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VPS & Cloud

Set up your first VPS

Initial SSH login, system update, sudo user, SSH keys and basic hardening of your new VPS.

Apr 28, 20266 min readvpssshubuntusetup

Step-by-step to get your first Fusiora VPS production-ready: connection, updates, sudo user, key auth and basic hardening.

Video: Set up your first VPS — YouTube

1. Access details

After provisioning you receive an email with IP, root user and password. They are also in Client area > Services > Your VPS.

2. First SSH login

From Linux/macOS or PowerShell:

ssh root@YOUR_IP

Accept the fingerprint, enter the password. Change it on first login: passwd.

3. Update the system

Ubuntu/Debian: apt update && apt -y full-upgrade. AlmaLinux/Rocky: dnf -y update. Reboot if the kernel was updated: reboot.

4. Create a sudo user

  • adduser fusiora — creates the user and asks for a password.
  • usermod -aG sudo fusiora (Debian/Ubuntu) or usermod -aG wheel fusiora (RHEL).

5. SSH key authentication

On your PC: ssh-keygen -t ed25519. Copy the public key to the VPS:

ssh-copy-id fusiora@YOUR_IP

Verify you can log in without a password, then disable root and password login in /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

  • PermitRootLogin no
  • PasswordAuthentication no

Reload: systemctl reload ssh.

6. Minimal firewall

With ufw (Ubuntu/Debian):

  • ufw allow OpenSSH
  • ufw allow http && ufw allow https
  • ufw enable

RHEL: firewall-cmd --add-service={ssh,http,https} --permanent && firewall-cmd --reload.

7. Best practices

  • Change the SSH port if you see many attempts (22 → 2222) and open the new port in the firewall.
  • Install fail2ban to block brute-force attacks.
  • Enable unattended upgrades (unattended-upgrades).
  • Take a snapshot from the client area before big changes.

Done. Your VPS is updated, has a sudo user, key-based login and an active firewall. Continue with the stack you need (Nginx, Docker, Pterodactyl…).

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