With the increasing number of website security breaches, cyber security remains a topmost concern for any website owner big or small.
In some major security breaches, hackers have gained access to top-secret classified government information and companies confidential data. But if you’re thinking your small blog or website has nothing worth being hacked, know that all websites can be compromised.
Cybercriminals can use your site to send out phishing emails or use your servers as part of a botnet or to store illegal files. Well, enough of the scary bit, here are some simple ways to keep your site more secure.
1] Keep Your Software Up-to-Date
Bots are constantly scanning websites for any exploitation opportunities. Your website, on the other hand, becomes vulnerable as soon as it’s slightly outdated, making consistent updates a necessity. Software providers regularly provide fixes that might contain security enhancements or patch up any vulnerability found.
Failure to update your software could leave an open window for cybercriminals to exploit. This also applies to every other piece of software that you’ve installed on your workstations.
2] Enforce a Strong Password Policy
Using a strong password is crucial, but it’s equally important to insist that users and the entire organization follow good password practices to help maintain their accounts’ security. Cybercriminals now use sophisticated software that uses brute force to crack passwords.
Passwords should be complex, have a minimum of eight characters, and contain different characters, including lower and uppercase letters, numerals, and special characters. Also, avoid reusing passwords across multiple platforms.
If you are worried about memorizing them all, use a password manager to store all your passwords in an encrypted format.
3] Encrypt Your Login Pages
After creating a blog or a website with the help of a guide like makeawebsitehub.com, it’s always best to use SSL encryption on login pages. SSL encrypts any information shared between users and websites, making it meaningless to any third party who might intercept it.
This allows users to securely transmit sensitive information like social security numbers, login credentials, credit card numbers, and so on. Although SSL doesn’t protect your site from malicious attacks or stop it from distributing malware, it protects your visitors’ information while in transit. This reassures them of their own safety, which in turn builds their trust in your brand.
4] Use a Security Host
Using a secure web hosting company can help reduce vulnerabilities. Choose a reputable host that’s aware of threats and focuses on constantly protecting your website. Your host should also offer ongoing technical support and backup data services.
If you are on a shared hosting, an attack to one website could put yours at risk. Therefore, ask your service provider about firewalls and intrusion detection systems, not forgetting how they intend to proactively manage their shared platform to secure your site from other users.
5] Back Up Your Data
Having your site hacked isn’t something you’d like to experience, but sometimes even the best precautions may not be enough. In that case, you don’t want to be caught off guard. Be sure to maintain backups of all of your sites’ files as it allows you to recover your website from a major security incident.
Although most web host providers offer backup solutions, you should still back up your site on your own. A good backup solution should be regular, automatic, off-site, and easy to retrieve. With that said, having website backups should never be considered a replacement for having a secure website.
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