Homelab

1. strict 3-2-1 backup policy
2. VLANs. all VLANs are controlled by my Fortigate FWF-61E (soon to be replaced by a FG-91G). the VLANs have strict access permissions on a per-device basis on what they can and cannot access.
   1. CORE network where the NAS live
      1. only specific devices can access this VLAN, and most only have access to the SMB ports for data access. even fewer devices have access to the NAS management ports
      2. this network has restrictions on how is accesses the internet
      3. I have strict IPS, web-filtering, DNS filtering, network level fortigate AV, deep SSL inspection, and intrusion protection activities
      4. everything is logged, any and all incoming and outgoing connections both to/from the internet but also any LAN based local communications.
   2. Guest wifi
      1. can ONLY access the internet
      2. has very restrictive web and DNS filtering
      3. I have strict IPS, web-filtering, DNS filtering, network level fortigate AV, basic SSL inspection, and intrusion protection activities
   3. APC Network Management Cards
      1. can ONLY access my SMTP2GO email client so it can send email notifications
      2. it does have some access to the CORE network (NTP, SYSLOG, SNMP)
      3. very select few devices can access the management ports of these cards
      4. I have strict IPS, web-filtering, DNS filtering, network level fortigate AV, basic SSL inspection, and intrusion protection activities
   4. Ethernet Switch / WIFI-AP management
      1. 1. very select few devices can access the management ports of the switches
      2. ZERO internet access allowed
   5. ROKUs
      1. restrictive web and DNS filtering to prevent ads and tracking. Love seeing the space where ads SHOULD be and seeing a blank box.
      2. can access ONLY the IP of my PLEX server on the CORE network, on ONLY the PLEX port for the services PLEX requires.
   6. IoT devices
      1. Internet access ONLY except for a few devices like my IoTaWatt that needs CORE network access to my NAS on ONLY the port required for InfluxDB logging.
   7. Wife's computer
      1. because of HIPPA due to her job, i have ZERO logging, and no SSL inspection, but do have some web and DNS filtering.
   8. print server
      1. zero internet access, and only the machines that need to print can access.
3. as already indicated i have a fortigate router which has next generation firewall abilities to protect my network
4. while i do not have automatic updates i am notified when updates are available for my router, my NAS, the switches, and APC network cards. i always like to look at the release notes and ensure there are no known issues that can negatively impact my operations. I do have most of my docker containers auto-update using watchtower.
5. i keep SSH disabled and only enable when i ACTUALLY need it, and when i do, i use certificate based authentication
6. i have disabled the default admin account on ALL devices and made custom admin/root users but also have "normal" users and use those normal users for everything UNLESS i need to perform some kind of activity that requires root/admin rights.
7. on all devices that have their own internal firewall, i have enabled it to only allow access from VLAN subnets that i allow, and go even further by restricting which IPs on those VLANS can access the device
8. changing default ports is fairly useless in my opinion as once someone is on your network it is trivial to perform a port scan and find the new ports.
9. all windows based endpoint machines
   1. have a strict endpoint control using fortigate's fortiguard software with EMS server. this allows me to enforce that machines have minimum specifications,
   2. i use group policy to enforce restrictive user environments to prevent installation of programs, making system changes, accessing the C: drive etc as this prevents a decent amount of malware from executing
   3. antivirus must be enabled and active or the endpoint becomes quarantined.
   4. if the system has unusual behavior it is automatically quarantined and i am notified to take a look
   5. even though the fortigate router blocks all ads and trackers i also use a combination of UBlock Origin to prevent ads and trackers from running in the browser as ADs are now one of the most common points of entry for malware
   6. i use ESET antivirus which also performs and ties into the fortiguard endpoint protection to ensure everything on the machines is OK
10. for all phones/tablets i have Adguard installed which blocks all ads and malicious web sites and tracking at the phones level

​

this is not even all of it.

​

the big take away is i try to layer things. the endpoint devices are most important to protect and monitor as those are the foot hold something needs to then move through the network.

i then use network level protections to secure the remaining portions of the network from other portions of the network.