How to secure the Linux server?

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Securing a Linux Server for Discourse

dalerka is seeking feedback on a Linux server security guide (https://github.com/imthenachoman/How-To-Secure-A-Linux-Server) for a self-hosted Discourse forum on Ubuntu 18.04. The user has already followed Discourse’s security recommendations and wants to know which additional measures are absolutely must-do and which may cause issues with Discourse administration or usage.

dalerka specifically asks about the suitability of:

itsbhanusharma recommends automatic security updates and UFW hardening, suggesting the use of a service like Mailgun for Discourse emails, and considers the other measures unnecessary.

1

I’m going through the following guide and would appreciate any comments about:

  1. Which things described in this guide are absolutely must do?
  2. Which things may cause issues with Discourse administration or usage? (e.g. reboots with unattended upgrades).

https://github.com/imthenachoman/How-To-Secure-A-Linux-Server

Although the guide is focused on securing a home-based (private) server, I think it’s relevant for self-hosting.

I’m using Ubuntu 18.04 FYI and already enabled the security recommendations as per Discourse INSTALL guide

Are the following recommendations suitable (won’t conflict) for the normal work of a Discourse forum?

Automatic Security Updates

Firewall with UFW

Anti-Virus Scanning and Rootkit detection

Gmail and Exim4 As MTA With Implicit TLS

iptables Intrusion Detection And Prevention with PSAD

2

I support automatic security updates, UFW hardening

Use something like mailgun for discourse emails.

Everything else is probably unnecessary.