Protecting Your Online Business With Secure Web Hosting

The internet is open to anyone with a computer and a wireless card nowadays, as one need not even have a personal connection to access the world wide web. Cyber criminals can log on from just about anywhere in the world with their laptops and wreak havoc on unsuspecting virtual victims. Unfortunately, this is how the hackers view you – as a virtual victim, not as a real person with a family to support and a business to uphold.

Indeed the internet offers a marketplace of guilt free crime, where thieves can have their fun without ever seeing the face of their victims. However, just as these cyber criminals are oblivious to the lives of their victims, so are the victims oblivious to the existence of the hackers. Some business owners are not oblivious, they’d just rather not think about it. Putting your website’s security aside can have seriously dire consequences.

Ensuring Customer Safety

One of the primary concerns web host’s have in regards to website security is customer safety. Maintaining trust within the online shopping format is crucial towards building a successful business. There have been cases where the customer was defrauded and the website owner was blamed for this fraud, and cases like this have even resulted in the loss of business and even unjust incarceration.  To avoid such a drastic mishap, it is important to select a web host that is serious about their commitment to security.  Make sure you have an active SSL certificate for your site at all times, and you may even want to post the certificate seal on your website to instill trust in your customers and to deter hackers.

Quality Data Encryption

A common security issue online is identity theft. With all of the important information that is floating around in cyber space, this type of crime is inevitable, yet entirely preventable. All that is needed to prevent the interception of crucial information is quality data encryption. Every web host includes a certain level of data encryption with their hosting plans, but if you’re running a business then you may want to consider the strongest form of encryption available. Talk with you web hosting provider to find out about the strongest data encryption service they offer.

Minimizing Vulnerability

You may notice that your web hosting plan comes with a control panel that has an integrated application installation utility. It is important that you don’t get carried away installing third party applications. It is a well known fact that a lot of these applications leave your site extremely vulnerable to attack, and therefore the use of these applications should be limited. You should also make sure all of your passwords are strong and contain a mixture of numbers and letters. If you use a simple password, a hacker can us a brute force program to guess the password systematically. A good program can crack a simple password within an hour or so, leaving the entire back end of your website open to intrusion.

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Feb 04, 2010 : Security Issues No responses yet

Securing Your Content on the Web

The Internet has become a playground for everyone including the content thieves who used to frequent our businesses and garbage dumpsters. It’s not surprising to find that a content thief has taken someone else’s hard work and repackaged it as their own. The internet makes it so easy to embark on content theft that even firms once considered to be above reproach have added the content pilfering game as a survival tool.

So, what’s an entrepreneur to do? Should you spend your time and money on elaborate systems that promise to protect you? Should you shy away from offering content on the internet altogether? It might be helpful to consider a few things first:

With this in mind, why not adopt a more empowering attitude that is shared by many of today’s millionaire internet content providers – focus on prosperity instead of being toppled by fear. Yes, they take some of the standard precautions to protect their content. However, at the end of the day, even if someone did rob them of their content, they offer so much value to so many people that they would still be rich.

Here are a few of the practices observed by empowered internet content providers:

The steps noted above may not stop the hard core content thief but they will certainly give you some added protection from curious eyes. With a little research you can find the right digital data protection resource for your content library.

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Dec 29, 2009 : Security Issues No responses yet

The Importance of Secure Web Hosting

Virtually every known web hosting company in the industry places their efforts and advertising emphasis on one main aspect of web hosting- security. These web hosting companies have every reason to place added emphasis on security, as any website can be attacked by hackers. Just as the web hosting companies are doing everything they can to deter intruders, hackers are also putting forth every effort to find sensitive information such as credit card numbers, account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and anything else they can benefit from.  To ensure the constant protection of this crucial data, proven security measures and constant monitoring must be practiced by the web hosting companies to ensure the safety of the end-users.

Why Hackers Target Web Hosting

The web hosting industry consists of thousands of individual companies that hosts hundreds of millions of websites around the world.  There are literally billions of dollars involved in this industry and hackers will employ any device they can to get some of it.  If you run a business website that sustains the lives of your family and others, then it is crucial that you place security above every other aspect of web hosting. Your web host ultimately will be responsible for maintaining the security of your website, so thorough scrutiny of the web hosts security practices is imperative when examining prospective hosting providers.

How Equipped are Hackers?

Hackers employ a wide variety of techniques and tools to try and infiltrate any loophole they can find.   Usually, a hacker will use a multitude of combined tools and techniques to compromise the security of a website and then take advantage of any information they can find.  Some will even go so far as to become your online “friend” to entice victims into doing certain tasks, such as visiting an infected website that will execute a malicious code on the hard drive of the infected computer. Most of the time they will gain access to a computer by getting the victim to download a file, such as a game or a mutli-media application. Once they have access to your computer’s hard drive, they can even use it as a “drone” and use your computer’s resources to carry out hidden hacking tasks for them. Some hackers can have thousands of “drones” at their disposal, making them a serious threat. One of the more serious tools hackers have is called a keylogger. Keyloggers have the ability to log every key pressed on one’s keyboard, thereby giving the hackers access to passwords and other information.

