You may not think your site has anything worth being hacked for, but websites are compromised all the time.  The majority of website security breaches are not to steal your data or deface your website, but intead attempts to use the server as an email relay for spam, or to setup a temporary web server - usually to serve files of an illegal nature.

It was recently announced that there was a major security risk in previous versions of Joomla!, and a new version was released. 

This particular risk only affects Joomla users, however it is a problem we come across on a regular basis across many CMS packages.  Wordpress in particular is troublesome, along with Drupal.

When an exploit is found, it's a race against time before the entire server is vulnerable.  If the website owners don't update their software, their site is hacked.  On a shared server, this can lead to other websites suffering.  So, whilst you may not use one of these CMS packages, if your website is hosted on a shared server, you are still going to have problems.

If you are the website owner, there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening.

Update your software

This is obvious.  Most CMS software will inform you when a new version is available, and it's often as easy as clicking a button.  If, however, your software doesn't inform you, it is worth checking with the softwares website to see if an update is available to download.  The later the version you have, the more secure your software will be.

Update your plug-ins

So, you've updated your software.  What about the plugins?
Some CMS packages such as Wordpress are good at letting you know if a plugin needs updating - but you still need to update manually.  If you have a bespoke plugin, you should check with the developer regularly to see if it needs updating, or if any security holes have been identified.

If it costs money, don’t go hunting for a free version

You find an excellent theme or plug-in, but you don’t want to pay for it. You might think that you can just search for a free version, download, and install it, but many so-called “free” versions will have malicious code embedded right into the theme or plug-in. Install it, and it doesn’t matter how careful you are with your site’s security – you’re already taken.
 

Always back up your site

Again, an obvious thing to say, but so important. If your site is hacked, a clean backup makes it infinitely easier to check where things went wrong and fix them, rather than trying to restore your site while fixing it at the same time.

If you are using shared hosting, and your website is causing problems, it is highly possible that your website will be disabled.  Hosting companies don't disable websites for fun - it is their other customers security they are concerned with.  If your site is causing problems then it's your responsibility to get it fixed.
 

Why is Creative Spectrum different?

1. We only use our own servers.  Therefore, we know exactly what is installed and running.
2. We don't use 3rd party CMS systems - we have our own bespoke CMS that is safe, secure and more importantly, very difficult to hack.  Whilst it would be foolish to claim it will never happen, it is highly unlikely.
3. All of our clients only use our software.  Because we have created every website that we host, we know exactly what is running.  We can also very quickly move slow running websites onto new servers to ensure every website is runinng at optimum speed.
4. We perform our own backups so you don't have to!  We have nightly backups running across all servers, so restoring is quick and easy.
5. All plugins are created in-house by us.  There are no 3rd party plugins or free downloads!  So you know with complete confidence that you have the highest quality code that is safe and secure.

Contact us for more information.