Tactics to Prevent Malware

A company’s website should be secure for customers and include all the necessary security features. It is more than just a business card to your potential customer, it can make or break their future relationships with you as well!

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Website Security Importance

The importance of website security cannot be overstated. For your website to thrive, you need a secure online presence and the right digital tools that will protect it from hackers and other cybercriminals who seek to exploit vulnerabilities in order for personal or monetary gain.

Without the proper security for your website, you are risking:

• Hacking of company data.
• Stealing of customer information.
• Damage to website server hardware.
• Disruption of your company’s business.

There are 5 essentials any website owner needs to know:

• Ensure you have an SSL certificate installed
• Keep your WordPress, Themes, Plugins UP TO DATE!
• Engage a security first hosting company
• Have a great security plugin installed
• Backups, backups, backups & backups!

The lack of security on a website can lead to the loss of customers and money.

The consequences are significant for those who neglect their website safety measures, as they may find themselves without any online presence at all if someone else takes control by hijacking their identity or misusing private information like emails and passwords.

The best way to prevent malware from happening is to hire your web development agency to provide a care plan. They will monitor and protect your website for you. At MySiteGotHacked we can provide this service for you, starting from $50 per month.

Let’s cover a few extra reasons to protect your site

Protecting Data

In this day and age of data breaches, identity theft is a major concern. There are many things that you can do to protect your business from hackers and criminals who may be looking for ways in which they could use the information gleaned about you as an opportunity to exploit customer’s personal or financial details with malicious intent. In order to safeguard against these vulnerabilities, it will become necessary for any company dealing online with customers on some level not only to have their own firewall protection but also make sure that all employees – especially those involved in handling sensitive data like credit cards and passwords have been properly trained so there is no “slip up”.

With the right precautions, you can keep data secure so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands – potentially exposing your identity to criminals or hackers!

Public Appearance

An attacker who gains access to your company’s website usually has an agenda. If their agenda is not to steal important information, then they are looking for ways to damage the public perception of your brand.

We saw this early in 2019 where Millions of Toyota customers data was accessed. For a second time!

Japanese auto giant Toyota had to apologise to customers after a large data breach at its Tokyo area sales network was discovered. Toyota stated that unauthorized network access to a sales server resulted in the leaking of up to 3.1 million pieces of customer data from inside Toyota, but not from other erasable systems outside the company.

The reality of our world is that the internet has become a breeding ground for hackers to prey on vulnerable sites. What do these people want? They like hacking websites and posts, putting controversial material in place of what should be there or doing anything they can so their “message” gets heard more loudly than anyone else’s.

Many popular websites have been hacked recently. This means it could happen to ANYONE! Hackers are everywhere online – especially when your favourite website becomes compromised with either offensive or misleading content.

According to Business Insider, both Facebook and Twitter had data breaches.

Facebook and Twitter have disclosed the personal information of hundreds of their users, who inadvertently gave these companies access to their data through third-party applications.

The issue has allegedly been isolated to Android devices, in which users were logging into social media accounts through various apps.

The social media giants were alerted of the issue, as third-party security researchers discovered that one audience and Mobiburn software development kits (SDK) gave access to sensitive data of these users. The exposed information included usernames, email addresses, recent tweets and posts on both platforms.

Security is a serious matter for any company to worry about, and it’s not always just the hackers who present dangers. Whether you are trying to protect your public image or simply want to work with professionals in this field of expertise, hiring an Internet security expert will help keep your business safe from outside threats such as pranksters and trolls.

Protect your business from malware revenue loss

No matter the size of a business, being hacked and having it affect the bottom line is something that should be enough of a point to drive home the importance of website security to a business owner or CEO.

WHAT TYPES OF ATTACKS CAN YOU GET

Trojans

Websites security experts often use the term “malware” and “Trojan horse” interchangeably. The Trojan got its name because it is a virus or piece of malware that sneaks in to a computer disguised as less harmful software. Trojan horses are programs that trick people into believing the program is doing one thing when it’s really accomplishing a different task. The term Trojan Horse refers to an Ancient Greek story about the deceptive wooden horse that led to the fall of Troy.

