From VPS to Secure Internet Access: A Practical Guide

Motivation

My Hong Kong Alibaba Cloud server recently expired, and I decided not to renew it—it had become too expensive.
The cheapest configuration cost over 1,000 RMB per year, which didn’t make sense for my limited needs.

However, I still needed reliable and secure internet access.
So I decided to rent a low-cost VPS and set it up myself.

My requirements were simple:

1. Cheap — as inexpensive as possible
2. Unlimited bandwidth — even if I don’t fully use it

Choosing a VPS Provider

I searched for suitable VPS providers based on my requirements and found the following resources helpful:

1. Best overseas VPS providers (2019)
2. VPS under $10 recommendations
3. Curated lists of affordable VPS hosts

Eventually, I chose BuyVM and selected their cheapest VPS plan.

VPS Configuration

• 2 USD / month** (or **18.68 USD / year)
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 512 MB RAM
• 10 GB storage
• KVM virtualization
• 1 CPU core

This configuration is sufficient for lightweight services and secure internet access.

Note: Network speed can be unstable at times, but it’s acceptable for the price.

Purchasing the VPS

The purchasing process is straightforward, but keep the following points in mind:

1. Data centers are located in Las Vegas, New York, and Luxembourg
2. If paying via PayPal, ensure your PayPal email matches your BuyVM account email
3. Services may initially be in a Pending state—wait up to 2 hours or submit a ticket
4. Check your email carefully — all credentials and server details are sent via email
5. For any issues, submit a support ticket

Setup Steps

1. Select VPS plan

2. Configure billing and duration

3. Complete payment

4. Confirm service is active

5. Install CentOS via the control panel

6. Connect to the server via SSH

Setting Up Secure Access

Two popular solutions are commonly used:

• ShadowsocksR (SSR)
• V2Ray

You can choose either based on your preference.

SSR

• Installation guide available online
• Supports multiple clients

V2Ray

• Official installation guide available
• Default configuration works out of the box
• Highly flexible and extensible

Optional: BBR Network Acceleration

What Is BBR?

BBR is a TCP congestion control algorithm open-sourced by Google in 2016 and included in Linux kernel 4.9+.

In real-world testing, enabling BBR can significantly improve network throughput.

Installing BBR

One-click installation script:

wget --no-check-certificate https://github.com/teddysun/across/raw/master/bbr.sh
chmod +x bbr.sh
./bbr.sh

After reboot, verify kernel version:

uname -r

Firewall Configuration

Never run a server without a firewall.

Enable Firewall

systemctl start firewalld

Open Required Ports

firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=14361/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=80/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=443/tcp --permanent

Reload and Verify

firewall-cmd --reload
firewall-cmd --zone=public --list-ports

Docker-Based Utilities (Optional)

For convenience, you can use a prebuilt toolkit:

• docker-utils: https://github.com/victorymakes/docker-utils

This repository provides Docker-based services that can be started quickly with minimal configuration.

Summary

Using a low-cost VPS, you can quickly set up secure internet access and lightweight services.

Key takeaways:

• Affordable VPS providers are sufficient for personal use
• V2Ray offers flexibility and strong encryption
• BBR can significantly improve network performance
• Always configure a firewall

This setup provides a cost-effective and reliable solution without relying on expensive cloud servers.