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# HackMyVM Low-Latency Notes: Setting Up a German VPS as an SSH Jump Host
- URL: https://taiwanding.com/en/hackmyvm-german-vps-ssh-jump-host/
- Published: 2025-09-19T03:12:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-15T02:49:51.000Z
- Author: Kevin Chen
- Tags: #en, #en-tool

## Goal

Connecting to HackMyVM from Taiwan means painfully high latency → so I rented a VPS in Germany to act as a "jump host." Every connection is routed to Germany first, and Germany then connects to HackMyVM. The result: dramatically lower latency and much better stability.

---

## Architecture

```
Local machine (Kali) ⇄ German VPS (jump host) ⇄ HackMyVM target host

```

---

## Setting Up the VPS

- **Datacenter**: Germany (Frankfurt or Nuremberg both work)
- **Operating system**: Ubuntu 22.04 Server (lightweight and stable)
- **Recommended specs**:
  - Minimum: 1-2 vCPU / 2 GB RAM / 20-40 GB SSD
  - 💰 **Real-world example**: I use HostKey's German datacenter with a 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM plan for NT$168/month (about €4.5). For use as a jump host, that's more than enough horsepower.

[Buy VPS Server Hosting | Virtual Server Hosting from €1 | HOSTKEYBuy VPS server hosting for high performance, flexibility, and security. Get started with virtual server hosting from €1/month at HOSTKEY.![](https://taiwanding.com/content/images/icon/favicon-1.svg)HOSTKEY — premium web services provider![](https://taiwanding.com/content/images/thumbnail/hostkey-dedicated-servers-1200x630_4a8ba3bb.jpg)](https://hostkey.com/vps/?ref=taiwanding.com)

![](https://taiwanding.com/content/images/2025/09/image-13.png)

![](https://taiwanding.com/content/images/2025/09/image-14.png)

  - Other providers worth considering: Netcup, Hetzner
- **SSH key**: Add your local public key (`id_ed25519.pub`) to the SSH keys section of the VPS control panel

## First Login & Creating a User

> Log in first as root or the default account (e.g. ubuntu)

Run the following on the VPS:

```bash
# Create a user (e.g. your own account) and grant sudo privileges
adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" your_account
usermod -aG sudo your_account

# Set up the SSH public key (paste the contents of your local ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)
install -d -m 700 -o your_account -g your_account /home/your_account/.ssh
cat > /home/your_account/.ssh/authorized_keys
# ← Paste the full public key here, press Enter, then Ctrl+D to finish input
chown your_account:your_account /home/your_account/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 /home/your_account/.ssh/authorized_keys

```

---

## Connecting in Practice

On your local Kali box, just run:

```bash
# Example: HackMyVM target sophia@venus.hackmyvm.eu, SSH port 5000
ssh -J your_account@<VPS_IP> -p 5000 sophia@venus.hackmyvm.eu

```

## Quick Troubleshooting

| Problem                                         | Solution                                                                                                                                          |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| VPS still asks for a password                   | Check that the public key is placed correctly<br>\~/.ssh permissions are 700<br>authorized\_keys permissions are 600<br>the file owner is correct |
| Connecting to HackMyVM requires a specific port | Use \-p <PORT> (e.g. \-p 5000)                                                                                                                    |
| Connection hangs                                | Add \-vvv for verbose output<br>use ping/traceroute to verify the network path                                                                    |

---

## ✅ Results

- **Direct connection**: Taiwan → HackMyVM = high latency, unstable
- **Via jump host**: Taiwan → German VPS → HackMyVM = low latency, smooth and stable
- **Cost-effectiveness**: NT$168/month is all it takes to massively improve the practice experience