FeaturesSecurity & firewall
Shut by default, opened only where it needs to be.
A new server has everything closed except the two doors websites use. Nobody can log in with a password. Nobody can log in as the all-powerful root account. Each site runs under its own user, so a break-in on one cannot reach the files of another. This is done during setup, not left as homework.
- 01
Done during setup
Not a checklist you work through afterwards. The server is configured this way before it serves its first visitor.
- 02
You add the keys
Access is by key file rather than password. Add one per person, remove it when they leave, and there is no shared password to change.
- 03
Updates install themselves
Security patches for the operating system apply automatically, so a six-week-old hole is not still sitting open.
A short, deliberate list of open doors
The firewall starts with everything shut. The two ports websites need are opened because the server serves websites. Access for you is opened only to addresses you name, rather than to the whole internet. Everything else stays closed, including the database, which should never have been reachable from outside in the first place.
Keys, not passwords
Passwords can be guessed, reused and shared. Access here uses a key file instead, added and removed per person. Getting somebody off the server when they leave means deleting one entry, rather than changing a password that four people know and telling three of them the new one.
One hacked site is one hacked site
Every site runs under its own user account with its own database login, and that login only opens its own database. A vulnerable plugin on one site gets that site's files and that site's content. It does not get the other eleven on the same machine, which is exactly what happens on cheap hosting where everything runs together.
And control over who can do what
Inside the dashboard, you decide who can restart a service, delete a site or download a backup. Someone brought in to update plugins does not need the button that destroys a server.
Common questions
Is the server secured out of the box?
Yes. Password logins and root access are switched off, the firewall blocks everything you have not allowed, repeated login attempts are blocked automatically, security updates install themselves and each site runs under its own limited user. None of that is a list of jobs waiting for you.
Can one hacked WordPress site affect the others on the server?
Not through the files or the database. Each site has its own user account and its own database login that only opens its own database. That separation is the main practical reason to prefer this over cheap hosting where every site runs as the same user.
Do I still need a WordPress security plugin?
The protections here are at the server level, which a plugin cannot provide. A plugin still has a job inside WordPress itself, for things like limiting login attempts and spotting changed files. They cover different ground.
How do I remove someone's access when they leave?
Delete their key from the servers and remove them from the account. Because nothing was shared, nobody else has to change anything and no one else is inconvenienced.
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