Any advice related to setting up and running your web server would be highly appreciated. I recently got a hosting account and was stuck trying to figure out how to keep the server running after logging out of ssh. Also, have you had any security concerns while developing your applications?
I use the screen utility. Basically, I always have screen running, and the repl / vim running. With the repl running in screen you can detach via control-a d, and then log off, and the repl keeps on running. Then you ssh back in, and can reattach via screen -dr.
I haven't had any security concerns - I have a couple admin pages but of course one has to be an admin to see them.