How to Secure Linux SSH with Fail2ban and Key-Only Auth

Linux Server Admin with Fexingo: Sysadmin, Bash, and Server Engineering · Jun 13, 2026 · 8m · transcript

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the most common attack vector on Linux servers: SSH brute force. They explain how Fail2ban works under the hood—using iptables to dynamically block IPs after repeated failed attempts—and then walk through the more fundamental shift to key-only authentication. Lucas breaks down the exact configuration changes in /etc/ssh/sshd_config, including disabling password authentication and root login. He also shares a concrete example: a small web server that went from thousands of daily bot login attempts to fewer than a dozen after implementing these changes…