Author: Nathi

It is important to update your server at regular intervals. Every program can have security vulnerabilities, which can allow foreign code to be executed on your own server.

That is why we will show you in this article how to bring your server and installed packages up to date.

First, log into your server via SSH.

Debian

Step 1: Update package lists

apt-get update

Step 2: Update packages

apt-get -y upgrade

If you are asked if you want to overwrite a configuration file, choose “Install the package maintainers version” if you have not consciously made any changes to it.

If you are prompted to choose a disk for the boot process, select (Space) /dev/sda (the top one).

If you receive an APT error: This must be accepted explicitly before updates for this repository can be applied – we have already provided the solution.

Step 3: Update distribution

apt-get -y dist-upgrade

CentOS

yum update

If you are not making any progress, support can take care of the installation of updates for you.

A virtual Windows root server is not equipped with its own sound card. This is because you usually don’t need speakers on the server in the data center. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have sound on your Windows server!

You can set the sound to be played on the server to be forwarded to your local device. This is a setting in the Remote Desktop Connection program from Microsoft.

To be able to listen to sound via Remote Desktop, a few steps are necessary.

Enable sound in Remote Desktop settings

Open the Remote Desktop Connection program on your local computer and enter the IP address of your Windows server. Then click on “Show options” at the bottom.

Then navigate to the “Local Resources” tab. Here you can perform various settings, such as the transfer of drives, USB sticks and printers in your network.

But in this case we are interested in the “Remote Audio” option. Click on the “Settings” button. A new dialog opens in which the options can be set.

Select the first entry for “Remote audio playback“. This is “Play on this computer“. Then click OK to save the setting.

Now connect to your Windows server as usual. You may need to make some settings there.

Usually, the Windows Audio service is disabled. This is because Windows could not detect audio output during installation. However, this service can be activated very easily.

Right-click on the icon with the round red cross and select “Output devices“. A new dialog opens.

Confirm this dialog with “Yes” to activate the Windows Audio service.

Your Windows server can now play audio/sound/sound.

Check this, for example, by briefly watching a YouTube video. You should then be able to hear the sound on your headphones.

If this does not work, please contact us in support. We will be happy to help you.

We place a high value on a balanced price-performance ratio. To ensure all customers benefit from fair pricing, we use the fair-use principle for traffic billing. This means there is no exact limit, but excessive use is restricted.

Why Is There a Limit?

If a customer with an inexpensive 4 Euro vServer uses 5TB within 20 days, it results in costs for us that far exceed the monthly server fee paid. Most customers use less than 1TB per month. Therefore, we don’t set a specific traffic limit in advance. However, if all customers used such large amounts of data, we would have to raise prices for everyone.

10 TB Included

From now on, some of our servers include 10 TB of traffic per month! This means you can utilize your full potential without worrying about extra costs. If you need more, we offer simple options to add extra traffic.

Burst Speed and Throttling

Depending on the server you have, we offer burst speed that can be used up to a limit of 10 TB per month with full bandwidth. After that, the bandwidth is reduced to 50 Mbps. In extreme cases, we reserve the right to throttle the speed to 25 Mbps.

Adding More Traffic

If you need more traffic at full speed, you can add extra traffic anytime. You can buy up to 10TB for 9.50 Euro per TB. From 10TB onwards, each additional TB costs 8.50 Euro. Please note that unused extra traffic will expire.

Allowed and Not Allowed Traffic

Not Allowed Traffic

• VPN traffic outside your own household
• Traffic from Tor nodes
• Torrenting of copyrighted material
• Proxy traffic like SOCKS-Proxy outside your household
• IPTV
• 24/7 live streams to platforms like Twitch or YouTube

These types of traffic cause constant or unfair traffic peaks and are therefore not allowed.

Allowed Traffic (within Fair Use)

• High-traffic websites
• Legally permissible download sites
• Nextcloud or similar file transfers without public access
• Game server content
• Private VPN traffic for your own PC
• Your own services for traffic optimization (like Reverse Proxy, Content Delivery)

Prices and Quotas

If you need extra traffic quota, you must book it in advance. Unused traffic will expire at the end of the billing period. Here are the prices:

• Up to 10TB: 9.50 Euro per TB
• From 10TB onwards: 8.50 Euro per TB

So if you want to book 2TB of extra traffic, it costs a one-time fee of 19.00 Euro. The extra traffic is billed monthly, and the billing date is always the same as the order date of the associated service.

If you have set up your Linux server to authenticate using an SSH key, it is recommended to completely disable password authentication. This greatly reduces the attack surface for your server.

Manually via SSH

Disabling password authentication is actually quite simple. Open the configuration file /etc/ssh/sshd_config with a text editor (e.g. nano).

