Security Toolbox
Hardening Linux for Production Use
© Nikolay Okhitin, Fotolia.com
To protect your production server from attacks, employ these common security tools to help safeguard your system.
Special Thanks: This article was made possible by support from Linux Professional Institute
A standard server or minimal install (CentOS) provides you with a secure server system, but its production usefulness is very limited. To make a server production ready, you’ll have to install software such as web services, DNS, DHCP, Samba/CIFS, print services, and databases. Because these services communicate over the network, security vulnerabilities are an inevitability. Exposing any service provides an attack vector. However, there are actions you can take to protect your systems and your data from attacks.
There are too many utilities available, both free and commercial, to help secure your systems. This article provides you a brief overview of the most common methods and utilities to help you maintain system security. Please remember that security is a best effort and that no system is 100 percent secure, but using these hardening suggestions will make it more difficult for malicious actors to compromise your systems.
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.