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Site security is something we take very seriously at Carawebs. Here are a few tips that we share with our clients.
Simple advice to beef up site security:
- Keep your software up to date – if you use WordPress, make sure you’re running the most recent version
- Have a strong password – if you can remember it, it’s probably too weak!
- Get a password manager and set strong passwords
- Use a non-standard username – “Admin” is too easy to guess
- Install proper security measures on your site
- Make regular full-site backups
- Don’t use plugins of dubious provenance
Hacked sites can and do happen – and hackers are getting ever more sophisticated. We recently had to help a client with a legacy site that had been taken over and used to promote sales of Viagra – not what you want your prospective clients to see when they visit your site.
Strong Passwords Are Essential
Having a strong password is the most obvious and important way of securing your site – but unfortunately most people ignore this advice.
The latest and most effective types of password attacks can attempt millions of password guesses per second, and that number will no doubt continue to increase over the years.
Having a password of “1234567” won’t stand up to this kind of attack! Strong passwords are not memorable (by definition), so you should get used to using a password manager. These store all your passwords in an encrypted database.
Popular password managers include:
Here at carawebs we use keepass – it’s lightweight, works on all platforms, and is free.
Bottom line? Use secure passwords – it’s a simple way to reduce your risk of being hacked. Make sure you’re running the latest version of your site software (e.g. WordPress, Joomla etc), and ensure that your site has been hardened to protect against unwanted visitors.
If you need any advice on keeping your website safe get in touch with us. We’re happy to help.