In this day and age, a website is by far the best way to promote your business and/or yourself. Many companies jump into building, or paying someone to build a website, without taking the necessary security precautions. Protecting your website from being attacked by viruses, Trojans, and spyware is important to both you and your customers.
It’s Your Reputation at Stake
It’s far too easy, once a site is infected, for it to ruin your entire reputation. Your website may contain personal information of customers and if anything were to happen to this, you’d be hard pushed to every get those customers back.
Each day Google blacklists about five to six thousand malware infected sites. Attacks on your site can come using various avenues, including weak passwords that can be easily decoded. The frustrating aspect with malware is that you may already be infected without realizing it; this could lead to a hacker stealing customers’ banking and personal details or redirecting visitors to another site, often pornography sites.
The Vulnerabilities of Content Management Systems
With the rise in popularity of content management systems such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla there has also been a large increase in the number of attacks. The main issue with CMS websites is that there are several known vulnerabilities that hackers find very easy to exploit. Content management systems are simple enough to be used by beginners, so it’s no wonder there has been a recent increase in hacks.
If you are using a CMS and you find your site has been exploited, the Calgary SEO Company recommends the following method known as ‘Clean, Patch and Monitor’.
Clean: Firstly, be sure to remove all malicious content. Then all accounts should be validated. All unauthorized accounts should be removed, especially, any which give administrative access.
Patch: Next you’ll want to upgrade your CMS to the most current version (many sites are infected simply because the site is using out-of-date software). Also be sure to keep systems patched.
Monitor: Once the site is clear of any malicious infections, be sure to stay informed in regards to new versions and patches for the content management software. You’ll also want to perform regular (daily, weekly, or monthly) checks of your site for any anomalies.
Spending some regular time updating your knowledge of website security is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your website has the best possibilities for potential growth.
