Hello friend,
Choosing shared hosting often marks your first step in launching a web presence. Its affordability dramatically lowers website ownership barriers. But shared environments also seriously compromise security.
When hosting providers cram hundreds of sites onto single servers to lower costs, one site‘s weakness becomes every site‘s headache!
With deceptive ease, a single breach opens backdoors for attackers to profile all co-hosted sites, identify prime targets and craft customized attacks difficult to withstand given meager shared resources. Scary stats worth losing sleep over:
- 79% of businesses surveyed by Statista reported web-based cyber attacks in 2021.
- Shared hosting attacks now comprise over 65% of all hacked websites according to Sucuri.
- Websites in vulnerable Shared Hosting environments face 300% higher malware infection rates reports Wordfence.
So if you are still dragging your feet on protecting that site you poured months of work into, let’s change gears – this concise yet comprehensive guide aims to equip you in battling the dark forces trying to hijack the valuable business asset your website represents!
10 Vital Measures to Lockdown Security
Through the following layered defense plan combining prevention, detection and response – you can thwart most shared hosting threats.
#1: Construct Website Fortresses with Strong Passwords
Like famed siege engines battering down fortress gates, password guessing and stuffing remain the easiest attack paths.
Yet worrisome statistics reveal:
- 51% of all data breaches due to hacking involve brute force or password reuse.
- Users average over 100 online accounts secured via passwords
- 55% of people reuse passwords across accounts
Clearly, lacking a robust password plan makes hacker success inevitable.
Here are vital password security steps:
- Only generate passwords randomly – using maximum allowed lengths above 15 characters mixing alpha-numeric and special symbols.
- Use a unique complex password for every website and account without exceptions.
- Automatically sync securely encrypted passwords across devices using password managers like LastPass, 1Password or Dashlane.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) using SMS or authenticator apps wherever available.
Combining website passwords over 20 characters containing 3zqX$$!wW1@MgGHk99UbuSx type gibberish with 2FA will keep you covered!
#2: Always Keep Software Fully Updated
Much like flu viruses constantly evolve to bypass human immune defenses, websites face endless discovery of new exploits in code and software necessitating relentless software updating.
Consider these vulnerabilities patched in commonly used platforms:
| Platform | Software | Vulnerabilities Fixed |
| WordPress 5.5 | Core, plugins, themes | 200+ bugs, 20 severe holes |
| Windows 10 v2004 | OS, in-built apps | 130+ critical patches |
| Adobe Acrobat DC | PDF editor | 175+ flaws, 45 critical memory corruption errors |
So here is expert counsel on staying updated:
- Enable automatic background updates wherever feasible like for WordPress, plugins, operating systems etc.
- Periodically check manually for available updates from vendors of paid software like Adobe CC apps, Microsoft Office etc
- For customized web apps, review updates from incorporated libraries/frameworks like React, Angular, Django etc.
Following these disciplines will ensure you regularly plunge new vulnerabilities adversaries constantly sniff out!
#3: Failsafe Your Website via Backups
Like packing a spare parachute before skydiving, maintaining recent website backups is equally non-negotiable to survive worst case scenarios:
- Accidental events – fat fingered command deletes SQL database, runaway app corrupts filesystem etc.
- Malware / Ransomware – encrypts data demanding bitcoin payment for keys.
- Hacker destruction – vandalizes databases, sets up botnet command nodes.
So here is a safety net you can trust your life with:
A. Backup Vault Essentials
- Database + Filesystem Snapshots: Capture entire site state including MySQL/MongoDB databases, filesystem directories like /var/www/html.
- Content CMS Export: For WordPress etc, export entire site content using native tools to restore later.
- Media Libraries / User Uploads: Download all images, videos, documents uploaded over time.
You have full backups only when you can restore sites to original state with no data loss!
B. Deployment Strategies
- Automated Daily: Schedule backups daily or real time to alternate destinations.
- Offsite + Onsite: Replicate to separate servers, external drives and cloud storage services.
- Validation Testing: Periodically build test environments from backups validating usability.
C. Recommended Services
Here are specialized services facilitating easy automated backups so you sleep peacefully!
| Service | Salient Capabilities |
| Backblaze Cloud Backup | Offsite cloud storage + restoration for servers, external drives. |
| CodeGuard Website Backup | Daily / on-demand backups + 1 click restores for WordPress sites. |
| BlogVault | Real-time incremental WordPress site backup + malware detection. |
So don‘t delay – setup bulletproof website backups today!
#4 Fortify Website Access Controls
Hardening and controlling administrative and user access forms the cornerstone for website security.
Refer these guides to lock out exploiters:
A. Harden Web Server Access
- Firewall block traffic from non-whitelisted IPs via iptables
- Disable admin ports like SSH when not actively maintaining sites
- Closely monitor web server access logs detecting anomalies
- Install extensions like mod_securityhardening Apache access
B. Impede Application Access
- Enforce CAPTCHAs on login pages to block automated attacks
- Implement IP blacklisting against suspicious repeated failures
- Configure strict password policies – attempts, reuse, expiration etc.
