How to install and configure a home server?

Question

Remote access

Given:
There is a laptop Acer Aspire 5755G
processor: Intel core i5-2410M
memory: DDR3-1333 4Gb
Screw: 1 terabyte
external IP

Task:
Turn all this into a home server:

---Hosting 2-3 sites
---mail server
- --ftp-server ---
remote desktop
---virtual machine for working with Windows programs
---torrent client
---distribution of Internet for home via built-in wifi-card

, I understand that in Google you can read a lot of things, but I still don’t understand how to tie it all together and make it work)

I can put any operating system.
It is very IMPORTANT to protect all this well, since there will be very important documents on the server, I would not want them to fall into someone else's hands))

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

1) Why not take a separate weak desktop and make a server out of it?
2) For site hosting, install apache, nginx, or whatever else you want.
3) For a mail server, google whatever you like (there are a lot of them).
4) For FTP, the same story, put at least ProFTPD, at least something else.
5) For a remote desktop, depending on the OS, select the desired protocol and use it (usually everything is already there from the box)
6) VirtualBox and windows on it
7) You will need to tinker with wifi - you can read articles on the Internet.
You first start betting on articles. That's when something will not work out, then write here. And so - this is an answer that does not fit into a quick one.

Answer 2

As ghaiklor said, it's better to ask small questions. And everything should stick together with a little understanding of what you are actually doing. So, while reading articles, you also think about every operation that you perform: why, why, and what if ... I will
also add to the answers that it is important to configure the router for access from the outside. Just having an external IP will not give you anything. You need to set up statics in the local network, port forwarding to your car, preferably QoS. All these points are chewed up here: Setting up a router for home hosting. If you need all your services (ftp, desktop ...) from all over the Internet, then you need to forward not only the 80th port, but also others. By the way, for security - most of the protection is automatically taken over by the router. So with the initially correct settings, holes can appear only in those places where the ports are forwarded. That is, the more services, the more possible holes, and each service needs to be studied separately to create protection. If we talk about Apache, then in itself it is quite secure, but you need to take care of the possibility of uploading all sorts of web shells, performing sql injections, and so on.