9 Tips for Protecting Your Website from Hacker Attacks

Nowadays, the question of how to protect your website from hackers and other malicious attacks is prevalent. In addition, after the well-publicized data breaches of last year, many people and businesses are worried about the security of their websites. Whether prompted by concern for personal data, client information, or the well-being of your online platform, take some simple steps to secure your website.

These days, pretty much everyone has a website. So whether you run an online business, are passionate about a hobby, or like to share your views via a blog, you need a little corner on the World Wide Web.

Some people like to build websites from scratch, doing all the programming, while others prefer to get a theme for a CMS like WordPress and focus their efforts on the content.

Whichever camp you fall into, one provision you have to consider is setting up our website security. Unfortunately, there are countless hackers and cyber-criminals out there who are gathering data in most countries around the world.

A poorly secured website can put your devices, data, and customers and visitors at risk. Although it may seem daunting, it is actually pretty straightforward. There are some simple steps that all web users can follow to secure their websites.

Even if you use a CMS like WordPress, it is still highly advisable to take these steps to ensure your site remains safe and secure.

As an experienced e-commerce entrepreneur, I have tried out many security programs and procedures over the years. This article highlights what I believe are the five crucial steps we should all take to address the problem of how to secure a website from hackers:

How to Secure a Website from Hackers?

1. Backup Your Data On and Off-Site

Backing up your website is the simplest way to ensure that you will still have your data if something happens to your site. By regularly recording and storing your site’s key files, you protect yourself from the threat of ransomware and corrupted files. Backing up also lets you recover quickly if your server or hard drive fails. Having the files on hand allows you to be up and running again quickly.

2. Use Strong Passwords

Most of us know the importance of having a secure password for anything important. However, it is shocking how many people are still lazy enough to use passwords like ‘password’ and ‘123456’. It is just inviting your site to be hacked and is not good enough in this day and age.

Your password must be unique and almost impossible to guess or crack. It must belong and contain both upper and lower-case letters and numbers. It would be best if you also endeavored to use characters ($,! #?=, etc.).

In a myth perpetuated by login requirements across the Web, many people assume they are safe because they have a password with a number and exclamation point. In truth, with dictionary attacks and brute force attacks, the new standard passwords like this are easy to hack. A study by Cylab at Carnegie Mellon suggests that the best passwords are long and do not use patterned combinations (for example, no 123 or abc). Instead, use strong passwords for your login, and strong passwords are required for any customers who log in to your site.

If remembering such a password seems daunting, don’t worry. There is a solution to this problem as well: use a Password Manager.

A password manager can generate secure random passwords for all your online accounts. It can also remember them all for you, meaning you have to remember one password (your Password Manager login), and it will do all the rest of your work for you.

There are plenty of Password Managers on the market, but my pick is still LastPass. It is the market leader and will make your online security much more secure.

3. Update Everything

This is a simple but, again, often overlooked rule. However, it is vital to ensure that you always use the latest version of any plugin or security software if you want to be safe.

Keep your site’s software and drivers updated. Updates may feel like unnecessary maintenance, but they often include essential patches to combat known viruses or weaknesses. In addition, by updating your software, you are closing openings that hackers have found to exploit your website.

You must also use official plugins and software instead of counterfeit software. If the plugin or software tries to download an update, you should always let it do so.

4. Hide Admin Directories

Admin directories are a lodestone for hackers. If they find the “Admin” folders in your website script, they can focus on hacking those files rather than relying on a generalized attack. Renaming your admin directories makes this more challenging for them. You can also disable directory listings or modify the site script to exclude the directory from search engines.

5. Use a Web Application Firewall

A Web Application Firewall, or WAF, provides a primary but thorough defense of your website. It is available both as hardware appliances and as cloud-based services to protect your website from hackers and other unwanted traffic before they reach your server. It may also speed up your website through advanced caching.

6. Prevent Brute Force Attacks

Suppose you haven’t heard of a brute force attack. In that case, it is a means by which cyber-criminals can access password-protected sites by systematically trying likely passwords, most often with an automated program, until they chance upon the correct one.

All sites are vulnerable to these hacks, and given the weak passwords many of us use (see above), they can be handy.

But you can take a few simple steps to defend yourself against them.

Limited Login Attempts: Firstly, you can install a plugin that limits the number of times you can attempt to log in to your site before it is locked. This type of software will let you make a handful of genuine errors yourself but will stop hackers from systematically trying hundreds of passwords at a time. It is a wise addition to your security toolkit.

Use a Brute Force Login Protection App: You can use another plugin that offers even more protection against Brute Force attacks. As well as limiting login attempts, these plugins can blacklist or whitelist IP Addresses, delay execution after failed login attempts, and send customized messages to blocked users. They are simple, easy to use, and handy.

7. Use HTTPS

HTTPS, or HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure, is a communication protocol that encrypts information between a website and a server. As a result, any attempt to access the data in transit will not display the information being sent. In fact, because of the security benefits of SSL, Google will now use HTTPS to determining search ranking for sites.

Depending on what information hackers target and how much damage is done, rebuilding your website can be frustrating and expensive. However, taking basic precautions reduces the likelihood of an attack. If you are targeted, the sensitive information on your site will be better protected if you have these simple defenses in place.

8. Get Domain Privacy

When you purchase your domain name, whether directly or through your website host, your details are put into an open public database, and anyone can see them. This database will hold such personal information as your name, address, email, and phone number. It leaves your details open to anyone, including hackers, spammers, and identity thieves to access.

All domain registrars offer domain privacy services. This service will cost a small fee but has some perks, making it a great value. It will mask your personal details to become public without changing the domain’s ownership.

It’s a simple and quick step, but it can make a crucial difference between running a secure or insecure website.

9. Always Use VPN

We all like to get online on the move, whether to fill the void during a long or tedious commute or just because we work better in a coffee shop than in an empty house.

The only problem with this is using public Wi-Fi networks. These networks offer zero security, and logging in to anything on them essentially invites hackers to look at anything you are.

A VPN also offers various other perks, including letting you access content that is geo-restricted overseas. Thus, you can run your website or online business anywhere. Learn what a VPN is, how it works, and its Benefits.

A good VPN will charge a small monthly fee, but it is money very well spent for the extra security and other benefits they offer.

If you know how to protect your website from hackers and other malicious attacks, please remember to share your audience’s point of view.