How To Setup UFW on Hostinger VPS

In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) on your Hostinger VPS. UFW is a command-line utility that runs at the operating system level, adding a second layer of protection alongside the network firewall in your Hostinger dashboard.

Description

🧠 What You Will Learn

Two-firewall setup: outer network layer vs. inner OS level
UFW explained… what it is and why your VPS needs it
SSH port 22: why you must allow it before enabling UFW
Web ports 80 and 443: opening them on the inner firewall
Default policies: deny all incoming, allow outgoing
Common UFW commands: add ports, delete rules, reset, disable

🔗 Links

🌐 Hostinger VPS:
https://www.hostg.xyz/SHIDN

How To Add Firewall Rules on Hostinger VPS
https://youtu.be/bjMGvwHKXyY

Hostinger VPS: How To Create a Non-Root Sudo User
https://youtu.be/00mrjyTB_Lk

——————

Timestamps

00:00 Intro: About The Tutorial
00:27 What is UFW?
01:20 Two Layers of Protection
02:26 Network vs. OS Level Firewalls
03:08 Prerequisites
03:54 Confirm Outer Firewall is Active
04:57 Firewall Rules (Outer)
06:35 Check UFW Status
07:00 VPS Terminal
07:17 FYI: Why Sudo?
07:52 Root vs. Sudo User
09:30 Check Current Status
10:16 Critical Note: SSH
11:02 Locked Out of SSH?
11:26 Secure Your SSH
11:48 Allow OpenSSH (Port 22)
12:24 Enable UFW (Inner Firewall)
13:16 Open Web Ports
13:45 Allow Port 80 (HTTP)
14:11 Allow 443 (HTTPS)
14:25 Verify & Audit
15:03 Set Default UFW Rules
16:12 Core Commands CheatSheet

Connect to Your VPS Terminal

Open the terminal in your Hostinger dashboard, or SSH in.

Check UFW Status

sudo ufw status verbose

What you might see:

Result	Meaning
`inactive`	Normal — UFW is installed but not running
`active`	UFW is already running
`command not found`	UFW isn’t installed — run `sudo apt install ufw`

⚠️ Do NOT run sudo ufw enable yet. You must allow SSH first or you’ll lock yourself out of your VPS.

Step 1: Allow SSH (Port 22)

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp #does the exact same thing as OpenSSH

This opens port 22 so your SSH connection isn’t cut off when you enable the firewall.

Step 2: Set Default Behavior

Block all incoming traffic. Allow all outgoing.

sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing

Step 3: Open Ports 80 & 443

A port is just a door into your server. Open only the ones you need.

Port	Purpose	Command
22	SSH remote access	`sudo ufw allow OpenSSH` (already done)
80	HTTP / Let’s Encrypt SSL validation	`sudo ufw allow 80/tcp`
443	HTTPS / custom domain traffic	`sudo ufw allow 443/tcp`

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

Step 4: Enable UFW

sudo ufw enable

Type Y and press Enter when prompted
It’ll warn you about disrupting SSH connections — that’s fine, you already allowed port 22

Step 5: Verify Your Rules

sudo ufw status verbose

You should see ports 22, 80, and 443 listed as ALLOW. Everything else is blocked by default.

📝 Note: If something goes wrong on Hostinger, you can recover using the browser terminal — but don’t rely on that. Do it right the first time.

Core Commands Reference

UFW Maintenance

Check status

sudo ufw status
sudo ufw status verbose

Allow a port

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

Remove a rule or disable

sudo ufw delete allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw reset
sudo ufw disable

Complete Setup Summary

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status verbose

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