VPN vs IP Restriction to connect to Server

By PNWDweller
in Smart Home, Network & Security

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

PNWDweller

Posted
Posted

Long story short - I wanted to secure my WHM server deeper. So, I looked around online and have implemented two different things, but then got to thinking it might be overkilll?

For cPanel/WHM hosts, you have a port (2087) which you log into to get to your WHM (Master control panel) interface. I went and used WHM to restrict access to my IP to access my control panel and block others out. This works pretty well and I have tested it against several external IP's (Work and VPN through another VPN provider). Anything other than my IP gets an error page.

The other method I was looking at was using a PPTP VPN Connection to my server so I could authenticate as a local user on the machine and access the WHM page once I authenticated.

For the first method - I know this is pretty secure since if I don't connect with my IP, I'm pretty much good to go and BTW have seen a Major drop of hack attempts to zero now trying to get into that system.

For the second method, I like this particularly because my IP isn't static so at any time my ISP can rotate it and therefore I am locked out (But I can edit the hosts.allow file on the server via SSH which I have BTW changed to a different port number).

Does anyone have any opinions on either option?

Grand Master

sc302 Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

The second is better, reason being is that it doesn't expose your server directly to the internet regardless of what rules you put in place to allow access.

To secure the second, you could do the same and only allow your IP to be able to connect to the vpn and if you use a service like dyndns you would never have to worry about your ip changing again. just need to find a dynamic dns service that is in your cost range (whether it be free or 20 a year that is up to you to decide) then run the dynamic client on your computer to update that host record on their side so it changes withing minutes of your ip changing. No big deal, and there are several free ones. I believe dyndns is still free for one account per email address you setup with them, so you have to setup 2.

Grand Master

PNWDweller

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good point on the dynamic DNS :) I didn't consider that. We are moving and will be in our new residence in about 1.5 weeks and then my IP will change for sure.

In regards to exposing my server directly to the internet, that is sort of the point as I am hosting web sites, so can't hide it. But, I know I could close port 2087, to the outside world.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs by Karthik Mudaliar Amazon is reportedly considering to use OpenAI models and even its own Nova family of AI models after Anthropic raised the cost of using Claude inside Amazon services. According to a report from The Information, Amazon is weighing its options to reduce costs under a new arrangement with Anthropic. But back in April, Amazon said it would invest $5 billion more in Anthropic, with the possibility of adding up to another $20 billion if certain commercial milestones are met. That investment actually came on top of another $8 billion Amazon had already put into the Claude maker. Anthropic, meanwhile, committed to spend more than $100 billion over 10 years on AWS technologies, including Amazon’s Trainium chips. Amazon isn't just a customer of Anthropic but also one of the most important backers and cloud partners. This is why it makes it interesting that Amazon is considering other alternatives to handle its internal workloads. Although Amazon has been building its own options for a while now. Its Nova family of AI models was announced in late 2024 for Amazon Bedrock, with models aimed at text, image, and video tasks. Amazon pitched the model around cost and latency at that time. With that said, OpenAI has also become a more realistic option recently for AWS customers as well as for Amazon itself. Earlier this year, OpenAI brought its latest models and Codex coding agent to Amazon Bedrock, after changes to its previously more restrictive Microsoft cloud arrangement. This allowed AWS to serve even those customers who wanted other alternatives from Claude, without having to move workloads out of Amazon's cloud. Evaluating alternatives could also be due to commercial pressure and not necessarily a sign of a damaged partnership between Amazon and Anthropic. Whether or not Amazon is actually considering switching entirely to OpenAI's models or its own Nova models remains unknown at this moment.
    • Samsung introduces new AI classroom tools and interactive displays at ISTELive 2026

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      Samsung introduces new AI classroom tools and interactive displays at ISTELive 2026 by Fiza Ali Samsung has announced several new education-focused software features and interactive displays for schools during ISTELive 2026, taking place in Orlando, Florida, from 28 June to 1 July. The focus of these updates is on making shared classroom displays easier to use for teachers while giving IT administrators more control over managing devices. One of the key additions is the Samsung Account Management Solution (AMS). In many schools, multiple teachers share the same interactive display throughout the day, which means signing in and setting everything up can become repetitive. With AMS, teachers can log in by scanning a QR code or tapping an NFC-enabled ID card. Once signed in, their personalised workspace, including wallpapers, bookmarks, app shortcuts, and files, can be instantly accessed through Home Personalisation. Samsung has also included a screen lock feature, allowing teachers to lock the display if they need to step away briefly. Furthermore, the company is also updating its Education Portal with new tools designed for school IT administrators. The portal will allow IT administrators to register teachers, enrol devices, and manage user access from a central dashboard. Administrators can also link NFC cards to teacher accounts, making sign-ins quicker across shared displays. Another addition is a Tags feature that lets schools organise displays by building or classroom. Those tags can also be used to send emergency notifications to selected Samsung Interactive Displays through compatible platforms such as InformaCast and Raptor. Moreover, the tech giant's AI Assistant is gaining several new features aimed at supporting everyday classroom tasks such as lesson planning and classroom engagement. One of the features is Circle to Search, which lets teachers circle text or images on the display to quickly find related information, videos, or web results without interrupting the lesson. The content can then be brought into Samsung Whiteboard. Another feature, Live Transcript, converts spoken lessons into real-time captions, which could be useful for students with hearing impairments or those in multilingual classrooms. The AI Assistant also introduces AI Summary and AI Quiz. The summary tool creates summaries of recorded lessons, while AI Quiz generates questions based on lesson content so teachers can quickly check how well students are following along. Teachers signed in through Samsung AMS can also return to their previous AI-generated lesson materials without logging in again. Alongside the software updates, Samsung has expanded its Android-based Interactive Display range with three new models: the WAF-S, WAFX-PS, and WAHX-M. The WAF-S and WAFX-PS ship with Android 16, bringing updates to security, accessibility, and overall usability while maintaining compatibility with Google's education services including Google Classroom and Google Drive through EDLA certification. Meanwhile, the new WAHX-M is the biggest addition to the lineup, introducing a 98-inch display for larger spaces such as lecture halls and conference rooms. It will also be available in 65-inch, 75-inch and 86-inch sizes. Samsung says the WAHX-M further includes on-device AI features such as voice commands, text-to-speech, and an AI calculator, alongside support for Samsung AMS and AI Assistant. Samsung AI Assistant has been available since April, while Samsung AMS and the updated Education Portal will begin rolling out in July.
    • Apple's newest AirTag 2 gets first big discount

