Security matters a lot on a website. Your website
can attract various viruses and malware and there is also a
possibility of your website getting hacked if there is not proper and
efficient security in the website. A thorough security check can
reveal vulnerabilities in your codes and help your website from being
exploited by hackers.
Here is a step by step guide for website security
which shows you how to test your site’s security.
Here
is a step by step guide for website security which shows you how to
test your site’s
security.
1. Update your website regularly
Any
website or eCommerce store or application needs updates! Your website
is an application needs to be updated regularly to stay secured
against threats. When website security holes are found in software,
hackers are quick to attempt to abuse them.
The
following elements should always be kept up-to-date:
The
OS must be kept updated from time to time.
The
CMS on which your website has been designed must be kept up-to-date.
Any
third party associated with your website.
Thus,
updating the site is very important as it restricts any viruses to
enter the software and keeps the hackers away. Keep updating your
website from time to time and keep it up-to-date to maintain its
security.
2. Keep a strong password
Whenever
you download a new application, while signing up it asks you to
create a strong password which contains alphabets, numbers as well as
special characters. They ask for a strong password so that your
account doesn't fall into wrong hands who may misuse your account for
wrong practices. Passwords are the security of any
website/application/store etc and it has to be strong enough so that
it doesn't become accessible to anyone else other than you.
Users
might not like it or feel its irritating but enforcing password such
as a minimum of eight characters, including an uppercase letter,
number and characters will protect their information of your website
for the long run. So spare some time, think of a strong password and
protect your website.
3. SQL injection
The next
factor that should be checked is SQL injection. SQL injection attacks
are very crucial as an attacker can get various personal information
from the server database. To check SQL injection entry points into
your web application, find out the code from your codebase where
direct MySQL queries are executed on the database by accepting other
inputs.
If an
attacker is successful to hack the application from the SQL query
error shown on the browser, he can get access to your information
they are looking for. Thus, SQL injection is very important to
maintain the security of your website.
4. Protection against XSS attacks
Cross-site
scripting (XSS) attacks inject dangerous and malicious javascript
into your website which runs in the browsers. It can even change the
content of your page and steal information to send it to the
attacker. If you show comments on your page without any validation,
there is a possibility that an attacker or hacker may submit comments
with JavaScript which could run in every other user’s browsers and
steal their login cookie. You need to ensure that users cannot inject
active JavaScript content into your pages.
CSP is a
powerful toolbox of XSS. CSP is a tool which tells the browser to
limit how and what Javascript is executed in the page and also
disallow running of any scripts not hosted on your domain. CSP makes
it harder for an attacker’s script to work, even if they can get
them into your page.
5. Website security tools
The most
effective way of securing your website is by installing some security
tools in your software. There are many tools that can be installed.
Some free tools that are worth looking at are-
Netsparker- This
tool is good for testing SQL injections and XSS
OpenVAS- This
is one of the most advanced open source security scanner. It is good
for testing vulnerabilities.
Securityheaders.io- This
tool is used to report which security header has enabled and
correctly configured.
Hence,
these are some of the website security tools that need to be
installed to protect your website from hackers and attackers and
various kind of viruses which may steal information from your website
and affect the working of your website.
6. Use HTTPS
HTTP is
a protocol used for providing security over the internet. HTTP
ensures that users are talking to the server they expect and nobody
else can change the content of their website. If there is anything
that a user wants private, we advise you to use the only HTTP. An
attacker stealing the information of your website would be able to
get access to your login details. To stop this kind of attacks, you
must always use HTTP for your entire site. Using HTTP will also take
your website higher in Google search engines so it is also beneficial
for SEO. So it's advisable to use HTTP for your entire site as it has
not just one benefit, but many.
7. NO file uploads
Allowing
users to upload files on your website contains website security
risks. The risk is that any file uploaded can contain a script that
can affect your website’s working and steal the information. If you
have a file upload from the user then you have to treat all the files
carefully. If you allow users to upload images, you need to verify
because the image file can easily be faked.
So how
can you prevent this? You need to stop and restrict users from
posting or uploading files on your website. Even if you are allowing
files to be uploaded from the internet only use secure transport
methods to your servers such as SFTP or SSH.
Conclusion
The points mentioned in the blog are the step
to step guide for website security. Go through the points, implement
them and secure your website from all the threats, hackers and
viruses. Keeping your website secured is very important as a website
has a lot of information which can be stolen if someone gets access
of your login details, they can even use your website or account for
wrong purposes. Implement these points and be carefree with a secured
website.
Do you know of any other security tool apart
from those mentioned above? Feel free to comment it below, we would
love to hear from you as well. .
