Hackers are getting smarter and sneakier and with the internet just getting more and more popular this means that the software that web hosts use are going to be more and more targeted.
So today, I have decided that prevention is better than cure, and proceeded to lock down the WHM login page on all my servers and surprisingly could not find accurate information on how to do it, however, after some extensive research I have found that it is very easy to do.
This procedure is useful if you run a small VPS or dedicated server and dont have any resellers accessing WHM. Mind you if you do have resellers, you can always just tell them that WHM access is limited by fixed IP and they have to like it or lump it. After all its in the name of security.
Just do the following to lock down your WHM login page.
- Login to WHM
- Go to Main >> Security Center >> Host Access Control
- In the Daemon column type: whostmgrd (this is the WHM service)
- In the Access List column type: your ip address
- In the Action column type: allow (this will allow your ip)
- Go to the next row to create a deny entry
- In the Daemon column type: whostmgrd
- In the Access List column type: ALL
- In the Action column type: deny (this will perform the deny action)
- Dont forget to click the “save host access file button.
Now your WHM will only be accessible from your fixed ip.
if you see the image below, this is what your screen will look like (click on the image to see full version)