Your Server's First Line of Defense

While FlameCord provides world-class protection against application-level attacks like bot floods, a crucial layer of security operates at the network level: the firewall. For Linux servers, Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) is an incredibly powerful and easy-to-use tool. Properly configuring UFW is a fundamental step in hardening your server against a wide range of network threats.

What is UFW and Why Do You Need It?

UFW is a user-friendly interface for managing 'iptables', the standard Linux kernel firewall. Its job is to control all incoming and outgoing network traffic to your server. By default, many servers have numerous ports open, creating unnecessary vulnerabilities. UFW allows you to adopt a "deny by default" policy, where you close all ports and then explicitly open only the ones you absolutely need.

Basic UFW Configuration for FlameCord

This guide assumes you are running a common Linux distribution like Ubuntu or Debian. Let's set up a basic, secure configuration.

  1. Install UFW (if not already present): Open your server's terminal and run the following command. Most of the time, it's already installed.

    sudo apt-get install ufw
  2. Set Default Policies: This is the most important step. We will deny all incoming traffic and allow all outgoing traffic. This means your server can reach out for updates, but nothing from the outside can get in unless you specifically allow it.

    sudo ufw default deny incoming
    sudo ufw default allow outgoing
  3. Allow Essential Access (SSH): Before you enable the firewall, you MUST allow access for yourself! If you forget this step, you will be locked out of your server. The default SSH port is 22.

    sudo ufw allow ssh (or sudo ufw allow 22/tcp)
  4. Allow the Minecraft Port: Now, open the port that your FlameCord proxy is running on. The default Minecraft port is 25565.

    sudo ufw allow 25565
  5. Enable the Firewall: With your essential rules in place, you can safely enable UFW. The system will ask you to confirm, as enabling the firewall can disrupt existing connections.

    sudo ufw enable
  6. Check the Status: You can verify that your rules are active at any time with the following command. It should show that port 22 and 25565 are allowed from anywhere.

    sudo ufw status verbose

A Powerful Partnership

Using UFW and FlameCord together creates a formidable security posture. UFW acts as the gatekeeper for your entire server, blocking a huge range of unauthorized network scans and attacks. Once the legitimate Minecraft traffic passes through UFW, FlameCord takes over, providing its sophisticated analysis to filter out bots and other malicious application-level threats. This layered approach ensures your server is protected from the network all the way up to the application.