Simple Hack To Protect SSH Against Brute-Force Hacking Attempts

All SSH servers on the internet are heavily targeted for brute-force cracking of passwords. Easy passwords can and are often cracked to gain full control over the machine. Here is a simple hack to thwart most of such hacking attempts.

Change the default port of ssh to a non-standard port greater than 1024. Most hacking scripts target port 22, which is the default ssh port, for brute-force attacks.

Open file /etc/ssh/sshd_config and add / change the Port line as follows:
Port 1234

Replace 1234 with an unique number greater than 1024. My server used to be subjected to thousands of hacking attempts daily. After the changes it has dropped almost to zero. Sometimes a simple solution is all it takes to solve your complex problem.