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Save bandwidth : How I used Fail2ban to protect my web servers

Published on Dec. 31, 2024 Last update Jan. 16, 2025

Table of contents

  1. The Impact of Bots on My Web Servers
  2. What Is Fail2ban?
  3. My Experience with Fail2ban
  4. Extra Protection Against WordPress Scanners
  5. The Results
  6. Why You Should Adopt Fail2ban

In the world of web server management, optimizing bandwidth is crucial. As a webmaster, I have faced a recurring problem like many of you: bots and scanners consuming resources unnecessarily. But all of that changed when I decided to implement Fail2ban. Here's how this solution helped me save a significant amount of bandwidth while enhancing the security of my servers.

The Impact of Bots on My Web Servers

With a growing web infrastructure, the number of active servers I manage keeps increasing. Unfortunately, this growth also attracts a rising volume of malicious bots and automated scanners. These entities relentlessly crawl my sites, searching for vulnerabilities, but more importantly, they consume valuable bandwidth.

By analyzing my server logs, I found that these requests accounted for a substantial portion of the traffic. It wasn't just a matter of security but also of performance and cost. It became clear that I needed to act to regain control.

What Is Fail2ban?

Fail2ban is an open-source tool that monitors your server logs for suspicious behavior. When it detects abnormal activity (such as multiple failed login attempts or excessive requests in a short period), it automatically blocks the offending IP address by configuring your firewall.

Fail2ban is extremely flexible: it works with a wide variety of logs (Apache, Nginx, SSH, etc.) and allows you to create custom filters to suit your needs.

My Experience with Fail2ban

Implementing Fail2ban on my servers was a game-changer. I customized the configuration files to specifically target bots scanning my websites and adjusted the settings to effectively block malicious IP addresses while avoiding false positives.

Extra Protection Against WordPress Scanners

Although my websites are developed with Next.js, React, and Django, I noticed that many scanners specifically target WordPress. This is not surprising: WordPress is one of the most commonly hacked platforms. To counter these unnecessary attacks, I set up specific protections in Fail2ban to block typical WordPress scanner requests, such as those looking for files or paths that don't exist on my sites.

The Results

Since implementing Fail2ban, the benefits have been immediate:

  • Reduction in Unnecessary Traffic: A large portion of bots are now blocked after their initial attempts, freeing up bandwidth for legitimate users.
  • Improved Performance: My servers spend less time handling superfluous requests, which improves response times.

Why You Should Adopt Fail2ban

If you manage multiple servers or a high-traffic site, installing Fail2ban is a worthwhile investment. This tool not only protects your infrastructure but also optimizes your resources by limiting the impact of malicious activities.

As a webmaster, I recommend Fail2ban to anyone looking to combine security and performance. My personal experience shows that with a little configuration, you can protect your servers and optimize their usage.

So, what are you waiting for? Try Fail2ban and take back control of your bandwidth!

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