Website Security

Websites are Being Hacked at an Ever Increasing Rate

Websites are unfortunately prone to security risks. And so are any networks to which web servers are connected. Setting aside risks created by employee use or misuse of network resources, your web server and the site it hosts present your most serious sources of security risk.

Google will soon be reducing your search ranking if you are not running a website with a secure connection

You no doubt have encountered a message similar to “Your connection is not secure” while browsing the internet. Upon encountering this message your browser refused to display the website that you tried to access. Usually, this message means that your browser tried unsuccessfully to communicate with a web server over a secure connection (https).

If you look into the address bar of your browser, you find that the address of the website you are visiting has a portion appended to it at the beginning. Usually, this is one of either “http” or “https”. http stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, it is the standard protocol over which web browsers exchange information with web servers (a protocol is essentially a language understood by the various parties involved). Over http, data is exchanged in plain text i.e. no form of encryption is used at all, and a third party who has access to your network is able to intercept the communication.

Search Engine Ranking Depends on It

“Web security” is relative and has two components, one internal and one public. Your relative security is high if you have few network resources of financial value, your company and site aren’t controversial in any way, your network is set up with tight permissions, your web server is patched up to date with all settings done correctly, your applications on the web server are all patched and updated, and your web site code is done to high standards.



Web sites are unfortunately prone to security risks. And so are any networks to which web servers are connected. Setting aside risks created by employee use or misuse of network resources, your web server and the site it hosts present your most serious sources of security risk.



Web servers by design open a window between your network and the world. The care taken with server maintenance, web application updates and your web site coding will define the size of that window, limit the kind of information that can pass through it and thus establish the degree of web security you will have.



Call me and I can assist you in making sure that your website uses a secure connection.