Steps to Keep Your Site Clean

UPDATES

Constantly we see websites are being infected when important security updates are not done regularly. Most of the software updates are done due to a security breach that has been fixed. Updating to the new version keeps your site safe from being attacked that are very likely to affect your site.

What to Update?

Things that shoud be updated are

• Content Management Systems
• Plugins
• Themes
• Extensions
• Server

1. Content Management Systems (CMS)

This includes WordPress, the best platform you might use to build your site. Global hacked website report shows that WordPress is the CMS security plugins cleans the most at 83% of all websites cleaned. This does not necessarily mean WordPress is more or less secure than the other CMS platforms though.

2. Plugins

Any plugin that you add to your site must be inspected properly. They all are not inherently good for your site or malware-free. Some plugins were made to be malicious, through lack of management or carelessness plugins can become malicious easily.

Some things that you must look for when adding a new plugin to your site:

• Only download plugins from an author and site you trust.
• Check for updates on the plugin and see how long ago the developer has patched any security issues.
• If a plugin is not free then purchase it straight from the developer instead of searching for free versions.
• Read reviews to see if there are poor opinions about the safety of the plugin.

3. Themes

Along with plugins, themes also need to be updated and “inspected”. Anywhere a hacker can utilize your site.

There are a few things to consider when adding theme software to your site:

• Is the theme necessary to your site?
• Can you trust the source where you found the theme?
• Will the developer patch and fix any vulnerabilities?

If you find a “free” theme that has not been updated in the past 6 months, it might not be free as you think. Think of the money you might end up losing because of a vulnerability that causes your site to become infected.

4. Extensions

Another way to keep your site clean is to ensure that your computer is malware-free. Make sure your browser and its extensions are up to date which is very important. In some rare cases, your own computer is the attack vector. Only install browser extensions and browsers from a trusted source, and be sure to update immediately when you are alerted.

5. Server

The server itself is also key to maintaining a secure site. Web servers such as NGINX, Apache, IIS, etc. might not sound overly familiar to you unless you are a developer or are very familiar with your site’s setup. Whether or not you are familiar, your site has a server to connect to the internet and your server can become exposed to hacks as well. Updating is a must to stop these from happening.