AWS

Connecting to a server via SSH with Putty

April 7, 2019 by Simon

This post aims to show how you can connect to a remote VM server using Telnet/SSH Secure shell with a free program called Putty on Windows. This not an advanced guide, I hope you find it useful.

You will learn how to connect (via Windows) to a remote computer (Linux) over the Telnet protocol using SSH (Secure Shell). Once you login you can remotely edit web pages, learn to code, install programs or do just about anything.

Common Terms (Glossary)

Putty: Putty is a free program that allows you to connect to a server via Telnet. Putty can be downloaded from here.
Port: A port is a number given to a virtual lane on the internet (a port is similar to a frequency in radio waves but all ports share the same transport layer frequency on the internet). Older unencrypted webpages work on Port (lane 80), older mail worked on Port 25, encrypted web pages work on Port 443. Telnet (that SSH Secure Shell uses) used Port 22. Read about port numbers here.
SSH: SSH is a standard that allows you to securely connect to a server over the telnet protocol. Read more here.
Shell: Shell or Unix Shell is the name given to the interactive command line interface to Linux. Read more about the shell here.
Telnet: Telnet is a standard on the TCP/IP protocol that allows two-way communication between computers (all communicatin issent as characters and not graphics). Read more on telnet here and read about the TCP protocols here and here.
VM: VM stands for Virtual Machine and is a name given to a server you can buy (but it is owned by someone else). Read more here.

Read about other common glossary terms used on the Inetre here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Internet-related_terms

Background

If you want a webpage on the internet (or just a server to learn how to program) it’s easier to rent a VM for a few dollars a month and manage it yourself (with Telnet/SSH Secure Shell) than it is to buy a $5,000 server, place it in a data centre and pay for electricity and drive in every few days and update it. Remote management of VM servers via SSH/Secure Shell is the way for small to medium solutions.

A simple web hosting site may cost < $5 a month but is very limited.
A self-managed VM costs about $5 a month
A website service like Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or WordPress will cost about $30~99 a month.
A self-owned server will cost hundreds to thousands upfront.

There are pros and cons to all solutions above (e.g cost, security, scalability, performance, risk) but these are outside this post’s topic. I have deployed VMs on provides like AWS, Digital Ocean, Vultr and UpCloud for years. If you need to buy a VM you can use this link and get $25 free credit.

I used to use the OSX Operating System on Apple computers. I was used to using the VSSH software program to connect to servers deployed on UpCloud (using this method). With the demise of my old Apple Mac book (due to heat) I have moved back to using Windows (I am never using Apple hardware again until they solve the heat issues).

Also, I prefer to use Linux servers in the cloud (over say Windows) because I believe they are cheaper, faster and more secure.

Enough talking lets configure a connection.

Public and Private Keys?

Whenever you want to connect to a remote server via Telnet/SSH Secure Shell you will need a public and private key to encrypt communications between you and the remote server.

The public key is configured on your server (on Linux you add the public key to this file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys).

The private key is used by programs (usually on your local computer) to connect to the remote server.

How to create a Public and Private Key on Linux

I usually run this command on Ubuntu or Debian Linux to generate a public and private SSH key.

sudo ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

The key below was generated for this post and is not used online. Keys are like physical keys, people who have them and know where to use them can use them.

Output:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/username/.ssh/id_rsa): ./server
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): ********
Enter same passphrase again: ********
Your identification has been saved in ./server.
Your public key has been saved in ./server.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:sxfcyn4oHQ1ugAdIEGwetd5YhxB8wsVFxANRaBUpJF4 [email protected]
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 4096]----+
| .oB**[email protected]       |
|  +.==B.+        |
| o .o+o+..       |
|  .. +..o...     |
|    o ..Sooo.    |
|         ++o.    |
|        .o+o     |
|        .oo .    |
|         ...     |
+----[SHA256]-----+

The two files were created

server
server.pub

“server” is the private key
“server.pub“is the public key

Public/Private Key Contents

Public Key Contents (“server.pub”)

ssh-rsa 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 [email protected]

Private Key Contents (“server”), always keep the private key safe and never publish it.

The Public and Private keys is used to encrypt all Telnet/SSH connections and traffic to your server. Keep these key’s private.

fyi: Putty can create SSH Keys too

If you do not have a Linux computer or Linux server to generate keys the Putty generator can create keys too.

Puttygen generating a key based on the randomness of mouse movements.

I did not know Putty can create keys.

Do save the public and private key(s) that were generated in Puttygen (tip: PPK files are what we are after along with the public key later in this post).

Public keys are added to your server when you deploy them. On Linux, you can add new Pulic keys after deployment by adding them to this file “~/.ssh/authorized_keys” to allow people to log in.

Puttygen does format the keys differently than how Ubuntu generates them. Read more here. I’ll keep generating keys in Linux over Puttygen.

Output of the public and PPK files from Puttygen

Putty SSH Client on Windows

Putty is a free windows program that you can use to connect to serves via SSH. Download and install the Putty program.

Open Putty

Default Putty User Interface.

To create a connection add an exiting IP address (server name) and SSH port (22) to Putty.

Screenshot of an IP and port entered into putty

In Putty (note the tree view to the left of the image), You can set the auto login name to use to log into the remote server under the Connection the Data in the tree view item

Screenshot showing the SSH usename being added to putty under Connection then Data menu,

You can also set the username under the Connection then Rlogin section of Putty.

Set the usernmae undser rlogin area of putty

OK, lets add the private SSH Key to Putty.

Putty Screehshot showing no support for standard SSH keys (only PPK files)

It looks like Putty only supports PPK private key files not ones generated by Linux. I used to be able to use the private key in the VSSH program on OSX and add the private key to connect to the server over SSH. Putty does not allow you to use Linux generated Private keys directly.

Convert your (Linux generated) private key to (Putty) PPK format with Puttygen

Putty comes with a Key Generator/Converter, you can open your existing RSA private key and convert it (or generate a new one).

TIP: If you generate a key in Puttygen don;t forget to ad’d it to your authorized host file in your remote server.

Open Puttygen

Click Conversions than Import Key and choose the private key you generated in Linux

Screenshot showing import RSA key to convert

The private key will be opened

You can then save the private key as a PPK file.

“server.ppk” Key contents

PuTTY-User-Key-File-2: ssh-rsa
Encryption: aes256-cbc
Comment: imported-openssh-key
Public-Lines: 12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Private-Lines: 28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Private-MAC: 12298fa865ac574da81898252e83b812200cba59

Now the PPK key can be added to Putty for any server connection that uses the public key. Use the right key for the right server though.

Add the private key to a Putty server by clicking Connection, SSH, AUTH section and browing to the PPK file.

Screenshot showing the PPK key file added to Putty

Now we need to save the connection, click back on the Session note at the top of the treeview, type a server name and click Save

Connecting to your sever via Telnet/SSH wiht Putty.

