How to secure your website: 6 strategies to ensure online safety

1. Keep viruses and dangerous code out of the website

When a website becomes infected with malicious code or is attacked by a virus, it may experience the following problems:

• Significant traffic loss
• Significant Index page loss
• Other links on the website
• Spam on the website

Businesses can employ the following precautions to keep viruses and malicious code off their websites:

Set up a malware scanner: Make sure websites and servers and devices are always scanned for malware continuously.

Design of web space is easy to understand and systematic: A neat and systematic web space will help operators have an overview and easily identify outdated applications. These applications are the opening for hackers to attack.

In case the problem is too serious, and beyond the scope of the business, please contact the website security unit for them to check and promptly offer a timely solution.

2. Anti-DDoS website

DDoS is a form of distributed denial of service attack that results in users being unable to use or connect to a service using the internet. Hackers often perform DDoS attacks by taking control of unprotected computers and installing malware on them. Hackers use hundreds of thousands of these compromised computers to target a website or a web application, flooding the target with massive traffic and causing inaccessibility.

To avoid DDoS, you can monitor the following ways:

• Invest in good hardware Investing in high-quality hardware can help detect surprise attacks and even stop them. Network hardware includes all components that help transmit data on the network including the Router, cable to connect the system, network switch, and network card. For a small business owner or website administrator, it is very difficult to invest in hardware because of the high installation costs, management costs, internal resources, etc. Businesses can use one external hosting provider.
• Hire a DDoS mitigation service Another technique to prevent attacks is to hire a service that helps mitigate DDoS. The way to prevent this attack is to route all incoming traffic through a filter. Only then can the actual traffic reach the website or application.
• Eliminate site vulnerabilities The best way to prevent DDoS attacks is to remove all vulnerabilities on the website. A website backed by a strong network and good hosting is less likely to fall victim to a DDoS attack.
• Use web application firewall and CDN Web application firewalls are a good way to combat DDoS for websites, especially large enterprises. Firewalls can detect and prevent DDoS attacks by monitoring unusual traffic and blocking them. In addition, a content delivery network (CDN) can balance the loads on a website, by distributing them on different servers around the globe. Then it will be difficult for hackers to launch DDoS attacks.
• Increase bandwidth capacity and server capacity The main reason a website is suddenly shut down or offline is that it cannot handle the traffic caused by DDoS attacks. Therefore, buying more bandwidth and increasing website server capacity is a good way to reduce the impact of DDoS attacks. In addition, buying more bandwidth and increasing capacity also helps to expand the business as your website can serve more customers and users.

3. Install SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate for website SSL is the standard of secure technology, encrypted communication between the Web Server and the browser. This standard works and ensures that the data transmitted between the server and the user's browser is private and complete. SSL is also the current security standard for millions of websites around the world, it protects data transmitted in a safe internet environment. SSL ensures that all data transmitted between web servers and browsers remain private.

4. Secure the webmaster account and limit admin rights

4.1 Webmaster account security

• Set administrator password Passwords that are too simple will create conditions for hackers to easily detect passwords, especially with passwords to access the website administration section, which requires strong passwords to avoid creating vulnerabilities. A strong password needs to have basic criteria including letters, numbers, and special characters integrated. Besides, you should not use the same password with many different accounts such as email, or bank account ... and change it periodically. In the event someone breaks in and steals the passwords, using strong passwords can help limit the damage because they can be difficult to decipher.
• Limit the number of times to enter the password To prevent the other party from detecting the password, you should install a login lock feature when someone logs in incorrectly more than 5 times. At that time, it is very difficult for hackers to detect the website admin password.
• Change the admin page login URL Another way to prevent hackers from detecting passwords is to change the login address on the website administration page. Hackers will have more trouble when you change the login address to be different from the default one.
• Install 2-step login (2FA) feature You can also set up a two-factor password for all your online tools: Email accounts, hosting accounts, website admin accounts, etc. to increase the security of your account.

4.2 Limiting reasonable administrative rights

Not every website needs a few people to manage. Some websites require the number of administrators up to hundreds of people to work together to build. They participate in different roles from content to code. This will create many problems. What businesses need to do is to properly decentralize authority so that those involved in the administration can only edit the right information according to their job roles. Different accounts should be limited in permissions and handled for different purposes to ensure that members do not use the full authority of the websites causing general chaos.

