--- title: "AWS For Beginners: IAM Setup, Root Security & Billing Alerts" description: "I am hoping to get back into doing some AWS stuff over the next couple of months. I am a huge fan of some of the tools and technology they have built." date: 2018-03-30T23:13:21+00:00 modified: 2026-06-01T21:58:19+00:00 author: James Kilby categories: - AWS - VMware - VMware Cloud on AWS - Personal - Veeam - Hosting tags: - #Account Setup - #AWS url: https://jameskilby.co.uk/2018/03/aws-for-beginners1/ image: https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.u2.jpg --- ![Raf750X1000075T101010 01C5Ca27C6.U2](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.u2.jpg) [AWS](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/aws/) # AWS For Beginners: IAM Setup, Root Security & Billing Alerts By[James](https://jameskilby.co.uk)March 30, 2018 · Updated June 1, 2026 • 📖1 min read(202 words) 📅 **Published:** March 30, 2018• **Updated:** June 01, 2026 ![AWS Services](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/AWS_Services.gif) ## AWS for Beginners Part 1 I am hoping to get back into doing some AWS stuff over the next couple of months. I am a huge fan of some of the tools and technology they have built. It’s not perfect and it is often not well understood by people lifting and shifting existing infrastructure into “the cloud”…. My view is firmly if this is what you have done, then you have done it wrong and missed the point… But if you do want to kick the tyres and see what it’s all about go and set up an [account and play ](https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup?nc2=h_ct&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Faws.amazon.com%2Fregistration-confirmation#/start) #### Ensure you implement these three recommendations * Root Account Security – Ensure you have a strong password on this account then stop using it. Use IAM to set up another account and then use that. * Enable Two Factor Authentication – This is a must. Sadly, AWS doesn’t appear to support my preferred 2FA device. [Yubikey](https://www.yubico.com/) so I’m using the Google authenticator * Enable [Billing Alerts](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/monitor_estimated_charges_with_cloudwatch.html#turning_on_billing_metrics) Create an alert so that if your bill is over X you will get a notification. It’s very easy to leave an Instance or several running somewhere. No one wants billshock. Update: AWS now does support Yubikey. Wahoo. ## 📚 Related Posts * [Monitoring VMware Cloud on AWS: Tools & Approaches (Part 1)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/monitoring-vmc-part-1/) * [AWS Solution Architect – Associate](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/aws-solution-architect-associate/) * [AWS Status Page – Monitoring Included](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2018/05/aws-status-page-monitoring-included/) ## Similar Posts * [![VMware Cloud on AWS \(VMC\) resource hub](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/iu-1-768x395.png)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2020/09/vmc-host-errors/) [VMware](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/vmware/) | [VMware Cloud on AWS](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/vmware/vmware-cloud-on-aws/) ### [How VMware Cloud on AWS Handles Host Failures Automatically](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2020/09/vmc-host-errors/) By[James](https://jameskilby.co.uk)September 15, 2020 · Updated June 1, 2026 Learn how host failures are handled within VMC * [![AWS Solution Architect – Associate](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AmazonWebservices_Logo.svg_-768x307.png)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/aws-solution-architect-associate/) [AWS](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/aws/) | [Personal](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/personal/) ### [AWS Solution Architect – Associate](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/aws-solution-architect-associate/) By[James](https://jameskilby.co.uk)December 16, 2019 · Updated May 31, 2026 I renewed my AWS Solution Architect certification. * [![Monitoring VMware Cloud on AWS: Tools & Approaches \(Part 1\)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/VMConAWS.png.webp)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/monitoring-vmc-part-1/) [VMware](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/vmware/) | [AWS](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/aws/) | [Veeam](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/veeam/) ### [Monitoring VMware Cloud on AWS: Tools & Approaches (Part 1)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2019/12/monitoring-vmc-part-1/) By[James](https://jameskilby.co.uk)December 17, 2019 · Updated June 1, 2026 As previously mentioned I have been working a lot with VMware Cloud on AWS and one of the questions that often crops up is around an approach to monitoring. * [![AWS Status Page – Monitoring Included](https://jameskilby.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AmazonWebservices_Logo.svg_-768x307.png)](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2018/05/aws-status-page-monitoring-included/) [AWS](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/aws/) | [Hosting](https://jameskilby.co.uk/category/hosting/) ### [AWS Status Page – Monitoring Included](https://jameskilby.co.uk/2018/05/aws-status-page-monitoring-included/) By[James](https://jameskilby.co.uk)May 15, 2018 · Updated June 1, 2026 AWS Status Page – Enhancements The tool I deployed, lambstatus, supports pulling metrics from AWS Cloudwatch and displaying them.