Once you have added a server name, port, usernames and private key to Putty you can double click the server list item to connect to your server.

You will see a message about accepting the public key from the server. Click Yes. This fingerprint will be the same fingerprint that was shown when you generated the keys (if not maybe someone is hacking in the middle of your local computer and server)

Putty messgae box asking to to remember the public key

Hopefully, you will now have full access to your server with the account you logged in with.

Screenshot of an Ubuntu screen after login

Happy Coding.

Alternatives to self-managed VM’s

I will always run self-managed server (and configure it myself) as its the most economical way to build a fast and secure server in my humble opinion.

I have blogged about alternatives but these solutions always sacrifice something and costs are usually higher and performance can be slower.

I am also lucky enough I can do this as a hobby and its not my day job. when you self manage a VM you will have endless tasks or securing your server and tweaking but its fun.

Infographic: So you have an idea for an app

October 31, 2017 by Simon

I created this graphic as I was asked by multiple people how to develop an app. This does not include tips on coding but many people with the non-technical prerequisites to building an app.

I hope this graphic helps someone (It’s my first infographic/decision flow image, feedback welcome).

So You Have an Idea For An App: Graphic

Click for larger version.

Standalone Image URL’s

v1.3 (22nd November 2017)
  https://fearby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Infographic-So-you-have-an-idea-for-an-app-v1-3.jpg
v1.2 (4th Nov 2017, Added requirements and MoSCoW): 
  https://fearby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Infographic-So-you-have-an-idea-for-an-app-v1-2.jpg
v1.1 (1st Nov 2017, Fixed Typos): 
  https://fearby.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Infographic-So-you-have-an-idea-for-an-app-v1-1.jpg

todo: Things to add Issues to fix in 1.4:
 - Add user personas and Epic, Story and Task stages.
 - How to capture good stories (and validated ideas (landing pages/interviews/problems/value/painpoints)

Define the problem(s) (pain points)

Before you start coding, do list your app requirements (problem’s to solve (pain points)).

Atlassian JIRA or Trello can help with this. I personally use (and like) Atlaz.io (now Hygger), I reviewed the BETA here).

Using Trello lists are also a simple way to capture tasks/ideas.

More on these Read more here also read my Atlaz.io BETA Preview here.

Nothing beats pen and paper too.

Moscow Prioritization

Must-Have Should-Have, Could-Have and Won’t-have are buckets you should sort ideas into. If you have trouble moving items away from Must to Should, Could or Won’t then assign a fictitious monetary value to spend on each item and that will help you decide what is more important.

Read this MoSCoW Method article at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoSCoW_method

Managing MoSCoW tasks on paper is OK if you do not want to use planning software.

More

Read my guide on how to prototype apps with Adobe XD guide here. You can also Prototype a Web app with Platforma (review here).

Read my post on how to develop software and stay on track.

Research

Do research your idea for market fit/need, competition, complexity, legal and validate ideas early. It’s best to find out early that Google will quote $60,000+ TAX a year to allow you to use Google map’s in your app early, then you can use https://www.mapbox.com for $499 a year.

Do you have competition?

Some people say “don’t develop an app that already exists”. Why would you develop a new Uber app? Henry Ford did make a new transportation mode when people were happy with horses, other car manufacturers like Tesla are moving in on the space so don’t be discouraged.

Landing Page

A landing page with a signup form (Newsletter and Register Interest) form is a good way to validate ideas and get feedback early (I would suggest you use a free Mainchimp signup form, a generated website with Platforma on a $5/m server for quick results). There is no point coding and launching to crickets.

Do you have an app Prototype or Mock-Up?

This is very important and easy step. Programs like Adobe XD CC (read my guide here) and Balsamiq can help you prototype an app, Platforma can help you prototype web apps.

Have you validated your idea (app) with end users?

If you don’t do this you are mad. Watch this video to see lessons learned from Trades Cloud.

Is this app idea a hobby (passion)?

This can help you limit costs and expectations. Cheap serves exist (read here and here).

Do you have time to develop/manage this?

Developing and managing an app and planning (paying for) development cycle can be time-consuming and mentally draining.

Can you code?

Do you need to hire developers or learn to code? Blog post coming soon on how to hire coders.

Do you have funds?

Having funds on hand to set up and build an app is very important.

Do you want to hide developers (or get Venture Capital)?

This can help you get moving but you will have to give away a slice of the profits and or IP, managing mentors and VC’s can be tiresome.

Have you set failure criteria (post-mortem)?

Read this page on lessons learned from over 200 startup failures, save your favourites. Having realistic goals and limits is a wise idea, do stop when you reach preset limits.

Do you have a business case?

There are plenty of business case generator template, you will want to document some of the following.

What is your apps Purpose – App X will be..
What is your Mission Statement – App X will..
Who are your Target Customers – Retail..
Who are the Early Adopters – Retail..
What Problems does your app solve – App X will..
What Milestones will your app go through – iOS, Android, Apple TV, Web etc..
What Existing solutions exist – App: A, B and C..
How does your app Solve your customer’s problems (pain points) – App X will..
How will your app Find customers – Word of Mouth, Referrals, Advertisements?
What is your Revenue model – Sales, Ad’s, Subscriptions?
What is your apps Goal statement – App X will hit X users in X?
What are your apps Failure points – If app X does not reach X or monthly costs reach Y….
What is your Marketing message – App X will..
What is your apps Metrics – iOS, Android, Apple TV apps..
What is your Unfair Advantage – Why will you succeed over others?

Are you using a project management methodology?

Proven Methodology can help you develop software and stay on track, software like Atlaz, JIRA or Trello are highly recommended tools. Capturing ideas and processing feedback in tools is very important.

Before you code (or hire coders) use source code versioning software like GitHub and Bitbucket (guides here and here). You want to retain the code and insist on owning it.

Product Goal

Simon Sinek has a good video on companies (or Products) being in a finite or infinite game.

Are you in full control of your development stack?

If you are not a developer you may not care if you are in control, but you will if there are issues with hired developers or issues with service providers. I moved from CPanel to self-managed servers, moved from IBM Cloudant to Digital Ocean to AWS then Vultr servers where I can have full control or scalability, features, security and costs.

Can you forecast the costs?

Lowering cost and boosting performance is important and having spare money is a good thing.

I read recently that Telsla is burning through $6,000 a minute and is forecast to need something like 2 billion dollars in the next 2 years. Software as Service platforms will drain your budget quick (they do take on some risk and maintenance tasks), is this worth it?

Mark Fedin (CEO and Co-founder at Atlaz) has a great post on the topic of viability Stop Dabbling At Startups .

Are you using the right tech?

Don’t be afraid of changing tech along the way, you may start with MySQL and move to MongoDB, Redis, Oracle ot MSSQL database servers etc.

Do you have systems to capture customer feedback?

Self-explanatory, you are solving customer problems, right? You will pivot in the first year (trust me).

What is your revenue/sales model?

