult the authoritative docs at http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_proxy.html.

Your GeekISP VPS has SELinux enabled by default, and in order to setup Apache as a proxy, you'll need to allow it to execute the connect call via: 

 # /usr/sbin/setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

 

]]> http://geekisp.com/faq/content/8/84/en/how-do-i-allow-apache-to-act-as-a-proxy.html Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:56:00 GMT <![CDATA[How do I open a firewall port?]]> Your GeekISP VPS comes with a firewall enabled by default.  For most users, you'll want to open up a port to allow traffic into your server, to serve whatever content you bought the VPS for!  In general we recommend leaving your firewall locked down as much as possible, but there are obvious situations where you need to open a port - such as when you want to run a webserver on your VPS.  We use the stock CentOS firewall, iptables.

To open the HTTP port, you should use the 'iptables' commands.  You can look for examples in the /etc/sysconfig/iptables file.  You can even edit that file directly if you are comfortable with the format therein.

If not, you can use 'iptables --list' to see the current policy.  To open the HTTP port (port 80), run the following commands: 

# iptables -A RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

# service iptables save

Inbound connections will now be accepted on the HTTP port.

For more information on iptables, refer to the HOWTO: http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/Network/IPTables

]]> http://geekisp.com/faq/content/8/83/en/how-do-i-open-a-firewall-port.html Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:44:00 GMT <![CDATA[How do I enable FTP?]]> There's many different FTP servers available for Linux.  The simplest method to enable FTP is via the default system daemon, controlled by xinetd.

 

# yum install -y xinetd

# vi /etc/xinetd.d/gssftp

Comment out the line that says 'disable = yes'.

# service xinetd start

 

That's all that's required to enable a basic FTP server.  You can make accounts via 'adduser' and 'passwd', and all of your regular Linux users can now use FTP.

]]> http://geekisp.com/faq/content/8/82/en/how-do-i-enable-ftp.html Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:19:00 GMT <![CDATA[What are some security best practices?]]> With a VPS, you are the system administrator.  That means you need to pay attention to what's going on with your VPS, including on a security front.

There are many books, articles, and blogs about unix security.  We at GeekISP highly recommend that you make security a habit, by learning as much as you can - whether its from a book or a blog doesn't matter so long as you're regularly learning.

There are a few easy guidelines we can suggest:

  • Choose good passwords.  Ideally they should be random, including mixed case letters, numbers, and extra characters (^/@#$, etc).  Your password should be 10 or more characters at minimum.  Alternatively, consider using SSH keys and disabling password authentication entirely.
  • Do not run programs as root, unless absolutely required.  Make yourself a regular user account as your first course of action, and use that for your day-to-day activities.  An action by 'root' should be special.
  • Consider moving SSH off the default port.  Security through obscurity is not real security, but by sidestepping the many SSH scanning bots, you can avoid many dictionary attacks.
  • Read the daily emails from your VPS.  These are as simple as doing: "echo me@example.com > /root/.forward".
  • Keep all your software up-to-date via 'yum'.
  • For any software you're installing manually, be sure to follow the community.  Join their mailing list (even if its just their 'announcement' list) or read their RSS feed.  This is a good way to stay informed about security vulnerabilities in programs you're using.
That's just a start.  Security can be a challenge, but you can take simple steps that make a big difference in protecting your data. ]]> http://geekisp.com/faq/content/8/81/en/what-are-some-security-best-practices.html Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:03:00 GMT <![CDATA[How do I access the console for my VPS?]]> Console access to your GeekISP VPS is provided by the 'conserver' package.  To use it, first log into GeekISP's shell server (login.geekisp.com) using your username and password.  Once logged in, you can connect to your console by typing:

$ console -U my_vps_name

You'll be asked for your console password - this is different from your shell password.  Once entered, conserver attaches your current terminal to the console of your VPS.  To end your session, you'll need to enter an 'escape sequence' and then the disconnect command.  That's 3 keystroke:

ctrl+e

c

.

When the console connects, it'll remind you of the sequence with the following line:

[Enter `^Ec?' for help]

That means you hit "ctrl+e", then "c", then "?" for help.  So to exit, its "ctrl+e", "c", "." to end the console session.

]]> http://geekisp.com/faq/content/8/80/en/how-do-i-access-the-console-for-my-vps.html Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:24:00 GMT