Is it safe to host a minecraft server?
I am a bit anxious about the “Network Sharing” option, which you must enable to set up minecraft servers. Is it secure? Are there any viruses that could infect my computer? Thanks!
You shouldn’t enable “Network Sharing” except if it’s another name of “Port Forwarding” on a poor router.
Servers of any type are always at risk. However, it’s very small and generally harmless. There have not been any exploits that allow the Minecraft server to execute random code to install a disease locally. While this doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t, it does indicate that they exist.
The rules are simple:
You shouldn’t run the server under administrator access or as any other user with admin access.
Don’t run it as a user that has access to any documents or files you care about
Keep good backups of everything you care about (even if you’re not running a server!)
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Keep your OS, Java, and server up-to-date with the latest security patches
Don’t give admin-level (OP, web administrator access, etc.) access to anyone you don’t trust with your personal details.
Install only trusted plugins.
You’ll be fine if you follow these basic rules.
My understanding is that you plan to host your Minecraft server on your own home network. However, this could pose problems if the server is made public. This is because, unless you use a proxy to mask your IP, you may be subject to DoS and DDoS attacks.
There’s a very slim chance of it happening.. be careful what ports you open and to whom admin access is granted.. If you by the slim chance have an enemy out there that cares to hit you with DoS I’m confident you don’t have a static IP so just a reset of your router should give you a new IP from your ISP and problem solved.
Although the server itself is safe (I haven’t heard of any security flaws in it), how you set up your network so that people can access it could mean that they have access to things you didn’t intend.
You might have your server running on your main PC. It will also share your printer with your home network. If you open your router so that anyone can dial in to it on any port, not only will they be able, but they might also be capable of connecting to your server.
So make sure you only forward the ports you need to, or that you have passwords or other security measures protecting the services you allow access to from the Internet.
As PhonicUK mentioned, I’m not sure there ought to be any “Network Sharing” option involved here. What tutorial are y’all following?
Here are some ideas to get you thinking: there are many dirt cheap minecraft hosts. When I first started this, I used a $3/mo host which had a simple Spigot Server with 1GB of RAM. It was worth it compared to having a computer at home 24/7 and paying the electric bills. My home internet connection is limited to 12mbps upload speeds. However, most hosts offer 100mbps upload rates (well, those that I’ve used). Since then I’ve switched to an 8GB VPS set up because I get too addicted and have to feed it — still only $15/mo. I’m sharing the cost with 2 other players. I would rather have a server in the cloud than one at home, but I can set one up at my home if necessary.