If you don’t know how to make money then don’t make an app (apps are expensive to code and maintain).

Are you prioritizing task?

I have blogged about this before, do use the tools to stay on track.

Funny Bit

Donate and make this blog better

Ask a question or recommend an article

v1.5 Fixed typos and fixed CDN link issue.

v1.4 Updated the graphic to version v1.3.

Short (Article): https://fearby.com/go2/so/

Short (Image): https://fearby.com/go2/so-img/

How to backup an Ubuntu VM in the cloud via crontab entries that trigger Bash Scripts, SSH, rsync and email backup alerts

August 20, 2017 by Simon

Here is how I backup a number of Ubuntu servers with crontab entries, bash scripts and rsync and send backup email.

Read more on useful terminal commands here for as low as $2.5 a month. Read on setting up a Digital Ocean Ubuntu server here for as low as $5 a month here ($10 free credit). Read more on setting up an AWS Ubuntu server here.

I have 6 numbered scripts in my scripts folder that handle backups, I call these scripts at set times via the crontab list.

fyi: Paths below have been changed for the purpose of this post (security).

1 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/0.backupfiles.sh >> /backup-folder/0.backupfiles.log
3 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/1.backupdbs.sh >> /backup-folder/1.backupdbs.log
5 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/2.shrinkmysql.sh >> /backup-folder/2.shrinkmysql.log
10 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/3.addtobackuplog.sh >> /backup-folder/3.addtobackuplog.log
11 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/4.syncfiles.sh >> /backup-folder/4.syncfiles.log
15 1 * * * /bin/bash /scripts-folder/5.sendbackupemail.sh > /dev/null 2>&1

https://crontab.guru/ is great for specifying times to run jobs on each server (I backup one server at 1 AM,, another at 2 AM etc (never at the same time))

Bring up your crontab list

crontab -e

Check out the Crontab schedule generator here.

Below is the contents of my /scripts/0.backupfiles.sh (sensitive information removed).

I use this script to backup folders and configuration data

cat /scripts-folder/0.backupfiles.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "Deleting old NGINX config..";
rm /backup-folder/config-nginx.zip

echo "Backing Up NGNIX..";
zip -r -9 /backup-folder/config-nginx.zip /etc/nginx/ -x "*.tmp" -x "*.temp" -x"./backup-folder/*.bak" -x "./backup-folder/*.zip"

echo "Deleting old www backup(s) ..";
#rm /backup-folder/www.zip
echo "Removing old www backup folder";
rm -R /backup-folder/www
echo "Making new backup folder at /backup-folder/www/";
mkdir /backup-folder/www

echo "Copying /www/ to /backup-folder/www/";
cp -rTv /www/ /backup-folder/www/
echo "Done copying /www/ to /backup-folder/www/";

Below is the contents of my /scripts-folder/1.backupdbs.sh (sensitive information removed).

I use this script to dump my MySQL database.

cat /scripts-folder/1.backupdbs.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "$(date) 1.backupdbs.sh ...." >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Removing old SQL backup..":
rm /backup-folder/mysql/database-dump.sql

echo "Backing up SQL";
/usr/bin/mysqldump --all-databases > /backup-folder/mysql/database-dump.sql -u 'mysqluser' -p'[email protected]$$word'

echo "Done backing up the database";

Below is the contents of my /scripts-folder/2.shrinkmysql.sh (sensitive information removed).

I use this script to tar my SQL dumps as these files can be quite big

cat /scripts-folder/2.shrinkmysql.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "$(date) 2.shrinkmysql.sh ...." >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Backing up MySQL dump..";
tar -zcf /backup-folder/mysql.tgz /backup-folder/mysql/

echo "Removing old MySQL dump..";
rm /backup-folder/mysql/*.sql

Below is the contents of my /scripts-folder/3.addtobackuplog.sh (sensitive information removed).

This script is handy for dumping extra information.

cat /scripts-folder/3.addtobackuplog.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "$(date) 3.addtobackuplog.sh ...." >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Server Name.." >> /backup-folder/backup.log
grep "server_name" /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

echo "$(date) Timec" >> /backup-folder/backup.log
sudo hwclock --show  >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "$(date) Uptime, Load etc" >> /backup-folder/backup.log
w -i >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "$(date) Memory" >> /backup-folder/backup.log
free  >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "$(date) Disk Space" >> /backup-folder/backup.log
pydf >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Firewall" >> /backup-folder/backup.log
ufw status >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Adding to Backup Log file..";
echo "$(date) Nightly MySQL Backup Successful....." >> /backup-folder/backup.log

Below is the contents of my /scripts-folder/4.syncfiles.sh (sensitive information removed).

This script is the workhorse routine that rsyncs files to the source to the backup server (a dedicated Vulr server with an A Name record attaching the server to my domain).

I installed sshpass to pass in the ssh user password (after ssh is connected (authorized_keys set), I tried to setup a rsync daemon but had no luck). I ensured appropriate ports were opened on the source (OUT 22, 873) and backup server (IN 22 873).

cat /scripts-folder/4.syncfiles.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "$(date) 4.syncfiles.sh ...." >> /backup-folder/backup.log
echo "Syncing Files.";

sudo sshpass -p 'Y0urW0rkingSSHR00tPa$$0ord' rsync -a -e  'ssh -p 22 ' --progress -P /backup-folder backup-server.yourdomain.com:/backup-folder/1.www.server01.com/

ufw firewall has great rules for allowing certain IP’s to talk on ports.

Set Outbound firewall rules (to certain IP’s)

sudo ufw allow from 123.123.123.123 to any port 22

Change 123.123.123.123 to your backup server.

Set Inbound firewall rules (to certain IP’s)

sudo ufw allow out from 123.123.123.123 to any port 22

Change 123.123.123.123 to your sending server.

You can and should setup rate limits on IP’s hitting certain ports.

udo ufw limit 22 comment 'Rate limit for this port has been reached'

Install Fail2Ban to automatically ban certain users. Fail2Ban reads log file that contains password failure report
and bans the corresponding IP addresses using firewall rules. Read more on securing Ubuntu in the cloud here.

Below is the contents of my /scripts-folder/5.sendbackupemail.sh (sensitive information removed).

This script sends an email and attaches a zip file of all log files generated through the backup process.

cat /scripts/5.sendbackupemail.sh
#!/bin/bash

echo "$(date) 5.sendbackupemail.sh ...." >> /backup-folder/backup.log

echo "Zipping up log Files.";

zip -r -9 /backup-folder/backup-log.zip /backup-folder/*.log

echo "Sending Email";
sendemail -f [email protected] -t [email protected] -u "Backup Alert" -m "server01 has been backed up" -s smtp.gmail.com:587 -o tls=yes -xu [email protected] -xp Y0urGSu1tePasswordG0e$Here123 -a /backup-folder/backup-log.zip

Read my guide on setting up sendmail here.

