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How to Disable Ping Response on Ubuntu Server

Last updated: April 21, 2024

This simple and brief tutorial is going to show you how to disable ping response on Ubuntu Server to make it more secure.

To get started, you need to first run command below to get the root privilege:

sudo su

Then, you can disable ping for IPv4 using the command below to set config file value to 1:

echo  1  > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

For IPv6, you may use the command below instead:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/icmp/echo_ignore_all

Or, you can use iptables command instead to do the same job. Though, you need to replace eth0 to yours network interface name (run ip -4 address to tell).

iptables  -I  INPUT  -i  eth0  -p   icmp  -s  0/0  -d  0/0   -j  DROP

To re-enable ping response, use commands:

echo  0  > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/icmp/echo_ignore_all

or

iptables  -I  INPUT  -i  eth0  -p   icmp  -s  0/0  -d  0/0   -j  ACCEPT

To make it permanently, edit the “/etc/sysctl.conf” file and add the link below, so that the setting gets picked up at boot time.

net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_all=1
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    I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via [email protected] Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1

    3 responses to How to Disable Ping Response on Ubuntu Server

    1. wizard August 20, 2015 at 11:01 am

      I don’t understand how to edit files in the root im a complete noob

      • O. Hummel September 24, 2015 at 3:11 pm

        To edit files in the root, which is easily done from the terminal, I would suggest navigating to the directory of the file by typing:

        #cd directory-of-file
        //this will move the terminal directory to that specified

        #dir
        //this will list the directory structure, should list the file you wish to edit

        # sudo nano file-name
        //this will open the nano text editor to edit the specified file in the terminal window

        To save the changes press CTRL and O at the same time, and to exit press CTRL and X at the same time.

    2. Neil February 13, 2017 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you for the simple way to disable ping response on my Ubuntu Server.

      Cheers…