Linux Server Security: A Practical Guide to Safely Changing the Default SSH Port

Automated background scans hit millions of servers daily. While strong key-based authentication prevents these tools from successfully breaching a hardened system, they still consume system overhead, create noise in your logs, and introduce unnecessary structural risk.

Relocating your SSH daemon to a custom, non-standard port drops these baseline automated brute-force scripts right at the perimeter.

Key Highlights of the Guide:
Choosing Your Target Port: How to avoid commonly scanned alternatives like port 2222.

The Dual Port Safety Trick: Keeping port 22 active alongside your new port during testing to avoid lockouts.

Firewall Adjustments: Seamless step-by-step instructions for UFW (Ubuntu/Debian) and firewalld (RHEL/Rocky Linux).

Local Profiles: Streamlining access routines using your machine's ~/.ssh/config script file.

Don't let script-kiddies dominate your server's log history.

🔗 For the complete commands and deep dive details, read the full tutorial here: https://www.fitservers.com/tutorials/howto/change-default-ssh-port/