Security Considerations

You should never store passwords in scripts that talk to SSH connections, create MySQL dumps or when talking to email servers, I will update this guide when I solving all of these cases. Also, create the least access required for user accounts where possible.

Target Server Configuration

Alos you can see in /scripts-folder/4.syncfiles.sh that I am saving to the ‘/backup-folder/1.www.server01.com/’ folder, you can make as many folders as you want to make the most of the backup server. I would advise you not use the server for anything else like web servers and apps as this server is holding important stuff.

backup-server.yourdomain.com:/backup-folder/1.www.server01.com/

I have a handy script to delete all backups (handy during testing).

#!/bin/bash

echo "Deleting Backup Folders..........................................";

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/1.www.server01.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/1.www.server01.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/2.www.server02.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/2.www.server02.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/3.www.server03.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/3.www.server03.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/4.www.server04.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/4.www.server04.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/5.www.server05.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/5.www.server05.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/6.www.server06.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/6.www.server06.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/7.www.server07.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/7.www.server07.com

echo " Deleting /backup-folder/8.www.server08.com";
rm -R /backup-folder/8.www.server08.com

echo "
";

echo "Creating Backup Folders.........................................";

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/1.www.server01.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/1.www.server01.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/2.www.server02.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/2.www.server02.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/3.www.server03.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/3.www.server03.com";

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/4.www.server04.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/4.www.server04.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/5.www.server04.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/5.www.server04.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/6.www.server05.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/6.www.server04.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/7.www.server06.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/7.www.server04.com

echo " Making folder /backup-folder/8.www.server07.com";
mkdir /backup-folder/8.www.server08.com

echo "
";

echo "Backup Folder Contents.........................................";
ls /backup-folder -al
echo "
";

echo "Folder Strcuture...............................................";
cd /backup-folder
pwd
tree -a -f -p -h  -l -R

echo "
";

echo "How big is the backup folder...................................";
du -hs /backup-folder

echo "
";

echo "Done...........................................................";

Ensure your backup server is just for backups and only allows traffic from known IP’s

ufw status
Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.123
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.124
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.125
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.126
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.127
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.128
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.129
22                         ALLOW       123.123.123.130
53                         ALLOW       Anywhere

22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.123
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.124
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.125
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.126
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.127
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.128
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.129
22                         ALLOW OUT   123.123.123.130

Change the 123.x.x.x servers to your servers IP’s

Tip: Keep an eye on the backups with tools like ncdu

sudo ncdu /backup-folder
ncdu 1.11 ~ Use the arrow keys to navigate, press ? for help
--- /backup ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1.0 GiB [##########] /6.www.server01.com
  462.1 MiB [####      ] /1.www.server02.com
  450.1 MiB [####      ] /5.www.server03.com
   60.1 MiB [          ] /2.www.server04.com
  276.0 KiB [          ] /3.www.server05.com
  276.0 KiB [          ] /4.www.server06.com
e   4.0 KiB [          ] /8.www.server07.com
e   4.0 KiB [          ] /7.www.server08.com

Installing SSH on OSX

If you want to backup to this server with OSyouou will need to install sshpass

curl -O -L http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/sshpass/sshpass/1.06/sshpass-1.06.tar.gz && tar xvzf sshpass-1.06.tar.gz
cd sshpass-1.06
./configure
sudo make install

sshpass should be installed

sshpass -V
sshpass 1.06
(C) 2006-2011 Lingnu Open Source Consulting Ltd.
(C) 2015-2016 Shachar Shemesh
This program is free software, and can be distributed under the terms of the GPL
See the COPYING file for more information.

Using "assword" as the default password prompt indicator.

I have not got sshp[ass working yet error “Host key verification failed.” I had to remove the back known host from ~/.ssh/known_hosts” on OSX

But this worked on OSX

rsync -a -e 'ssh -p 22 ' --progress -P ~/Desktop [email protected]:/backup/8.Mac/

Note: Enter the servers [email protected] before the hostname or rsync will use the logged in OSX username

Don’t forget to check the backup serves disk usage often.

Output from backing up an incremental update (1x new folder)

localhost:~ local-account$ rsync -a -e  'ssh -p 22 ' --progress -P /Users/local-account/folder-to-backup [email protected]:/backup/the-computer/
[email protected]'s password: 
building file list ... 
51354 files to consider
folder-to-backup/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/COMMIT_EDITMSG
          15 100%    0.00kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#1, to-check=16600/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/HEAD
          23 100%   22.46kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#2, to-check=16599/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/config
         137 100%  133.79kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#3, to-check=16598/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/description
          73 100%   10.18kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#4, to-check=16597/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/index
        1581 100%  220.56kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#5, to-check=16596/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/hooks/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/hooks/README.sample
         177 100%   21.61kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#6, to-check=16594/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/info/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/info/exclude
          40 100%    4.88kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#7, to-check=16592/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/logs/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/logs/HEAD
         164 100%   20.02kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#8, to-check=16590/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/logs/refs/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/logs/refs/heads/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/logs/refs/heads/master
         164 100%   20.02kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#9, to-check=16587/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/05/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/05/0853a802dd40cad0e15afa19516e9ad94f5801
        2714 100%  294.49kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#10, to-check=16584/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/11/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/11/729e81fc116908809fc17d60c8604aa43ec095
         105 100%   11.39kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#11, to-check=16582/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/23/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/23/768a20baaf8aa0c31b0e485612a5e245bb570d
         131 100%   12.79kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#12, to-check=16580/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/27/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/27/3375fc70381bd2608e05c03e00ee09c42bdc58
         783 100%   76.46kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#13, to-check=16578/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2a/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2a/507ef5ea3b1d68c2d92bb4aece950ef601543e
         303 100%   26.90kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#14, to-check=16576/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2b/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2b/f8bd93d56787a7548c7f8960a94f05c269b486
         136 100%   12.07kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#15, to-check=16574/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2f/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/2f/900764e9d12d8da7e5e01ba34d2b7b2d95ffd4
         209 100%   17.01kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#16, to-check=16572/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/36/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/36/d2c80d8893178d7e1f2964085b273959bfdc28
         201 100%   16.36kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#17, to-check=16570/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/3d/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/3d/e5a02083dbe9c23731a38901dca9e913c04dd0
         130 100%   10.58kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#18, to-check=16568/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/40/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/40/40592d8d4d886a5c81e1369ddcde71dd3b66b5
         841 100%   63.18kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#19, to-check=16566/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/87/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/87/60f48ddbc9ed0863e3fdcfce5e4536d08f9b8d
          86 100%    6.46kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#20, to-check=16564/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/a9/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/a9/e6a23fa34a5de4cd36250dc0d797439d85f2ea
         306 100%   22.99kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#21, to-check=16562/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/b0/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/b0/4364089fdc64fe3b81bcd41462dd55edb7a001
          57 100%    4.28kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#22, to-check=16560/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/be/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/be/3b93d6d8896d69670f1a8e26d1f51f9743d07e
          60 100%    4.19kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#23, to-check=16558/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/d0/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/d0/524738680109d9f0ca001dad7c9bbf563e898e
         523 100%   36.48kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#24, to-check=16556/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/d5/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/d5/4e024fe16b73e5602934ef83e0b32a16243a5e
          69 100%    4.49kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#25, to-check=16554/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/db/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/db/3f0ce163c8033a175d27de6a4e96aadc115625
          59 100%    3.84kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#26, to-check=16552/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/df/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/df/cad4828b338206f0a7f18732c086c4ef959a7b
          51 100%    3.32kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#27, to-check=16550/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/ef/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/ef/e6d036f817624654f77c4a91ae6f20b5ecbe9d
          94 100%    5.74kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#28, to-check=16548/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/f2/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/f2/b43571ec42bad7ac43f19cf851045b04b6eb29
         936 100%   57.13kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#29, to-check=16546/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/fd/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/fd/f3f97d1b6e9d8d29bb69a88c4d89ca752bd937
         807 100%   49.26kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#30, to-check=16544/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/info/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/objects/pack/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/refs/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/refs/heads/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/refs/heads/master
          41 100%    2.50kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#31, to-check=16539/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/.git/refs/tags/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
       11476 100%  659.24kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#32, to-check=16536/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/contents.xcworkspacedata
         156 100%    8.96kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#33, to-check=16534/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/xcuserdata/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/UserInterfaceState.xcuserstate
        8190 100%  470.47kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#34, to-check=16531/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/xcschemes/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/xcschemes/TestProject.xcscheme
        3351 100%  192.50kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#35, to-check=16527/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject.xcodeproj/xcuserdata/simon.xcuserdatad/xcschemes/xcschememanagement.plist
         483 100%   27.75kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#36, to-check=16526/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/AppDelegate.swift
        2172 100%  117.84kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#37, to-check=16524/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Info.plist
        1442 100%   78.23kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#38, to-check=16523/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/ViewController.swift
         505 100%   27.40kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#39, to-check=16522/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Assets.xcassets/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Assets.xcassets/AppIcon.appiconset/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Assets.xcassets/AppIcon.appiconset/Contents.json
        1077 100%   58.43kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#40, to-check=16519/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Base.lproj/
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Base.lproj/LaunchScreen.storyboard
        1740 100%   94.40kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#41, to-check=16517/51354)
folder-to-backup/TestProject/TestProject/Base.lproj/Main.storyboard
        1695 100%   91.96kB/s    0:00:00 (xfer#42, to-check=16516/51354)

