How to Prevent Hackers on Your Site

Website security is crucially important given the hordes of cybercriminals ready to exploit any vulnerability they can find to steal users’ data.

Accordingly, websites need to be well managed and updated to mitigate their risk of cyberattacks.

There is no shortage of methods cybercriminals use to attack websites and steal users’ information, from deploying backdoors to phishing and ransomware. They can even attack websites at their core, injecting malicious code that lies hidden until it’s too late.

Even so, you can still defend against these attacks by implementing a few best practices.

How To Keep Your Website Secure From Hackers

One of the easiest ways to step up your web protection is moving from HTTP to HTTPS. As time passes, less and less traffic will arrive at sites that use the unsecured HTTP protocol.

Internet browsers such as Google Chrome automatically warn users that your site is not secure, potentially harming your traffic and sending them to competitors.

HTTPS secures connections using encryption tools that scramble the information being exchanged, helping to keep the site safer.

In terms of SEO rankings, Google prefers HTTPS websites over HTTP websites, making the switch more urgent.

Additionally, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates available from SSL hosting options are also valuable, as they ensure all visitors to your site that the information you communicate to them is being encrypted and kept safe.

However, even with SSL certificates, it’s important to scan your website for vulnerabilities periodically. If any vulnerability is uncovered, make sure to promptly patch it to avoid any security issues.

Most hosting services today include tools to automate your security and software updates, but you should always be on the lookout for potential problems.

Constant monitoring can help identify weak points before fixing them to prevent hackers from uncovering them first before exploiting these weaknesses.

Moreover, an automated patch management software solution can help you spot weak points in the web site's code to capably address them before any intrusions occur.

Beyond these key activities, website owners should also consider integrating a Web Application Firewall (WAF to prevent hackers from accessing the website, making changes, and uploading malicious files or code).

A Few Key Takeaways

There are many different measures companies can take to boost website security.  

The benefits of transitioning from HTTP to HTTPS and incorporating SSL certificates is clear, however, these are far from the only strategies to keep hackers at bay.

Proactive tactics like installing firewalls and implementing automated patch management software are necessary for building a cohesive approach towards thwarting hackers.