Negatives of the Net
Whilst the Internet is a great place to find unlimited information on just about anything, it’s not all roses, and many dangers are waiting to trap the unwary.
For example; if you’re going to host your own website and domain, securing your site isn’t just choosing the right hosting provider. It’s important to know that a website host only provides you with space to upload your content to. All security considerations remain with you.
Website hackers are plentiful, and they’ll take down or take over any unsecured site or blog just for fun or to try and extort money from you to return control of your site back to you. Don’t expect your WebHost to be much help in this regard because unless you specifically pay them to look after your security for you, they won’t be interested in helping you recover from any sort of attack.
Some basic things to remember:
Write (or at least keep a copy of) all of your content offline.
Don’t rely on just one backup. You should have a minimum of two, but the more, the better and these can be scheduled to happen automatically.
Whatever software package you’re using to create and maintain your site, don’t leave the default administrator login name. I.e., For sites created using the free WordPress site builder, the default login is simply ‘admin’ and the first thing hackers will try.
Also, make sure you regularly check to ensure the software used to create your site is up to date. New releases fix recently discovered security flaws so it essential to always be using the latest version.
Don’t forget about securing down the computer that you work on as well. Remember that security is only as good as the weakest point in the link. You can secure your website with the latest and greatest security package and software, but if an authorised computer is breached, then the website can automatically become vulnerable as soon as you’re connected online with the breached computer.
At a minimum for basic computer safety, I can recommend the following from personal experience;
A trustworthy Antimalware software package like Malwarebytes Premium that will run alongside and co-exist with a good Antivirus (AV) software package like Avast Premium Security.
Windows 10 comes with a built-in AV called Microsoft Defender which should be used as a minimum; however, the negative of that is you will be relying on one of the most targeted AV’s available in the world. A paid trusted antivirus is, in my opinion, a far better option.
A word here about Macintosh machine users: many still believe they’re safe if they use a MAC and that viruses are rare. That is a myth and should take the same advice given for Windows users above. Enough said – fair warning.