sent 1243970 bytes  received 1220 bytes  75466.06 bytes/sec
total size is 10693902652  speedup is 8588.17

Update with no files to upload

localhost:~ local-account$ rsync -a -e  'ssh -p 22 ' --progress -P /Users/local-account/folder-to-backup [email protected]:/backup/the-computer/
[email protected]'s password: 
building file list ... 
51354 files to consider

sent 1198459 bytes  received 20 bytes  82653.72 bytes/sec
total size is 10693902652  speedup is 8922.90

Backup is easy..

rsync -a -e  'ssh -p 22 ' --progress -P /Users/local-account/folder-to-backup [email protected]:/backup/the-computer/

If you want incremental and full backups try Duplicity.

Hope this helps.

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Ask a question or recommend an article

v1.7 Duplicity

How to send email via G Suite from Ubuntu in the cloud

August 20, 2017 by Zach Meissner

Here is how I send emails from the command line in Ubuntu servers in the cloud via G SUote connect emails

Jan 2018 Update

Post on adding a second domain to G Suite

Post on adding email aliases to G Suite

Main

If you use ufw for your Ubuntu firewall then allow port 587 out traffic (read more in securing Ubuntu in the cloud here).

sudo ufw allow out 587

Ensure your port is open on IPV4 and IPV6.

sudo ufw status

If you have a GUI managed firewall with your server host then configure it to allow port 587 (out).

Read more on useful terminal commands here or setting up a Digital Ocean Ubuntu server here for as low as $5 a month here, Vultr server for as low as $2.5 here ($10 free credit). Read more about setting up an AWS Ubuntu server here.

Install sendmail and other pre requisites

apt-get install libio-socket-ssl-perl libnet-ssleay-perl sendemail

Now you are ready to send an email with 1 line in the terminal (use your Gmail email unless you have diverted your email to G Suite (then use that email, guide here). Create a G Suite account here.

FYI: I have setup my email for my domain to redirect via G Suite (see my guide here and older guide here)

Send an email from the command line

sendemail -f [email protected] -t [email protected] -u "test email" -m "test message" -s smtp.gmail.com:587 -o tls=yes -xu [email protected] -xp [email protected][email protected]

This is not a drop-in replacement for Outlook or Thunderbird email clients but it is perfect for command line alerts to con-jobs or start-up notifications.

Sending an email with an attachment

sendemail -f [email protected] -t [email protected] -u "test email" -m "test message" -s smtp.gmail.com:587 -o tls=yes -xu [email protected] -xp [email protected]&[email protected] -a /folder/file.zip

Coming soon: A guide on backing up Ubuntu with Rsync etc.

More

Post on adding a second domain to G Suite

Post on adding email aliases to G Suite

Donate and make this blog better

Ask a question or recommend an article

v1.2 added other links

v1.1 added links to two G Suite guides.

Securing Ubuntu in the cloud

August 9, 2017 by Simon

It is easy to deploy servers to the cloud within a few minutes, you can have a cloud-based server that you (or others can use). ubuntu has a great guide on setting up basic security issues but what do you need to do.

If you do not secure your server expect it to be hacked into. Below are tips on securing your cloud server.

First, read more on scanning your server with Lynis security scan.

Always use up to date software

Always use update software, malicious users can detect what software you use with sites like shodan.io (or use port scan tools) and then look for weaknesses from well-published lists (e.g WordPress, Windows, MySQL, node, LifeRay, Oracle etc). People can even use Google to search for login pages or sites with passwords in HTML (yes that simple). Once a system is identified by a malicious user they can send automated bots to break into your site (trying millions of passwords a day) or use tools to bypass existing defences (Security researcher Troy Hunt found out it’s child’s play).

Portscan sites like https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=scan are good for knowing what you have exposed.

