You may think your website doesn’t have anything worth of having hacked. But due to some silly mistakes website often gets hacked. The majority of the website gets hacked because hackers want to use your server for illegal activities or user your server as an email relay for spamming other web sites.
If your site is ranking organically, it gets hits in SEO and you could lose web site traffic as well with hacked site. You can do a little to undo the damage done by a hacker. However, you can take some steps to reduce the
If you have sensitive information about your customers like email address, credit card details etc. then you must secure your website and prevent hacking. Generally, hacking is regularly performed by automated bots, they actively look for the site having security loop-holes.
Electronic thieves are equipped with high-end devices and software. You have a legal obligation to keep your user’s data safe and secure.
Here are few tips to help prevent hacking.
Keep Platform Updated
May website become vulnerable to externally attached due to outdated & insecure software and code. You need to make sure any platforms (CMS) or script which you use on your website are updated with the latest release. Most hacking these days are entirely automated the process, with bots scanning continuously for exploitation opportunities.
For example, if you are running a WordPress website, it is recommended that you update the version of the WordPress regularly along with the Plugins you have installed may be potentially vulnerable to attacks.
Install security Plugins
To enhance the security of the website look for security plugins that actively prevent external attacks. If you are using WordPress CMS then you can use WordFence Security & All in One WP Security plugins too. These products enhance to the security of the WordPress Website.
If you are running a CMS managed site or HTML pages SiteLock by Hostgator is a good to monitor vulnerabilities and identify threats.
Use TLS
SSL & TLS is a protocol that provides data encryption and authentication. TLS is a Transport layer security and is more secure than SSL. You want to make sure that you are using the latest version of TLS. SSL VPN is obsolete.
Back-up
You always have to be prepared for the worst. You have to take backup frequently. Just in case the
Making backups of your website is very important in case your website is compromised. You will save a ton of work on rebuilding the database and site. In case if you are using WordPress it has several free plugins available that will automatically take a backup of the website. You can also check your hosting panel and set automatic back on every couple of weeks.
Limit File Uploads
You can define the file permission as who can do that to a file if multiple people are accessing the files. The best solutions to prevent direct access to files to any third party is to limit the file uploads by the users. Store the files outside the root directories & use a custom script to access them. You can also ask your hosting provider to set this up for you.
Hide Admin Pages
Admin pages need not be indexed by search engines. You either you can exclude these pages from Google search console or keep the name of the admin page in an unusually. So can also use a robot.txt file to discourage the listing of admin pages. Watch out this tutorial for more help.
Disable Autofill
When you have auto-fill available on your website it is venerable to attack from the user’s computer or smartphone that has been stolen. You should not expose your web site to external attacks. If your site has eCommerce functionality then you must disable autofill.
Foolproof Network security
Almost everybody knows that passwords should be a combination of characters, numerical, & special characters, but hardly anyone follows. It is very important to use strong passwords to server and website admin area. It is also equally important to have good password practice for the rest of the website users. You should also change passwords frequently to avoid any issue with security.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this advice will help you to keep your site & information secure & safe. Most of the CMS(Content Management System) offers a lot of built-in websites security features.
I hope you get inspired & keep your website safe & secure to keep hackers at bay.
Your Experience? Has your website ever been hacked? How did they get on your website? Please use the comment below to share your story.
