When you host applications on Cloudways, it’s possible for random or unwanted domains to point to your server IP, which can cause confusion or even misuse of your resources.
To prevent this, Cloudways allows you to configure the NGINX Default Application setting, ensuring that only your intended applications respond to incoming traffic.
This guide walks you through the steps to block random domains pointing to your Cloudways server.
Table of Contents:
How to Block Random Domains Pointing to Your Server
By default, unknown domain requests are blocked on newly created servers based on the default domain settings.
However, for existing servers, you can follow the steps below to check how they respond to random domain requests.
If such requests are not blocked, you can easily configure the settings to block them.
Tip:
We also recommend blocking direct web traffic pointed to your server’s IP address for additional security.
Steps to Block Random Domains Pointing to Your Server
Step #1:
Log in to your Cloudways Platform using your credentials.
From the left menu, click My Servers.
Step #2:
Select your desired server by clicking on it.
Step #3:
In the server management menu, go to Settings & Packages.
Step #4:
Switch to the Advanced tab.
Step #5:
Scroll down to the NGINX section.
Enable the Access Application via IP (direct app access) toggle.
Under Default Application, choose the application that should serve traffic when random traffic (domains, bots, or IP requests) points to your server IP.
Step #6:
If you disable Access Application via IP, all random traffic (including unknown domains, bots, or DDoS requests from IPs) will be blocked. In this case, visitors will see a 403 Forbidden (Nginx) error page.
If you enable Access Application via IP and do not select a default application, random traffic will display the “The website you are trying to reach is unavailable” message.
If you enable Access Application via IP and select a default application, then any random traffic pointing to your server will be routed to that chosen application.
Note: When Access Application via IP is disabled, you cannot select “None” as the default application — only existing applications are listed.
Step #7:
Finally, click Save Changes to apply your configuration.
That’s it! We hope this article was helpful.
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