You can also use local programs like nmap to view open ports

Instal nmap

sudo apt-get install nmap

Find open ports

nmap -v -sT localhost

Starting Nmap 7.01 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2017-08-08 23:57 AEST
Initiating Connect Scan at 23:57
Scanning localhost (127.0.0.1) [1000 ports]
Discovered open port 80/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Discovered open port 3306/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Discovered open port 22/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Discovered open port 9101/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Discovered open port 9102/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Discovered open port 9103/tcp on 127.0.0.1
Completed Connect Scan at 23:57, 0.05s elapsed (1000 total ports)
Nmap scan report for localhost (127.0.0.1)
Host is up (0.00020s latency).
Not shown: 994 closed ports
PORT     STATE SERVICE
22/tcp   open  ssh
80/tcp   open  http
3306/tcp open  mysql
9101/tcp open  jetdirect
9102/tcp open  jetdirect
9103/tcp open  jetdirect

Read data files from: /usr/bin/../share/nmap
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.17 seconds
           Raw packets sent: 0 (0B) | Rcvd: 0 (0B)

Limit ssh connections

Using phpservermonitor.org to check whether your websites and servers are up and running

July 30, 2017 by Simon

https://www.phpservermonitor.org/ – PHP Server Monitor is a script that checks whether your websites and servers are up and running. It comes with a web based user interface where you can manage your services and websites, and you can manage users for each server with a mobile number and email address.

Features

Monitor services and websites (see below).
Email, SMS and Pushover notifications.
View history graphs of uptime and latency.
User authentication with 2 levels (administrator and regular user).
Logs of connection errors, outgoing emails and text messages.
Easy cronjob implementation to automatically check your servers.

FYI you can setup an Ubuntu Vutur VM here (my guide here) or a Digital Ocean server here (my guide here) in minutes (and only be charged by the hour). Vultr VMs can be purchased from as low a $2.5 a month (NY location) and Digital Ocean for $5 a month.

Open Source

PHP Server Monitor is an open source project 🙂

https://github.com/phpservermon/phpservermon

Installation

fyi: Installation instructions are located here. More detailed install instructions can be found in the zip file under docs/install.rst.

Go to https://www.phpservermonitor.org/download/ and download the 2.4MB phpservermon-3.2.0.zip then extract it’s 1,0834 items.

Upload the files to your website.

Run the install script https://thesubdomain.thedomain.com/phpservermon-3.2.0/install.php then follow the prompts.

I have already set my time zone so I’ll ignore this warning.

If you want to change the time zone run this command.

sudo hwclock --show
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
sudo reboot
sudo hwclock --show

Then add the database details. I created the MySQL database and user using the Adminer utility.

I created a config.php as instructed.

<?php
define('PSM_DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('PSM_DB_PORT', '3306');
define('PSM_DB_NAME', 'thedatabase');
define('PSM_DB_USER', 'thedatabaseuser');
define('PSM_DB_PASS', 'removed');
define('PSM_DB_PREFIX', 'psm_');
define('PSM_BASE_URL', 'https://thesubdomain.thedomain.com/phpservermon-3.2.0');
?>

Create an account.

Installation Success.

I logged into the pro server monitor webpage that I just installed.

Configuration

I logged into the PHP Server monitor and configured a website to monitor ( at /phpservermon-3.2.0/?&mod=server&action=edit ).

I added this string to the HTML source of the webpages pages to monitor.

<!-- phpservermoncheckforthis -->

I added a few websites to monitor.

Other

Here are the other things you can monitor

Table of objects to monitor

Here is my tale of objects to monitor,

Here is a table of my active servers being monitored (I am monitoring 3x web page content and IP pings).

One is failing because the page does not contain the string I defined 🙂

Integration with custom status pages

todo.

Configure SMS Alerts

The config screen has multiple SMS providers to choose from.

Configure Pushover Alerts

The config screens have links to create a pushover alerts app.

Automation

todo: Review crontab.

Recent Feaures

SSL expiration checks

Conclusion

I am happy with the way PHP Server monitor easily monitors my websites.

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v1.3 added screenshots of SMS and pushover (6:04pm 30th July 2017 AEST)

Securing an Ubuntu VM with a free LetsEncrypt SSL certificate in 1 Minute

July 29, 2017 by Simon

I visited https://letsencrypt.org/ where it said Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open SSL Certificate Authority. That sounds great, time to check them out. This may not take 1 minute on your server but it did on mine (a self-managed Ubuntu 16.04/NGINX server). If you are not sure why you need an SSL cert read Life Is About to Get a Whole Lot Harder for Websites Without Https from Troy hunt.

FYI you can set up an Ubuntu Vutur VM here (my guide here) for as low as $2.5 a month or a Digital Ocean VM server here (my guide here) for $5 a month, billing is charged to the hour and is cheap as chips.

Buy a domain name from Namecheap here.

But for the best performing server read my guide on the awesome UpCloud VM hosts (get $25 free credit by signing up here). Also read my recent post on setting up Lets Encrypt on sub domains.

I clicked Get Started and read the Getting started guide. I was redirected to https://certbot.eff.org/ where it said: “Automatically enable HTTPS on your website with EFF’s Certbot, deploying Let’s Encrypt certificates.“. I was asked what web server and OS I use..

I confirmed my Linux version

lsb_release -a

Ensure your NGINX is setup (read my Vultr guide here) and you have a”server_name” specified in the “/etc/nginx/sites-available/default” file.

e.g

server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

I also like to set “root” to “/www” in the NGINX configuration.

e.g

root /www;

Tip: Ensure the www folder is set up first and has ownership.

mkdir /www
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /www

Also, make and verify the contents of a /www /index.html file.

echo "Hello World..." > /www/index.html && cat /www/index.html

I then selected my environment on the site (NGINX and Ubuntu 16.04) and was redirected to the setup instructions.

FYI: I will remove mention of my real domain and substitute with thesubdomain.thedomain.com for security in the output below.

I was asked to run these commands

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:certbot/certbot
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python-certbot-nginx

Detailed instructions here.

Obtaining an SSL Certificate

I then ran the following command to automatically obtain and install (configure NGINX) an SSL certificate.

sudo certbot --nginx

Output

sudo certbot --nginx
Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log

Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices) (Enter 'c' to
cancel):Invalid email address: .
Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices)  If you
really want to skip this, you can run the client with
--register-unsafely-without-email but make sure you then backup your account key
from /etc/letsencrypt/accounts   (Enter 'c' to cancel): [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please read the Terms of Service at
https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.1.1-August-1-2016.pdf. You must agree
in order to register with the ACME server at
https://acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A)gree/(C)ancel: A

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you be willing to share your email address with the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a founding partner of the Let's Encrypt project and the non-profit
organization that develops Certbot? We'd like to send you email about EFF and
our work to encrypt the web, protect its users and defend digital rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Y)es/(N)o: Y

Which names would you like to activate HTTPS for?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: thesubdomain.thedomain.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select the appropriate numbers separated by commas and/or spaces, or leave input
blank to select all options shown (Enter 'c' to cancel):1
Obtaining a new certificate
Performing the following challenges:
tls-sni-01 challenge for thesubdomain.thedomain.com
Waiting for verification...
Cleaning up challenges
Deployed Certificate to VirtualHost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default for set(['thesubdomain.thedomain.com', 'localhost'])
Please choose whether HTTPS access is required or optional.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: Easy - Allow both HTTP and HTTPS access to these sites
2: Secure - Make all requests redirect to secure HTTPS access
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select the appropriate number [1-2] then [enter] (press 'c' to cancel): 2
Redirecting all traffic on port 80 to ssl in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations! You have successfully enabled https://thesubdomain.thedomain.com

You should test your configuration at:
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=thesubdomain.thedomain.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/thesubdomain.thedomain.com/fullchain.pem. Your cert will expire on 2017-10-27. To obtain a new or tweaked version
   of this certificate in the future, simply run certbot again with
   the "certonly" option. To non-interactively renew *all* of your
   certificates, run "certbot renew"
 - Your account credentials have been saved in your Certbot
   configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a
   secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will
   also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Certbot so
   making regular backups of this folder is ideal.
 - If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by:

   Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt:   https://letsencrypt.org/donate
   Donating to EFF:                    https://eff.org/donate-le

That was the easiest SSL cert generation in history.

