Most of the security risks on the internet today are the result of faulty programming and exploitable code. Many developers do not place security high on their list of priorities, as they’re often rushed for deadlines that they must meet in order to finish a paid project. Sadly, most of the security flaws within their programs are not discovered until the flaw has been exploited and the program is the cause of a compromised site or network. Of all the programming types, PHP is the most common, and is said to be the most useful. PHP is also easier to use than any other programming tool, and as the popularity of PHP programming increases, more new programmers are becoming interested in using PHP. This influx of inexperienced programmers designing web applications has resulted in an internet full of unsafe websites.
Web Applications and Security
Web applications enhance the functionality and productivity of websites in a variety of ways, and have therefore become very popular amongst website owners. Unfortunately, website owners don’t realize how much of a risk they’re taking by installing and using these applications. Web applications are installed directly into your control panel, which makes them part of a your administrative interface. If a hacker can gain access to your user interface, they can basically do whatever they’d like with your website, including deface it with questionable or inappropriate content. In fact, some web applications are designed by hackers specifically for this purpose. Before you install a web application you should make sure it is from a reliable source, and only install applications that are absolutely necessary towards the progress of your site. If possible, try to work with professional developers to have your own web applications made.
BruteForce
Another way hackers can gain access to your administrative interface is by sending requests to your website’s server repeatedly in order to receive certain information. Many times this information will be something as simple as a password or nickname. They use the information returned to see if they’re guessing the right password without having to wait for a long time. This method is incorporated into hacking programs called Bruteforce programs. These programs repeatedly input information into your sites login fields, in order to guess a correct username and password.
Since the process is done remotely, the hacker will need to know when they have successfully logged in to the account in order for the program to stop sending information. If they fail to realize they are logged in, then the program will continue sending login information which will reverse their success. Hackers avoid this pitfall by getting your site to send them a line of code when they have successfully penetrated the user area of the site. To prevent this from happening you’ll need to change a few settings in your administrative interface to restrict HTTP requests from unknown sources. You can also limit the amount of requests per a certain time frame, to stop the Bruteforce program from receiving information from your website repeatedly.
February 21st, 2010 at 4:14 am
Indeed,
It was terrible and comprehensible
July 6th, 2010 at 6:26 am
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