If you own a website, there’s a good possibility that you have information regarding you or your business on the website, such as login details, contacts, search/purchase history and much more. If fallen into the wrong hands, the breach of these data can seriously compromise the privacy of your business and your customers.
Aside from the obvious privacy concerns, hackers can also hamper your website’s SEO by attacking domain health and integrity. While a few lines of malicious codes can be removed easily from a website, it takes a lot of effort to resolve a compromised domain. A compromised domain will cause you to lose organic traffic, or even worse, get your website quarantined or blacklisted by Google. Even after the domain is clean, it takes a lot of time to get it whitelisted again.
Backdoor infection, a hacking technique where hackers can get unrestricted access to a website through hidden entry points can be a cause of concern as well. This can cause you to lose traffic by redirecting to another site, installing popups that’ll ask users to download software, storing large files on your server to make your website slower and more. If you suspect Backdoor malware on your website, feel free to contact us for a checkup.
Getting hacked can cause brand damage, revenue and financial loss, loss of confidence of users/clients, ranking loss, etc. That’s why, as a website owner, protecting your website from hackers should be at the top of your priority list.
We have listed below 5 easy but effective steps that’ll help you protect your website from hackers.
Stay up to date
One of the major causes of a website’s vulnerability is outdated plugins and extensions. Updating them regularly will ensure that your website stays secure and functions at the highest level. Many plugins and extensions are created by third-party developers, and they improve their code as time goes by. Also whenever hackers find out a way to breach any of the plugins, new updates are provided as soon as possible by the developers. Without the updates, you are just using the old code and exposing your website to the dangers of hacking.
Contact us to keep all technologies up-to-date, including WordPress, Plugins, PHP frameworks, add-ons etc.
Create backups
Creating website backups will ensure that your website can be restored, reversing any maladjustment that might have been done by the hackers. Source files, website themes and plugins, configuration files, databases etc. are some of the important files you should regularly create backups for. If you would like to get our service for a full backup of website files and DB, let us know.
Mask admin directories
Whenever hackers try to hack your website, the first thing they will look for is the website scripts in the admin directory. With these scripts in their hand, they can make specific attacks rather than generalized attempts. To prevent hackers from finding these files, consider renaming the admin directory and script files. You can also forbid the search engines from accessing the admin directory by disabling the directory listing.
Use SSL certificate
An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that ensures an encrypted connection between the website and the users. This means that personal data such as credit card numbers and contact information are transferred securely and can not be accessed by third parties. Although an SSL certificate was originally intended mostly for e-commerce websites, currently it’s recommended for all websites by the search engines, to ensure a secure and good experience for the users.
Nowadays most hosting providers give free SSL certificates for domains and subdomains, which can be installed by following a few simple steps, depending on the hosting provider’s instruction. If you don’t have an SSL certificate for your website, feel free to contact us so we can help you install it.
Block brute force attacks
Brute force attack refers to hackers trying to guess your login information through trial-and-error, by submitting possible combinations of your password. Usually, automated software is used for this type of attack that keeps making login attempts until it comes up with the correct one. Prevention for this type of attack includes –
- Using strong passwords
- Limited login attempts
- Using a 2-step verification system
- Using anti-brute force plugins
- Monitoring IP addresses etc.
Compared to other hacking techniques, brute force attack doesn’t rely on the vulnerability of the websites to work. The success of this method depends on mostly the weakness of credentials and login methods. By taking the above-mentioned measures, you can easily ensure your website’s security by preventing brute force attacks.
These easy 5 website hack prevention steps will make your website hack-proof in most cases. But if you have been specifically targeted by hackers or your website has already been hacked, we would advise you to consult expert web developers and information security experts. Here at IPOINT INT., we have an expert team that can provide you with all types of anti-hack solutions and make sure that your website or software is completely secure. Our website maintenance related services include –
- Setting up security layers (Brute force protection, security for username enumeration vulnerability, restrict access to unauthenticated users, unifying error messages, etc.)
- Keeping all technologies up-to-date (WordPress, Plugins, PHP frameworks, add-ons etc.)
- Routine checkups for website pages/codes
- Checkups for server state, file changes, malware, password strength, vulnerability etc
- Clearing cache
- Checking and fixing email/website error logs
- Routine change of passwords
- Full backup of files and database and more.
If you would like to get these website protection/maintenance services from us, or simply would like to get advice on your website’s security, feel free to contact us.