Google is continuing their #NoHacked Campaign to educate webmasters on how to protect websites from getting hacked. Webmasters can follow the #NoHacked on Twitter and Google+ to get the advance tips on website security. Google is going to share their hacking insights on official blog every Monday throughout the month. They are also going to share actionable tips on every Wednesday. The company has also arranged a Hangout on Air about Security on 26th August where you can ask your security concerns to the Google Experts. Google has shared some basic tips to make your website secure on their official blog to start the campaign. Here is what Google suggest to have prior security to your online space.
It is most obvious thing to have strong password to protect your account being hacked. The general practice is to have Letters, Numbers and Special Characters in password to make it strong. It is true, but there is another factor that is important according to Google is the length of your password. The longer your password is, the harder it is to break. There are many online services that indicate the strength of your password. You can check your password strength from such services.
It is also advisable not to use the same password for all your accounts. That increases the chances of your password getting leaked. Google strongly recommends using 2-Factor Authentication if your account offers. It significantly improves the account security system and save you from varied hacking attacks.
Insecure and Outdated software are the most common reasons for website getting hacked. Hackers take the advantage of the non-operational versions of the software to crack the system. That is why it is very important to keep your software updated. If you are using any CMS (Content Management System) for your website, make sure you have the latest version installed. Especially if there is any update to patch security holes in software, you just can’t miss those updates. Hackers are getting smarter nowadays, that’s why it is important your all plug-ins and add-ons updated with the latest version in your CMS.
Server side security is an essential element to consider while choosing Hosting provider for your website. Google strongly recommends checking the security policies of your Hosting provider. You can research online about the security services offered by the Hosting provider to make sure you host your domain with the right people. If you are controlling your own server or using Virtual Private Server (VPS), make sure you are well prepared to handle the complex server side security issues. If not, it is better to take support from the professionals.
It is important to have tools that can help you to identify the security concerns with your domain. Google Search Console is the way to direct get in touch with the Google and interact in case of any issue accrued. Google will notify webmasters via private message if they will find any intermittent instance while crawling the website. You can also set up Google Alert for any suspicious results for your website. “For example, if you run a site selling pet accessories called www.example.com, you can set up an alert for [site:example.com cheap software] to alert you if any hacked content about cheap software suddenly starts appearing on your site.”. You can also setup multiple alerts for different spammy terms.
So, these are the four basic security checks that Google strongly recommends to check to prevent your website being hacked. They are going to share more tips and insights about website security in coming weeks. We will keep you updated with the latest insights from Google. Till then you can follow #NoHacked on Twitter and Google+ to get the latest updates.