SSL Certificate Renewal (dry run)

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processing /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/thesubdomain.thedomain.com.conf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cert not due for renewal, but simulating renewal for dry run
Renewing an existing certificate
Performing the following challenges:
tls-sni-01 challenge for thesubdomain.thedomain.com
Waiting for verification...
Cleaning up challenges

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
new certificate deployed with reload of nginx server; fullchain is
/etc/letsencrypt/live/thesubdomain.thedomain.com/fullchain.pem
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** DRY RUN: simulating 'certbot renew' close to cert expiry
**          (The test certificates below have not been saved.)

Congratulations, all renewals succeeded. The following certs have been renewed:
  /etc/letsencrypt/live/thesubdomain.thedomain.com/fullchain.pem (success)
** DRY RUN: simulating 'certbot renew' close to cert expiry
**          (The test certificates above have not been saved.)

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Your account credentials have been saved in your Certbot
   configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a
   secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will
   also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Certbot so
   making regular backups of this folder is ideal.

SSL Certificate Renewal (Live)

certbot renew

The Lets Encrypt SSL certificate is only a 90-day certificate.

Again: The Lets Encrypt SSL certificate is only a 90-day certificate.

I’ll run “certbot renew” again 2 months time to manually renew the certificate (and configure my higher security configuration (see below)).

Certbot NGINX Config renew (what did it do)

It’s nice to see forces HTTPS added to the configuration

if ($scheme != "https") {
   return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
} # managed by Certbot

Cert stuff added

    listen 443 ssl; # managed by Certbot
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/thesubdomain.thedomain.com/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/thesubdomain.thedomain.com/privkey.pem; # managed by Certbot
    include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf; # managed by Certbot

Contents of /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf

ssl_session_cache shared:le_nginx_SSL:1m;
ssl_session_timeout 1440m;

ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;

ssl_ciphers "ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:ECDHE-ECDSA-DES-CBC3-SHA:ECDHE-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA:EDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES256-GCM-SHA384:AES128-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:AES128-SHA:AES256-SHA:DES-CBC3-SHA:!DSS";

This contains too many legacy cyphers for my liking.

I changed /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf to tighten ciphers and add TLS 1.3 (as my NGINX Supports it).

ssl_session_cache shared:le_nginx_SSL:1m;
ssl_session_timeout 1440m;

ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;

ssl_ciphers "EECDH+AESGCM:EDH+AESGCM:AES256+EECDH:AES256+EDH";

Enabling OCSP Stapling and Strict Transport Security in NGINX

I add the following to /etc/nginx/sites/available/default

# OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) is a protocol for checking if a SSL certificate has been revoked
ssl_stapling on; # Requires nginx >= 1.3.7
ssl_stapling_verify on; # Requires nginx => 1.3.7
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubdomains; preload";

Restart NGINX.

sudo nginx -t
sudo nginx -s reload
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restart

SSL Labs SSL Score

I am happy with this.

Read my guide on Beyond SSL with Content Security Policy, Public Key Pinning etc

Automatic SSL Certificate Renewal

There are ways to auto renew the SSL certs floating around YouTube but I’ll stick to manual issue and renewals of SSL certificates.

SSL Checker Reports

‘I checked the certificate with other SSL checking sites.

NameCheap SSL Checker – https://decoder.link/sslchecker/ (Passed). I did notice that the certificate will expire in 89 days (I was not aware of that). I guess a free 90-day certificate for a noncritical server is OK (as long as I renew it in time).

CertLogik – https://certlogik.com/ssl-checker/ (OK)

Comodo – https://sslanalyzer.comodoca.com (OK)

Lets Encrypt SSL Certificate Pros

Free.
Secure.
Easy to install.
Easy to renew.
Good for local, test or development environments.
It auto-detected my domain name (even a subdomain)

Lets Encrypt SSL Certificate Cons

The auto install process does not setup OCSP Stapling (I configured NGINX but the certificate does not support it may be to limit the Certificate Authority resources handing the certificate revocation checks).
The auto install process does not setup HSTS. (I enabled it in NGINX manually).
The auto install process does not setup HPKP. More on enabling Public Key Pinning in NGINX here.
Too many cyphers installed by default.
No TLS 1.3 installed by default by the install process in my NGINX config in the default certbot secure auto install (even though my NGINX supports it). More on enabling TLS 1.3 in NGINX here.

Read my guide on Beyond SSL with Content Security Policy, Public Key Pinning etc

I’d recommend you follow these Twitter security users

http://twitter.com/GibsonResearch

https://twitter.com/troyhunt

https://twitter.com/0xDUDE

Troubleshooting

I had one server were certbot failed to verify the SSL and said I needed a public routable IP (it was) and that the firewall needed to be disabled (it was). I checked the contents of “/etc/nginx/sites-available/default” and it appeared no additional SSL values were added (not even listening on port 443?????).

I am viewing: /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log

Forcing Certificate Renewal

Run the following command to force a certificate to renew outside the crontab renewal window.

certbot renew --force-renew

Conclusion

Free is free but I’d still use paid certs from Namecheap for important stuff/sites, not having OCSP stapling on the CA and 90-day certs is a deal breaker for me. The Lets Encrypt certificate is only a 90-day certificate (I’d prefer a 3-year certificate).

A big thank you to Electronic Frontier Foundation for making this possible and providing a free service (please donate to them)..

Lets Encrypt does recommend you renew certs every 60 days or use auto-renew tools but rate limits are in force and Lets Encrypt admit their service is young (will they stick around)? Even Symantec SSL certs are at risk.

Happy SSL’ing.

Check out the extensive Hardening a Linux Server guide at thecloud.org.uk: https://thecloud.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Hardening_a_Linux_Server

fyi, I followed this guide setting up Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 18.04.

Read my guide on the awesome UpCloud VM hosts (get $25 free credit by signing up here).

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v1.8 Force Renew Command

v1.7 Ubuntu 18.94 info

V1.62 added hardening Linux server link

Setting up a Digital Ocean Droplet as a sub domain on an AWS Domain

July 15, 2017 by Simon

This guide hopes to show you how to setup a Digital Ocean Droplet (server) as a Sub Domain on an existing AWS domain. I am setting up a Digital Ocean Domain as a sub domain (both existing) and using the sub domain (Digital Ocean server) as a self-service status page. I have setup both domains with SSL certificates and strong Content Security Policies and Public Key Pinning.

