Who will help the noob get security right on his new server?

Who will help the noob get security right on his new server? I just spent some time reading this link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5316093 But wow, most of it is over my head. Can anyone get me started with the very first thing do do after logging in for the first time. This is Ubuntu 14.04, and any help with the actual commands to run and some explanation as to why to run it would be really nice! Ultimately, I want to set up SSH so I can manage the server remotely if needed. I'd like to know when anyone ever connects to the server in any way. I'd like to know that the stuff I install on the server doesn't have anything yucky in it. I think this has something to do with md5 checksums, and on Ubuntu this would have something to do with debsums. Anyway, thanks!