Before I knew how easy it could be to hack into a website or account, I liked to make my own passwords when I signed up for a new account somewhere. I knew there was no chance that I would EVER remember the string of numbers, letters, and characters in the strong password that the website generated for me, so I made it one of the same five or six passwords that I had for…well, everything. Now that I work for a website developer, though, I know how important it is to have strong passwords that are unique to each site. Similarly, before I started working for Your Web Pro, I generally ignored my parents when they warned me about getting my card information stolen when buying online. Now, I never put any information into a submission box without checking to make sure that the site has an SSL certificate so my sensitive information is protected from hackers. I did not worry about bugs or viruses on my computer, either. Did you know that these are some of the most common ways websites are hacked today?
One of the most basic reasons a website hack happens is because someone is using a poor password. Either it is easy to guess or it is the same as many of your other passwords, like what I used to do when creating an account, and someone is able to guess it and gain access to your website. The solution to this is quite simple: create a good password. If you are worried about not remembering the string of numbers and letters put together to create a virtually unguessable password, keep all of your passwords secured somewhere safe, like password-saving software or a locked note on your phone. Another way website hacks happen is through a bug on your site. These have become more common with WordPress plugins and add-ons. The best way to protect your site is to keep things patched and updated on the back end of your site. Finally, hacks happen through a breached server. This has become very rare today, but it is still possible. If a hacker finds a way into a server, they can gain access and control of any website that is hosted on the server.