Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

May 17, 2011

Tips for Maintaining Secure Online Communications

As the Internet continues to expand and more criminals realize the immense opportunity for fraud and identity theft available online, communicating via e-mail and chat becomes more dangerous. Cyber criminals are constantly looking for new exploits so that they can extract sensitive data such as credit card numbers, web hosting and e-mail login credentials, names, addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers, and even Social Security numbers. Even seemingly harmless information can give hackers the data needed to uncover clues that will ultimately lead to compromised e-mail or web hosting security. Consider the following tips for maintaining secure online communication.

Utilizing FTP and Advanced Software for Business Collaborations

FTP (file transfer protocol) is a secure communications technique utilized by Web hosting companies, and is the most popular method of uploading and downloading files from a Web server. However, this file transfer method can also be used to send sensitive data from one Web server to another, and is therefore often used within business collaborations. In addition, many advanced software utilize FTP and SSL (secure sockets layer) technology, along with state-of-the-art data encryption, to secure communications between two parties online. An example of such software would be Microsoft Server or Microsoft SharePoint, both of which are industry-standard collaboration applications used by large companies and small businesses alike.

Safeguarding Server-Based E-Mail

Although public e-mail providers (such as Yahoo or Gmail) usually have highly secure web servers and data centers, it is much more likely for a security lapse to occur when using these free e-mail solutions than when utilizing the web-based e-mail provided by your host. This is especially true when using a dedicated hosting plan, as the server is not being shared by hundreds of other webmasters that could possibly compromise the safety of the server data. Ideally, you want to create ultra-secure passwords using the password generator tools included within the control panel of your web hosting account. Furthermore, it's best to store these randomly generated passwords within password-protected files that are backed up on external media such as USB flash drives for ultimate redundancy.

Securing Your Computer

Perhaps even more important than the aforementioned tips is the process of securing your own computer, as most hackers gain access to confidential data by infecting a hard drive with a malicious script that can gather, modify, or delete information. To avoid this you need to keep an up-to-date antivirus software running on your machine at all times, and keep your web browser up-to-date to avoid browser exploits that could cause malicious code to be downloaded onto your computer forcefully. Ideally, you'll want to use a combination of several paid antivirus software, and set all of these to start automatically upon startup and update automatically. By securing your computer, using encrypted server-based e-mail, and utilizing advanced software and FTP for business collaborations, you can significantly reduce the risk of data interception.

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