- Consider Real IP module identifying client IPs despite proxies/VPN
C. Available Tools
Specialized tools provide added security:
| Tool | Capabilities |
| Fail2Ban | Auto IP ban for repeated malicious login attempts |
| reCaptcha | Stops abusive bots on web forms with CAPTCHAs |
| Limit Login Attempts | Locks out IP/Users after specified failed logins |
Hence, fatigue hackers via multi-layered access barriers!
#5 Inspect Traffic for Anomalies
Turn the tables on hackers by proactively monitoring web traffic for signs of threats they inevitably trigger!
A. Analyze Access & Error Logs
Install log analyzer tools scrutinizing web server access logs detecting unusual patterns like:
- Spikes in traffic from same IPs / User Agents
- Elevated access outside business hours
- Increased non-200 HTTP response codes
- Repeated suspicious requests signalling probes
B. Deploy Intrusion Detection
Specialized IDS solutions like Tripwire perform real time traffic inspection identifying threats:
- Compare current traffic against known good baseline profiles
- Detect attack payloads via pattern matching
- Alert on specific violations immediately
So let no visitor go uninspected to maintain situational awareness!
#6 Scan for Flaws Before Hackers
Just like scheduled health check-ups catch diseases earlier, subject sites to periodic vulnerability scans unearthing security gaps hackers eagerly exploit:
- Injection Attacks: Special input passed to websites tampering or destroying data.
- Broken Authentication: Security loopholes permitting access with invalid or expired credentials.
- Sensitive Exposure: Failure to encrypt confidential user information like passwords, messages or financial data.
Schedule through services like Sucuri or Acunetix. Use tools like Nikto and Nessus. Test login pages, user input forms, APIs and apps for weaknesses. Fix everything discovered before adversaries beat you to it!
#7 Update Sitewide Software Dependencies
Beyond core platforms, websites invariably integrate myriad libraries, modules and components handling common capabilities:
- Application framework – Django, Laravel
- Frontend JavaScript – jQuery, React
- Media management – FFMPEG, ImageMagick etc
Each dependency mandates tracking updates and patches by respective vendors:
- Subscribe for alerts, newsletters on updates
- Audit integrated software inventory frequently
- Patch / replace dependencies having reached end-of-support
This shrinks the fluid attack surface span continuously!
#8 Budget Hosting Upgrades for Growth
Don’t cling onto shared hosting seeing your web asset outgrow capacity – migration to specialized platforms preserves uptime and security while supporting growth:
A. Virtual Private Servers (VPS)
- Get allocated guaranteed resources in a virtualized environment
- Install security add-ons like Mod Security Web Application Firewalls
- Scale bandwidth and storage dynamically on demand
B. Managed WordPress Hosting
- Fully managed stack optimized for WordPress speed + security
- Site isolation assures neighbor sites can‘t impact performance
- Included DDoS protection, regular backups and staging support
Don’t penny pinch where your business future lies!
#9 Seek Specialized Security Services
Supplement in-house efforts via offerings delivering focused security-enhancing outcomes:
A. DDoS Mitigation
- Absorbs high volumes of malicious requests protecting infrastructure
- Tracks incoming traffic fingerprints, blocks known attackers
- Recommended for media sites, gaming and ecommerce apps expecting spikes
B. Web Application Firewalls
- Installed before sites in hosting pipeline, filters incoming HTTP requests
- Blocks SQL injections, cross-site forgery requests, DDoS traffic etc
- Complements native firewalls in hardening websites
Don’t overlook additional lines of defense that come cheap!
#10 Bake Security into Website SDLC
Rather than defer security reviews towards project ends as an afterthought, engineer it right from conceptual stages:
A. Threat Modeling
- Model architecture identifying high-risk components and data flows.
- Define potential threats each element poses objectively.
- Shape requirements to negate identified threat vectors.
B. Standardize Secure Coding Practices
- Apply principles of least privilege granting only minimal access to execute tasks.
- Require peer review of all code checking for flaws before UAT and production.
- Enable static + dynamic analysis tools like page builders and scanners.
Investing early prevents regret forever!
There my friend, you now have an end-to-end blueprint tailored to safeguarding websites hosted in vulnerable shared environments!
What remains is only your commitment to executing outlined action steps. I appreciate it demands sincerity navigating the long road to website security mastery fraught with temptation to take shortcuts.
But stay the course – the traction gained daily compounds to build formidable defenses thwarting threats lurking around each server rack waiting to trip the complacent.
Here is a summary checklist for quick reference:
Shared Hosting Website Security Checklist
- [ ] Strong passwords + Two factor authentication
- [ ] Software kept updated automatically
- [ ] Daily offsite backups + periodic test restores
- [ ] Access controls via firewalls, failures thresholds etc
- [ ] Server access logs analyzed for anomalies
- [ ] External vulnerability scanning every quarter
- [ ] Inventory, update integrated libraries, dependencies
- [ ] Upgrade hosting plans aligning with growth
- [ ] Specialized security services – CDN, WAFs etc
- [ ] Secure SDLC practices for custom application code
Still have doubts or observations? Want to recommend additional website security best practices? Don’t hesitate to email me! I will be overjoyed clarifying your questions.
Here is wishing your websites live long, thriving by deterring the dark forces of hacking from succeeding! Thank you for reading friend!
