It’s crucial to adopt a proactive approach and implement measures to lower the chances of reinfection. Although it’s impossible to guarantee that the risk will be eliminated entirely, there are numerous actions you can take to safeguard your website.
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
The number of software vulnerabilities being targeted by attackers is increasing. Keeping track of these vulnerabilities can be quite difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to use a Web Application Firewall (WAF). This can prevent attacks from occurring in the first place and ensure the security of your website.
Website Updation
If you’re utilizing WordPress, Joomla, or another website platform and it isn’t running the latest stable version, please take a moment to update your site. Why is this important? Because outdated software is the primary reason for infections. This applies to your CMS version, plugins, themes, and any other type of extension.
Changing Passwords
Select a strong and effective password. An effective password consists of three main elements – complexity, length, and uniqueness. Your website contains various access points like FTP, SFTP, SSH, and cPanel. Cyber attackers are aware of this and frequently exploit several entry points. At the very least, ensure you change the passwords for all administrator accounts. Users often create more administrators than necessary and only refresh one, neglecting the others. There’s no better opportunity to clean up than after a security breach.
Additionally, for more information on secure passwords, check out the Hosting Column’s earlier article on How to Create Strong Passwords.
Changing Database Passwords
If you are utilizing a CMS (like WordPress, Joomla, etc.), make sure to change your database password. Remember to also modify your configuration file – for Joomla, it’s configuration.php, and for WordPress, it’s wp-config.php. This cannot be done automatically, so you will need to know how to access those files and edit them manually.
If you’re unsure how to change the passwords mentioned above, reach out to your hosting provider for assistance with updating your passwords.
Run a Virus Scan on Personal Computer
In many instances, we observe that local environments (such as laptops and desktops) lead to website compromises. This is the reason we consistently recommend taking a moment to run an antivirus program. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how frequently your site is cleaned; if your computer remains infected, your site can be easily re-infected.
Website Backups
Once the site is tidy and protected, it’s wise to conduct routine backups. Many backup solutions are available for use. Nowadays, most website backup tools are automatically included with your hosting service and are quite easy to configure.
Deleting Downloads
Website owners often end up with “kitchen sink” servers that are cluttered with outdated versions of their content management systems, themes, or plugins. As time passes, these obsolete installations tend to be overlooked but become vulnerable to malware, posing a threat to their entire server every time a clean is performed. It’s important to take a moment to differentiate what should be on test, staging, and production servers.
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