Changing the default SSH port number and not allowing root logins on Debian.

Changing the default SSH port number and not allowing root logins on Debian.

 The Secure Shell Protocol (OpenSSH is a FREE version of SSH) by default uses port 22. Changing the default SSH port will stop many automated attacks and make it harder to guess which port SSH is accessible from.


1.) As root, use your favorite text editor (nano) to edit the sshd configuration file.

# nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config


2.) Edit the line which states 'Port 22'. Choose a port not currently used on the system. I used 'Port 49999' for this example.

# Package generated configuration file # See the sshd_config(5) manpage for details # What ports, IPs and protocols we listen for Port 49999


3.) While we have sshd_config in our editor, lets disable root login through SSH. Look for 'Authentication' section and change 'PermitRootLogin' to 'no'.

# Authentication: LoginGraceTime 120 PermitRootLogin no


4.) You need to restart SSH daemon for changes to take effect.

# /etc/init.d/ssh restart


5.) Before disconnecting from your current SSH session, verify SSH is listening on the new port by connecting to it from another terminal.

$ ssh -p 49999 user@example.com