Security & access

Server security in your hands — the platform in ours

Full root access, a KVM console for emergencies and snapshots as defined ways back: at HostKontor, server security is not a black box but a clear division of duties. You harden and manage your system to your own standards — underneath it, we run a platform with a contractually guaranteed availability of 99.98%.

Reviewable

Full control over every security-relevant setting

Effective security requires that every decision is yours to make — and that is exactly how your server is built. With full root or administrator access you set firewall rules, SSH configuration, user permissions, open ports and the timing of every update without outside constraints. Thanks to KVM virtualisation your system runs with its own kernel, cleanly separated from other customers; hardening measures such as custom kernel parameters or a restrictive firewall policy are implemented exactly to your guidelines. There is no default profile making decisions for you, and no component of your system you cannot reach. Whatever is possible on a root server of your own is possible here — from bootloader to application.

Current operating systems — or your own image

Every hardening effort starts from a base you know and maintain. Ubuntu 18.04 to 25.04, Debian 9 to 13, AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Rocky Linux 9, Windows Server 2019 and 2022, and MikroTik RouterOS are ready to install — all of them systems with established update paths and behaviour you can judge. If your team works with a pre-hardened build of its own, simply mount a custom ISO image and install from there. That way there is no gap between your internal standards and what actually runs on the server.

The KVM console: access when nothing else works

An overly strict firewall rule, a failed kernel update, a system that will not come back up after a reboot — moments like these decide whether an incident costs minutes or a full day. The KVM console reaches your server independently of the operating system's network state: you watch the boot process, step into the bootloader and correct the configuration as if you were sitting at the machine. Locking yourself out becomes a solvable incident instead of a total outage. And because this recovery path comes with every package, you can lock SSH down as tightly as good practice demands — without fear of cutting off your own access.

Snapshots: a defined way back before every change

Three snapshots per server are included free of charge. Before a patch, a configuration rebuild or an experiment, you set a restore point and return to the working state in a few steps if needed — a misstep becomes a rollback, not an emergency. That is precisely what lowers the barrier to patching promptly: with a safe way back, updates happen sooner. For production systems with growing data you can add automated backups as a paid option; snapshots complement a regular backup routine, they do not replace it. We name that limit openly too — a tool with a clear purpose protects better than one credited with everything.

Your responsibility, our responsibility

The division of duties is unambiguous — and that is a security feature in itself. We operate the host systems, the KVM virtualisation and the network at the Istanbul and New York locations, with a contractually guaranteed availability of 99.98%: if we fall short, the unusable time is credited back to your account, with the details set out in the terms in the customer portal. The operating system, applications, credentials and their upkeep are yours — with every permission the job requires. So there is no grey area where nobody feels responsible: you know before ordering what you can expect from us and what rests in your hands.

What we do not claim

Honesty also covers what you will not find here. We do not advertise certifications — what we cannot prove, we do not claim. Nor do we administer your operating system: hardening, updates and upkeep are deliberately in your hands, and you receive every permission a system of your own demands. Our verifiable promise is instead the availability guarantee with its credit — a commitment with an agreed consequence rather than a logo without evidence. And the fair-use rule for the unmetered traffic is stated in plain sight: the port speed must not be saturated continuously, while ordinary web, application and database workloads are unaffected.

To your standards from the first login

After payment your server is provisioned automatically — usually within a few minutes, with one IPv4 and one IPv6 address and full access from the first minute. You can immediately add SSH keys, disable unneeded services, close ports and apply the first updates before the server takes on production duties. Ordering runs through the customer portal, with payment by credit card, bank transfer or cryptocurrency; packages start at EUR 2.00 net per month plus VAT. HostKontor is a brand of the US-based White Label Services group, which serves more than 50,000 active customers group-wide. Pick your package — and enforce your security standards from the start.

Next useful step

Review the configuration. Order in the customer portal.

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