5. Periodic website database backup

Website database backup is a form of copying that saves all data in the server, computer, or server, ... or on any device capable of storing and remembering data. . The storage in one or more devices is to protect website data, avoid data loss, financial loss, business reputation and is also a backup data source for use when necessary. Website data includes 2 parts Database and Files. The first part (Database) stores articles, customer information, products, services, email, and phone, ... and File is the place to store images, mp3, videos, and source code files.

There are some basic ways of backing up data today:

• Backup data by software Using the features and tools to help backup the website is done. Automatic backups are performed for all data as required by each business. At that time, saving all necessary data is done quickly and efficiently as required.
• Manual data backup Backing up manually is quite complicated, requiring knowledge and careful implementation to avoid making unexpected mistakes. In this method, we will perform a direct backup of the data of the main device's website to another specific device. Storage is based on traffic, as well as specific security requirements. It can be a hard drive, VPS, server, USB, etc.
• Database backup For normal website data, it will be stored inside a database management system such as MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite, etc. For each database management system, there will be full functions allowed. The database backup process is done through exporting data files and will usually be in the form of .sql extension. At that time, saving data files in online storage services, PC, cloud, etc. can be done easily. In addition, the current WordPress hosting provides a quick and simple backup support tool.
• Backup source code (source code) The main source code of a website is the files that contain the code that forms the website. Can fully host the new website to always work well, take the initiative in handling any unexpected problems that arise. Performing a backup needs to follow the correct procedure according to the steps below: Step 1: Log in to your hosting admin account. Step 2: Go to the root directory containing the website source code, and proceed to dodge the entire file into a compressed file in the form of .zip, .rar, or .gzip. Step 3: In this step, we proceed to download the compressed file and store it on Google Drive, PC or the cloud, Dropbox, etc. For compressed files that are stored when needing to be recovered, uploading the file to the root directory and decompressing it is possible to have enough data to use when needed.

6. Update the latest patch for the website

Having to update the website continuously causes many obstacles for the admin team. However, this is necessary work. The reason is that these updates contain important security patches. When a patch is released, it also means that the manufacturer has discovered that the software has a vulnerability that can be attacked. Taking advantage of the above vulnerabilities, hackers can perform attacks to take control of personal computers, denial of service attacks, and increase system access rights. Failure to update these patches promptly also means that your business website can be hacked at any time. So updating patches regularly is one of the simple but very useful ways to secure your website.

Above are 6 common website security ways to help your business website be much more optimized. But to ensure the correct and sufficient implementation of security processes for the website, there are still many obstacles and challenges. These can be barriers to the cost of installing infrastructure for a web server to fight DDoS, management costs, and human resources to protect the website against threats of attacks on website vulnerabilities,... Therefore, Using website security services from reputable providers is a trend these days. However, there are many service providers with different quality and customer care policies available in the market, and for businesses to choose a good supplier is not easy. In many countries and even in Vietnam, the name VNIS security platform has become quite familiar to IT managers in many fields such as finance-banking, logistics, and e-commerce,...

The best method for businesses to maintain brand reputation, safeguard consumers, and foster user trust in brands is to prevent attacks on website security flaws. VNIS offers cutting-edge and efficient technological solutions to assist safeguard commercial websites.

Businesses may safeguard their systems, data, and users against security concerns and hacker attacks on corporate websites with the help of VNIS' Cloud WAF firewall. Traditional established protocols and specialized WAF solutions (On-premise) cannot keep up with the evolving global internet. To protect your website from application-layer threats, VNIS's Cloud WAF is a comprehensive and adaptable service with sophisticated CRS (Core Rule Set) management features. The solution is highly scalable and always up to date to guard against the latest security flaws damaging your website. Additionally, VNIS incorporates AI Load Balancing and Multi CDN technology with a thorough set of firewall rules to limit typical attack techniques like SQL Injection and XSS and prohibit the execution of dangerous code-containing files. Additionally, all dangers associated with OWASP vulnerabilities are promptly discovered and mitigated thanks to the Cloud WAF system and SOC centers located in numerous nations, putting an end to all security worries for enterprises.

Register for a free trial right away to get expert help on problems like website security, user safety, and brand reputation, or call the hotline at (028) 7306 8789.