      By JayZJay · Posted

      It's been $24 (single) or $89 (4-pack) for many days on both Amazon and Walmart as far as I know. That isn't a big discount. If these end up like the 1st gen, the 4-pack will routinely get down around $80, give or take a dollar. I think they have even hit $69 at times.
    • Microsoft brings Claude to its own Azure infrastructure, powered by Nvidia GB300 Blackwell

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Microsoft brings Claude to its own Azure infrastructure, powered by Nvidia GB300 Blackwell by Karthik Mudaliar Anthropic's Claude models are now generally available in Microsoft Foundry on Azure and are running on Nvidia's GB300 Blackwell Ultra systems. Nvidia wrote in its announcement that the models are hosted on Microsoft Azure and accelerated by GB300 Blackwell Ultra GPUs, with Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking used to support larger agentic systems and specialized sub-agents that can operate across business domains. This is great for customers and enterprises that want to build autonomous and domain-specific AI agents using Claude without moving outside Microsoft’s cloud platform. Microsoft currently offers Claude models in Foundry in two forms: “Hosted on Azure,” which runs end-to-end on Azure infrastructure and is generally available, and “Hosted on Anthropic infrastructure,” which remains in preview. This separation is quite important for organizations that have procurement, compliance, data processing, or internal governance requirements tied to Azure. Anthropic currently has 11 Claude models listed in Microsoft Foundry, including Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, and even the unavailable Mythos and Fable models. Billing is handled through Claude Consumption Units (CCUs). Microsoft says CCU is an invoicing unit for Claude models in Foundry, with token usage converted using Anthropic’s published per-model token rates. The usage is billed through Azure Marketplace just like models from other distributors and appears on the customer's Azure invoice, while eligible spend can count against a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment. For starters, GB300 NVL72 is a rack-scale, fully liquid-cooled system that combines 72 Blackwell Ultra GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs. Nvidia has listed 37TB of fast memory, 130TB/s of NVLink bandwidth, and FP4 Tensor Core performance of up to 1,440 petaflops with sparsity. The deal is also part of a three-way partnership between Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic. Under the deal, Anthropic has committed to buying $30 billion in Azure compute capacity and contracting additional capacity up to one gigawatt. Nvidia and Microsoft also said they would invest up to $10 billion and $5 billion in Anthropic, respectively.
    • WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now by Fiza Ali Sharing your phone number isn't always something you want to do, especially with people you've just met. Whether it's someone from a class, a local community group, or a sports team chat, handing over your number can feel like giving away more personal information than necessary. That's exactly the problem WhatsApp is trying to solve with its upcoming usernames feature. The company has announced that users can now reserve a unique WhatsApp username ahead of the feature's wider rollout later this year. Once usernames become available, they'll let people connect without revealing their phone numbers. It's a change that makes a lot of sense for group chats. Right now, everyone in the group can see your phone number. With usernames enabled, that won't necessarily be the case when someone contacts you for the first time. WhatsApp says it's opening username reservations early because more than three billion people use the app, meaning plenty of people are likely to want the same usernames. Reserving one now gives users a better chance of securing the name they actually want before the feature launches more broadly. If your preferred username is already taken, WhatsApp will also offer a built-in username generator to suggest available alternatives. The feature isn't only aimed at individual users. Creators, businesses, and organisations will be able to claim the same username they already use on Instagram or Facebook, making it easier to keep a consistent identity across Meta's apps. Furthermore, privacy is a big part of how WhatsApp is introducing usernames. There won't be a public directory where people can browse or search for usernames. Instead, people will need to know your exact username before they can start a conversation with you. Additionally, users can also choose to enable a username key, which adds another layer of control by requiring people to enter that key before sending a message. Once the feature rolls out, people who choose to use a username will no longer have their phone number shown when messaging a person or business for the first time. If you want to reserve a username, make sure you're running the latest version of WhatsApp, then head to Settings > Account > Username. The tech giant says usernames will roll out gradually over the coming months, and users will receive an in-app notification when the feature becomes available in their country.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      536
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!