Keep Your Versions Updated This is one of the simplest ways to stay a step or two ahead of the hackers. By downloading the newest versions and updates of Windows, WordPress, and your antivirus platform, you can make your applications or website just tough enough to crack. That way, hackers won’t bother with your site and instead move on to some other site whose owner hasn’t been as vigilant. Beef Up Your Passwords Ok, it’s 2010. The web’s been around for some time now. Isn’t it time you changed your password from your spouse’s name, “123456” or the dreaded “password?” If this past year taught us nothing else, it’s that people are surprisingly lax when it comes to choosing passwords for even their most sensitive accounts. Pick strong ones and and use different ones for your banking info and email, your cPanel, and your FTP accounts – otherwise, your info and your site are vulnerable. Lock Down Your File Permissions Do you know what your file and folder permissions are set at? Some applications require them to be set at the open “777” to install, and then most of us forget to set them back to either “755” for folders or “644” for files. Double check yours to make sure. Mind Your Links Do you really know what kind of site you’re linking to from your site? According to experts, so-called “open redirects” are a major cause for attacks that are perpetrated through browsers. We all know what happens when we click on a bad link; now imagine what the result will be when you put a bad link on your site. It’s always best to trust completely any site you link to. Use FTPS For Transfers With this handy tool, all your FTP transfers are done using SSL. In fact… Use SSL To Send Emails Use this especially if, somewhere in any of your millions of untrashed emails, you’ve ever sent sensitive info via email. Make Sure Your Web Host Runs suPHP Under normal PHP, scripts run as “nobody,” your script is open access. With suPHP, access is limited to the user or to those explicitly granted permission. Not all hosts use suPHP, so make sure your host does and set up another potential roadblock for hackers. Speaking of Hosts Not all hosts are the same when it comes to ensuring your website’s security. Not all offer round-the-clock active server monitoring, or even suPHP (see above), so choosing a host that takes your security seriously takes a little legwork. Look Beyond Shared Hosting If your website is your livelihood, then it might be the case that no amount of security talk and password strength can make you feel safe enough. If your site is critical to your operations, then you might want to consider VPS hosting so that you can have peace of mind. A VPS is inherently more secure due to its separation from other sites, and you can create custom firewalls and install other security measures that most hosts won’t allow on shared accounts. Basically, a VPS allows you to take a more active role in your website’s security. Be Savvy If you know what you’re looking for, then you’re making a hacker’s job more difficult. Most hackers, if they come across a site that’s locked down tightly, would just as soon move on to another that offers easier access. You can make your site not worth the trouble by regularly scanning your logfiles for code that doesn’t belong, not installing suspicious WordPress plugins, and basically just being aware of what’s going on inside your site. These 10 tips are just the basics, really – they’re a way to get everyone thinking about all the factors that go into running a secure site. If you make it a habit to keep your an eye on things and keep everything up to date, then you’re a much less attractive target to hackers than many other site owners out there. For more info on the most common security lapses across the Web, check out the Top 25 Most Dangerous programming Errors (http://cwe.mitre.org/top25/). It should serve as a real eye-opener
Very good points that people tend to forget... Keep Your Versions Updated... is one of those for sure!
Seen more hacks happen due to a lack of web masters keeping their websites updated. We started offering a let us manage and do the updating for you when the updates come out.
Thanks for the warning, I was not aware. i really appreciate it. can you please tell me the easiest way to prevent my site from hackers cause it's really hard to update all the software every month...
Thanks for the warning, that's a good topic about websites serurity but you can not be safe 100%, there will we always a risk