Trojans are difficult to deal with because once they are inside a computer, the virus emerges and does its damage. If you don’t have procedures in place for dealing with Trojans, your website may sustain serious damage.

The problem with Trojans is that they are not always what they seem to be. You need an experienced and professional website security company to help you look past the disguises and see the Trojans coming.

You can prevent malicious programs from loading onto your site by implementing security measures. Without professional website security in place, you are risking the sensitive information of your company and your clients.

Tactics to Prevent Malware

Securing your website with SSL.

Websites should not have a login page that isn’t encrypted or if they do, the URL of the page will start with https to show it is secure. You can purchase an SSL certificate from your hosting provider. The price can range from a free certificate with Let’s Encrypt up to $400 per year for a Premium SSL certificate.

These security certifications essentially encrypt the data that gets passed through your website and can go a long way in preventing your website from getting loaded down by viruses.

Firewall Software

The primary protection for websites against hackers and viruses are firewalls.

When a website server reaches out to the Internet, it opens ports to the Internet that can invite hackers. A good firewall protects those open ports and makes sure that no damage is done. Every website owner should have at least one secure and reliable firewall on his website.

Just about every Internet provider and server software offer a firewall to protect your server from Internet hackers.

But if a firewall is not used properly, then it is not going to be able to offer the level of protection your company needs. A security professional will review your firewall software and make sure that only the essential portals are opened to the Internet at any given time. Once those portals are opened, the professional will make sure that those portals are monitored to prevent intrusion.

We highly recommend Cloudflare when it comes to website firewalls. And it’s free!

Network Monitoring

Even the best firewall software can be bypassed, and that is why real Internet security professionals monitor the company’s entire network. If a piece of malware gets past the initial security gate, then it is bound to be detected as it moves through the network. An experienced and professional Internet security company keeps track of every place that a virus can travel to make sure that none are present.

Antivirus Software

If a virus does manage to get through to your website server, then your server will need to have its own protection for defeating the virus. There are several good server and Internet antivirus titles available for website owners to choose from. If you are unsure as to what kind of antivirus software to buy, then ask a website security expert for advice.

When it comes to protecting website servers from Internet hackers, no ordinary antivirus program will do. A good server antivirus program is updated regularly to help protect against new viruses that are detected and catalogued. That means that the software has to come from a company that knows how to watch for new viruses and knows how to combat them. This is one of the more critical lines of defence in preventing viruses from taking down your website and it is something that must be administered by Internet security professional.

Security essentials are the weapons that website security experts use to protect your domain. When you hire an experienced website security company, you can expect the best use of the most effective security essentials available.

Protecting Passwords

Asking your customers and members to create accounts with usernames and passwords can also help you to protect your website. When you do a website security check, always look to see if there has been an unusually large number of accounts started by someone at the same IP address. That can indicate that an Internet bot is creating accounts and getting ready to hack your site. By monitoring user passwords, you can shut that kind of activity down before it damages your site.

Usernames and passwords can also be ways for you to control what areas of the website each user has access to. With the proper administrative procedures, you can prevent potential hackers from getting into your server and doing serious damage.

Ensure software is up to date

If your WordPress website is not updated to the latest version, you may be susceptible to a number of security vulnerabilities. In fact, according to W3Techs, as of April 2018 only 36% of all websites are running WordPress 4.9 or later. This means that 64% of websites are vulnerable and could be hacked by malicious actors on the internet!

In Summary

Many businesses tend to take website security for granted, but it can be one of the most important aspects of your company. If your company does any kind of business on the Internet or relies on an online presence to attract and service customers, then a weekly checkup for website security is important.

A general security checkup of your website security is important in order to ensure that your company’s website remains safe.