Getting the right web hosting is important if you are just starting out. If you don’t understand things like shared website hosting, website security, SSL certificate etc., it’ll become difficult for you to choose the right web hosting. It’s important that you protect your website from online attacks.
These are some of the expert tips that can help you with secure web hosting:
Tip #1: Avoid Untrustworthy 3rd-Party Apps & Sanitize Input Data
Remember that if you have a database backend, it becomes necessary that you understand and trust the code that’s behind your website. Erik Soroka, Operation manager at InMotion hosting mentioned that it’s important that you very the coded and check how it works, whether it’s secure or not. Other than that, you have to check whether it’s stable or not.
You’ll have to check whether your code is similar to what’s being offered to the user on the front end.
Tip #2: Follow Best Practices for JavaScript Encoding
XSS attacks on your website can be protected with the help of encoding and sanitizing the input field of your website, this applies only if you use JavaScript on your website.
Another method is to use an open-source library that can also help prevent XSS attacks, such as PHP AntiXSS, xssprotect, or HTML Purifier.
Tip #3: Always Check Request Validity
For every user session, you can check the validity of the requests. This can be done with the help pf a random challenge token. A challenge token will help you check whether the requests are coming from the user itself or they are coming from somewhere else such as an attacker.
Tip #4: Implement Throttling for Requests and Password Complexity
One of the simplest methods hackers attack a website for a hosting account is with Brute Force attack. This is why it is important to automatically lock your accounts and check whether the passwords are complex enough or not. You can also implement some request throttling to enhance this a bit.
It’s important that you change your password now and then since if you keep using the same old password, there’s a possibility that once it’s cracked, it compromises your security on other platforms as well.
If you do rotate though passwords, it should only be known to you. Google also suggests that you should create a unique password every time you create a password anywhere. If you want more security, you can utilise two-step verification.
Tip #5: Update Any and All Software Regularly
If you use CMS or other application on your website, then it’s really important that you update these applications on a regular basis. Look out for patches as well, sometimes there are optional updates that you might miss.
Tip #6: Be Mindful of Error Reporting
It’s important that you turn off error reporting if you are not the one developing or debugging the website. This is important since these error messages can reveal information that can lead to attacks. Error messages like failed login etc can reveal if the user exists or not if the right method is not used.
Tip #7: Use the Most Secure Web Hosting Provider You Can Find
This is one of the most important tips, always go for a hosting provider that provides security as well. If you don’t need a lot of space, you can also go with unlimited shared hosting. If you have the right hosting, your site will stay protected as the best hosting comes with security features as well. Consult with your provider before you go ahead with the purchase.
