Protecting your website from hackers is crucial – not only for the security of your business, but also for the security of your customer’s personal information. Hackers know how to break into a website, so to speak, and literally take control of it, and you have to know how to protect yourself, and your customers, from such actions.

Aside from really messing up your site, the most dangerous thing is that hackers can implement viruses that your customers are infected by when they visit your site, and they can take control of your email to send out viruses and spam. Both of these actions can make you liable, if you aren’t careful.

 

Start by removing any unnecessary files from your server. Even if the files are not viewable on your website, search engines can still find them and index them. That leaves these unused files open to exploitation. Make sure that you are not removing any needed files, and make backups of those files before you delete them.

 

Keep your other files up to date. This is especially important for script or program files. Just like operating systems, the creators of these programs and scripts often update them to work out bugs and close security holes. Failing to keep your copy up to date is an invitation to be hacked.

 

Use a robots.txt file on your server. This file can be used to tell search engines not to index certain files, and also not to index images. Images can be searched for, specifically, and this makes it easy for someone else to steal  your images. 

 

If you have databases, scripts, or any other sensitive file, it can and should be password protected. Make sure that you are using passwords that are not easy to crack. Files such as these are the ones that hackers really like, so make sure that yours are protected with a strong password.

 

Don’t think that using the script that prevents right clicking on your page will protect your content. It won’t. People are getting smarter, and they can just as easily go to their browser window, select edit > select all and then edit > copy and capture everything on your page. Instead, use a script that hides your source code completely. Even better than that, use style sheets for your HTML.

 

If you left click on each file on your server, you will be presented with the CHMOD option. This enables you to set permissions on each file, and it is important that you do so. You can check with your web host or web developer to find out how the permissions should be set. The options are read, write, and read – write. This allows some people to only read the file, while others have the option of reading and writing to the file. Note that changing these permissions may have an adverse affect on some scripts or programs.

 

Protecting your sites email is extremely important. As a business owner, you probably have opt-in forms and feedback forms on your website. If you ever receive a strange message from your feedback form, be on the lookout for spammers. It is best to use a script that hides your email address, or to use an image for email, instead of an actual linked email address. These two methods will help to prevent spam software from collecting the email address.

 

As netizens, we put our email addresses out there in a lot of ways – and many times, we don’t even realize that we are doing so. We sign guest books, participate in forums and newsgroups, and of course we advertise. First, start using a throw away email account, such as a Yahoo account. Failing that, don’t put your email address as you@yourdomain.com. Instead, use you at your domain.com.

 

Make sure that you change the password to your control panel often – at least once every thirty days is recommended. You should also password protect any folder that contains set up files, if possible. Some applications won’t work if the setup files are in a password protected folder, but since most applications no longer use the setup files, once the application is set up, this can work – and it does protect your website.

 

Is Telnet available for your site? If so, turn it off. Most hackers use Telnet to connect to what they want to connect to, and to do their dirty deeds – and by leaving Telnet turned on, you are inviting them to do so. Be sure to ask your web host whether or not you have Telnet, and if so, how to turn it off.

 

Make sure that your scripts are running from the right directory. You will find that most CGI scripts, Perl Scripts, and PHP scripts are meant to run from the CGI-Bin. This is because the CGI-Bin offers protection from hacks.

 

Failure to protect your website from spammers and hackers can have incredibly bad results for you. Your site could be shut down. It could be blacklisted. The entire server could get blacklisted as well. Hackers may steal valuable information from your site. Repairing damage will cost you in terms of time, and possibly in money.

 

Spammers can use your website to send mail bombs from your domain, to send spam from your domain, and to steal passwords and other private or sensitive information. Always make sure that you are doing everything that you can to protect your website.

 

Just as average users use basic security measures, Internet Marketers must also use basic security measures. You should think of this as the foundation for all other security measures that you may employ for your online business.

You need anti-virus protection on your system. This virus protection must stay updated at all times. Don’t take any chances with this. Make sure that you are running your virus protection at all times, and that you scan your system at least twice each week.

 

You need a firewall. Most systems today come with a firewall as a part of the operating system. Make sure that you set the security on your firewall to the highest possible setting.

 

You need spyware protection. This is not the same as anti-virus. They are two totally different things. Spyware protects you from malicious software that can gather information from you computer system, including keystrokes. Make sure that you keep this up to date, and that it is constantly running.

 

Your system should be password protected. If someone gains physical access to your system, they can easily install software to log keystrokes, and your spyware protection and anti-virus protection will not catch it. Use a strong password that contains uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. Do not use common words.

