Introduction

There are a lot of websites on the internet—over 1.7 billion! Each one is stored on something called a web server. Sometimes, many websites share one server. But if one of those websites gets hacked, it could affect all the others. That’s why it’s really important for the companies that run these servers to keep them safe from hackers. These companies often store important information from other businesses, so they’re a big target for hackers. To help these companies, we’ve made a list of important things they should do to keep everything safe. This article talks about:

Shared, Dedicated, and Managed Hosting: What’s the Difference?

Web hosting comes in different types, like shared, dedicated, and managed. Each type has its own way of working and affects how secure your website is.

Shared hosting is like sharing a house with roommates. Many websites share the same server, which is like the house. It’s the cheapest option because you’re splitting the cost with others. But if one website has a problem, like getting hacked, it can affect everyone else on the same server. So, it’s important for the hosting company to have strong security measures in place to protect all the websites.

Dedicated hosting is like having your own house. You don’t share the server with anyone else. This means you have more control over your website and its security. But if you don’t know much about the company, you might accidentally make your website vulnerable to attacks. For example, if you set up your email system wrong, it could get blacklisted for sending spam, which affects your reputation.

Managed hosting is like renting a fully serviced apartment. The hosting company takes care of everything for you, including security. They have experts who make sure your website stays safe from attacks. This is the safest option because you don’t have to worry about security yourself. However, it can be more expensive because you’re paying for the extra service and expertise provided by the hosting company’s staff.

1. Securing Web Hosting Servers

In any place where websites are stored, the people who run the place need to make sure it’s safe. Making sure a web server is safe is important because it keeps the stuff of the people who run the place safe and also protects the information of the people who use the websites stored there. Businesses that use these places to host their websites trust them to keep their information safe and their websites working well. If the server gets hacked, it could lead to losing information, the website not working, and losing money. This can damage the reputation and income of the people who run the place. So, by following some simple rules, they can make sure their servers are safer and the risk of hacking is reduced.

2. Setting Up And Adjusting A Web Application Firewall

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is like a security guard for websites. It stops many common attacks that come through web forms. It’s different from a regular firewall you might have on your computer because it works in a special way.

Think of it as a gatekeeper that checks every visitor before they can access the website. It’s placed in front of the website, like a protective shield. If someone tries to do something suspicious, like sending strange messages, the WAF blocks them from getting through.

The WAF is really smart. It looks at the traffic coming to the website and stops anything that seems fishy. It’s especially good at catching tricky attacks, like fake forms or sneaky codes.

With a WAF, website hosts can protect against different kinds of attacks, like tricking websites into doing things they shouldn’t or trying to mess with the website’s database. For example, if someone tries to put in a bad code through a website’s contact form, the WAF will spot it and say, “Nope, not allowed!”

A good WAF doesn’t just stop attacks. It also keeps track of all the bad stuff it stops. This way, the website owner knows if there’s any trouble and can fix it quickly. It’s like having a superhero guard for your website, keeping it safe from online troublemakers!

3. Stay Online Safely: DDoS Protection for Websites

Protecting against DDoS attacks is a big challenge for web hosts. These attacks can come from lots of different places all over the world. Web hosts can’t just block all traffic because it might affect their customers’ websites. But figuring out which traffic is bad and which is good needs the right tools and keeping an eye on things.

Installing tools that watch for and stop DDoS attacks is really important. Attackers don’t give any warning before launching an attack, so having the right tools is crucial to stop it before it messes up everyone’s websites.

Good tools will let the admins know when there’s an attack happening, stop the attack, and make sure the websites don’t crash or run out of resources. It’s like having a security guard for your website, ready to stop any troublemakers before they cause any harm!

4. Stay Safe Online: Make the Switch from FTP to SFTP

FTP sends data without any protection, making it easy for hackers to spy on or steal your information. Instead of using FTP, which puts your data at risk of being intercepted by cybercriminals, switch to SFTP. SFTP encrypts your files, keeping them safe from prying eyes while they’re being transferred. It’s like sending your files in a locked box instead of on a postcard for everyone to see. So, to keep your data safe, choose SFTP over FTP when transferring files.

5. Keep Your Data Safe: Backing Up Data on Servers

Sometimes, website owners make mistakes and need to go back to an earlier version of their site. They trust their web hosting company to keep backups of their site for about a month. These backups act like a safety net in case something bad happens, like if hackers attack the server. For instance, if hackers infect the server with harmful software, backups can restore the site to how it was before the attack. It’s like having a spare key to unlock your house if you accidentally lock yourself out.

