The search for a good web hosting company can be very confusing, especially with the ever increasing selection. Each company promises they are the best, so who do you believe? Before you can make your decision, you should know that all features are irrelevant unless the web hosting service offers top notch security. Before deciding on a web host you’ll want to make sure they are capable of keeping your website secure. The following terms will help you make your decision by letting you know what you should be looking for.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

SSL is an encryption protocol that keeps all of your website’s communications, both incoming and outgoing, secure from intruders. The incoming information ( credit card numbers, addresses, emails) is the most sensitive information and can be used by hackers to commit fraud with your customers’ information. For this reason SSL is one of the most important security features, and most online shoppers will not buy products or services form you if you do not have an SSL certificate posted on your website.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

FTP is a network security protocol that facilitates file transfer on both internal and external networks.  FTP is an important security feature because it gives the webmaster the ability to manage site accessibility and send files securely.

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

SFTP is a stronger version of FTP, offering more of a guarantee than standard FTP by using a secure shell to transfer data over the internet and between networked computers. Serious business owners will want to make sure their web host offers this as part of their security package.

Firewall

Nearly every web host is protected by a firewall of some sort, however not all web hosts give the end-user access to the administrative functions of the firewall. If you are serious about the security of your website, then you will choose a host that grants customer access to the configuration of their site’s firewall.

Spam Filter

You may think spam is just a nuisance, however there are many hackers that use spam to plant nasty viruses on your computer. Among the bad things that can happen because of simple spam is phishing (password stealing), and even data loss caused by malicious software. Spam not only threatens the security of your website and the safety of your computer, it also consumes plenty of bandwidth and it clutters your inbox with unwanted messages. A spam filter will solve nearly all of the potential problems that are caused by spam.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

A DDoS attack is very well know yet common attack executed by a hacker with access to multiple compromised computers. This attack is particularly dangerous because it can comprise an entire network of computers in short period of time.  Every website on the server, including yours will be affected detrimentally. In fact it is more than likely that the end-users will be affected the most by this type of attack. It is vital that you make sure your web hosting service has protection measures in place to prevent this kind of attack.

It seems as if everyday, a handful of new companies emerge onto the web hosting scene.  These newcomers have many challenges on their hands.  Not only must they find ways to provide customers with a quality service, but also keep them protected against the wide ranging list of security threats.   Any personal or business website is susceptible to being compromised by hackers seeking confidential information such as login credentials, account numbers, employee records, personal data and other valuable details.  Because all it takes is one successful breach to open up the doors of chaos, it is vital that website owners employ the most efficient security mechanisms and practices on a regular basis.

What Makes Web Hosting Such a Big Target?

Several reports reveal that the web hosting industry is among the biggest targets of internet hackers.  Why?  The answer is quite simple – the potential of a substantial payday.  The market is compromised of thousands of companies that provide services to millions of customers.  The hosting industry is at the forefront of e-commerce with monetary transactions being made everyday.  The robust networks and high-powered web servers used to enable internet access handle massive amounts of sensitive financial and personal information.  Naturally, these infrastructures are a prime target of criminals looking to thieve riches off the efforts of someone else.  If your website deals in mission-critical functions, meaning it is the way you survive and make a living, then security should be of paramount importance.  And while there are several measures you can take to keep your site protected, investing in a secure hosting solution is imperative as the host is in much better position to ensure security.

In recent times, a large number of companies have ramped up their efforts to help keep the hosting business protected from malware, DDoS attacks, SQL injection and other methods hackers use to perform their malicious deeds.  Numerous vendors who distribute the open-source Linux operating system are working in conjunction with other software and hardware companies to ensure their OS is protected against security threats.  Likewise, Microsoft, Apple and companies who distribute proprietary solutions are working diligently to support similar efforts.

Even though the number of security solutions providers seems to be increasing as well, hosting providers need to be aware that not all of these vendors can be trusted.  More and more, we are seeing rogue companies run by hackers and internet criminals who claim to have the solution for a great price, but are doing nothing but contributing to the problem.  Because of this, new hosts must be overly cautious in regard to what vendors are actually supplying.

Obtaining a Comfortably Secure Environment

Some website owners have many specialities but for most, security is not one of them.  While this is understandable, there is absolutely no excuse for a professional web hosting provider, new or established, to slack off in security to the point where all parties involved are left vulnerable.  Your hosting provider should indeed be an expert in this field, equipped with the knowledge and manpower needed to stay on top of security procedures and ensure the protection of your data.  If you have concerns regarding your current hosting arrangement, it might be time to consider a more secure solution.

What most webmasters and hosting customers do not understand is that no website is ever 100% secure.  And while there are dangers seemingly lurking at every corner, there are also many ways to minimize the risk of being a victim.

