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Five steps to fully optimising your website against hacker attacks

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By Brittany Thorley

Cyber attacks have been a growing trend and an ever-growing challenge for organisations of all sizes with the financial loss as a result of cyber attacks and the cost of resolving such threats costing billions worldwide. Whilst the global price tag of cyber attacks is staggering and hackers by no means defeated, organisations across the globe are taking steps to optimise their websites to avoid hacking disasters.

Prevent hackers from using your server as a transmitter of spam and illegal files using these five steps to a website that is safe, secure and ultimately uncompromised.

1. Update regularly to close hacker loopholes

Updating software and backing up files should be the mantra of every online business and this regime is an important step to protecting your site from hackers. Updating all software on your server and any web applications on a regular basis is essential and will close loopholes that leave your site vulnerable to attacks. Exercise particular diligence when using any third party software (e.g., CMS) by regularly running security updates. CMS software (such as WordPress) informs you of any available updates when logging in.

2. Use parameterised queries

Preventing SQL Injection vulnerabilities is a developer’s nightmare when it comes to web application security, and many have quite the battle on their hands to ensure the code they write is secure and a number of other factors are controlled to inhibit compromise. Despite developers’ best efforts, SQL Injection, whereby the hacker uses a URL parameter or web form field to access and manipulate databases, is all too common but you can do your bit in protecting your website from unauthorised changes, data collection and deletion.

Parameterised queries can be used in collaboration with many web languages and will prevent the hacker from changing URL parameters to add their additional query to the SQL statement.

3. Censor error messages

Unbeknownst to many, error messages can give away essential information that leaves your system compromised. One area in particular where hackers can use error messages to attack and gain access to your website is the admin login form. For example, they use vague error messages such as ‘Your username or password was incorrect,’ implying that one of the two fields is correct. This will give the hacker the information they need to launch an attack on the incorrect field and gain access to your system even quicker.

4. Use strong passwords server and browser side

The importance of strong passwords may be an obvious one, but many organisations still fail to make their password as complex as they should, especially when protecting their server and admin area. Follow the principles and create a password that will outwit the most persistent hackers and defend your website appropriately.

  • Ensure your password is at least eight characters in length
  • Regularly update your password and ensure it is dramatically different every time
  • Do not include your username, company name or real name
  • Use a mixture of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols
  • Avoid using complete words or phrases

The use of memorable information in a password can make it easy to remember, but apply the principles above and the following example to form a stronger alternative. If you’d like to use your husband’s birthday as the basis of your password, use the values in the following example: ‘My husband’s birthday is 25 November 1987’, opt for this password – ‘Mhbi25/Nov,87’.

5. Assess your website security with penetration testing

Penetration testing (or pentest) uses similar scripts as hackers to simulate a hacker attack and highlight and exploit vulnerabilities within your IT infrastructure. These weaknesses can be found and remedied before hackers have the chance to abuse them in a bid to compromise your website. Internal, external and hybrid penetration testing can provide organisations across all industries with a level of certainty and reassurance when protecting their website from hackers.

Have you taken steps to secure your website?

Author’s Bio: Brittany Thorley is a business and security blogger, she works with a range of organisations to enhance their security online with advice on penetration testing, security audits, source code review and training.

Book Review: “The Age of Context,” by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel

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The image of Robert Scoble in the shower with his Google Glasses on is seared in our collective brains by now. But we should all stop laughing because it’s about to get serious, folks.

According to Scoble and his co-author Israel, there are five key trends that are converging to create the “age of context:”

  • Mobile
  • Social Media
  • Data
  • Location-Based Technology
  • Sensors

The Age of Context

This book is a funhouse tour through technologies, apps, and jaw-dropping devices that are on our horizons, whether we’re ready for them or not.

Many of the forthcoming developments raise issues of privacy, security, or safety, and the authors take the time to address those issues. It may be years before we come to grips with the new world where you can trade in your personal information in exchange for a more convenient and catered-to experience, but Scoble and Israel are laying the groundwork.

The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Google Glasses

After cruising through this book, you will consider whether it might be nice to walk out of a store without visiting an actual cash register, or get driven to work in a driverless car, or get rescued by a firefighter wearing augmented reality glasses.

Scoble and Israel aren’t the only ones starting to bring up the big questions brought on by our new connected, contextual world. The Federal Trade Commission is holding a workshop on November 19 to discuss the privacy and security concerns surrounding the Internet of Things.

But the central premise of the book is hopeful. As much as the new technology forces us to deal with new challenges, it promises to potentially save lives, make us more productive, and revitalize our cities.

You can choose to be frightened or energized, but one way or another you’ll need to react to the changes highlighted in this exhilarating book.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Will 3D Printing Replace Traditional Printing?

