Are you concerned about some of the things you hear nowadays regarding website security? That’s understandable, especially in the light of the recent revelation that some government agencies have been recording information online about the behavior of Americans for years. In addition to that, criminals and others have gotten their hands on a variety of tools that they were never supposed to have, and they have created malicious programs that will attack websites and web servers where your sensitive information is stored.
This issues also raises the question of whether you should try to create your website or hire a professional web designer to do it. There is an advantage to hiring it out with professional designers that have a profound understanding of the war of Internet security today. Unless you are a security expert, how will you be able to provide a solution for your website that is becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks?
Online, your website is your business. Having your site broken into with malware or other threats is the new type of burglary and robbery. It’s as though someone broke into your real-world store and stole some of your most valuable items to sell to the highest bidder. Locking up your site from this sort of threat is the same as locking your door to your business in the real world.
The Danger is Real
This is alarming to anyone using a site that they think they can trust and it will often make them decide never to use that business or that website again. This is not only concerning for an online business owner; it is devastating. It can ruin the credibility of even a well-established business and create havoc for your business.
Types of Security Threats
There are about as many online security threats today as there are people searching for content. The reality of cyber warfare is real, especially when it comes to financial data. You must guard your customers’ sensitive data in any way that you can. It doesn’t always involve financial information. It can also involve hacking of passwords and other types of infiltration. This poses a significant threat to the safety of your website and your business.
To know how to beat the threats, you have to know what you are up against. Below is a list of the most commonly known security risks.
- Malware– Malware includes a large number of infiltration components, all of which are designed to either shut down or corrupt your web server or website. Malware can be programmed to do whatever the programmer tells it to including taking a website hostage, corrupting your database, or other actions. It usually starts with a suspicious message that says there is some problem with your security which it, ironically, uses to infiltrate your site to give you a real safety issue.
- Trojans/Viruses– Viruses and Trojans are hidden programs that usually are identified as an .exe file. This means that it is an executive file programmed to start up at the right time to corrupt your system, steal information from files, and other locations on your computer. There are millions of different types of viruses. Trojans are usually the most dangerous type of viruses because they come in looking innocuous or as a tool to help with some function, but once inside your system or web server, they can destroy, steal, and corrupt your entire system.
- Spyware– Spyware is designed to do exactly what the name implies. It is used to spy on the activity of others, mainly shopping behaviors, that will give the creator insight as to what the shopping habits are online. They go further than is acceptable in many cases including scouring forms for personal information, emails, and other data that they then buy and sell to the highest bidder. The greatest threat is that your customers’ data may be stolen when they fill out forms on your website or log into your membership site. This can create a problem for you as customers may believe you are the one who sold their data when they start receiving spam from multiple sources after subscribing to your site.
- Keylogger– Keylogger malware is very dangerous and is primarily designed to copy and follow every keystroke that your customers make on your site, including their login information, passwords, and emails. If they enter a credit card to make a purchase, this can be confiscated too. This puts your online site in great jeopardy as well as the credibility of your business. Keylogger software can even result in identity theft.
- Adware– Adware is not as dangerous to your site as spyware or keylogger software, but it will still result in a loss of visitors and customers. Due to its intrusive nature regarding ads and pop-ups, it will annoy many of your customers, and they will hop off your site because of it.
All of these threats are something the modern website owner must be aware of. So how do you defeat these enemies and ensure that your site is safe from such intrusions?
Start with your website
You may think of your web design as just design. But it is far more than this. If you start with a web design service with expert engineers who understand these security threats, you will be able to thwart many of these threats and control the damage that may be derived from even one of these attacks.
If you have your website designed by an expert design team, you may get the security you need when they design your site. But this is not true of all web design teams or freelancers. If you get a freelance web designer, you almost certainly will not get the added security measures that can be implemented by a dedicated web design agency.
Why?
A freelance web designer is only about design. Though there may be exceptions, the independent web designer is not usually equipped to handle implementing security measures that can protect you from any of these known threats.
But a dedicated web design team like webdesignteam.com can help you with this. Ask us about how we can design your site to protect you from many of the threats that we have discussed in this post.
About Web Design Team
We are not security IT professionals, but we understand the growing concerns of online website security, and we keep this in mind at all times when we are designing a website for our customers.
We are a team of expert professional web designers who have as our primary focus, to protect and help our clients to create a consumer-friendly, safe site.
Look at our online portfolio and contact us for more information. We can talk to you about your needs for your security and website and help you decide how you should build your site for optimal security.
Your security and peace of mind are important to us. Call us today for a free estimate. And remember to keep all passwords to your website in a safe place and limit who you share it with. Visit us online at webdesignteam.com to learn more.