7 Basic Web Security Tips

I think it’s safe to say that we all know that the internet has its dark side as well as all the wonderful aspect it brings to our lives. With viruses, hackers, script kiddies, worms, identity theft to name just a few of the less enjoyable offerings of the internet, making sure you’ve covered all the basic web security tasks is now a business must rather than an over precaution.

Most of the security tips here you’ll probably know, but I wanted to post them just in case you had missed any off because when things are hectic running our businesses sometimes it’s easy to miss the odd thing so please check out these tips so I don’t have to worry about you

Tip #1.

Install antivirus and firewall software on every computer you have, even if it’s not connected to the internet because it can still get infected from CD-ROM, USB sticks etc. There are many to choose from with some of the best being:

AVG.com – paid solutions and free solution – the free link is: http://free.avg.com
Norton.com – paid solution
McAfee.com – paid solution
PandaSecurity.com – paid solution

For more choice you can always Google “antivirus and firewall software”

Tip #2

Always have a password on your computer start up and ideally set your screensaver to ask for the password after you get back from being away from your computer.

Tip #3

Keep your software up to date, not just Windows but other software you may have both on your local computers and also on your online systems, eg your server operating system, any 3rd party application such as WordPress etc. Set an update check schedule of monthly, or even better weekly to ensure you have the latest versions so any bugs or security holes are closed off.

Tip #4

Be very careful when receiving emails that contain an attachment, if in doubt do not open. Also be aware of any emails from banks or known websites as they could be faked trying to gain your details. This is called phishing and spammers often send out millions of emails, for example, it could be an email from Facebook asking you to click on the link to confirm something or your account will be deleted. Although the link looks like Facebook and when you visit the site looks like Facebook, it is in fact another site sit up by criminals copying the look and feel of Facebook that has been designed specifically to steal your username and password. If you are ever in doubt, the best thing to do is to go to your web browser and type in the site address manually so you know you are heading to the real website and not a criminal copy.

Tip #5

When using passwords always us a strong password and have different passwords for everything you use. Yes this can be a pain but better safe than sorry. Personally I have a small USB memory stick on my car keys which is password protected with a strong password that contains a database of all my other strong passwords. This way I only have to remember one password and this reduces the pain factor. By strong password I mean something like this:  7hg%%6snd{{]12 . It’s also worth changing your passwords regularly for maximum security.

www.strongpasswordgenerator.com – this has a great strong password generator script.

Tip #6

When inputting sensitive data on a web site always ensure that the page is encrypted. To check this the site should start with https and not http, if it does start with https check the lock icon on your browser and double click it that to see if it’s valid. If it’s not, do not enter anything you don’t wish the world to potentially see as the page is not secure.

Tip #7

Not a security tip but just in case something nasty gets through your security protection, always remember to back up regularly. Ask yourself, if every computer was infected and had to be formatted what would I need to be able to recover everything and do it fast. Then sit down and write out your strategy and do it. It’s all too easy to put it off when you’re busy running your business but please take the time to protect yourself, leaving yourself open is not worth the risk.