On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 02:48:19 -0500 (EST), Tom Diehl <tdiehl@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Sun, 14 Nov 2004, J.L. Coenders wrote: > > > Hi, > > I was wondering how safe it is to open the ssh port up to the internet. I am > > behind a router which is firewalled to block all traffic, unless I open it up > > and route it to my computer. Is it safe to open ssh up to the internet, so I > > can run applications of my home computer over the internet? > > Depends on how paranoid you are. Every open port creates some risk. Generally > speaking ssh is fairly secure but there have been exploits found in it in the > past. As long as you keep things up2date you should be OK. You can as others > will suggest move the port ssh runs on to a non-standard port which means that > the scripts that run everyday looking for weak passwds and known exploits will > not know where to look. You can also disable root logins via ssh among other > things, depending on your level of paranoia. > > HTH, > > Tom There are alot of script kiddies running automated brute force attacks against port 22. There is quite a long thread about this in the archives. *Do* disable root login. *Do* limit allowed login IDs *Do* use strong passwords *Do* keep your systen updated to avoid any security vunerabilities If you do get broken into: Check for rootkits and if one is found: Boot to from a live cd or rescue cd Backup your *data only* Wipe the hard drive and do a clean install -- Leonard Isham, CISSP Ostendo non ostento.
