Small Business

Easy and Simple Tips for Securing Your Website

Cybercrime is a serious threat to online businesses and websites that is not going to go away anytime soon. Cyber criminals are getting more and more sophisticated as more people start to rely on the internet. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to do everything you can to protect your website. If your website is a commercial one, getting hacked or being the victim of ransomware would cost you in profits and reputation. Even if your site is not commercial in nature, you could lose sensitive personal information if your website gets hacked. Therefore, follow the below simple tips for securing your website:

Buy a Hosting Package with Enhanced Security Features

The security of your website should be ensured on two ends. One end is you, the site administrator. The other end is the server, which is controlled by the hosting (web based) provider. Unsecure servers can put your site at risk even if you do everything else right. Therefore, make sure the hosting packing you buy come with more than a handful of security features. Things like virus scanners and malware protection is a must. In addition, make sure the server your site is on is protected by security tools like RAID. It’s worth it even if you have to pay a small additional fee.

Install a Virus Scanning Script

In addition to malware protection offered by the server, the web browser and your computer, make sure the site itself has malware protection. You can install and malware spotting or virus scanning script to the site that always checks if the source code of the site is clean. A virus scanning script will instantly notify you if there are anomalies in the source code of your website, which might indicate malware or a hacking attempt.

Get an SSL Certificate

An SSL security certificate is important for both the security and reputation of your website. Having an SSL certificated indicates to users that you are serious about the security of your site. SSL makes sure that the incoming and outgoing web traffic involving your site is encrypted. This doesn’t prevent hacking attacks, but protects your information if one occurs. Having an SSL certificate has more uses than you think. For example, Google will give your site a better ranking if it has an SSL certificate compared to a competitor.

Observe a Strong Password Policy at Work

Weak passwords are still a huge issue that puts your site at risk for phishing attacks. Therefore, observe a strong password policy at work. Use passwords with numbers, letters, and symbols that are hard to guess for a potential hacker. Change these passwords every two or three months as well. This is very important for all the admin passwords of your website.

Control What Users Can Upload to Your Website

Upload material indicates a major security threat to most websites. A hacker or a cyber criminal can easily upload content, like a photograph, that contains malicious code that infects your site. Therefore, carefully control what users can upload to your site. Separate this content from the core content of your site to control the spread of a potential virus attack.

Last but not least, be very careful when using third-party plugins and extensions. These components continue to remain favourite tools of attack for cyber criminals. Only use extensions and plugins minimally, and only download from developers verified to be trustworthy.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*