Web Hosting Security- Everything You Need to Know

What to Look for in a Web Hosting Service

Network Monitoring

When choosing a web hosting service, always check to see whether they provide constant network monitoring across their servers. It is the web hosting company's responsibility to monitor the network and be able to flag up any surprises, intrusions, or instances of unauthorized access. This helps to keep all users safe.

Strong Technical Support

Any truly secure web hosting service should offer comprehensive, around-the-clock technical support for all customers. If your site is compromised by cybercriminals, a quick response is vital. Ensure that your web hosting team can respond to all issues instantly and effectively.

Comprehensive Data Backup

In the event of a catastrophic breach, all of your valuable data and content could be lost. However, if your web hosting service offers comprehensive and regular backup services, then your data will be kept safe, should the worst occur.

DDoS Prevention

This one is absolutely critical. A Distributed Denial of Service attack occurs when a hacker floods a website's server with requests in over to overload it and render the website non-functional. If your web host can offer DDoS protection capabilities, this threat is reduced.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer encryption protects the link between a website, the user, and the server. This encryption is widely-used and highly effective and should be considered a basic prerequisite for any decent web hosting service provider.

Malware Detection & Removal

Malware is a threat to web servers just as it is to personal devices. When attempting to choose a web hosting service, make sure to ask what safeguards they have in place to detect malware and eliminate it when necessary. Without malware detection and removal capabilities, your website is at risk.

Secure Email Hosting

If you are using a dedicated web hosting service for your email hosting, then this opens up an additional set of considerations. Email servers are also valuable and vulnerable targets for hackers, especially given the high-quality, valuable information that can be accessed from intercepted emails. Any email hosting service should perform comprehensive scanning of all ingoing and outgoing emails as a basic prerequisite. They should also use the latest versions of webmail clients and have up-to-date antivirus software in place.

Up-to-Date Operating Systems

When you launch a website, you will need to decide which operating system you are going to host your website on. You can choose windows web hosting, Linux web hosting, and more. It is important that a web hosting service automatically installs updates and patches, as these are the first line of defense when it comes to cybersecurity.

Strong Physical Security

Even cloud servers are connected to physical infrastructure. The data center where a server is housed can be a tempting and potentially lucrative target for all manner of cybercriminals. A break-in or arson attack at a data center could be devastating for you, your business, and your customers. Besides, natural events such as floods, hurricanes, and forest fires can also pose a threat to an insecure data center. Do not shy away from asking a web hosting provider what physical security measures they have in place.

Web Hosting Security Best Practices

Beyond what a web hosting service provider can do for you, it's worth considering the measures that you can take to keep your web site safe and secure.

Keep it Updated

This is one of the simplest yet arguably most important steps you can take to shore up your cybersecurity. Every update that is offered by a piece of software or an operating system will usually contain security updates that are designed to counter whatever the latest threat is from the world of cybercrime. Neglecting updates leaves you intensely vulnerable.

Secure Password Best Practices

There are many, many things you can do to beef up your password security to prevent malicious actors from gaining access to your network. Obviously, using insecure, basic passwords that can be easily guessed is a no-go. Using a dedicated password manager is highly recommended, as is utilizing two-factor authentication on all devices.

Use Trusted WordPress Plugins

If you are hosting your website via WordPress, then there are additional measures you should be taking to keep yourself secure. When choosing plugins or themes for your WordPress site, always stick to well-known, reviewed, and trusted providers. There have been many, many cases of malicious actors using WordPress plugins to hide malware and trojan horse software. Therefore, extra precaution is highly recommended whenever you download WordPress themes or plugins.

Choose Safe Domain Names

It can be tempting to opt for a top-level domain name (TLD) that looks unique or might enhance your brand. However, with domain names, it is always recommended to play it safe. A verified, popular TLD such as '.com', '.org', or '.io' is vastly preferable to one that is unknown and difficult to verify.

Consider User Access

When setting up your web hosting, you will also be able to establish access rights to various parts of your site. When setting user privileges, always give different users the bare minimum level of access that they need for their purposes. No more.

By following this guide, you can build a website that is safe and secure for yourself and all of your users.