Is Your Website A Target For Hackers?

You’ve taken every security measure that you can possibly think of so you’re confident that your site is secure. Is it really? Hackers are becoming more skilled every day and they enjoy cracking passwords and installing malware and/or key stroke loggers on “secure” sites.

Let’s talk about passwords for a bit. The most common error people make is to choose a password that has something to do with their daily lives. Hackers can get most of your personal information quite easily. It’s a game for them to see how many passwords they can crack. Do not use anything in your password that references any part of your life. Don’t use ANY important names, dates or numerals. The best thing to do is use gibberish letters, numerals and symbols. Another way to generate a secure password is to choose a word, mix the letters or syllables around and throw some numerals and symbols in throughout the letters. In your search for security, you must keep in mind that a forgotten password is useless and a password that is written down is automatically less secure. If you can’t remember your password, store it somewhere offsite…your mother’s or best friend’s phone, etc. Don’t put it in your wallet or in your own phone. In doing so, you just made your password easily accessible. Using a password for a long time period makes your computer more vulnerable as well. It’s best to change your passwords several times per year. Major companies require this to maintain the security on their servers. In a further effort to maintain security, they won’t let you recycle a password.

You might want to know why we feel qualified to tell you ways to secure your computer/website. Some of our team members know hackers from younger days. Also, one of our team members was married to a hacker and, although he never damaged anyone’s computer or website, he was very good at getting in. Hackers are also very good at covering their tracks on their way back out. This person wrote a password cracking program and began scanning to see what it could pick up. That program, written 20 years ago, cracked about 90% of the passwords on his college campus. Think about it…20 years ago, there were about 14 thousand students on that campus and then you have the staff. That program, written 20 years ago, cracked approximately 12 thousand student and faculty passwords. So think again…is your website really secure? Our team members at Website Design Austin Texas can help you redesign and secure your website.