Running your own Minecraft server is a great way to control your own gameplay experience, build your community, or launch your own monetized server brand. Once you open your server to the world, even if often just your friends, you may find that your server becomes a target for bad actors: DDoS attacks, griefers, bots, and even hackers intent on hijacking your world.
In 2025, learning how to secure a Minecraft server setups is more important than ever. Fortunately, you do not need to be a cybersecurity expert about it. Regardless of whether you are hosting a Minecraft server on a budget VPS, or high performance game VPS, with this guide you will learn to secure your Minecraft server step by step, and without getting stuck in sysadmin terms.
Common Threats to Minecraft Servers
Why bother trying to secure Minecraft server setups in the first place? It does not matter if you are operating a small SMP (Survival Multiplayer) for friends or running a survival server with a hundred players – an unprotected Minecraft server is exposed to the following:
- DDoS attacks that traffic enough data to overrun your normal operation.
- Griefers that penetrate your defenses and destroy your world.
- Bots that lag your system and spam your chat.
- Hackers that will take control of your console or grab random IP addresses.
And, to top it all off, many of those online tutorials tend to be outdated, full of confusing sysadmin language, or for versions of Minecraft five years old. So, you’re left guessing what is important, what is excessive, and what works in 2025.
Let’s change that.
How to Secure Minecraft Server from Hackers?
A modern, gamer-centric rundown of how to securely host a Minecraft server, without the sysadmin lingo! The following steps are critical for anyone that is serious about protecting their people, reducing risks and world from griefers, DDoS attacks, and hackers.
1. Choose a Secure VPS with DDoS Protection
Start off with the right foundation. Pick a Game VPS that has built-in Minecraft DDoS protection, dedicated resources, root access, and offers very low latency. It is the best foundation for a secure Minecraft server. Avoid shared hosting; avoid using your home PC. It is 2025—DDoS and hacking and other stupid attacks are constant, and they have gotten more complex. If you want a pro-level solution, try Cloudzy’s VPS for Minecraft server—built for real players, with real protection.
2. Use a Firewall
A firewall blocks unwanted traffic before it makes it to your server. It is really easy—just set it to only allow important ports like Minecraft and SSH and block everything else. This helps to secure Minecraft server, disallow the majority of bots, IP scanners, and unauthorized access.
3. Use a Proxy to Hide Your IP
Using a proxy hides your real IP address from the world and can avoid traffic from hitting your server (in some sense). Proxy services like TCPShield or Cloudflare Spectrum will help ward off direct attacks against your server, limit spam, and also provide SSL encryption. Proxies are important for any server that players use publicly.
4. Whitelist
You can enable whitelisting and only allow players from an approved list to join. This is also one of the easiest and best ways to stop random players, bots, and griefers from accessing your world.
5. Security Plugins or Mods
Defend your server with security plugins or mods. Some plugins are AuthMe Reloaded (for login security), AntiBotDeluxe (to block bots), LuckPerms (to manage permissions), and CoreProtect (to rollback griefing). Use only trusted plugins, and keep them regularly updated to secure Minecraft servers.
6. BungeeGuard (If Using BungeeCord or Velocity)
If you’re using a network of servers with BungeeCord or Velocity, ensure you have BungeeGuard enabled to protect your servers from attackers who might attempt to bypass your proxy and connect directly to the backend servers. This is extremely helpful as protecting multi-server setups is very key.
7. Use SSH Keys Instead of Passwords
If you SSH into your VPS, consider disabling passwords and switching SSH logins over to SSH keys instead. SSH keys are much more secure and will stop brute-force attacks in their tracks. Most VPS game hosting provides this option and takes a couple of minutes to set up.
8. Install Fail2Ban
Fail2Ban is a tool which looks for failed login attempts and bans suspicious IP addresses automatically. It is an excellent additional layer of protection, especially if your firewall or proxy has missed something.
9. Schedule Regular Backups
Backups are your last line of defense. Schedule and automate daily or weekly backups, store them off site, and test them occasionally. This way you can defend against data loss due to griefing, corruption, or even server crashes.
10. Always be Updating and Upgrading
Old software can present a huge security risk. Old versions of Minecraft, plugins, server software, and the VPS operating system may have known vulnerabilities that haven’t been patched and can negatively affect your server.
How Can I Secure Minecraft Server in Offline Mode?
Running a server in offline mode allows you to bypass Mojang’s authentication system, which facilitates bad actors logging in as you, bringing grief to your world, or stealing your items. Additional security is thus very important if you are running an offline server.
The best advice for how to safely host a Minecraft server in offline mode is to install AuthMe Reloaded to authenticate users manually:
- Stop your server to prevent any data loss or corruption.
- Download the latest AuthMeReloaded plugin from the official website.
- Upload the downloaded .jar file to your server via your host’s plugin manager or FTP.
- Restart your server in order to generate the plugin’s configuration files.
- Log in to the server and register your account with: /register yourpassword yourpassword
- Each time you log into your server, type /login yourpassword to confirm your identity.
This method keeps unauthorized players from logging in with your username, even when running the server in offline mode.
Note: Offline mode usually has Pro tiers with a server host, but is not available on some free tiers to prevent abuse and piracy.
Conclusion: Securing Your Minecraft Server
Keeping your Minecraft server safe in 2025 doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right setup—firewalls, proxies, whitelists, and regular updates—you can protect your world from DDoS attacks, griefers, and hackers.
You don’t need to be a tech expert. Learning how to secure MC server configurations doesn’t require a degree in cybersecurity. Just focus on the important things, use trusted tools, and stay up to date. A secure server means less stress and more time to enjoy building, playing, and growing your community.
