Ines Guerra
5 min read
Sometimes the best methods for approaching any task are the simplest. Making your devices, online identity, and activities more secure doesn't take much effort. Keeping your website, private data, and company safe from cyber-attacks while being immersed in the web and the vulnerabilities that come with it is a challenge for everyone today. The amount of cyber-attacks that you as a user can suffer is more extensive and varied than we imagine. After the most significant cyber-attack in the history of the NHS, the security of websites became a concern for companies, which have given much importance and allocated funds to improve and strengthen cybersecurity.
On the road to implementing web security solutions, we will encounter complex concepts and convoluted solutions, yet there are essential best practices to follow to improve the security of your website.
Improve cybersecurity efficiency on your website doesn't require much effort. These tips for being more secure in your online life will help you be more secure. These web security solutions will help you and your company be more secure.
1. Install an antivirus and keep your software updated
The first step to making your website secure is to keep any platforms or scripts installed up to date. Hackers know where to go to do the most damage, so they aggressively attack security flaws in web software and programs patch security holes faster if they are up to date. It is essential to maintain and update all the software products you use because it becomes more vulnerable as soon as your website becomes outdated. Making constant updates is paramount.
In addition to keeping software up to date, we need to include other software on our website. We call this other antivirus software, but fighting real computer viruses is only a tiny part of what they do. Although we can be more "calm" and n theory with an antivirus, you can set and forget about your antivirus protection. Just let it run in the background and download updates. Ideally, check it periodically. Most antivirus utilities display a green sign or icon when all is well. If you see yellow or red, follow the instructions to get everything working again.
Whether you have chosen a simple antivirus or a complete security suite, renewing it every year will be something you have to do. But having your software and antivirus up to date will undoubtedly prevent significant problems.
As soon as your website becomes outdated, it becomes vulnerable: constant updates are necessary. Luckily, WordPress is constantly updated, saving you the hassle of doing it yourself. We also offer automatic updates for your software if you sign up with us - take a look at our Web Maintenance and Hosting page.
One of the easiest ways for hackers to steal information is to get username and password combinations from one source and use those same combinations elsewhere. For example, a hacker obtains your username and password by hacking into an email provider. They could log into banking sites using the same username and password combination. The best way to prevent a data breach from having a domino effect is to use a solid and unique password for each of your online accounts.
Creating a solid and unique password for each account, storing it in a secure location, and never sharing it across any online platform is not an easy job. That's why you need to use a password manager. They serve both to create secure passwords, store them securely, and share them without compromising the security of the site. There are many excellent password managers. Choosing the best one for your company is a matter of priority. In the next post, we will talk about the most recommended password managers and why paid passwords usually offer more features.
When using a password manager, you only need to remember the master password that the password manager itself locks. When unlocked, the password manager logs you into your online accounts automatically, which is more secure and increases your efficiency and productivity. You'll save time typing your logins and won't have to worry about having to reset a forgotten password.
When connecting to the Internet and using a Wi-Fi network you don't own, you should use a virtual private network or VPN. It is not safe to connect to a free Wi-Fi network. Plus, you don't know anything about the security of that connection. It is possible that someone else on that network could look at or steal files and data sent from your laptop or mobile device. One of the benefits of a VPN is to encrypt your Internet traffic, routing it through a server owned by the VPN company. That means that no one, not even the owner of the free Wi-Fi network, can access your data. Using a VPN also hides your IP address. So if you can use a VPN for your company, you will be much more cybersecure, and it will be much more difficult for hackers to get to your sensitive data.
In addition to all the benefits that obtaining these certifications will bring you at a business level, another driver to have the certificate is brand trust to gain more customers. But they also have the SOC 2 certification on the website to show potential customers that its security program complies with best-practice standards. Obtaining compliance certifications certifies that the organization takes security seriously and has invested in security practices. Investing in implementing these practices will benefit many levels and minimize many risks.
Being vigilant and cautious about what we do online will save you from future problems. Many phishing attacks are about links in email, messaging applications, and social networks. Phishing links impersonate secure websites, with the strategy of tricking you into giving them your credentials. Drive-by download pages can cause malware to download and infect your device automatically.
If emails or text messages do not come from a trusted source, avoid clicking. Even then, be cautious: your trusted source may have been compromised, or the news may be fake.
Although cheaper hosting seems ideal, low-priced servers often mean shared hosting with many other websites, so getting hacked is much easier and more frequent on these sites. It would be best to choose a highly secure server with the correct specifications for you and your website's security.
Just as important as choosing a good server is to perform regular web security scans to check for website and server vulnerabilities. Web security scans should be performed regularly, scheduled, and after any changes or additions to your web components.
It is essential to backup your data. No matter how many measures and good practices you take, vulnerabilities are always there, and they can reach your company and cause irreparable damage at all levels. So if you don't want to risk it, try to back up your data regularly. This is a fail-safe way for every business owner to recover their data after a crash.
Ideally, keep your website information off your network to protect it from hardware failures, viruses, and data breaches. The safest thing to do is to back up all sensitive data to another hardware device or the cloud, but this backup should be on a different server than the one you use for your website.
And if you can also automate these copies automatically and periodically, it would be even better.
All these measures will help your company will help your company to set web security solutions and meet some web security standards. Cyber attacks never come with alerts, so prevention is the best solution for your company.
