Imagine a free-flowing stream full of beautifully colored fish and certain hazardous plastic pieces caught in the current. The internet is a similar pool of good and bad assortments.
Where there are abundant opportunities for growth, there are subtle chances of downfall as well. Downfall, personified by the vile entities, which hide in the shadiest corners of the net and lead unsuspecting users to an early demise. Yes, these cybercriminals are called hackers, and it is against their contaminating influence that this article preaches you hardcore security measures.
Quick question, though. How do you leave your unique impression on the internet plane? Through a website. Yes, a personalized space from where you make your special contribution to the online community—by running a business venture, or by becoming a star influencer with a large following. Either way, you wouldn’t want your progress to be tampered with in any way by a third party hacker, right? To become a target of ransomware or have your data infected with malware? Especially since the current facts show a grave situation?
(According to hostingfacts.com, there are over two billion functional websites in the world, from which about 90,000 sites get hacked on a daily basis!)
Then, check out the following pointers which you should implement on your personal website or a WordPress-hosted one if you want to stay safe from hackers in 2019.
Get an Encryption Certificate
Nothing beats the security shield which an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate provides. This advanced technology encrypts the link between a web server and a browser. So, whatever data passes between these two gateways is powerfully tunneled and protected from hacker parties.
This becomes especially relevant if you own an e-commercial site and are responsible for the security of all the financial transactions that go on there. An SSL certificate enables the HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) protocol which padlocks the site URL in the address bar. It gives the green go-ahead signal to the visitors, establishing the said site’s credibility.
Even Google has made its presence mandatory for all the site owners out there, proposing heavy penalties otherwise. The price of an SSL certificate is minimal, but the sense of safety it provides is totally worth it.
Reinforce the Login Section
Open source web hosting portals like WordPress receive all kinds of traffic across the world wide web. Now, this may include those sinister hackers who pose as normal users trying to entrap site owners having a minimal security shield.
Most of the time, these entities try to hit the login page by attempting multiple manipulations and bypassing the password security.
Why?
Because it is through the main login page that admin credentials to a site become accessible, especially on WordPress. This is called ‘brute force attack’.
How can you protect your login sector from it? By adopting three very crucial security measures:
- One, try and install some of the most effective security plugins which are offered by WordPress, such as iThemes Security or Bulletproof Security, etc. These will scan your site and highlight possible vulnerabilities. Other than this, SiteLock is famous for banning users that undertake multiple failed login attempts. So, do install it over your safe network, courtesy of Frontier internet packages or some such credible deals.
- Two, always change your WordPress site’s username from the default ‘admin’ to your own personalized one. Try to make it hard to predict. Another idea is to input your email address instead of the username, as it’s less obvious.
- Three, invest in a two-factor authentication module for your login security. It works like this: Every time someone tries to access your site’s dashboard, they’ll have to go through two security screenings. The first will require a unique passcode while the second will request a four-digit one-time pin code that’s sent directly to your phone number. Thus, reinforcing the login protection.
See Also: 6 Foolproof Tips for Creating Powerful Passwords
Bar the Technical Vulnerabilities
Hackers are clever individuals. Even if you powerfully fortify your site, they may very easily creep in through the dungeon of codes. That is why you should know the technical security measures as well if you wish to stay on guard 360 degrees, such as:
- Parameterized queries against SQL injections which specify and narrow the URL parameters of a site. It gives power to the outsiders for accessing the database and inserting codes of their choice into the layout.
- CSP against XSS which highlights the domains a browser should consider as valid points of executable scripts, instead of reading into any unknown malicious JavaScript injected by a hacker.
- Locked down file permissions instead of open ones, etc.
Trust a Well-Renowned Web Hosting Service
There are two ways you can go about making a website these days. It’s either you purchase a domain of your own or you subscribe to a third party web hosting service.
What people generally do is that they find a cheap, open source, hosting platform, offering unlimited plans. They make a move to get one, given the immediate convenience. What they don’t know is that such services upload all their links on a single server.
Basically, it gives an open invitation to the hackers for breaking into the site via multiple channels. So, I’d recommend you to give your site a solid foundation by subscribing to a well-renowned web hosting service like WordPress or some such.
See Also: How to Choose a Web Host for Your Website
Update and Backup
One of the best ways to beat hackers is by staying proper and prim.
By this, I mean that you should update your site’s codes, software, plugins, scripts and even content on a regular basis. Developers issue bug-fixes, vulnerability-remedies, and new security setups from time to time. If you want to stay one step ahead of the hackers in this game, then keep your site updated with the latest fixes.
The other point is that you should always have a plan B in case your site is hacked. Regularly back up your data for instant recovery after the breach.
In conclusion, if you wish to secure your website this hacking season, then implement the aforementioned security measures for instant protection.