I just signed up here and think you can probably give me something to do. I have two cheap annual VPS servers that I am not doing anything with right now because work and family life has me tied down. Is there anything useful or neat I can run on them or use them to contribute to something else? What about running a honeypot or something to catch spammers andbots? Do any organizations have community driven scripts like that? How about a mirror for another project like a linux OS? Any ideas welcome.
Projects for idle VPS?
- Thread starter Nova
- Start date
Kayaba Akihiko
New Member
Most budget hosts won't allow you to run @Home scripts on your vps.
I have the exact same problem - $26USD/Year worth of VPSs idling xD
I have the exact same problem - $26USD/Year worth of VPSs idling xD
It's because those scripts take up too much resources and are more fit for a dedicated server than a VPS.
You could probably run a honeypot or something like that. A mirror is probably more useful if it's permanent.
Aldryic C'boas
The Pony
I see no point in risking the node/provider stability, compromising the quality of a service shared by many clients, trying to fight bad guys with a small VPS.
If you haven't anything to do just press power off and let the other people sharing the infraestructure make better use of the resources.
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Aldryic C'boas
The Pony
You're not risking node/provider stability if you set it up correctly. The point isn't to just have an easy-compromise container sitting out waiting to be abused, but rather to have a carefully locked down trap that "lets people in" via common compromise points, only to prevent them from taking any actual action with the VM itself. The goal is essentially a container with minimal resource usage that continuously provides 'bad' IPs and netblocks that you can use for your own firewalls.
DomainBop
Dormant VPSB Pathogen
open source software (company is funded by Google Ventures) that automates setting up/monitoring honeypot: http://threatstream.github.io/mhn/
article about the software http://www.darkreading.com/analytics/threat-intelligence/open-source-tool-aimed-at-propelling-honeypots-into-the-mainstream/d/d-id/1278726
article about the software http://www.darkreading.com/analytics/threat-intelligence/open-source-tool-aimed-at-propelling-honeypots-into-the-mainstream/d/d-id/1278726
SMTP tarpit could be one option. You don't really need to accept the email, just keep incoming SMTP connections open 1..24 hours (or until the spammer gives up).
I couldn't agree more but there is a "small" requirement: you must be a seasoned pro to do this thing right. It is not something you should recommend to someone searching a use to an idle VPS because it certainly backfires if not properly done..
Maybe something like https://seattleclearinghouse.poly.edu/html/login could be productive and riskless.
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Aldryic C'boas
The Pony
Oh cool, I did not know about this, I may give it a try.