Virtual Private ServersVPS

David NevalaLukins Annis PS

What is a VPS?

• Virtual Private Servers– A server or

“platform” as a service

– A “hosted” virtual server

– Variety of configuration options

– Monthly subscription-based virtual servers

Why a VPS?

• Advantages– Low-level control of hosting environment– Isolation– Flexibility– Cost savings

• Disadvantages–Might be inefficient for hosting

companies– Performance lower than real hardware

Where to VPS?

• Amazon• Rackspace• Linode• VPSLand• liquidWeb• Mindspring• Many more…

What type of VPS?

• Plans– Based on OS, storage, memory, data

transfer

• Managed– Updates, installations done by hosting

company– cPanel, Virtuozzo, Plesk, SolusVM,

HyperVM

• Self managed– You are responsible for maintenance– CLI, Webmin

Applications for VPS

• Monitoring servers• Proxies• Email security gateways• Support sites• Utility servers• Websites• Backups• DR

Live VPS demo

Proxy Server

Safer Internet– Provides a

“middleman” or “proxy” for web traffic

– Browsing traffic redirected through proxy

– Caching for performance

– Filtering• Viruses, Adware,

Malware

– Reporting

DIY proxy

• Commercial– Safe Squid– Dans Guardian

• Free and opensource– Squid

• Many extensions

– Privoxy– Socks– Anonymizers

• Use anywhere

Create VPS account

• Choose provider– Linode for this demo

• Create account• Choose OS and plan• Wait a few minutes for server to

come available• Login with root/administrator account

Configure VPS

• Update system– yum update all

• Configure firewall– system-config-securitylevel– setup

• Download and install webmin– configure access– test webmin https://ipaddress:10000

Install Squid

• Minimum config• Install Squid– yum install squid– create ACL– create access rule– chkconfig squid on– service squid

restart

Configure user profiles

• Internet Explorer– Tools, Internet Options, Connections,

LAN Settings– Add VPS ip address and port– Configure with group policy

• Firefox, Chrome, Safari– Edit preferences and options– Login scripts– Some adm templates availalable

Implementing the Proxy

• Transparent– Firewall rules

• Client-side settings• WPAD– Security issues

• GPO• Chained

Test squid

• ip address• default port 3128

Install Reporting

• Sarg– yum install sarg– Download webmin

module if needed– Configure webmin

sarg module– Access reports

Malware blocking

• malware block list– malware.com.br

• Opendns– Register proxy ip– Configure

categories

Other Squid add-ons

• Authenticators– ldap, ntlm, sql

• Redirectors– Step on banners, advertising, and

popups

Questions or Comments

• dnevala@lukins.com