 

Be extremely careful sharing sensitive information through email or instant messenger. These messages can be intercepted, and the information may prove valuable to a thief or hacker.

 

Make sure that your operating system is always up-to-date. Often, software makers – and hackers – find holes in the operating system that would allow a hacker to gain access. When this happens, software patches are created that are designed to close those holes. You may have noticed that your operating system updates itself fairly regularly. If this is the case, make sure that you allow it to continue updating.

 

If this never happens, make sure that you have set your options for your operating system to automatically update. Without these updates, your system becomes vulnerable. Also make sure that any other software that you use on your system is regularly updated. The operating system isn’t the only thing that can leave you vulnerable!

 

This brings us to how you use your computer. First, let’s cover downloads. Never download anything from an un-trusted or unknown source. If you purchase a product, you can usually download it without a problem. It is the free downloads that you must concern yourself with.

 

Many free downloads contain viruses and/or spyware. If you don’t read the license agreement that we all agree to, you really don’t know what is being installed on your system. There may be third party software included that you weren’t expecting. Take the time to read that license agreement!

 

Use caution when opening email attachments. Viruses are typically sent out this way. Once you open that attachment, if your virus protection does not catch the virus, you are infected. The only way to prevent this for sure is to not open attachments at all.

 

Of course, since you are doing business on the Internet you will have to open attachments from time to time. In this case, just make sure that you don’t open anything that you don’t expect or anything from people that you do not know and trust.

 

Use a pop-up blocker. Often warnings that you have a problem with your system may pop-up. These warnings almost look like a warning that your operating system is sending you – but they aren’t. Often, they are malicious ads that will install software. Do not even click on the close button or the ‘no’ button on these pop-ups. Instead, just prevent them altogether with a pop-up blocker.

 

If your pop-up blocker does not prevent such messages from popping up, press the Ctrl key and the W key on your keyboard if you are running windows. If you are using a Mac computer, use Command and W.

 

Beware of phishing scams. These are emails that claim that they are from a company that you most likely do business with, such as PayPal or eBay. They will tell you that you need to go to the site, and sign in for some security reason. If you click the link in that email, you are taken to a site that appears to be the site that you do business with, but it isn’t.

 

The people who sent this email to you are attempting to gain access to your account with this email and fake website. Look for the signs. First, they won’t address you by your first name, because they do not know your first name. The site that you do business with will always address you by your name.

 

Second, if you hold your mouse cursor over the link in the email, you will see that it actually goes to a different URL than the one in the email. This is a sure sign that this is a fishing email. Third, businesses such as these would never request you to sign in for security measures.

 

You may also receive emails warning you about viruses. These are usually hoaxes, and should not be believed. They will give you directions to either avoid the virus or to check for the virus. They may tell you to look and see if a certain file is on your computer, and in most cases, it will be – because it is an operating system file. Do not follow these directions. Instead, go to a reputable security site, such as Norton’s site or McAfee’s site and see if the virus is real first.

 

Make sure that you are using anti-spam features that come with your email client. These will keep you from being subjected to many virus hoaxes and phishing scams, as well as prevent you from letting potential spammers, or those who supply spammers with addresses, that you have a live address.

 

Often, spam is not a virus or a hoax. Instead, it has a small html graphic that you can’t see included in it, and when you open the email, the sender is alerted that they have found a live address. By using spam filters, you will actually be cutting way down on the amount of spam that you receive.

 

If you have a network set up, where you connect multiple computers in your home together, you need the right router. Outsiders can take full advantage of your network if you aren’t careful – especially if it is wireless. If you’ve opted to make files and such available to all computers on your network, those who are basically ‘stealing’ your Internet connection also have access to your files.

 

To prevent this, make sure that your router has a built in firewall, that each computer on your network is assigned a dynamic IP address, and that you use the security features that are included with your router and modem to keep outsiders locked out of the network.

 

As you can see, there is a great deal to securing your personal computer. But once you are set up with the right tools, it becomes very painless and very fast. Just as you purchase the right tools for your online business; it is vital that you purchase the right tools for computer protection as well. This is a business expense that is vital.

 

Above all, just use caution and common sense, just as you do in your life. If something doesn’t feel right or sound right, it probably isn’t right. If your computer starts doing weird or unexpected things, don’t assume it is just a glitch, or that your computer has a mind of its own.

 

It could be an indication that a virus, a Trojan, or some type of spyware has made its way to your system, despite your efforts to prevent this from happening. The best thing that you can do at that point is stop what you are doing. Open your task manager and see what processes are running. Make sure that your anti virus and anti spyware are up-to-date and let them scan your system. Find out what caused the weirdness and eliminate it.