Information security is now more relevant than ever. These problems concern not only large companies but also everyone who has an online platform. Insufficient security of websites puts the personal information of their visitors and owners at great risk.
Experienced hackers using the weak points of website protection can make the owner lose income. To increase the security of the website, it’s crucial to monitor the account and all actions performed on the online platform.
There are many companies that offer vps web hosting services and other cybersecurity tools to help protect any internet resource from cyberattacks.
If you are searching for top-quality security for your business website, consider using WordPress hosting, as it is one of the most secure hosting companies.
So, how to secure a website? There are seven popular ways to effectively improve a site’s protection:
SSL Certificates
An SSL certificate allows us to use the HTTPS protocol. This secure connection ensures that the information transmitted from the browser to the server remains unknown. In other words, it is protected from hackers or anyone who wants to steal information.
SSL is mainly used to protect the client during an online transaction (purchase of goods, direct carrier billing, or any other payments). This means that all information, including the customer’s credit card number, passwords, etc., remains completely confidential.
Website Backup
All data within online platforms is stored on the hosting provider’s server. By making a backup of the portal, the data is copied to another location. The backup server can also be your computer or a remote server of another provider, a file-sharing service, or cloud storage.
In case of damage to the resource’s main files, the user can restore the working version from the backup.
To maximize website security:
- Make a backup of the online platform daily;
- Keep daily copies of the last month;
- Keep weekly copies for the last quarter;
- Keep monthly copies for the current year.
Strong Passwords
Passwords are not only essential tools to protect users but are also among the most crucial things that enhance a website’s security.
There are several life hacks to keep in mind when creating a password:
- Use a lot of characters (approximately 8-12 );
- Don’t use ordinary words or famous names;
- Include symbols, numbers, lowercase, and uppercase letters;
- Avoid using any personal information (date of birth, pet name, etc.);
- Do not use the same password on all sites.
Software
Protection against viruses and malware is the key to successful information protection. It can be a severe issue with VPS web hosting that stores data on the server together with thousands of other users. When several users upload information to the same server, some files may be malicious.
As soon as an infected file gets to the server, the file’s malicious code can affect every online platform on the server. Thus, the online platform may be modified or deleted. Malicious code can steal the website information or data of its guests.
Web Hosting Companies
The service allows each user to access a web resource anywhere. An important question immediately arises — how to choose high-quality hosting? When picking up a hosting company, answer the following questions:
- Is there a backup service?
- What are the qualifications of the technical experts?
- Are there any SSL certificates?
- Do they offer different servers? (shared, dedicated, or VPS web hosting)
- Are there any constant security updates?
- Are there any additional payments?
- Can they provide 24/7 customer support?
Web Application Firewalls
The Web Application Firewall (here and further referred to as “WAF”) defends web applications. To be more precise, it sorts, monitors, and blocks malicious web traffic.
It is the traffic that intends to record data about the platform’s owner or users. All web traffic moves through this path before it reaches the hosting server. If a suspicious action is detected, the WAF immediately blocks it. WAF also has a function to prevent unauthorized data collection from the web application.
Secure File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocols (FTPS) are designed to transfer significant quantities of unprotected data to a web hosting server. Thus, FTPS does not guarantee visitors a secure transfer technique for uploading files to the server. This makes the data vulnerable. However, using a secure FTP server, encrypts files and keeps information protected.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The approach to security should be comprehensive and systematic as protection does not tolerate a superficial attitude. To improve your level of safety, you should apply a variety of methods.
It is necessary to perform access control very carefully, keep third-party modules up to date, filter input data, and so on. Contact the professionals in your field. Also, read the reviews, contact the company’s customers, and clarify the questions you are interested in. Now, you can easily assess the reliability of the company and choose the appropriate option.
Read also:
- How Does VPS Hosting Work?
- Shopify Vs WooCommerce
- How to Access cPanel on GoDaddy?
- HostMonster Review
- Host4Geeks Review
- WordPress Security Guide