Failing to protect your website and its contents can result in your site being hacked and exposed to vicious malware and trojans. Many web-based businesses have failed because of a lack of website security and there have been many cases of people having their personal information stolen as a result. Additionally, Google may blacklist your website or blog if it finds malware or anything else that can harm a user.
Obviously, the threat is too great to be ignored. Fortunately, though, there are many methods to prevent hackers from gaining access to your website or blog.
What are the Common Threats?
Malware is an increasing problem for website and blog owners who lack sufficient website security. Without the proper protection, vicious malware programs can cause some serious long term damage.
There are different ways in which malware can inflict severe damage to a website and its contents. Malware can be in the form of a trojan horse which has the ability to insert worms and viruses, steal sensitive information and cause other significant damage to files and data on your site and your computer.
Trojan horses are sneaky software programs designed specifically to fool visitors into thinking it’s an innocent program. When the visitor clicks on this seemingly harmless link, the trojan has the ability to make its way onto the visitors computer system and begin its harmful activity.
Spyware is also something blog and website owners should be concerned about when it comes to website security. Spyware is designed to collect personal information from a site without the knowledge of the user or owner. In most cases, spyware is transmitted from one place to the next via software downloads, pop-up windows and by placing cookies on the unsuspecting visitor’s computer in order to collect specific information like passwords.
What Can You Do?
The best thing you can do is make sure a hack never happens rather than dealing with an aftermath. If you think your website or blog may have already encountered hacker activity and malware, you should seriously consider scanning your website using Acunetix in order to identify any vulnerabilities present in your site. Taking the preventative measures to secure your website or blog from hackers will ensure that your online investment remains a safe place for you and your customers.
Update, Update, Update!
One of the easiest and most important ways to stay secure is to keep the programs you use fully updated. The reason behind updating your program versions is to keep current with the newest security code and applications within your site. This keeps you one step ahead of hacker activity while making your site tough to hack. Most hackers will simply move on when they find you’re on top of your game when it comes to version updates.
A Strong Password
Too many people use easily guessable passwords like “12345”. Having a strong password is one of the most crucial components in the game of website security. Creating the same passwords for all of your programs and applications can prove to be very costly – if a hacker works it out he/she will get easy access to everything. It would basically be game over. Be sure to create strong, different, passwords for all of your accounts. This includes passwords for your online banking, email, cPanel, and individual FTP accounts.
Monitor Your Site
Website security scanning software is a great idea for detecting security vulnerabilities in your site that can be used by hackers. A website security scanning program will keep tabs on your site by searching for vulnerabilities in your website or blog. When the program detects any vulnerabilities, the owner is immediately notified and the problem can be taken care of. This type of website security is great for those looking to reduce the impact that website hacking may have on their site before any harmful damage is done.
What if My Website Gets Hacked?
If you follow the advice above, the chances of being hacked diminish greatly. Just in case, however, you do become a victim, you should immediately contact your web hosting company. The hacker has likely changed your passwords and maybe even the email addresses that are linked to the account. Your web hosting company will verify your identity and send you a new password.
When you’re able to access your site again with your new password, don’t stop there. Replace all of your existing passwords with stronger, quality passwords. Hopefully you’ve taken the time to backup your website files, databases, and content. If not, now would be a good time to start!
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