Someones trying to connect to my SSH (failed attempts)

Hackers often try to crack SSH ports using brute force password guessing. Oftentimes even the most sophisticated network users choose pretty simple passwords and end up with headaches which can be easily avoided.

When hackers scan for brute force SSH servers they will go for the default port 22. Changing the port to another number will exponentially decrease all malicious login attempts (unless hacker does port scanning, which is unlikely) Here is how..

You can also disable password authentication altogether and use SSH key instead (no passwords to enter). This is one of the most secure methods of authentication because hackers can't guess contents of a file that's made up of 634 characters. It is also one of the more painful methods to deal with because we're working with a file which has to be stored somewhere. Carrying a USB key is not always possible and sending it to yourself by email or storing it on a server defeats the purpose of a key-protected login. It's like locking the door, but leaving the key under the rug. More info..

Restricting access to specific machines is also a solution.

Instead of allowing anyone to login from the internet you can define a specific set of computers that can attempt SSH logins. More info..

When hackers scour the web and sniff out a wordpress blog they'll always attempt to login with the default username "Admin". This is something you can exploit by changing the "Admin" to something completely different. So they may have the right key for your room (out of a million possible ones), but they won't know your room number. This makes their attempts futile.

Alternatively you can limit login attempts to 5 per hour. It's WordPress's security loophole which allows an infinite amount of login attempts and using a plug-in like "WP lockdown" you can patch it.

Having a secure password which is at least 6 characters long with uppercase/lower case letters, numbers and symbols ($#$) is one of your best defenses against brute force attacks (for example fvn4rgei@1 would be a good password).

Did you know that the top password used by people is the word "password"? I know... I couldn't believe it myself, but some people actually do it. Another popular password that people use is the word "Passw0rd", so please use common sense and don't use any passwords which can be guessed by looking at your public profiles.