5 First Steps After You Buy a VPS

Congratulations! You have just bought your first VPS. You now have root access to a server — but you might be wondering: Where do I even begin?

This article walks you through the 5 essential first steps to take once your VPS is live, so your server is secure, stable, and ready to use.

Step 1: Change the Root Password and Create a New User

Stop using the root user for day-to-day tasks. Root is all-powerful — one wrong command can break your entire server. Create a new user with sudo privileges and use a strong password (at least 16 characters).

Step 2: Update the Operating System

A new VPS usually ships with an OS pre-installed, but packages are not always up to date. Always run a full system update before doing anything else. This is critical for patching known security vulnerabilities.

Step 3: Enable the Firewall

A firewall is your first line of defence against unwanted access. On Ubuntu, UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is the recommended tool. Allow only the ports you need: SSH (22), HTTP (80), and HTTPS (443).

Step 4: Set Up SSH Keys

Password-based login is vulnerable to brute-force attacks. Switch to SSH key authentication instead — it is far more secure. Generate a key pair on your local machine and copy the public key to the server. Once confirmed working, disable password login entirely.

Step 5: Install a Web Server and Basic Monitoring

If your goal is to host a website, install Nginx — it is lightweight and fast. For basic monitoring, install htop to watch CPU and RAM usage in real time.

Conclusion

These five steps form the security foundation every VPS needs before you deploy anything. Do not skip them — an unsecured server can be compromised within hours of going online.

Does all of this feel too technical? That is exactly what ZidCloud is here for. We handle the full setup for you, from zero to production-ready. Contact us for a free consultation.