Today I'm focusing on setting up a new VPS at Slicehost. BTW, I'm assuming you're new to Linux. Lets get started.I'm assuming you got an email from Slicehost with the url to manage your new vps. Grab your uid and pwd they sent you and log into your new vps here. Once you've logged in, click on the link that lets you create your new slice. Create a new name for your slice and select Ubuntu Dapper for the distribution. It should take only a couple of minutes before your new vps is setup. Once its done grab the new password Slicehost will show you after your slice has been created and open a command prompt (Terminal or iTerm on Mac OSX, Putty on PC). Note that you should not type in the line numbers below in the code snippets. They are for reference only.Let's login (you'll be prompted for your pwd so have it handy):

Now let's change the password to one that is strong but that you can remember. As an aside, I'm a big fan of using a generic algorithm based on a websites url to create my passwords. The algorithm never changes but I'm always creating strong passwords that I can remember. Go to Security Now and listen to episodes 4 and 5. The personal password subject is covered in depth by Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte. It includes details on creating a personal algorithm.Type the following and hit <Enter>. You'll be prompted for your new password.

Now type in each line below and hit <Enter> to update your system to Ubuntu Feisty. Note that some steps may take quiet a while as they install a number of newer packages.

Now lets do the same for Feisty.

That's it for today! Next time we'll tackle installing some basic security before we get to installing all the packages we'll need to do some fun developing.

Tags: howto, Security, setup, tutorial, Ubuntu, vps