Choose a Secure Web Hosting Solution

One of the most effective ways to ensure the security of your website is to purchase service from a reliable hosting company.  If the provider’s servers are compromised, then so is your website.  Therefore, you need to keep your eyes peeled for a specific set of security features that protect your site against the arsenal of roaming threats.  Some to look out for include:

- Anti-virus protection

- Spam filtering

- SSH (Secure Sockets Layer)

- Firewalls

- Intrusion detection

- DDoS protection

Get Your Coding Together

If your site utilizes scripts that process global variables such as POST and GET data forms or predefined variables like HTTP_USER_AGENT or HTTP_REFERER, you are at the risk of being compromised via exploits that inject malicious codes through these variables.  Validation methods are only as secure or insecure as you make them.  However, even if you apply secure validation of any server-side programming language to incoming data, the parser can still be exploited by a low-level language or binary code.  To reduce the probability of such instances, take the following factors in mind when coding your site:

- Only use clean, well supported commercial or open-source technologies for server-side scripting

- Stay current with all the industry recommended data validation functions and techniques

- Avoid the use of unnecessary global variables

- Never assume that your visitors will not try to submit malicious data to your site

- Assign unique login credentials to individual users when appropriate

- Organize your site into multiple directories and access levels

- Don’t provide users with no more access than they need

If Your Site is Compromised

The simple fact that your site can be accessed on the World Wide Web makes it vulnerable to security threats.  If you only run a small website, there is a great chance that you will never cross paths with a hacker or anyone else looking to initiate your downfall.  On the other hand, if your site is very popular, the chance of meeting up with cyber villains goes up considerably.  For this reason, you should have an action plan in place, something you can rely on should your website security be breached.  Doing so will allow you to respond quicker in the time of a crisis, take care of the exploited issues and ultimately reduce the likelihood of suffering the same ill fate.

Conclusion

The minute your site goes live on the web, it instantly becomes the target of hackers, malicious software writers, con artists and identity thieves.  Knowing that powerful corporations have been compromised should give you all the motivation to take proactive measures with your website.  This can be done by investing in a secure hosting solution, making use of the available security mechanisms and arming yourself with knowledge about the latest security threats.

There are many aspects that goes into choosing a web hosting service and security is one you need to make a priority.  Threats are abound on the web and these exploits qualify as something every hosting provider and customer should be concerned about. Let’s discuss why security is such a major issue in the hosting industry and what you can do to make sure your website is protected.

Malicious Software

Numerous threats pose a direct risk to web hosting providers servers and networks. One of the most dangerous of all is a family of harmful applications known as malware.  A combination of the terms malicious and software, malware comes in many different forms and all can inflict major damage.  Though far more than a simple computer, a server is vulnerable to the same threats.  Before purchasing a hosting package, make sure your prospective host is equipped with technologies that defend against malware types such as viruses, Trojans, spyware and nasty, network disrupting worms.  If these malicious critters are able to infect the server, every piece of data on that machine can be compromised, your site included.

Bot Rings

Another huge problem faced by hosting networks is the dreaded DDoS attack, an exploit typically employed by criminals involved in botnets.  Short for Distributed Denial of Service, these attacks work by flooding the network with requests.  Once the network is flooded, it slows down dramatically until legitimate traffic is no longer able to pass. The DDOS attack is one of the oldest exploits around and still one of the most difficult to prevent.  This attack involves a hacker compromising a single server and making that unit the master slave.  The machine is then instructed to seek out other vulnerable servers, enslaving them to participate in the inevitable launch on a single targeted computer.  With so many requests originating from so many hosts, the unprotected network doesn’t have a chance.  A web host that doesn’t take DDoS attacks into account is leaving the network and all of its customers susceptible to a disaster.

Credit Card Fraud

Everyday, millions of transactions are conducted over the internet as e-commerce is thriving in numerous countries.  Of course the hackers are aware of this and desperately trying to get their hands on every dollar they possibly can.  The web can be a dangerous place and vulnerable websites make up some of the biggest targets.  Hackers are on the prowl, equipped with highly advanced tools and just waiting for you to make a mistake.  All they need for you to do is set up an online store and open the doors without the proper security applied.  As soon as customers attempt to make a purchase, their credit card details are stolen and this opens a world of trouble.  Leaving the customer vulnerable to such exploits could result in a huge blemish on your credibility, not to mention legal issues and the possible loss of your business.

Conclusion

You would expect a professional web hosting company to know the risks and take the necessary measures to mitigate them.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way so you must be proactive to ensure that your hosting environment is secure.  The impact of a security breach varies but in most cases, the results are never good.