Virus alert note over an open laptop

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We all hope it will not happen to us.  In fact, we keep our typing fingers crossed.  However, one day, it will.  Web site owners who have been doing business online for some length of time know all the problem one hacker can cause. Once a hacker gains access to a Web site, they can perform a devastating amount of damage to an established business. It is for this reason that most online businesses employ a team of Web site security specialists to make sure this never happens. Whether it’s people who just accidentally entered a forbidden part of a Web site or those who hack into a system deliberately, the objective is to prevent it before it happens.  Here are three steps you can take.

Use Digital Certificates

Any Web site that conducts business online should use digital certificates. This helps to secure sensitive data when passed using a form. This could include anything from an individual’s social security number, credit card information, to his or her address and contact numbers. It is crucial for Web site owners to be able to assure their clients that their Web site is secure. A digital certificate goes a long way towards permitting clients to trust a business is legitimate and entrust sensitive information to it.

However, it is important to be careful when buying a digital certificate. It is essential to not obtain one that is outdated or which has been sabotaged by a hacker.

Keep Security Regularly Updated

Some of the most important security procedures include techniques to make sure a Web site’s forbidden pages are inaccessible to anyone who lacks authority to view them. This includes tracking that an individual’s IP and recording it. This will help protect Web site owners from persons trying to illegally access, download, or alter the Web site’s files. As a last resort, it will also help authorities track down where an offender resides and, if necessary, whom to charge with a crime.

As criminals constantly devise new ways to circumvent modern security, security procedures are constantly being updated to guarantee that the latest version includes protection against these new security risks and threats. It is the Web site owner’s responsibility to make sure that the security is up-to-date. This makes the correction of such problems easier, if they arise.

A Web site owner should also regularly modify the Web site’s administrator password, observing all the common sense rules regarding password creation. Although many do not take this step, simply taking precaution can help prevent a costly breach from happening.

Monitor Online Activities

It is absolutely crucial for a Web site owner to monitor all of their online activities.  Many Web site owners have unwittingly caught a computer virus by clicking on a Web URL link or downloading something while browsing the Internet. These kinds of errors are common and can be avoided by simply taking reasonable measures to provide security for their computers.

Email from unknown persons should be treated suspiciously, particularly if an attachment is included.  Frequently, these attachments have a Trojan, virus, or other malicious software packaged inside them that will burst free when the attachment is downloaded. Although most new computer security products are aware of these viruses, a brand-new virus can stay undetected until it is discovered by security professionals who then update their protective software to counter the new threat.

For the owner of a Web site, every illegal access and virus that is prevented on their personal computer represents a lot of money saved. Perhaps more than most anyone else, Web site owners get their money’s worth when buying security products. A Web site owner, in fact, can lose their Web site and all their earnings from a single breach by a single hacker, even if that breach is on their home PC if that computer has been used to access restricted areas of their Web site. The peace of mind a few security software purchases can make are more than worth the cost in dollars.  Keep in mind the old adage: penny wise and pound foolish?  This can apply to running a site in today’s increasingly fraught environment.   So, are you being pound foolish?

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