Security Concerns of Web Hosting

Irrespective of website’s size, its security is of utmost importance for all owners. Anyone can easily attack a compromised site for a number of reasons. From a vulnerability perspective each and every website is scanned through automated scanning tools thereby not even a single site is overlooked. Attackers usually look for sites that are not well maintained for security purposes. Potential problems can be easily avoided if attention is paid to proactively managing significant areas and rendering proper amount of care for website security.

Security w.r.t Server Types

Shared server is the most inexpensive of all hosting types and since server space is shared with multiple clients, there is a high probability of malicious code uploads to the server. This happens because sometimes website is either comprised or at times this is intentionally done. This puts all customers at risk. Virtual machine on the other hand is secure as compared to shared server. This emulates a complete operating system and each client enjoys one’s own server when it comes to software. In this environment, problems of one client do not affect the other. Shared service problems or issues are negligible in case of dedicated server. They should be highly competent in security matters and must stay meticulous about applying updates.

Linux v/s Windows server

As Linux holds a h3 reputation in being a secure and stable operating system, it is normally assumed that using Linux server will save one from all issues and will guarantee a secure site. On the other hand, the Windows that runs on a server is different from that operating on a personal computer. What a user selects totally depends on one’s own requirements and also on the type of services to be run on the website. The services running on servers like SQL and PHP are most likely to be the most risky applications in contrast to the server itself.

Managing SQL Database Attack

Websites being attacked against SQL database are quite vulnerable and such attack is regarded as the most important security threat. What usually happens is that an attacker will deliberately send an incorrect SQL query in order to break the database. When this happens, the attacker gets complete control over the target system. Security features must be appropriately used in case of most importantly SQL in addition to other services. Updates should be regularly applied with a well defined schedule. Many attacks target the software versions that have not been updated.

The Security Measures

Websites that do not contain any sensitive information can be easily operated without any significant security measures. However those having high amount of user information and database storage require increased security levels. Website’s potential threats must be identified at the time of designing the website and everything should be planned accordingly. Validating all incoming and outgoing data, managing sessions and ensuring proper authentication is of utmost importance in terms of security measures to be taken for a website. Access controls must stay intact at all times.