6. Boost Security: Implementing IP Whitelisting for Maintenance

When you have a website, there are certain places only specific computers should be allowed to access, like the control panel (cPanel) where you manage your site. Instead of letting anyone in from any computer, it’s better to create a list of approved computers called whitelisting. This means only the computers on the list can get in. It’s like having a guest list for a party – only those invited can come in.

The same idea applies to the people who manage the servers where websites are stored. They should also create a list of approved computers, called whitelisting, for accessing the server remotely using something called SSH. This helps keep everything secure and only allows trusted computers to make changes.

7. Boost Website Security with SSL/TLS Connections

It’s important to keep your connection to websites secure. When you connect to a website, especially from public Wi-Fi, your information could be stolen by hackers. But if the connection is encrypted, it’s like putting your information in a locked box, so nobody can see it except you and the website. This keeps your data safe from sneaky hackers trying to steal it.

8. Boosting Hosting Resources: Removing Applications Not in Use

When you install a hosting application, such as Apache, on a Linux server, it comes with default settings and sometimes additional plugins or third-party applications. These extra applications may have been included for convenience or added functionality, but they also pose potential risks.

Each additional application increases the attack surface of the server, meaning there are more entry points for hackers to exploit. Even if an application is well-coded initially, it can still contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. Furthermore, if these applications are not regularly updated with security patches, they may become even more vulnerable over time.

To mitigate these risks, it’s essential to carefully evaluate and remove any applications that are not necessary for hosting customer sites. By reducing the number of applications installed on the server, you minimize the potential avenues for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities. This helps to strengthen the overall security posture of the server and reduces the likelihood of a successful cyberattack.

Regularly auditing the server for unused or unnecessary applications should be part of your security best practices. By maintaining a lean and focused set of applications, you can streamline server management, reduce maintenance overhead, and improve overall system performance.

9. Enhance Security: Implementing Forced Password Changes

Regularly changing passwords is crucial for keeping accounts safe from hackers. Imagine if you had a key to your house that you used every day for years without changing it. Eventually, someone could copy that key and gain access to your house whenever they wanted, without you even knowing.

Similarly, if users keep the same password for a long time, it becomes like the key to their online accounts. Hackers could steal the password and use it to access the account indefinitely, potentially causing a lot of damage. This is especially risky for users who have high-level access, as their accounts contain sensitive information and have more permissions.

To prevent this, it’s important to enforce regular password changes. By requiring users to change their passwords every so often, such as every 30 days, the window of opportunity for hackers is significantly reduced. Even if a hacker manages to steal a password, they only have a limited amount of time to use it before it becomes invalid.

Forcing password changes not only helps protect individual accounts but also strengthens overall cybersecurity. It’s like regularly changing the locks on your doors to keep your home safe from intruders. By making it harder for hackers to gain access, we can better safeguard our online accounts and personal information.

10. Boost Website Security: Setting Up HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)

“SSL/TLS makes sure your website is secure by encrypting data, but it doesn’t protect everything. Without extra measures, things like cookies could still be at risk, especially if your site allows both secure (HTTPS) and unsecured (HTTP) connections.

That’s where HSTS comes in. It’s like a safety guard for your website. When you set up the HSTS header to ‘Strict-Transport-Security’, it tells web browsers to only use secure connections (HTTPS). This means all data, including cookies, is encrypted, making it harder for hackers to steal information.

But remember, HSTS settings are applied to the whole server, not just one website. So, it’s up to the server administrators to make sure it’s configured properly for all sites hosted on it.”

Conclusion

Keeping lots of websites safe from cyberattacks is a big challenge, but having strong security measures in place can make a huge difference. By following these ten best practices, you can ensure that your customers’ data remains secure and prevent any major cybersecurity incidents that could cause downtime and affect your business’s revenue.

But if you really want to step up your website security game, consider using Imunify360. It’s like having a supercharged security guard for your servers. Imunify360 is a comprehensive security suite that combines different tools like antivirus, firewall, web application firewall (WAF), and more, all working together seamlessly. It also includes features like the PHP security layer, patch management, and domain reputation monitoring. And the best part? It’s designed with an easy-to-use interface and advanced automation, so you can focus on your business while it takes care of keeping your servers safe.

Give Imunify360 a try for free for 14 days, and you’ll start seeing the results in just one week. It’s a smart investment in the security of your websites and the protection of your customer’s sensitive data.