Find the line

#PasswordAuthentication yes

Remove the “#” in this line. Replace “yes” with “no” at the end, so it should read:

PasswordAuthentication no

Save the file and restart the SSH server. You can do this with the command:

service ssh restart

Keep the current SSH session open and open a new session in a new window. Now, try to log in using the SSH key. If it doesn’t work, you should re-enable password authentication and resolve this issue.

Using the web interface

In the Cloud Manager, you can easily enable or disable password authentication in the VPS settings.

Go to the “SSH” tab and select the option “SSH Key Only” for “Root Login”.

After saving, your server will only allow root login with an SSH key.

I have locked myself out of SSH

If you have locked yourself out, you can always connect to your server using VNC. There you can also use the root password, as it is not an SSH connection but a direct terminal connection. Otherwise, our support team is always available to assist you.

Our network providers use automated tools to protect your server and other servers. If your server engages in suspicious activities, your IP address will be blocked and the traffic will be stopped. This can happen if your server attacks other servers, sends spam emails, or scans networks. We also regularly check our abuse mailbox for such activities and manually review these cases to ensure that all violations of our terms of service are reported and appropriately handled. Please take the security of your server seriously to avoid violations of our terms of service and possible blocking of your IP address.

Costs

Your IP address will be blocked if…

• You initiate an outgoing (D)DoS attack
• Your server attacks other servers (brute force, etc.)
• Your server scans other networks (port scan, network scan, etc.)
• Your server sends spam emails

A compromised server can manifest itself through various symptoms, depending on the type and extent of the attack. Some possible scenarios include:

1. Unexplained network activities: If the server has been compromised, this can lead to unusual network activities that are not typically expected. This can include port scans, connections to unusual targets, or data transfers from unknown sources.
2. Changes to firewall or security settings: An attacker may change the firewall or security settings of the compromised server to facilitate network access or take control of other devices on the network.
3. Frequent crashes or outages: If the server is infected, this can result in frequent crashes or outages, leading to longer downtime and increased data loss.
4. Email spam or phishing attempts: A compromised server can also be used to send spam emails or phishing attempts, which can result in the network being blacklisted as spam and damage customer trust.

It is important to take these symptoms seriously and act quickly to prevent further damage. If you suspect a compromised server, you should immediately take the necessary IT security measures to stop the attack and restore the server.

Please take server security seriously. If you leave such vulnerabilities as mentioned above (even unknowingly) open, you are legally violating our terms of service.

What to do next

If your server has been blocked for the reason “Anti-Hack”, you must contact us immediately. Additional actions are required to unblock the IP address.

• 1: Activation fee: Load €5.00 onto your prepaid hosting account in order to have the IP address manually unblocked. Please understand that this process incurs a fee as it requires manual intervention. We do not profit from this process, but rather need to cover the associated costs.
• 2: Reinstallation & Backups: Reinstallation of the server is mandatory to prevent further attacks and protect the network. We will handle the reinstallation. A technician can only perform a backup of your data in absolute emergencies. This intervention costs €15.00 per started 15 minutes. Please note that according to our terms of service, Section 7, Paragraph 4, you are responsible for creating backups and do not have a right to a backup.
• 3: Confirmation: Please give us the green light that you have received the message and will take appropriate measures to prevent such a problem from occurring again. If the problem recurs, we will unfortunately have to terminate the prepaid contract, as you will have violated our terms of service again in this case.
• 4: Activation: Afterward, the matter will be closed and we will reconnect your server to the internet!

Why does the activation cost money?

The process of unblocking the IP address and server after compromise requires manual interventions that entail technical effort. Since this process cannot be automated and the unblocking is done manually, we need to cover the associated costs.

The cost of €5.00 per process partially covers the manual interventions and technical effort required to unblock the IP address and server. We would like to emphasize that we do not profit from this process, but only need to cover the incurred costs. Therefore, we recommend our customers to take appropriate security measures to prevent misuse of their servers and avoid the costs of unblocking the IP address and server.

With our vServers, you have the possibility to set a PTR/RDNS entry. This is especially needed when operating a mail server. This “Record” (entry) can be easily configured in our web interface.

Setting RDNS

In our vServers, you can find a button called “RDNS” in the Cloud Manager. Click on this button to assign a domain name to the IP address of your server. If no RDNS entry has been set yet, a corresponding message will appear there. If such an entry has been set, it will be displayed there. You can change the record at any time.

Important: Please note that the chosen domain or subdomain used as the RDNS/PTR record must also resolve to the IP address of the server. This is also checked by the system in the administration area before saving.

If you still have any questions, you can always contact us in support! In case of doubt, we will set the correct PTR entry for you.

IPv6 support

If you set an RDNS in this dialog, it will also be set for the first IPv6 address (::1). If you need an RDNS for other IPv6 addresses, please feel free to contact us in support.