Read this newer post on setting up Subdomains.

DO: Obtain the IP addresses for your Digital Ocean Droplet (that will be the sub domain). If you don’t already have a Digital Ocean Droplet click here (and get 2 months free).

Login to your AWS Console for the parent domain. I have a guide on setting up an AWS domain here and Digital Ocean Domain here.

This AWS guide was a handy start Creating a Subdomain That Uses Amazon Route 53 as the DNS Service without Migrating the Parent Domain.

From the AWS Route 53 screen, I clicked Get started now.

From here you can Create a Hosted Zone.

Create a Hosted Zone.

A sub domain can be created on AWS Route 53.

I created a route 53 A Name record and pointed it to a known Digital Ocean droplet IP address.

I created an A Name record on Digital Ocean for the droplet (e.g status.______.com).

I created an IPV6 (AAAA) record on Digital Ocean for the droplet?

I could not ping the server so I added the digital ocean name servers to the route 53 record set out of desperation.

Final Route information on AWS.

Hmm, nothing works as of yet.

https://www.whatsmydns.net is not showing movement yet.

Time to contact AWS for advice.

I tried to post an help post on the AWS forums but apparently, a user who has been paying AWS for 6 months does not have the right to post a new forum thread.

I posted a few help questions on twitter and I’ll try these out tonight.

Replies

And…

Thanks, guys, I’ll try these tonight and update this post.

I created a record set for the parent domain on AWS and A record for the Digital Ocean subdomain with no luck.

This post will be updated soon.

Read my guide on Securing an Ubuntu VM with a free LetsEncrypt SSL certificate in 1 Minute.

v1.9 added info on let’s encrypt (10:38pm 29th July 2017 AEST)

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How to upgrade an AWS free tier EC2 t2.micro instance to an on demand t2.medium server

July 9, 2017 by Simon

Amazon Web Services have a great free tier where you can develop with very little cost. The free tier Linux server is a t2.micro server (1 CPU, low to moderate IO, 1GB memory with 750 hours or CPU usage). The free tier limits are listed here. Before you upgrade can you optimize or cache content to limit usage?

When you are ready to upgrade resources you can use this cost calculator to set your region (I am in the Sydney region) and estimate your new costs.

You can also check out the ec2instances.info website for regional prices.

Current Server Usage

I have a NGINX Server with a NodeJS back powering an API that talks to a local MySQL database and Remote MongoDB Cluster ( on AWS via http://www.mongodb.com/cloud/ ). The MongoDB cluster was going to cost about $120 a month (too high for testing an app before launch). The Free tier AWS instance is running below the 20% usage limit so this costs nothing (on the AWS free tier).

You can monitor your instance usage and credit in the Amazon Management Console, keep an eye on the CPU usage and CPU Credit and CPU Credit Balance. If the CPU usage grows and balance drops you may need to upgrade your server to prevent usage charges.

I prefer the optional htop command in Ubuntu to keep track of memory and processes usage.

Basic information from AWS t1.micro (idle)

Older htop screenshot of a dual CPU VM being stressed.

Future Requirements

I plan on moving a non-cluster MongoDB database onto an upgraded AWS free tier instance and develop and test there and when and if a scalable cluster is needed I can then move the database back to http://www.mongodb.com/cloud/.

First I will need to upgrade my Free tier EC2 instance to be able to install MongoDB 3.2 and power more local processing. Upgrading will also give me more processing power to run local scripts (instead of hosting them in Singapore on Digital Ocean).

How to upgrade a t2.micro to t2.medium

The t2.medium server has 2 CPU’s, 4 GB of memory and Low to Moderate IO.

Backup your server in AWS (and manual backup).
Shutdown the server with the command sudo shutdown now
Login to your AWS Management Console and click Instances (note: Your instance will say it is running but it has shut down (test with SSH and connection will be refused)).
Click Actions, Image then Create Image
Name the image (select any volumes you have created) and click Create Image.
You can follow the progress o the snapshot creation under the Snapshots menu.
When the volumes have been snapshoted you can stop the instance.
Now you can change the instance type by right clicking on the stopped instance and selecting Instance Settings then Change Instance Type
Choose the new desired instance type and click apply (double check your cost estimates)
Your can now start your instance.
After a few minutes, you can log in to your server and confirm the cores/memory have increased.
Note: Your servers CPU credits will be reset and your server will start with lower CPU credits. Depending on your server you will receive credits every hour up to your maximum cap.
Note: Don’t forget to configure your software to use more RAM or Cores if requiredd.

Misc

Confirm processors via the command line:

grep ^processor /proc/cpuinfo | wc -l 
>2

My NGINX configuration changes.

worker_processes 2;
worker_cpu_affinity auto;
...
events {
	worker_connections 4096;
	...
}
...

Find the open file limit of your system (for NGINX worker_connections maximum)

ulimit -n

That’s all for now.

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v1.0 DRAFT Initial Post

Type	Protocol	Port Range	Source	Comment
HTTP	TCP	80	0.0.0.0/0	Opens a web server port for later
All ICMP	ALL	N/A	0.0.0.0/0	Allows you to ping
All traffic	ALL	All	0.0.0.0/0	Not advisable long term but OK for testing today.
SSH	TCP	22	0.0.0.0/0	Not advisable, try and limit this to known IP’s only.
HTTPS	TCP	443	0.0.0.0/0	Opens a secure web server port for later

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AWS

Connecting to a server via SSH with Putty

Common Terms (Glossary)

Background

Public and Private Keys?

How to create a Public and Private Key on Linux

Public/Private Key Contents

fyi: Putty can create SSH Keys too

Putty SSH Client on Windows

Convert your (Linux generated) private key to (Putty) PPK format with Puttygen

Connecting to your sever via Telnet/SSH wiht Putty.

Alternatives to self-managed VM’s

More Reading

Related Blog Posts

Infographic: So you have an idea for an app

How to send email via G Suite from Ubuntu in the cloud

Using phpservermonitor.org to check whether your websites and servers are up and running

Securing an Ubuntu VM with a free LetsEncrypt SSL certificate in 1 Minute

Setting up a Digital Ocean Droplet as a sub domain on an AWS Domain

How to upgrade an AWS free tier EC2 t2.micro instance to an on demand t2.medium server

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AWS

Common Terms (Glossary)

Background

Public and Private Keys?

How to create a Public and Private Key on Linux

Public/Private Key Contents

fyi: Putty can create SSH Keys too

Putty SSH Client on Windows

Convert your (Linux generated) private key to (Putty) PPK format with Puttygen

Connecting to your sever via Telnet/SSH wiht Putty.

Alternatives to self-managed VM’s

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