Semalt: How To Make Sure Your Site Is Secure From Hacker Attacks

Leakage of personal information is a growing challenge to the internet users. The information includes celebrities' nude pictures, credit card information, government data, email IDs, and passwords. This implies the world of hackers has dominated the internet at every level. Newbies might not understand how their blogs or websites can be hacked without the credit card information. However, hackers, are keen to turn the nondescript sites into malicious spy bots, vandalizing sensitive users' information without your knowledge. Moreover, they can hack into a newbie site databases and manipulate or destroy important data and inject malicious links or hijack hosting server.

Here are simple steps offered by Michael Brown, the Customer Success Manager of Semalt Digital Services, you can use to keep hackers at bay:

• Foremost, update all your software. A site owner must ensure any piece of software they use is up to date regardless of whether their websites were created from scratch or by building a DIY website on a third party turnkey platform. CMS providers like Joomla and WordPress always work to release regular updates and patches, which make the software less vulnerable to hacks. Thus, ensure you install the updates and run the latest version that supports your website all the time.
• Secondly, create layers of security around your websites. Just as you run antivirus before browsing the web on your computer, you must have a security system, which serves as your site's first defensive tactic against attacks. For example, Web Application Firewall is an important defensive tool. It is intended to inspect traffic and weed out any malicious request and hence providing protection against brute force attacks SPAM, SQL injections and Cross Site Scripting.
• Thirdly, switch to Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPs). HTTPs is the secure communications protocol used in transferring sensitive content between a web server and a website. The protocol adds SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) to a site's HTTP hence securing own data and users from hacking attacks.
• Next, use strong passwords and change them regularly. There is an increase of brutal force attackers who correctly guess usernames and passwords combinations. The use of strong passwords is thus an effective way of limiting dictionary attacks and brutal force. Additionally, strong passwords, are imperative for admin, database and website server.
• Finally, make admin directories difficult to spot. Hackers gain access to a website's information by using the source and invading admin directories. They can use scripts, which scan all directories on the web server for giveaway terms like 'login' or 'admin,' and compromise your site's security by entering into those folders. Thus, ensure to choose innocuous admin folder names, which are only known to your developer team to reduce potential breach.

In conclusion, in the world of online security, any website can be hacked. Successful attacks are detrimental to owner's data in addition to compromising user's information. Moreover, attacks can cause Google and other search engines to blacklist your web to avoid spreading malicious information throughout the web. Always remain on the side of caution. Execute at least three basic steps provided in this article to avoid being a target for hackers.