Hacker's attacks are getting more sophisticated even with the addition of security measures to keep the web secure. If a website does not have any security measures then the hackers can use a spy bot to leak the sensitive user data or credit card information. Different antivirus softwares and firewalls are used to block the malicious threats to keep the data secure but even with the presence of these softwares, hackers can use creative techniques to breach the security of the websites. If every person commit themselves to protect their own data then the hackers would have to work harder to steal their data.
Following are some of the tips that can be used to avoid the hackers attack:
Take regular Backup
Backup are used to keep the data secure so that the data can be restored incase of any data loss. But the owners of the websites are not aware of the fact that storing backup on their server is a huge security risk. The backup of a website should be stored on an off site not on the same server as the website.
SSL
The websites should use encryption to keep the data transfer between servers and the browsers secure. The SSL encryption is used to stop Man in the Middle attacks. Which the hackers use to intercept the traffic between the server and the browsers.
Web lockdown
The website should use the lockdown mechanism to stop any type of file sharing during a malicious attack. The websites should lockdown the users after three wrong password attempts, to stop or avoid the sensitive information to leak out.
Keep admin directory safe
The hacker's use scripting language to scan the directories on the web server. Using 'admin' or 'login' as the website directory names can easily compromise the security. The website should have a difficult administrator directory name, to make it difficult to be spotted by the hackers.
Multi-Layered security
Every website should use Multi-layered security mechanisms to keep the sensitive user's information safe. After the login page, the owners should add personal questions for the users to tighten the security.
Use a strong password and user ID
Every website should use a strong login password to keep the application secure. For Login use an email address as user ID to give the hackers hard time to break through the defences of the website.
Keep the Software updated
Frequently updating the windows and the anti-virus software can also help in securing the applications. The anti-virus softwares are constantly updating to keep the operating system hacking free. Therefore, updating the antivirus software will make the applications difficult to be cracked by the hackers.
Adding server and form validation
Add server and form validation to make sure that the mandatory fields are not left unfilled. Using the websites without server and browser validations could lead to adding malicious code or script in the database or it could cause undesired results in the website.
Use Security tools
Use different security tools to test the security of your web application, to make sure that the website is safe from different threats. There are many free security tools to test the applications like NetSparker.
Anonymous outbound links
Be careful when adding other outbound links in your website, adding the anonymous and bad links can cause severe security issues. Do not trust every website you link to.
There is a large underground community of hackers that uses their innovative approaches to exploit the vulnerability of the applications. The website owners can use above tips to reduce the security risks. But most of the security issues are taken care of the developers, while developing the websites. The client's should hire highly intelligent developers, who understand the technologies and security issues to develop a hacking-free application. The clients can hire PHP developers to make the website secure from Cross-Site-Scripting and other malicious threats.