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By Elaine Love

The media is buzzing about the “newest kid on the printing block.” What marvelous potential exists for this new technology! Just think what 3D printing can accomplish for the medical community, the automobile industry, architecture and even the toy industry. Will 3D printing ever reach the widespread popularity of the print industry as we know and use it currently?

Pause and hit Rewind

3D printed guitar

How does 3D Printing Work?

Three-dimensional printing is a process by which layers of material are stacked creating a physical object. Materials such as plastics, fabric fibers and even human tissue are fed into the machine to create the designs. Depending upon the machine, those layers could be created through stacking layers of light (FTI- film transfer imaging), fusing heated plastic filament or metal wire (FDM – fused deposition modeling) or laser technology with at least seven different types of metals (SLS – Selective laser sintering).

Sound complicated? Relax. I don’t pretend to understand exactly how the technology works. Do you know all of the exact technology behind how your smart phone works? Neither do I, but we still use our phones constantly.

What Benefit does 3D Provide?

Construction

Imagine being able to create an intricate architectural design to visualize exactly how your building or sculpture will look prior to construction. Imagine being able to create artificial limbs for accident victims or to correct birth defects. Imagine being able to create a spare part for a machine long after the model had been discontinued.

Through contour crafting it is possible to build an entire home: concrete foundation, plumbing, electrical wiring and all of the furnishings. A 2500 square foot house could be built in 20 hours. Imagine the benefit in restoring homes for victims of natural disasters.

Medical

Artificial limbs, prosthesis, can be created to assist accident victims and correct birth defects. 3D printing can produce medical devices such as those used in my spinal fusions. It is scary to think what could be created from human tissue as this technology advances.

Transportation

Prototypes of automobiles, planes, boats and other mobile devices can be created and tested; design adjustments can be made prior to the expensive final production stage.

Toys

Can you imagine giving a child a 3D computer to create their own toys? At least it would be more engaging and positive for their mind than watching violence on TV. A few decades ago a child was given an erector set; next came Legos. Imagine telling a child to go to their room and create their own toy. At this point the complexity of programming the machine prevents this scenario, but will that change in the future?

Blogger

How would a blogger utilize the services of a 3D printer? Imagine bringing your concept to life? The familiar quotation is “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Adding an image to your text enhances the visual appeal and engages the reader. Granted, becoming an excellent photographer to capture the 3D image to include in your post could present a challenge, but then you are up for a challenge. Tap your incredible imagination. Let me hear from you.

The possibilities are endless

What’s the Catch?

Three-dimensional printing is not new; 3D has existed for three decades. 3D printing has been too expensive, non-accessible, inefficient and too slow. Times are changing. According to Lisa Harouni of Digital Forming, detail and quality are improving; the price has been reduced to about $300 and the machine will now fit on a desktop.

What’s the problem?

The programming complexity makes the machine very difficult to use. At this point 3D Printing machines are not user friendly; however with rapidly advancing technology, this could change in the next few years. Three-dimensional printing has the potential to create a manufacturing revolution. Some are touting 3D printing as the answer to ending “made in China.” When manufacturing is cost effective, time efficient to produce, inexpensive to ship and accurate (machines eliminate the human error factor), 3D has the potential to bring the manufacturing industry back to America.

Will 3D Printing Replace Traditional Printing Companies?

No. 3D and traditional printing as we know it now serve two totally different purposes. It’s like asking if an exotic alcoholic drink will replace green tea. Both have their value, but they fill entirely different purposes.

The current fiercely competitive printing industry is expanding. A new online printing company will be challenged to the max to go head to head with the printing giants like Vista Print, PrintPlace.com, or PsPrint. The printing industry is not declining but thriving. Competition in the printing industry is intensifying. UPS and FedEx are trying to capture their own piece of the printing industry market.

A business card created with 3D printing shaped as an exact replica of an entire set of golf clubs may be fun and unique, but imagine attempting to place 20 of them in your wallet.

3D Printer in Every Home?

Does the possibility exist for 3D printers to be in most homes and offices? It’s possible. Is it probable? It was only a few decades ago when Ken Olsen, founder of the legendary minicomputer company DEC said, “there is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” Now we all have at least one computer and probably several when you include our smart phones.

As the volume of information increases and more and more records must be created and retained, does it really make logical sense to create three-dimensional contracts, three-dimensional business cards, three-dimensional letters or postcards and three dimensional grocery lists? No. Will the marketplace still need business cards, legal documents, restaurant guest checks, and printed marketing materials? Yes. The majority of printed materials as we know them will continue to be of significance.

There is a greater likelihood of electronic media replacing some paper documents than 3D printing replacing traditional printed materials. Three-dimensional printing serves an entirely different function in the marketplace than traditional printed materials.

