Sometimes we read the news that hackers hacked a system or account and demanding ransom. Visitors of the hacked website also get threatening messages related to their personal information. You may have heard the news that hackers hacked Dublin’s tram system and demanded ransom. They threatened the visitors of the website and asked them to pay one Bitcoin if they don’t want their personal information to be published.
Hackers also spread malware using the domain. Such events highlight the need for strong web hosting security. And you need to take proper action to ensure that your website is secured. Whether you own a website for a personal project or it is a website you use to host different businesses, security should be your first priority. It is important even if you are using free web hosting.
You need to learn how you can overcome the threats to your web hosting security. So, you can protect not only yourself but the data and information of your clients, visitors, and customers, as well. Here we have gathered some practical tactics that will help you to overcome web hosting security threats.
Table of Contents
Limit the Access
As a web host, you need to restrict the access to your machines that are included in the infrastructure. Access should be given only to authorized and trained technicians. Moreover, you need to utilize a secure socket shell (SSH) or its equivalent while logging into the server. Additionally, you can use password-protected keys as a precaution.
As a host, you can also whitelist some authorized IPs and clients can modify it using the control panel in their account.
Detect Malware and Remove
Another way to overcome web hosting security threats is by detecting malware and removing it. Web hosts should tell their clients about the protective measures they can take to make the website secure. Moreover, on client accounts, regular file cans can be performed, and then clients can see the reports. Usually, this feature is available in most hosting plans. Additionally, a web hosting company should provide a support plan to its customers and help them in the identification and removal of malware. Some software also helps to keep the malware out of a host server. For example, rkhunter and ClamAV are really good.
User Access and Passwords
Passwords should vary according to the different website categories. Most impact to the website in by the guest authors and admin staff. So, they should have the strongest passwords as compared to clients and visitors. And when a suspected hacking attempt is identified all the passwords should be changed immediately. You also need to makes these changes while updating the content management system (CMS).
It should be stressed that all users must have strong passwords. A password manager can also be used to create strong passwords. User names should be avoided as passwords.
Selecting Plugins and Applications
It is important to consider the age, number of updates, and installs of an application and plugin when selecting one for a website. It will tell you about the activation of the software. Avoid using inactive software because they may have security issues. Use trustworthy sources to install software as it will protect your web hosting from malware infections.
Do remember to change default settings like login credentials immediately to prevent their usage in hacking attempts. And update your installed software and CMS immediately when updates are available.
Backup Is a Must
For larger sites, it is a must to have an offsite backup. These backups should be frequent and automatic. Because in case of manual backup you may forget to create backup and can lose your important data. Frequent backups will make sure you have the latest content in your backup.
To make your data more secure, you can also encrypt the data. Encryption will provide you an extra layer of security to your sensitive data.
