Reasonably secure remote GUI access with SSH and NoMachine

“I often need to remotely access a machine at home to do some
form of work, and while I find that most times a simple SSH
connection is sufficient, now and then I find it helpful to be able
to use or test an application with a GUI. To allow remote access,
while maintaining a reasonable level of security I implement a
defense in depth strategy using a combination of components and
configurations on a computer in a protected zone on my home network
in an effort to to reduce the attack surface while satisfying my
need for remote access.

“Step One: Configure user accounts with obscure non-dictionary
user names. For your user account, I would recommend using letters
and numbers but not symbols as certain symbols are reserved for the
system. Choose something that you can remember but wouldn’t exist
in a dictionary. I also recommend using a phrase rather than a
password of no less than 16 characters in a combination of mixed
case letters, numbers, and symbols. Not only is a phrase easier to
remember than a password, it is an order of magnitude more
difficult to crack.”

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