| Security is important. Hackers are looking to use your site and email for their own purposes. If they succeed it could damage your site, your data, and your reputation. While no system is completely hacker proof heres what MacHighway recommends for you to do to keep your site, email and information more secure: |
1. Passwords - Your Best Defense
A good password is your best defense against a hacker. All your passwords, including ones for email and FTP should be:
A: At least 8 characters in length
B: Use upper and lower case letters, have at least one number, and at least one non-alphanumeric character like ~!@#$%^&*()_+`=-[]{}\|;:<>,.?/
C: Completely random is best. Make your password hard to guess. Most sections of our cPanel have a random password generator. You can also grab a great random password from https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
| Almost all browsers, Mail programs and FTP clients will store your passwords for you, so there's little need these days for an easily remembered password. |
Instructions for updating your Client Area password can be found by clicking here.
Instructions for updating your cPanel/FTP password can be found by clicking here.
Instructions for updating your email password can be found by clicking here.
D: Dont share your password with anybody, and change it often.
| If you have trouble remembering passwords we recommend a password manager such as 1Password (http://agilewebsolutions.com/onepassword). FireFox and Safari also have built-in password managers. |
E: A Note About Email - Make sure you check your email through SSL ports, especially on mobile devices and especially when you are checking your mail through unsecure internet access such as a free wifi signal. It is possible for hackers to intercept sensative information, such as password information, when you're connecting to the internet over an unsecure connection. Information on setting up your email application and mobile devices to check through SSL can be found in our knowledgebase, Here.
2. Updates - Close the Door on Hackers
Anytime you add an application to your website, such as a store, blog, bulletin board, email form, or anything else, you could be adding functionality that a hacker could use to gain access to your data, and possibly do damage. MacHighway recommends:
A: Use only trusted and well scripted applications, such as those provided in the MacHighway cPanel through Fantastico and SimpleScripts.
B: Frequently check for updates. If you installed an application via Fantastico or SimpleScripts updates are clearly listed and can be completed easily with a click of the mouse. If you installed your application yourself, make sure to check the publishers site for security updates and then install them.
C: Remove unused applications. If youre not using an application anymore, remove it. The files can still be used by a hacker to gain access regardless of whether it is linked to the rest of your site.
3. Backup Backup Backup. Yep. Backup
You cant recover from damage without a backup, and in the event that your files have been damaged by a hacker you may need a backup from a while ago - before the hacker got in. The MacHighway cPanel has a backup function that you can use to download a complete archive of all your data on the server. Many web site applications have their own backup functions as well. These can be used to easily restore your site and other data to a previous state.
| CLICK HERE for instructions on creating backups through your cPanel. |
You need to download your backups - that way you have your own data where you can keep it safely. MacHighway does not allow the storage of back ups on the server as this takes up very large amounts of space, and it really doesnt make much sense to keep your backups where they could also be damaged.