So did we spark your creative juices? How could you potentially take advantage of 3D printing in your online business?

Author’s Bio: At home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Elaine Love writes about small business and the mindset for success so essential for an entrepreneur. She is the author of Emotional Ice Water. Find her on Twitter @elainelove44 or Elaine4Success.com

How to Decide if a New Social Tool is Relevant to Your Business

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By Rosemary O’Neill

Remember how uncool bell-bottom jeans were 10 years ago? Then they became so uncool that they were cool again (they’re now uncool again, just FYI).

The world of social media works in much the same way. As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “one day you’re in…the next day, you’re OUT.” Facebook is the big kahuna right now, but there’s no guarantee that it will stay on top.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to at least take a glance at new or revived social tools once in a while. This post will give you some strategies to help you evaluate whether a new shiny object is “hot or not” for your online business strategy.

How to Evaluate a New Social Tool

  • Can I afford it? Remember that free tools aren’t really free. Your time is money too. Also consider whether you’d need to upgrade to a pro option to get maximum benefit from the tool.
  • Am I familiar with it? Unless your schedule allows time for training and learning curve, think about how hard it will be to get up to speed. Will it take priority over other, more important tactics?
  • Is my audience there? Try to find out the key demographic using the tool. Does that overlap with your own market strategy? A great resource for demographic information is this Ignite Social Media report.
  • Is it a relevant topic? Some social tools are topic-centric (like the new MySpace). Does the topic relate to your business in some way? Can you leverage it to support your marketing plan?
  • Does it work with the rest of my strategy/tool kit? Hopefully you’re making life easy on yourself by creating a cohesive set of tactics. You don’t want redundant or clashing applications in your portfolio. For example, you probably don’t need to use both Hootsuite and Tweetdeck.
  • Is it stable/supported/funded? It’s good to take a look at new social tools, but don’t go “all-in” until there is some traction or proof that it’s going to last. You don’t want to be caught losing your data or content if a startup pivots or goes out of business entirely.

These are just some of key considerations for when you read a Mashable article about the “next new thing” in social media. It’s important to stay abreast of changing technology, but you don’t want to chase shiny objects!

How do you decide whether to jump into a new social application?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Is Your Business Connected to the Right Web Host Provider?

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As a small business owner, having a sizable and sound presence on the Internet can be the difference between an average business and one that is going places.

In order to achieve such a presence, however, one needs to have put together a solid Web site that is free of gaffes, easy to navigate, and offers the consumer something.

Finding the right web hosting provider is not always the easiest thing to do, given you yourself may not be very adept at what you need. If that is the case, even more time and research should be taken so that your choice does not leave you and your Web site down.

When searching for a web hosting provider, keep the following in mind so that you do not go blindly into the search:

* Know the needed capacity – The percentage of storage capacity your business requires will depend on what kind of site you are putting together. If you are constructing an article directory where your required web space will increase rapidly, decide how much the expense will grow for such needs;
* Understand the required bandwidth – Another key factor is to determine what amount of bandwidth your site will most likely need, especially if you figure on providing the public with things like audio, podcasts, streaming video etc. over time;
* Know if you will face a setup fee – As competition among web hosting providers heats up, that should mean savings for your business. That being said, if a web host provider notes it will be charging you a setup charge for its services, shop around;
* Understand the provider’s thoughts on tech support – The idea should always be to locate a hosting provider that is at your service on a 24-hour basis. Given that server issues occur at all hours of the day, don’t settle on a service provider that can’t meet your potential service needs;
* Check out the company’s history – Lastly, do a background check on the service providers you are looking into working with. See if there is any track record of complaints, if their company proves to be financially solvent, and if they have a history of quality service. Issues in any of these three areas should serve as a red flag.

When it comes to finding the right web host provider for your small business, don’t be left disconnected.

Photo credit: http://www.etamhost.com/tag/web-hosting-provider/

Dave Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience as a writer, covering marketing, SEO, press releases, social media and more. You’ll find Dave at BeeMoreSocial

 

Introducing Brianshih.com

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SOB Directory Entry:
BrianShih.com by Brian Shih

Type: Technology and Usability

brianshih logo

Brian Shih is a junior studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. This blog is focused on usability, new technology, and making the world better for humans, not robots.

Notes from Liz: You might recall that Brian was the first of our guest writers. His article on using sidebars prompted a lively discussion that caused us to visit sites and discuss design questions regarding how sidebars can serve both readers and writers. Brian also recently introduced us to “Cropper,” the shareware program that cuts time in making screen shots down to seconds. I’ve been using it constantly since the moment he turned me on to it. Take a minute and check out Brian’s blog.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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