Hackers are any webmaster’s worst nightmare and it is impossible to completely get rid of them. Professional hackers see every website as penetrable; all they have to do is find out a loophole in the coding. These hacked websites can lead to information loss which is one of the most distressing things that can happen to any webmaster. Nowadays hacking has become the biggest threat that companies have to face and for that matter they are investing most of the resources in trying to protect their systems by coming up with new ways to get rid of hackers. Hacking has even resulted in huge losses of money as professional hackers are now able to break the banking system and easily launder money from it. Listed below are a few ways that you can adapt to protect your system from getting hacked easily.
1. Back up Site
The moment you get a hunch that your site is hacked, the first thing that you need to do is create a backup for your website. Backups are very important as they help you in every step that you take towards the recovery process. In case of hacking you have to go through clean up processes which increase the chance of you losing vital information and for that you need to have a proper backup for all the important files. The best backup that you can create is by using the HTML language.
2. Documenting Evidence
Hackers mostly break the system and leave some clues behind. Whenever you witness some unusual activity make sure that you document it right away as it will help you investigate the whole matter later on. Documenting this is very easy, all you need to do is make a few notes and take some screenshots of whatever unusual activity you witness. It will also help you in learning more about your website security’s weak points because in some cases you get to know how the hacker managed to hack your website.
3. Contact Web Hosting Provider
Web hosting providers play a major role in regaining control of the hacked website because they have full record of all your browsing and they can find those files from their system which the hacker used while attacking your website. Make sure that you collect all the information that may be useful for your web hosting provider, even the screenshots and notes that you have collected for your own benefit. Also write in detail how you think the hacker might have penetrated the system because even if that is not the cause, knowing about it will help the web hosting provider use a different approach, ultimately saving a lot of time.
4. Review your System from Time to Time
Hacking can be extremely dangerous as it can take down an entire firm within a matter of few minutes so it is essential to keep track of where your system lies. You need to be well aware of what your company is using for protection and investing on new firewalls isn’t a bad idea. You should keep looking for weak points in your system and try to come up with new ways to protect it. This surveillance is most important when you have just been attacked because even if you survive the attack, it has made the hacker more informed about your system. So, keeping an eye out for the hacker enables you to deal with any attack that might be just around the corner.
5. Scanning
Hackers tend to use viruses and malware to infect your system and get the information they want. Even if they don’t use these, sometimes they leave behind viruses or malware on your website that can be extremely harmful for your system. So, make sure that you take care of these viruses by using proper anti-virus and anti-malware software and clean up all the floppy disks, data carriers, mobile and any other device which may be linked to the system in any way.
Hacking has been adapted as a profession by people these days which has made them even more skilled at what they do. However, there also exists ethical hacking which is used for websites to find if there are any weak points that need to be taken care of.
Author’s Bio: This article is written by James Colin who is a data analyst and ethical hacker at ipage review. He has previously helped many known bloggers and companies protect themselves from hackers and have proved to be of great help on ipage review guide as well.