---
layout: page
title: "Securing"
description: "Instructions how to secure your Home Assistant installation."
date: 2016-10-06 06:00
sidebar: true
comments: false
sharing: true
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---

One major advantage of Home Assistant is that it's not dependent on cloud services. Even if you're only using Home Assistant on a local network, you should take steps to secure your instance.

### {% linkable_title Checklist %}

- [Protect your web interface with a password](https://home-assistant.io/getting-started/basic/#password-protecting-the-web-interface)
- Secure your host. Sources could be [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Security Guide](https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/7/pdf/Security_Guide/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-7-Security_Guide-en-US.pdf), [CIS Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Benchmark](https://benchmarks.cisecurity.org/tools2/linux/CIS_Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux_7_Benchmark_v1.0.0.pdf), or the [Securing Debian Manual](https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/securing-debian-howto/index.en.html).
- Restrict network access to your devices. Set `PermitRootLogin no` in your sshd config (usually `/etc/ssh/sshd_config`) and to use SSH keys for authentication instead of passwords.
- Don't run Home Assistant as root – consider the Principle of Least Privilege. 
- Keep your [secrets](/topics/secrets/) safe.

If you want to allow remote access, consider these additional points:

- Protect your communication with [TLS](/blog/2015/12/13/setup-encryption-using-lets-encrypt/)
- Protect your communication with [Tor](/cookbook/tor_configuration/)
- Protect your communication with a [self-signed certificate](/cookbook/tls_self_signed_certificate/)
- Use a [proxy](/cookbook/apache_configuration/)