Security Best Practices for Self-Hosted Applications
Protect your self-hosted services with these essential security measures - from reverse proxy configuration to automated updates, fail2ban, and network segmentation.
Running self-hosted services means you're responsible for security. Here are the essential practices every homelabber should follow.
1. Reverse Proxy with SSL
Never expose services directly. Use a reverse proxy like Traefik or Nginx Proxy Manager with automatic Let's Encrypt certificates.
services:
traefik:
image: traefik:v3.0
command:
ports:
volumes:
2. Network Segmentation
Separate your services into different Docker networks. Public-facing services shouldn't have direct access to databases.
3. Fail2Ban
Protect against brute-force attacks by monitoring logs and banning IPs:
# Install fail2ban
sudo apt install fail2ban
# Configure jail for your services
sudo cp /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
4. Automatic Security Updates
Enable unattended upgrades for security patches:
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades
5. Backup Strategy
Follow the 3-2-1 rule:
6. Authentication
Implement SSO (Single Sign-On) with tools like Authelia or Authentik to protect all your services behind a single authentication layer.
7. Monitoring and Alerts
Use Uptime Kuma for service monitoring and configure alerts via Slack, Discord, or email to catch issues early.
Conclusion
Security is an ongoing process. Regularly update your services, audit your configurations, and stay informed about vulnerabilities in the software you run.
