First access to your VPS

Receive credentials

After purchasing your VPS, you'll receive an email with:

• Server IP: The address to connect to
• Username: Usually root
• Password: Initial temporary password
• SSH Port: Default 22

You can also find these in the panel: Services → Your VPS → Information.

Connect via SSH

From Linux/macOS

Open terminal and run:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

First time it asks if you trust the host. Type yes and press Enter. Then enter the password.

From Windows

Option 1: Windows Terminal (recommended)

Windows 10/11 includes a native SSH client:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Option 2: PuTTY

1. Download PuTTY from putty.org
2. Enter the IP in "Host Name"
3. Port: 22
4. Click "Open"
5. Enter username and password

First commands

Once connected, run these basic commands:

# View system info
uname -a

# Check disk usage
df -h

# Check available memory
free -h

# View server IP
ip addr show

# Update the system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Change root password

passwd

Enter the new password twice. Use a strong password (minimum 12 characters, combining letters, numbers and symbols).

Create non-root user (recommended)

# Create user
adduser deploy

# Grant sudo permissions
usermod -aG sudo deploy

# Test the new user
su - deploy
sudo whoami  # Should show: root

From now on, connect with the new user:

ssh deploy@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Basic system orientation

• /root → Root user's home
• /home/username → Normal users' home
• /var/www → Web files (Nginx/Apache)
• /etc → Configuration files
• /var/log → System logs

Recommended next steps

1. Configure firewall (see UFW guide)
2. Set up SSH keys and disable passwords
3. Install fail2ban
4. Install your stack (Nginx, Node.js, Docker, etc.)

Recommendations

• Never work as root directly in production
• Change the password immediately after first access
• Store credentials in a password manager
• If you lose SSH access, use VNC console from the panel