What are the best ways to ensure that your website is secure and that any related data is safe?
1. Install an SSL certificate
Using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) creates a crucial link between a server and a web browser. This ensures a secure data exchange between the website and the people visiting it. An SSL certificate is good practice for all sites, but it is essential for those where sensitive user or financial information is shared or stored.
2. Use strong passwords
This is a highly effective way of keeping your website and data secure. Ensure that your password is not likely to be guessed or cracked via a brute-force attack. Try to include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. You can use a password manager to ensure you don’t forget your password.
If you feel that you could benefit from a website security check, there are numerous cyber security experts, such as https://www.etempa.co.uk/website-security-checks, who specialise in providing this service.
3. Utilise two-factor authentication
In the event that somehow your password is cracked, this method protects you by making it a two-stage login process. The second stage can be a text code, facial recognition scan, finger or iris scan, or a puzzle. This is extremely hard to compromise as only the official owner will have the correct device etc.
4. Use a web application firewall
A firewall will help you to eliminate any malicious HTTP traffic that attempts to attack your web application. It also prevents any data from leaving the web app.
- Back your site up regularlyRegular backups protect you against hardware failure as well as hacking attempts. They will allow you to restore your site to a previous, clean version should it be compromised. You can back up manually or automate things so that your site is backed up to the cloud regularly.6. Choose a reliable hosting provider
Ensure that the hosting provider that you choose is able to keep your website safe by providing an SSL certificate, automating your backups, and offering malware scans and firewalls.