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Jay Helliwell
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Your Website Is Not Safe And Secure If You Don’t Take These Steps

Jay Helliwell

December 11, 2015


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Depending on how your website was designed and the kinds of data you are working with, your website could be unsecure.  It is your duty to ensure that all details shared with you by your customers are safe and secure at all times. You equally need to make sure that every part of your website is protected against nefarious activities; activities that could put you out of business.

Website security statistics for 2015 suggest that 86% of websites have at least one serious security flaw. There is a pretty good possibility your website is one of those covered in that percentage. How can you join the remaining 14% with safe and secure websites?

Regular software updates

Security risks are constantly changing. Developers on the different web development platforms are always doing their best to ensure that individuals on their platforms are adequately protected by rolling out updates that counter these risks. Always make sure you have the latest version of your website platform installed.  For example, over 70 million websites are on Wordpress.  Any of the website owners that fail to update their Wordpress and all the attendant plugins to the latest versions are leaving some massive security holes.

Hunt for website threats regularly

From time to time you need to scan your website for threats. Some of the threats you should watch out for include hack attacks, injections, cross-site scripting attacks, malware and so on. Fortunately, there are tools that automatically scan websites for threats.

“When using website security scanners, go for those that allow scheduled scans and those that will allow you to scan an unlimited number of pages” says Brendan Wilde at Umbrellar.  “Automated scans offer you the opportunity to remotely control security on your website.”

Use strong passwords and change them regularly

The admin user names and passwords for many websites are so weak that they can be bypassed in seconds by even an average hacker.  Some web owners don’t bother to change the default usernames and passwords that come with their website installations.  This is a wrong approach to take for your website security.  Choose long and strong passwords combining different special characters, numbers and letters.  Assign different roles to individuals that have access to the admin panel and ensure everyone has a unique password.

Use SSL Security

Most individuals are aware of the security risks that come with sharing details online, especially when it comes to making purchases. Lack of SSL security is a common reason reason why customers don’t proceed to checkout on e-commerce. Deploying SSL can therefore lead to more business while offering increased security levels for business transactions on your site.

Constant backups

Even with proper management of website security, you can’t completely rule out a breach. In such situations, the only option you have to restore your website is to use your backup. Some web hosting solutions offer this service. If your webhost doesn’t offer backup services, you can seek an external solution.

The steps above show that website security isn’t complicated. Taking simple actions can help make your website one of the very few that does not have major security flaws.

 


                   



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