In spite of the availability of built-in security features, Magento websites have become defenceless against online security breaches. Hackers make regular attempts to break into your websites and steal your important details. Is the security of your Magento website giving you sleepless nights? If yes, then its right time to know some ways to secure your Magento website before its too late. Here are some tried and tested security tips that can protect your Magento eCommerce site from hackers and spammers.
1. Change your password regularly
Resetting your password regularly is a common piece of password advice which you need to do from time-to-time. Most of the people use their relatives name, Mobile Number, the name of famous places, etc, as their site’s login password. Easy passwords are easily tracked by hackers. You should keep changing your password regularly and using a random password will help you lot. Use a strong password( for Example- Exp1%^*()123) that is difficult to trace.
2. Use Two-factor authentication
It doesn’t matter how professionally you have created your website, it is not safe from online hackers who can easily destroy your online reputation. To stop online attacks on your website, think of using a two-factor authentication. It will protect your website for hackers and other malicious attacks. Luckily, Magento offers some powerful extensions that provide two-factor authentication.
Actually, Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for your website and it ensures that only you are accessing your website if someone else knows your password. In this process, you need to provide your password and a verification code to log into your site. You get the verification code on your mobile number.
3. Use the latest version of Magento
Magento keeps updating itself and Subsequent Magento versions fix security issues of the previous versions effectively. So, it is very important for you to stay informed about the latest versions of Magento and use it for enhanced security of your website. Using the latest versions of Magento help you to protect your website from online vulnerabilities like hacking, Malware etc.
4. Take backup of your website regularly:
You need to take the backup of contents regularly that you display on your website. There might be various reasons to data loss such as Staff mistake, Equipment failure, System breach, Natural disasters, etc. Grieving over the loss data is painful and makes you helpless before your clients. You should save and store the full backup copy of your website latest updates so that you may retrieve it easily in case your site is compromised or it crashes all of a sudden because of online attacks.
5. Use one password for one website only
The majority of the entrepreneurs make a common mistake that they reuse their passwords across multiple sites. It’s dangerous for people who operate their business online. These days, Cybercriminals make use of a number of ways to steal passwords such as stealthy malware, plain brute-force and tricky social engineering techniques. In case, hackers do manage to steal the password for one site, they can easily hack your another site if you use the same password for another website. Therefore, it is important for you to keep a unique password for every account and keep updating them at regular interval.
6. Take Security review of your Magento Websites regularly
If you run a Magento website, it is recommended for you to take an assistance from a professional Magento expert to review your site wisely. He/she must have vast experience in dealing with the vulnerabilities and common attack vectors related to Magento sites and web servers in general. This will help you to know the loopholes in your site’s security and you will be able to take action accordingly.
7. Select a reliable Hosting provider
It’s a good option to use shared hosting to operate your Magento Websites, but the security of your website gets compromised. Using a Dedicated or VPS or Cloud is better for building your brand and expand your business rapidly. Dedicated hosting redirects you to a single server and it creates problems for you when your site starts to get traffic in bulk. To avoid such hassles and run your site smoothly, you should choose a reliable Hosting plan carefully that can guaranty the security of your website with regular patches at severing level. Don’t opt for a cheap hosting plan as it would ruin your business even before launch.
8. Get rid of Email loopholes
Magento allows its users to a great password recovering amenity with the help of preconfigured e-mail address. But, in case that Email gets compromised, the security of your whole Magento site will become defenceless against online hacking attempts and security breaches. You need to keep your site’s email address confidential and activate two-factor authentication to prevent it from getting hacked.
9. Use the best antivirus software
Just make use of a trusted antivirus software to protect your Magento site from online hackers and other kinds of security breaches. Always, update it to the latest version as they keep adding new features to the antivirus to tackle online viruses more effectively.
10. Restrict your site’s Access via IP address
If members of your team access the Magento Admin Panel from specific computers, then you should block access to your site’s Admin panel from other IP address. This will increase your site’s security greatly. But, don’t block your users anyway. There are many hackers who try to hack your website from countries where you have no potential customers. You can block that country also, but doing so will limit the ability of some legitimate customers to visit your website. Always be careful while doing so.
Summary:
Magento itself a highly secure E-commerce Web development platform, but with growing popularity, it is rapidly becoming an easy target for hackers and online bully elements who seek to steal the sensitive data of customers to take advantage of that. Using above mentioned tips will make your Magento website safe and secured against online security breaches.
About The Author:
Linda Wester is a dedicated Magento developer with years of experience in building highly custom websites for businesses. She is also an enthusiastic blogger who loves to dig into Magento, explore what’s possible and share her knowledge with readers.