A web hosting server contains all the important files and information of a website. But in the era of web vulnerability, Hackers are constantly trying to find new ways to enter into your server. This makes it more important to protect your web hosting account from the malicious users.

Securing the web hosting account is one of the most challenging tasks for many webmasters, as most of the times, they don’t know what actually goes wrong.

Managed dedicated servers are surely the most secure choice to host a site, where a team of professionals handles all the security issues on behalf of you. This means that your site is safe from the security threats.

However, not many people opt for this type of servers and rely on shared or VPS hosting. And Security threats are more evident in the case of shared hosting.

Most of the reputed web hosting companies take the necessary actions to improve the security measures. However, it is still important that you take all the precautionary steps to make sure that the security of your data is not compromised.

So what can you do to reduce these security threats?

Tips to Secure Your Web Hosting Account

To your relief, there are few simple measures that you can take to make your web hosting account secure. In this article, I will discuss such 5 important things that you can take to protect your account from any security threats. Let’s check them in detail.

Make your Passwords Stronger

Passwords are one of the best parts of security systems. So it is critical that you make your password strong enough that it becomes impossible to be predicted by anyone. Follow some tips while choosing your hosting password:

• Try to make your password at least 12 characters long.
• Keep alphabets with 1 or more numeric digit and 1 or more symbols in it.
• Make sure your password is unique and complex.
• Do not reuse your old passwords.
• Also keep changing your passwords on a regular time interval.

Keep the Software Up to date

Any type of bug or security fix is documented in the release notes of any Software updates. So if you are using a third party CMS like WordPress, you must keep up to date with all the latest WordPress releases. It is indeed very critical that you don’t let the hackers use the release notes as instructions and enter into your site.

If your website is hosted with a reputed hosting provider like Bluehost or Hostgator, then it is obvious that they are taking care of your website security. They usually update your server’s operating system and software on a regular basis. However, it is still important that you keep every single part of your website updated. It becomes tough for the hackers to access your site when it has all the latest software versions installed.

Also, make sure that you take the clean-up measures more often. Many times we install some plugins that are actually not used in the real time. This in another way may provide a way for the hackers to access your site. So you must remove all the old plugins that are not being used.

Make the Directories tough to Spot

Admin directories are one of the easiest ways to access your account by any malicious user. WordPress is a strong CMS that allows you to rename your admin folder. But not many people realize its importance and actually ignore it. Consider changing the folder name and reduce the chances of any potential attacks.

Secure Your FTP Account

You must restrict the unknown users from accessing your web server and uploading any kind of malicious files. You can restrict access by IP address. Try to lock your FTP, whenever you are not using. Also, consider using SFTP (Secure FTP) and ensure that all your data transfers are secure.

Switch to HTTPS

HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) is the secure version of HTTP. It is a highly protected communication method for sending confidential information between your website and the web server you are connected to.

In HTTPS, all these communications are encrypted to add an extra layer of security. So when you move your website to the HTTPS, it helps you to keep your data protected. Adding HTTPS also helps you to improve your rankings on the SERPs.

You invest a lot of money and time while building a site and you surely do not want someone to break into the security of your site. That’s why a secure hosting package is what you need to make sure any malicious code doesn’t get into your system and your website is always up and running.

You might think that your website is not worth for getting hacked. But, in the online world, you should not keep the “it won’t happen to me” attitude. Take security of your account seriously and implement the protective measures from today itself.

Are you taking the necessary actions to keep your web hosting account secure? Please feel free to share in case you know any other security tips that every webmaster must start taking.