Do you think your website is reliably secured? Perhaps it is indeed. But world statistic data reveals disappointing results to us: the number of hacked websites in 2016 increased by 32% compared to 2015, according to Hosting Facts. Moreover, analysts forecast that the cost of global ransomware damage will exceed $5 billion USD by the end of this year. And world IT giants like Google make sure that the number of hacked websites will greatly be reduced in the near future.
Website security takes more than a major. If it is not protected, it will be a tidbit for any hackers. So what can you undertake to avoid it? Find it out in our article "How To Make A Website Secure".
Why is website security important?
Everybody protects his or her website since web security is the first point any should pay attention to. And it doesn't matter which type of website they have - business or entertaining. So why do website owners protect it? There are a few reasons as follows:
To protect the website from viruses and malware;To protect users from phishing emails that can be sent using the website;To draw more visitors since they all want to feel safe on the website;To obtain a higher rank in the search engines;To protect a website from hackers and prevent them from stealing important data.
As a rule, websites are not hacked purposefully. A modern website comprises of many complicated software components.
Website should be secure on any device
Hackers are using scripts that scan websites for vulnerabilities. If the system is not protected, hacking your website can be a matter of time.
What to do if the website is hacked?
The use of your website for stealing confidential information is one the worst scenarios. But in some cases, it is hacked for sending spam, infecting users' computers. As a result, search engines deny access to the website for users, notifying the owner about the website infection. Website attendance comes to naught, and it can even be removed from search engines.
But the worst scenario is when neither owner nor visitors are aware of the hacking, and malware is infecting users' devices, stealing their data like logins, passwords, banking card data etc.
As a result, you lost your time, money, reputation and clients' loyalty. You bear losses only because you didn't attach importance or ignored the security issues of your business tool.
So, how to know if the website is secure? We prepared 10 main hints you need to get acquainted with and follow them.
10 hints how to secure your website
You should read it carefully since one mistake can cause big trouble. So it's all in your hands.
Update your software
This advice may seem banal, but timely software updates can help you protect your website. It refers both to server software and to any software that can run on your website. Once there are any security holes - hackers are already right here.
In most cases, hosting services should take care of the server software update so it won't be your headache as to how to secure a website. But you should always be alert.
If you use 3rd party software, make sure that your version is up-to-date. Although such services always inform you about a new update.
Protect website from SQL injections
This is the hacking attack when a hacker uses a web form field or URL string parameters to get and control data stored in the database. When somebody is using ordinary SQL queries, a malefactor can input maleficent code that can change tables, change information or delete information.
A new parameter will allow the hacker to add requests at the end of SQL query that will be implemented.
what to do if your website is hacked
How SQL injection attacks your website
But you can avoid it by always using parameterized queries. It will be enough for website protectionfrom SQL attacks.
Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
XSS is an attack when a hacker tries to run maleficent code for website visitors. You should double-check that you always verify data, encrypt, crop or remove all third party HTML inclusions.
Stealing cookies is the most widely spread example of a XSS attack. Websites sometimes store valuable data in cookies, and it can even be the login or password of a user. But active session stealing is the most serious type of XSS attack. So you and your users should always log out, even if it is a home PC, to provide a high level of website security.
Error messages
Be careful when you add a lot of info in your error messages. For instance, you try to log in on a certain website. Here you should use common notifications like 'Invalid password or username'. Never specify whether the username or password is incorrect since the malefactor will understand that he guessed one field and now can keep on hacking the remained one. So you should never forget to ask yourself 'Why is my website not secure?'
malicious website protection
Don't show the malefactor where is the error ocurred
Server-side form validation
Data verification should be made both in the browser and on the server-side. It is possible to catch simple bugs and highlight fields where errors were made. However, this verification may be easily ignored and unverified data will be sent to a server. If a server doesn't verify incoming data, it may lead to undesirable sequences and damage website content protection. Always be on the alert!
Passwords must be secure
Actually, it is not a secret that everybody must use complicated passwords that contain letters and digits. It is critical not only for passwords to admin panels but also for user profiles.
Many users don't like long complicated passwords, however, it is not so difficult - one just needs to create the password not shorter than 6 symbols containing capital and small letters, as well as digits. Such passwords can keep all data safe.
A password should be kept in an encrypted type. You can use SHA (Secure Hash Algorithms). During the authorization process, only encrypted password data will be matched. For additional security, you can use salt. Salt is a method of encryption.
In the case of hacking and stealing your passwords, nothing bad will occur. Hackers won't be able to decrypt your password. The only thing he can do is to use software for password selection. If you use salt, passwords will be selected much slower.
Some content management systems (CMS) can provide you with all these features and website protection software. But you should think about additional plugins that will add salt to passwords.
