Security and your site

For those of you who run a basic site that doesn't use server side scripting or databases your security routine is probably limited to securing your account authentication information and changing your password from time to time.

On the other hand, if you use scripts and databases your job becomes a bit more complex. Good programs will keep you from having to worry about these issues. When shopping for programs or development take the time to understand what security precautions are implemented in the respective products and services.

Here are a few things to look for when evaluating:

The program should have defenses that prevent a hacker from injecting malicious code into your website to either bring the program down or retrieve sensitive information. Web pages where a user submits information are a popular place for hackers to create problems.  Make sure that proper precautions have been taken to sanitize data that can be transmitted from them.

Server technology should be hidden by masking file extensions.  This makes it harder for a potential hacker to determine what potential weaknesses a website may be susceptible to.

Passwords and logins that are sent over the network and internet should be encrypted. Since anyone can capture data being transmitted through this medium, precautions must be taken to secure sensitive data.

You should be able to limit access to maintenance pages based on IP addresses. This keeps unauthorized persons from outside locations from gaining access to these sensitive areas. 

Basic security for everyone

You should have a comprehensive program in place to prevent espionage.
It is not uncommon for hackers to gain access to systems by gathering intelligence from unwitting persons within an organization. This means never store passwords or give them out to anyone who is not directly authorized to have them. Check computers for spyware on a regular basis.  Change passwords immediately if these dangerous programs are ever found.
The most secure systems can be compromised if the wrong people have the information to access them.

Run backups regularly and store them in a secure place in a physically different location.
Should the unfortunate event occur where your server goes down and you lose all of your data you will have a means to restore your web site.  The frequency that you run backups should be dictated by how often data and files change.

Paying attention to these basic precautions will better your chances of surviving potentially devastating problems.