First steps on a new Windows VPS

A new Windows VPS gives you a licensed copy of Windows Server and full administrator rights. Spend twenty minutes on the steps below in your first session and the server will be patched, harder to break into and easier to look after.

1. Connect with Remote Desktop

Your server's IP address, username and password are in the client area under Services. If you have not connected before, follow Connect to your Admin RDP from Windows, Mac and phone, which covers Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android.

2. Change the Administrator password

Replace the password the server shipped with. The quickest way is an elevated PowerShell window:

net user Administrator *

The full walkthrough, including how to test the new password without locking yourself out, is in Change your Windows server password safely.

3. Install Windows updates

1. Open Settings → Windows Update (on Windows Server Core, run sconfig and choose the updates option).
2. Click Check for updates and install everything offered.
3. Restart when asked, then check again until no more updates appear.

More detail is in Windows Update on a VPS.

4. Check the firewall is on

Windows Defender Firewall is on by default. Confirm that all three profiles are enabled:

Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-Table Name, Enabled

5. Set the time zone

Logs, scheduled tasks and trading terminals are easier to read with the right local time. See Set the time zone on Windows Server.

6. Decide how you will back up

Nothing on a server is safe until a copy lives somewhere else. Read Back up a Windows VPS and set up a routine now, before you have data to lose.

Troubleshooting

• Cannot connect at all: check that the server shows as running in the client area, then follow Fix "Remote Desktop can't connect".
• Locked out after a change: use the browser console in the control panel.

Next steps

• Harden remote access: Secure Remote Desktop on Windows Server.
• Give colleagues their own login: Create Windows users with RDP access.