How to secure your Windows VPS Server?

There are a lot of people and companies making use of a VPS to host their projects and store important and often-times confidential information. Yet not all of them have their data properly secured. It is quite understandable since it might take some time to fully get the hang of using a VPS. Luckily, this short guide will provide the most common threats to your Windows VPS and tell you how to set up the right protection.

The first line of defense

First and foremost is having a strong password. Be sure that it includes lower- and upper-case letter, numbers, and signs. Also, it is a good idea to never use the same password for different accounts.

Next up is a firewall that works as your vanguard. After that, your antivirus will take care of any possible threats (if you did not forget to install one) that might have slipped through. Although simply just having this set up is not enough, as it must be always updated to be able to deal with new types of threats that come up on a regular basis.

What can you do?

Now, here are several things that will benefit your Windows VPS server’s security that you can easily do yourself. First, you should lock down Windows Remote Desktop to a specific IP. RDP ports locked down in such a way does not let anyone except you to tamper with your VPS. Next you should change the default listening port from previous 3389 to any randomly selected five-digit number. All of this can be easily done through advanced Windows Firewall settings.

Setting up a remote desktop gateway

The last thing to secure your VPS is to set up a remote desktop gateway. Just like the name implies, it acts as a gateway for any connections coming from an external network. Now, here is how you should go about installing and setting it up:

  • Install Remote Desktop Service role using Server Manager.
  • Install Remote Desktop Gateway.
  • Run Remote Desktop Gateway Manager.
  • In the Policies section create a Connection Authorization Policy (here you choose who can login to RD Gateway).
  • In the same Policies section create a Resource Authorization Policy.
  • Select Properties by right clicking the RD Gateway server name. Here go into the SSL Certificate tab and install your certificate. You can further fine-tune the settings here also.
  • Enable/Forward the TCP Port on your Firewall to RD Gateway server.

That is it! You are all set up and ready to use your Windows VPS server.

Sophia Anderson

Sophia Anderson is a blogger and a freelance writer. She is passionate about covering topics on money, business, careers, self-improvement, motivation and others. She believes in the driving force of positive attitude and constant development.