After installing BFD on your dedicated server, you’ll want to configure and enable it out of test mode to get started protecting your server.
1. Edit the configuration file, which should be /usr/local/bfd/conf.bfd
2. Now we want to enable “brute force hack attempt alerts”. So first find ALERT_USR=“0” and change that to ALERT_USR=“1” which is ensuring that yes, you want alerts when there is a brute force hacking attempt.
3. Where you want to send those alerts comes next! Find EMAIL_USR=“root” and change that to EMAIL_USR=“emailaddresshere”
4. Ctrl+X then Y
5. But wait…if you are disallowing everyone from accessing your SSH, doesn’t that mean you can’t get in either? Yep, so let’s prevent that. pico –w /usr/local/bfd/ignore.hosts and add your own IP(s). Ctrl+X then Y.
Now you can run BFD by entering /usr/local/sbin/bfd –s
There are also ways to customize the configurations, but as these vary there’s no standard editing to describe! So you’re all set! Your dedicated web server is now ready to alert you to any brute force hacking attempts.
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