Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

July 06, 2010

Web Hosting Security - When to Change Passwords

Operating a website efficiently is not an easy task by any measure, especially when you have to worry about the infinite amount of danger that exists on the internet. Website security is often overlooked by webmasters, especially if they do not own an eCommerce site. However, just because you do not operate a site that exchanges products or services for financial gain, does not mean that the website itself is completely safe from intrusion. In fact, almost any website can be stolen, hacked and defamed by a hacker or even your competition. Even those that take the necessary precautions to make sure their website is safe, often neglect the simplest aspects of site security such as password selection and protection. Choosing the right password is simply the beginning of your efforts to protect your site's passwords. To make sure your site is secured in the long run, you need to know how often to change the password, and when doing so is necessary.

After a Certain Time Period

Using the same password indefinitely can present many security risks. Since hackers make new advancements in technology everyday your current password may not be considered safe a year down the line. In fact, technology is known to advance based on Moore's law, which states that every year the technological capabilities of society double. As hackers become more aware of the security precautions that are taken by site owners, and are increasingly becoming able to bypass these precautions with very little effort using software. Thus it is best to change your password every couple of months to keep up with the ever-changing world of computer security.

After Firing Employees

Many people become very spiteful when they are fired form their job, and this can create a very hostile  situation online, in which your previous employees may use the login rights they have been given to gain access to your site and possibly defame the site. Thus, it is very important to change any passwords that your employees may have had access to when working for you. Even if the passwords were simply used for accounts that had limited permissions, it is still best to change them as even a small amount of access can lead to greater intrusion with less effort on the hackers behalf.

Keeping Passwords Separate

Another mistake that many people make when setting up passwords for all of their sites and accounts  is making the password the same for all accounts. This can present a substantial risk, since if one of the accounts is hacked, the rest can easily follow. Thus it is best to make sure you change your account passwords periodically and keep all account passwords different, especially your web hosting accounts.

Conclusion 

In general you shouldn't have to change your passwords often if you follow the standard guidelines of password creation. Try to make all of your passwords at least 10 characters long, followed by numbers, and even symbols where applicable. It is also best to include a mixture of upper case and lower case letters. One of the easiest ways to create a secure password is to use a password generating tool.

Tags: website security,  ecommerce site,  hacked,  hacker,  password protection,  security risk