Some default iptables (v4) rules to start with.

rules-v4.sh

*filter

# Allows all loopback (lo0) traffic and drop all traffic to 127/8 that doesn't use lo0
-A INPUT -i lo -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT ! -i lo -d 127.0.0.0/8 -j REJECT

# Accepts all established inbound connections
-A INPUT -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

# Allows all outbound traffic
# You could modify this to only allow certain traffic
-A OUTPUT -j ACCEPT

# Allows HTTP and HTTPS connections from anywhere (the normal ports for websites)
-A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT

# Allows SSH connections
# The --dport number is the same as in /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-A INPUT -p tcp -m state --state NEW --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

# Now you should read up on iptables rules and consider whether ssh access
# for everyone is really desired. Most likely you will only allow access from certain IPs.

# Allow ping
-A INPUT -p icmp -j ACCEPT

# log iptables denied calls (access via 'dmesg' command)
-A INPUT -m limit --limit 5/min -j LOG --log-prefix "iptables denied: " --log-level 7

# Reject all other inbound - default deny unless explicitly allowed policy:
-A INPUT -j REJECT
-A FORWARD -j REJECT

COMMIT

It's called *.sh for formatting, not because you should run it like that.
Rename it to /etc/iptables/rules.v4 to use with "iptables-persistent" (Debian: apt install iptables-persistent).