Security is the Top Priority

You don’t have to be an expert in Internet technology to keep your website safe, in fact you don’t need any experience in this field at all. However, your web host should employ countless experts and a twenty four hour security staff. It is your job to ensure that you are using a reliable hosting provider, and it is the responsibility of the hosting provider to keep your website safe. To ensure your website is safe, all you need to do is a little bit of background research on any potential web hosting companies. All web hosting companies have multiple user reviews available online, and generally speaking, any of the top 10 web hosting companies are a safe choice.

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Dec 21, 2009 : Security Issues No responses yet

A Secure Website Offers a Peace of Mind

Whether you run a business website or a high trafficked blog, it is critically important to make sure your security system is as tight as possible.  When it comes to security, relaxed is something you cannot afford to be.  You need to take all the necessary measures to ensure that you stay ahead of the game.  If you just sit back and do nothing, then your risk of falling victim to a security breach soars.

Update Your Web Applications

Running older versions of programs such as Joomla or WordPress is like inviting hackers right into your website.  Software developers make updates of their products available to keep a jump on ambitious hackers.  In fact, there is currently a very nasty battle brewing between software companies and hackers.  Cyber criminals make it their business to compromise new applications as soon as they are released on the market.  Because this takes more time than they would like, the new versions of software are typically safe until updates or upgrades are made available.  Unfortunately, this usually means that the old versions are rendered vulnerable and therefore, insecure.  To put it simple – if you really value your customers and have their best interests at heart, you will only make use of the latest and most secure web applications.  If the word gets out that your website or blog is insecure, then you might not be able to recover from the blow inflicted to your reputation.

Secure Your Administrative Systems

Web applications are not all you need to be concerned about.  You also need to pay special attention to your administrative systems as well.  Whether it is the job of your system administrator or web hosting provider, it is ultimately up to you to ensure that security is up to par.  One of the most effective ways to keep your administrative systems secure is to apply strong passwords.  You would be surprised at just how fast hackers can guess a password.  This is especially true if you choose to use something that can be easily associated with your personal life.  You also have to consider that hackers have access to automated tools that greatly simplify the guessing process.  If your website stores sensitive information about your business or customers, then choosing a smart, secure password is a must.

Conclusion

If you run an online business, then there is a great chance that your website is your main source of income.  When this is the case, you need to make sure your customers’ information is secure as this is the best way to maintain integrity and loyalty among your audience.  Don’t take any chances with security.  By staying ahead of the game, both you and your audience can enjoy the peace of mind a solid security system offers.

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Dec 14, 2009 : Security Issues No responses yet

How Much Should You Pay for Website Security?

The issue of security has come to the forefront as the attack on computer systems continues to increase.  In March of 2009, a group of hackers showed that sensitive customer data could be compromised without the affected company even realizing it.  The Telegraph, a UK-based newspaper, was the victim of a hacking attack and did not find out until the attackers posted screen shots and other confidential information online as proof of their success.  It was later reported that the Telegraph was using an outdated security system that made the hackers’ job far too easy.

If a hacker is able to get a hold of credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, customer data, or other sensitive details, it won’t take long for the business to start suffering and losing customers when their audience no longer trusts them with their information.  So how does one stay ahead of sophisticated web criminals, and how much will it cost you?  While there is no exact figure, the cost of doing nothing is probably much more than you can afford.

Do Nothing and You’ll Pay

You will pay severely if you do not take measures to secure your website.  A single hacking attack can ruin your life whether you run a small business or a large corporation.  Deciding on what to pay for a reliable security system depends on a range of factors, but mainly on the type of business itself.  For example, if you run a business in the financial sector, you would more than likely require a state of the art security system, in addition to hardened operating systems, web servers and applications.  Routine penetration tests and security assessment should also be a priority.  As we speak, hackers are coming up with new ways to bypass virus scanners, firewalls and network security mechanisms to penetrate websites and thieve important information that does not belong to them.  It is critical to remember that implementing a security system without regular updates and assessments is equal to doing nothing at all, a painful lesson Telegraph was forced to learn.

Minimizing the Risks

One of the main reasons security assessment must be regularly performed is because it can help to mitigate serious risks.  The applications, code, and the infrastructure itself must be reviewed on a routine basis to check for new vulnerabilities.  If not, your website and the sensitive data it contains could be susceptible to SQL injection, cross-site scripting, URL manipulation and host of other exploits.

When trying to determine how much you should spend on a security system, keep the following factors in mind:

Regulatory compliance

Industry standards

History of security breaches

Size of network and system

Impact of potential losses in the event of a successful breach

Conclusion

Building an efficient security system can turn out to be very expensive.  However, no business can afford to do nothing.  Therefore, the cost of a security system should be estimated at a rate that gives your business the assurance that it can provide customers with the access they need while keeping the criminals out.

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Dec 09, 2009 : Security Issues No responses yet