Site Security and the Ugly Truth
With computers becoming more and more prevalent in our lives we are becoming very dependant on the internet for many day to day things such as shopping (both clothes and grocery), paying bills, research or studying, and school. It has become an increasing trend as the ecommerce rises that more and more people are trying to make money online through many different ways, but mostly by starting a business through a website which is where site security comes into play.
Because there are so many people on the internet all the time there is a lot of private personal information floating around in cyber such as credit card info, names, addresses, etc. Everyone knows that information is out there, but unfortunately there are a lot of people who find a way to get that information and use it for their own personal gain. Those hackers have made it necessary for us to use site security. It’s a pain that we all wish wasn’t necessary, but we need all the protection we can get against these hackers that are too smart for their own good!
If you have an online business, it is not only beneficial for you to have site security to protect yourself and your information, but it is a big plus for your customers as well. When they come to your site and know that you have site security they know that you will also be protecting their personal information. This could make the difference in their decision to buy or not to buy.
It is up to us to take care of our own site security so be sure to do lots of research on the type that you will use. There are many different types of site security out there so be sure to pick the one that will best meet your needs, and in a lot of cases you might want to use more than one type to increase your site security.
Website Security Checklist
If you run your own business online, you want to make sure that your website is secure for your customers. Website security is a must, and many don’t realize how much having a secure website increases the trust of your customers, which in return, means more sales for you! Website security is a concern for all businesses and will probably always be high up on the agenda simply because cyber criminals are getting smarter as is technology. This means that they will always strive to find new ways to get pass the website security that we have in place. If you are concerned about website security, but are not sure where to start, here is a checklist of what you need to get started.
Anti-virus Software: This is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses. Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware. This can be purchased or downloaded via the internet. Special care should be taken when choosing your anti-virus software, as some programs are not effective as others.
Manage Your Website Over Encrypted Connections: Make it a habit to use proven encrypted protocols like SSH to securely access resources and transmit data. When registering new customers for your site, always use maximum encryption. You must give your customers a guarantee that you won’t share their data with any third parties.
Verify That Your Website Is A “Legitimate” Business – Display Trust Marks: Some things that a website should included that show security and trust, are a privacy policy, terms of use, refund policy, testimonials, FAQ/sales support section, digital certificate/data security page, copyright statement on every page, well written “about us” page, and address and phone number contact page. Also, display trust marks or trust seals on your website showing that the site has been verified by a third party. It is important for your customers to know that your website is legitimate and can be trusted.
Have current vulnerability assessments and PCI scanning performed: You should have your website scanned by an approved scanning vendor at least quarterly, but preferably daily. This is important to do, so that any vulnerabilities that are found on your website can be corrected quickly and you won’t suffer any security breaches or downtime, which means lost sales.
Be Proactive and Keep Your Website Updated With New and Changing Security Solutions: Even the most well maintained and antivirus solutions packed into a small business website can have a problem or two from time to time. Protect important information by hosting data backup systems. Keeping your business website secure requires a certain degree of diligence. You may even want to consider hiring a company to help you.
These are just a few of the most important website security measures to get you started. There are more you should think about. Some of these tips make seem like commonsense, but you would be surprised at how many small business owners neglect some or all of them, if for no other reason than just because they are so tied up in the other business priorities. Just remember it is super important. Hopefully this checklist helps.