Is there a real security value in changing the default port of a protocol?

Changing default port can save you from port scan and script kiddies but you may not be able to withstand against targeted attack where the attacker could identify the running services irrelevant to the ports.

Is it a good idea to change SSH port?

To prevent automated bots and malicious users from brute-forcing to your server, you should consider changing the default SSH port to something else. However, changing the default SSH port will block thousands of those automated attacks that don’t have time to rotate ports when targeting a Linux Server.

Can we change default port number?

You can change the default port numbers for HTTP and HTTPS protocols.

Do port numbers matter?

To be clear, there is no technical difference between ports. The ranges and assignments are all based on historical usage and convention. A game server could run on port 80, but that would be unconventional since port 80 is almost always associated with a web server.

What ports do hackers use?

28 Most Commonly Hacked Ports

Port Number	Protocol[s]	Port Service
161	TCP, UDP	SNMP [Simple Network Management Protocol]
443	TCP	HTTPS [HTTP over TLS]
512-514	TCP	Barkley r-services and r-commands [e.g., rlogin, rsh, rexec]
1433	TCP, UDP	Microsoft SQL Server [ms-sql-s]

Which ports are secure?

Port 22 is SSH (Secure Shell), port 80 is the standard port for HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) web traffic, and port 443 is HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)—the more secure web traffic protocol.

Can you SSH on port 443?

You can use 443 or any other port you reveal, using nmap or some other tool, but the SSH connection has been prohibited on purpose. It means you could be caught easily since you are not going to make a HTTPS request, which is the protocol type the aforementioned port is usually left open for.

Is opening SSH safe?

SSH keys allow you to make connections without a password that are—counterintuitively—more secure than connections that use password authentication. When you make a connection request, the remote computer uses its copy of your public key to create an encrypted message that is sent back to your computer.

Why is port 443 secure?

Port 443 is a virtual port that computers use to divert network traffic. HTTPS is secure and is on port 443, while HTTP is unsecured and available on port 80. Information that travels on the port 443 is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or its new version, Transport Layer Security (TLS) and hence safer.

What port can I use instead of 22?

The default port for SSH client connections is 22; to change this default, enter a port number between 1024 and 32,767. The default port for Telnet client connections is 23; to change this default, enter a port number between 1024 and 32,767.

What is a good port number?

IANA officially recommends 49152-65535 for the Ephemeral Ports. Port 8080 is the most common “high” port that people use (i.e. alternate web server port). Avoiding that is a good idea.

Should I change the port number on my router?

As others have pointed out, changing the port number does not offer you much security. I’d like to add that changing the port number may actually be detrimental to your security. Imagine the following simplified scenario. A cracker scans 100 hosts. Ninety-nine of these hosts have services available on these standard ports:

Does changing the default ssh port improve security?

Or, in other words: Yes, it does improve security, but it’s not worth the trouble because the improvement is very small. No, it will not improve security. It may reduce log clutter, as automated attacks will only try default ports for e.g. ssh. But the port will still show up as SSH in a port scan, and shodan.io.

Should I use the default port for port security?

If you use the default port then it will be impossible to know if someone is attacking you or it’s just random idiots doing random scans. No, it doesn’t. Not really. The term for this is Security by Obscurity and it’s not a reliable practice. You are correct in both of your points.

Does moving the port an application is running on increase security?

In my opinion moving the port that an application runs on does not increase security at all – simply for the reason that the same application is running (with the same strengths and weaknesses) just on a different port. If your application has a weakness moving the port that it listens on to a different port doesn’t address the weakness.