Quick Start Guide

Get VistoShield running on your Linux server in 3 steps.

Step 1: Install the Daemon

Run the installer on your Linux server as root:

curl -fsSL https://vistoshield.com/install.sh | bash

The installer will:

  • Detect your OS (Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, CentOS)
  • Detect your firewall backend (nftables or iptables)
  • Detect installed control panels (DirectAdmin, Webmin, cPanel)
  • Install the daemon, CLI tool, and default configuration
  • Generate web server configs (Nginx/Apache)
  • Start the daemon with default protection settings
Tip: Run bash install.sh --dry-run first to see what changes will be made without actually applying them.

Step 2: Configure Protection

Edit /etc/vistoshield/vistoshield.conf to customize settings:

# Enable/disable features
FEATURE_RATE_LIMIT=1        # Rate limiting (requests/minute)
FEATURE_BRUTE_FORCE=1       # Brute force detection
FEATURE_BOT_SIGNATURES=1    # Bot UA signature matching
FEATURE_LFD=1               # Login Failure Detection
FEATURE_CONN_TRACK=1        # Connection tracking

# Thresholds
RATE_LIMIT=120              # Max requests/minute before block
LF_SSHD=5                  # SSH failures before block
CT_LIMIT=150                # Max connections per IP

# Testing mode — auto-clears rules every 5 minutes (DISABLE in production!)
TESTING_MODE=1
TESTING_INTERVAL=300
Important: Keep TESTING_MODE=1 during initial setup to prevent accidental lockouts. Once you're confident your configuration is correct, set it to 0.

Step 3: Install WordPress Plugins (Optional)

If you run WordPress sites on this server, install the VistoShield plugins:

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New in WordPress admin
  2. Search for "VistoShield"
  3. Install and activate the plugins you need

The plugins will automatically detect the VistoShield daemon on the same server.

What's Next?