Hardening a New Edinburgh Server
Automated scanners find every new UK address within minutes, so secure the server before you deploy anything. Update all packages, create a user with sudo rights, add your SSH key and disable password and root logins. On Windows plans, change the RDP port and enable account lockout.
Turn on the firewall and allow only the services you actually use. Add fail2ban or a similar tool on Linux, keep automatic security updates enabled and check the logs after the first week to see what the internet has been trying.
Data Protection for Scottish Customers
UK GDPR applies to personal data you handle, wherever your company is registered. Hosting in Edinburgh keeps the data in the UK, which makes it easier to answer customers who ask where their information is stored.
Hosting location is only one part of compliance. Encrypt connections with TLS, limit who can log in, keep a record of what personal data you collect and why, and delete what you no longer need. Our servers give you the control to do this; the policies remain yours.
Backups You Can Restore
Keep regular copies of your site files and databases somewhere other than the server itself. Tools such as restic, borg or the backup features of your control panel can send encrypted copies to object storage or another server on a schedule.
Practise a restore before you need one. Spin up a test server, restore last night's backup and check that the site works. The exercise shows how long recovery takes and catches problems such as missing database dumps.
Testing Speed From Your Users
Measure from where your users are rather than from a single speed-test site. Ping and traceroute from Glasgow, Aberdeen and London show the round-trip times your visitors will actually see.
Run the checks at busy times as well as quiet ones, and compare an Edinburgh test IP with our London and Dublin locations if your audience is spread across the UK and Ireland. Pick the location that gives the best median result for most users.
