Free tool

Fail2ban jail generator

Pick the service and generate the block ready to paste into /etc/fail2ban/jail.local.

Service

SSH port

Allowed attempts (maxretry)

Time window (findtime)

Ban duration (bantime)

Generated jail

[sshd]
enabled = true
port = 22
filter = sshd
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 5
findtime = 600
bantime = 3600

maxretry / findtime — if these failed attempts happen within this time window, the IP gets banned. Setting maxretry too high lets slow attacks through; setting it too low can ban someone who just mistyped a password.

bantime — how long the ban lasts. -1 means permanent until removed by hand with fail2ban-client.

After saving the file: sudo systemctl restart fail2ban, and confirm it loaded with sudo fail2ban-client status [jail].

FerroSentry installs and configures fail2ban on its own

Already-calibrated presets, no need to hand-pick maxretry and bantime — and watched continuously afterward.

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