Owning and running a blog has many labour-intensive and time-consuming tasks. The one, however, that may seem to be the easiest to skip is blog security. And if you believe that your blog is any less vulnerable to cyber attacks, think twice. Many Content Management systems like WordPress, Squarespace, Ghost, etc., have made owning a blog simple. Of these, although WordPress gets the privilege of being the most popular CMS among users. But at the same time, it is the most hacked platform. According to a study by Sucuri
You could use Password Managers for remembering passwords created for multiple accounts like Password, LastPass, psono.com, etc. They are very helpful and great tools for generating strong passwords, remembering them for you, and keeping them safe in a vault. They are not expensive, easy to use, and nice security for your business one day So, it is highly advisable to use a password manager.
The above data clearly shows the importance of security for bloggers against cyber attacks. A compromised blog is a threat to itself and the security of its readers, as an infected blog can easily spread malware to its visitors.
You can very well imagine the dent it can cause to your reputation when this message, as shown in the image above, is displayed for the users, and in addition, it can force Google to lower your SEO ranking. Even a single leaked data incident can adversely affect your blog’s readership and your business too. After putting in so much hard labour into your blog, you certainly can’t let everything slip away so easily. Hence, you must take effective security measures for your blog, incorporate them alongside good security practices, and develop your blog into an indispensable resource for your readers. So, let us now look into some very useful and effective security hacks to harden the security of your blog.
- SSL Security
Provide your blog with the highest degree of SSL security by choosing from various choices available with many reputed SSL Certificate providers like Comodo, DigiCert, etc. In addition, we suggest investing in a wildcard SSL certificate for blogging websites with multiple level-one subdomains under one main domain. With affordable SSL Certificates like RapidSSL or Comodo Wildcard SSL, you can be assured of premium encryption to the selected domains. It ensures encryption of all the in-transit communication between the user browser and the web server while protecting the root domain and all the subdomains, one step below the root domain with just a single certificate, as shown in the example below.
SSL Certificate thus protects your crucial data from cyber-attacks, e.g.Man-in-the-Middle attacks. Also, it helps you achieve higher SEO rankings and win user trust for your blog by displaying a padlock before the URL of your blog and making it safe for user’s data.
- Get a good hosting service.
Another important thing you should remember is to make sure that you’re using a good hosting service. Many hosting providers offer security features that you can take advantage of, such as up-to-date software and antivirus software, firewalls, SSL encrypted connections, automated backups, DDOS protection, and more.
Confirm if the hosting server has an architecture that separates each blog account from its adjoining one in the same server. This can keep a check on any cross-contamination among adjoining blogs or websites in case of any cyberattack. Go for a trusted and well-reputed hosting provider. This will ensure good speed for your blog, uptime, fast and quality customer support in any technical issues. This can be difficult if you’re a smaller blog with not enough money to pay but research well, and you can strike a good balance between your requirements and budget.
- Passwords
Make sure to use a secure password and not one that is easily guessable by anyone who might want to hack into your account. So, strong and long passwords should be encouraged that are a good mix of lower and upper case characters, numbers, and special characters. You must change passwords now and then and limit the number of login attempts to fight against brute force attacks to crack your login credentials.
- Updating software and antivirus
Make sure that you keep your operating system up to date because hackers like to find new ways of entering your system, and this is where many viruses hit their targets. You can use antivirus software or a third-party program, but it’s also just as important to update your operating system and put up any firewall programs that you use in place.
Applying security patches is something that you should make sure to do whenever they are released. Using a CMS like WordPress, work on its latest version and regularly update the themes and plug-ins used. Also, uninstall the plug-ins that are not being used for a long time, making the blog vulnerable to cyber attacks.
- External Links
Add security to your blog’s external links. If you’re linking to other websites that may be suspicious or unsecured, do not link directly to their sites but instead go through an entry gateway where you can see what information the other side is asking for and only allow access to those sites that are not asking for respectably little information. An example of such an external link warning can be seen below.
The importance of security should also be reflected in the security practices that you follow at your end to protect your blog, such as;
- Protection Measures For Wi-Fi
Protect your data from hackers when using the Wi-Fi networks around you, be it home, offices, or public places like hotels, airports, or coffee shops. It is always advisable to use virtual private network(VPN)services when using public Wi-Fi. VPN hides your online activities and identity from Hackers by establishing an encrypted connection to the Wi-Fi network.
For your Wi-Fi networks at home and office, turning on WPA2 encryption will keep you protected. However, it would help if you remembered to protect your Wi-Fi by disabling the admin account and choosing a strong password for it.
- Look Out For Phishing
Be alert and don’t fall prey to phishing attacks by hackers, and protect your data by not clicking on phishing links or attachments sent to you through emails, instant messages, or text messages.
These emails seem to come from trusted sources which could be from an organization or maybe personal. They would try to persuade you to click a malicious link or share your personal credentials by showing some emergency. They may also direct you to a fake website to urge you to share your bank details to carry out fraudulent transactions.
One good way to recognize phishing emails, making unauthorized requests is by devoting a separate email account for blog users’ replies.
In conclusion:
I hope that this article has helped you better understand cyber security and why it’s important for bloggers. Make sure that you take all of these steps to help yourself and your blog be safer than ever. Remember that there is a lot you can do to protect yourself from hackers and cyber attacks as a new blogger, and while you may not be able to take every step over time, you will learn better and better ways to keep your blog safe.
